ATHENS — Stuck in a small Athens flat all day to avoid being caught by police, earning another stint in prison and possibly a beating, 29-year-old Cameroonian Eugene Manaa rues
The Philippines has twice hosted the Miss Universe pageant—in 1974 and 1994. Since they were spaced 20 years apart, one wonders if the Department of Tourism would be keen on bringing the event here in 2014.
National Artist for Literature F. Sionil José, in a recent column, called it “the ancient problems of our theater”—the lack of resources, say, and more gravely, the continuing lack of audiences, which was the prevalent lament during the sparsely populated National Theater Festival held in November this year at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
I was fortunate enough to get cast in Tanghalang Pilipino’s critical hit “Stageshow,” the last and most fabulous play by the late, great Mario O’Hara. Doing the show was both exhilarating and disappointing, though. Exhilarating because every time we performed it, something magical was happening to all of us. It was so irreverently Pinoy and unflinchingly human. And during every show we felt Mario’s spirit watching over us laughing, the way he probably used to do every Christmas.
As soon as I told my mother that I was going to Japan for a seminar, she said one word and smiled: “Asakusa.” She then reminded me that it was in the famous temple market of this Tokyo district that I, as a young boy, had bought my turtles. Now, this purchase was more than four decades ago, when my father, acting on a promise to his grandfather, had taken his three eldest children to Japan.
Like her predecessor Shamcey Supsup, Janine Tugonon also graduated with honors, earning a cum laude in BS Pharmacy from the University of Santo Tomas. Janine was first runner-up when Shamcey won the Bb. Pilipinas-Universe title in 2011.
IT’S NO secret, fashion designer Veejay Floresca loves beauty contests. After all, he was one of the four Venus Raj fans whose YouTube video went viral and led to a TV commercial two years ago.
When I first visited Shangri-La Mactan almost two decades ago it had just opened. There was no Ocean Wing, there was no fish sanctuary, and the view of the sea was unobstructed. But that first experience nonetheless remains unforgettable.
Nemo Aguila is one of the newest groundbreaking artists on the scene. What sets him apart, though, is that he is a 26-year-old multidisciplinary artist. Yes, multi. Not only is he a visual artist who does paintings, street art, drawings, and illustrations; he is also a toy designer. He is having an exciting exhibit on the 19th of December in the Pocket Universe Art Collective in Saguijo Café + Bar called “Out of Order.” He took time out from his busy schedule to answer a few questions for me.
Maria Remedios Bueno Coady —or simply Baby Bueno, as she prefers to be known professionally—grew up poor and marginalized, by her own account, in her native Santa Cruz, Zambales, which lies close to the boundary with Pangasinan. She sold fish and take in washing to make ends meet for her family.
The latest in global fashion, beauty, and culture through a contemporary Filipino perspective.
