In the beginning, it was all about the flour. The year was 1958, and Liberty Flour Mills, Inc. had just started business. But immediately, it sought ways to expand its lucrative wholesale market and was soon packing its flour in smaller, more accessible retail sizes.
Asked if she considers herself “panget” (ugly) because her crossover media franchise is called “Diary ng Panget” (better known to fans as “DNP”), the young author named Denny says modestly, “Hindi po masyado, konti lang (Not really, just a bit).”
Like many word-loving members of my generation, I learned to love reading, thanks to Filbar’s. Back in grade school, a generous and enabling schoolmate would list the titles of the comic books we wanted and then, once a week, swing by the Filbar’s store on New York Street in Cubao to score them.
Like the enigmatic characters in her books, Kate Evangelista lives a secret life. To the people she encounters every day, she seems to be living anonymously—just another woman in a car. But the 30-year-old is actually an international best-selling author—one that most Filipinos have never heard of.
Born of everyday ingenuity and perhaps a hint of either madness or boredom, Filipino signs are an art form by themselves. The signs are also a balancing act between being smart or knowledgeable, and being pilosopo (smart alecky).
For someone who traffics heavily in the realm of love lives, Marcelo Santos III rues the fact that he doesn’t have much of one. The 22-year-old first-time novelist and online video sensation says he doesn’t have time for romance, no matter that his surprise best-seller is titled “Para sa Hopeless Romantic.”
Like the elements of her art and the travails of the comic strip hero she shares a moniker with, Tintin Pantoja has been all over the map. Born in Manila, raised in Indonesia and educated in the United States, this 33-year-old has achieved what many comic book artists consider to be the dream of a lifetime: being published internationally.
On their own, radio and books represent traditionally powerful forms of media for Filipinos. Put them together, and you have a potent mix indeed.
The first and most important thing you need to know about Anthony De Luna is that he’s not here to destroy your books. On the contrary, he loves old-fashioned ink-and-paper books.
“Golly jeepers” is Robert Magnuson’s favorite expression. It’s an endearingly anachronistic utterance straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon. But though the award-winning writer/illustrator grew up with a steady dose of those cartoons, he is no two-dimensional figure.
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