Imagine having a dream that has chased you since childhood: a four-color vision of panels and figures, of endless Fridays full of delight. Imagine wanting to do this more than anything.
Wherever he went, Segundo “Jun” Matias Jr. couldn’t help but notice how he could easily find local translations of international bestsellers.
Growing up surrounded by books, Andrea Pasion-Flores seemed destined to work with books. What was perhaps unexpected was just how deeply involved she was going to be in the field. The award-winning fictionist and currently the only Filipino literary agent has been making literature as well as representing it.
It was a step towards greatness. On Aug. 10, 2013, the Philippines rejoined the ranks of the world’s basketball elite, an achievement that resonated in a nation addicted to basketball. To do so, the team, known as Gilas Pilipinas, had to overcome the team that had emerged as its nemesis in international play through the years: Korea. Bucking the odds and in front of a frenzied home crowd, Gilas did just that, winning 86-79, ensuring the team of at least a second place finish and one of three slots to the basketball World Cup in Spain in 2014.
When you listen to Dean Francis Alfar and Angelo R. Lacuesta talk about the short story, it seems like it’s a precious metal that’s grown increasingly rare and harder to mine.
Jomike Tejido is essentially a transformer. He was enthralled by the paradox of one object twisting and turning until it becomes a totally different object. It was an obsession that changed him.
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.
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.
