The 2020 National Arts Month
For one whole month, in February of every year, the country celebrates the National Arts Month (NAM).
Started in 1991, under the administration
of the late President Corazon C. Aquino, through Presidential Proclamation no. 66, NAM is
spearheaded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
In the Graveyard
By Danton Remoto
The walls round the graveyard
Are ancient and cracked.
The moss is too thick they look dark.
The paint on my grandfather’s tomb
Has the color of bone.
Two yellow candles we lighted,
Then we uttered our prayers.
On my left, somebody’s skull
Stares...
Malevolent beauty: Noelle Q. de Jesus’ ‘Cursed and other stories’
While I waited for the book to arrive from Singapore, where Noelle de Jesus is based, the author asked me to forgive the typos in the book, which was taken from the first run of the title by Penguin Random House Southeast Asia. As of this writing, the second print run was...
How Filipino painter J.Legaspi sees Maynila
Artwork images
courtesy of Julius Legaspi
Julius Legaspi’s roots belong to Marilao, Bulacan, but the capital city of Manila has captured his childlike wonder.
“Manila is memorable for me ever since I was a child. My grandfather was
a kargador (freighter) of dried fish in Divisoria, at Juan Luna and Sto.
Cristo Streets. My...
Lucky Signs in a Casino Hotel
By Jami Ledesma
With a heritage dating back to 1912, luck was always the name of the game at the San Lazaro Hippodrome where the country’s premier horseracing events were held until 2003 when the track moved to its new home in Cavite.
Today, a new kind of excitement stands on
the...
The Phoenix of the Racetrack
By Jami Ledesma
Depending on what generation you belong to, the mere mention of “San Lazaro” will conjure a medley of mental images for people of different age groups.
For Baby Boomers and above, the odds are fairly high that a now defunct horse racing track called San Lazaro Hippodrome...
The artist who wept when Batangas turned gray
Artwork images
courtesy of Lino Acasio
Lino Acasio, the renowned landscape artist of Batangas, left his hometown Lemery with a heavy heart on that fateful day when the Taal volcano erupted on January 12.
“I was with my high school mates in Tagaytay when I read in...
Cagayan Valley students lead winners in IS Manila’s film tilt
A short film entry of University of Saint Louis-Senior High School students from Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, ruled the 15-18 years old category and bagged the Audience Choice award of the third annual Manila Student Film Festival last February 1 at International School Manila, Bonifacio Global City.
“Disconnected,” directed by Ven...
Will and Word
No two writers are the same. That’s stone-hard fact.
Some workshops do not want you to think
that way, however. In the course of a weeklong literary bivouac, a writing
fellow is honed and shaped by principles which could easily be mistaken for
rules that force writers to “sound” the same, or...
How Filipino painter J.Legaspi sees Maynila
By Carla Mortel Baricaua / Artwork images courtesy of Julius Legaspi
Julius
Legaspi’s roots belong to Marilao, Bulacan, but the capital city of Manila has captured
his childlike wonder.
“Manila is memorable for me ever since I was a child. My grandfather was a kargador of...
The Tide of Times
By Erwin Cabucos
The tide chases the crabs across our back yard, again, but there’s no time to watch them scuttle across the sand. Today Lola, my grandmother, is being lowered into the ground after she killed herself. She was confident in doing it, with the assistance of a doctor. She called it...
Letran filmmakers put values first
For several years, Colegio de San Juan de Letran’s Institute of Communication has established itself as a breeding ground for values-oriented and award-winning productions regardless of whatever medium.
Leading the pack of recent
winners from Letran is “Takip Sining,” a documentary directed by ICOMM alumnus
Juan Fontanilla. The non-fiction work tells...
The Making of Unforgettable People
If charity begins at home, empathy for the writer begins at the forefront of all attempts at character development.
What do I mean by this?
Simple: In breathing life to fictional characters, a delicate balance of good
and bad attributes is required, a tally of characteristics tailored-fit and
weighed in the literary...
PUP short film stands out at MMFF
An entry from Polytechnic University of the Philippines recently topped the Metro Manila Film Festival Student Short Film Competition during the MMFF’s Gabi ng Parangal at the New Frontier Theater.
“Pamana ni Lola,” helmed by writer-director
Bradley Jason Pantajo and his co-director/lyricist Regin De Guzman of Antiparas
Productions, revolves around the story of a
teenage girl (Shai...
“The Kingmaker” Makes Its Philippine Premiere At The CCP
EMMY Award–winning filmmaker/photographer Lauren Greenfield’s critically acclaimed documentary “The Kingmaker,” about Imelda Marcos, will have its Philippine premiere on January 29, 2020, 7:30 pm, at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater), with matinee screening at 3:00 p.m.“The Kingmaker” explores the d isturbing legacy of the Marcos regime and examines the Marcos family’s improbable return to power...
Shooting Stars: Celluloid Heroes
By Bernard Testa
Post-EDSA Manila Times chief photographer Johnny Acasio and airport veteran photojournalist Rudy Santos always said that “everybody can use a camera but not everyone can become a photographer. A photographer must be born.”
Alejandro “Dudoy” Docot
Fornoles was born on August 10, 1929. He was the fifth child in...
The Lightning Bug and the Lightning
I was still in my light khaki shorts when this instruction from my father literally changed the course of my life: “Anak, always have a dictionary by your side. Knowing words is half the battle won.”
I barely understood what he
meant back then. Given that he was my father,...
Bayanihan’s global dance fiesta
Dance is a discipline that stays with you for life—and dance opens up a world of culture to those who engage in it, and those who watch dance performances.
Suzie Moya Benitez sat down
with Tony & Nick to talk about dance and how it expresses one’s
culture and prepares one for life. Benitez is...
Indie irreverence & romance
Curling up with a good paper book is a pleasure one must never, ever underestimate. Me, I’m meeting the happy holidays with indie books by two of my favorite authors (who also happen to be two of my favorite people): Joel Pablo Salud’s Okay, Boomer and Che Sarigumba’s Sana Kahit Minsan, A...
A Filipino hero’s story in a Manga
Every generation needs a retelling of history, and this is one story in history that needs to be retold just in time for Rizal Day.
On June 19 last year, Jose
Rizal: The Filipino Hero’s Life Illustrated manga breathed new life into a
hero’s story in a unique form and yet,...
