Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz brought pride and awe to the nation two years ago when she bagged an Olympic silver medal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Halfway through her determined journey to win the gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she gave her countrymen a preview of how she will do it and how it feels to be No. 1, when she snatched the Philippines’ first top medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia in August.

COVER PHOTO FROM SUBJECT’S SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT. INSIDE PHOTOS BY ANDREA DELA CRUZ, DJ DIOSINA, AFP, PHILIPPINE COMMISSION FACEBOOK

Besides earning the distinction as the first Filipino weightlifter to win an Asiad gold, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) sergeant also stands to receive a whooping P8 million in cash bonuses from the government and various private sectors for her spectacular feat.

“It’s a dream-come-true for me,” the petite figure of strength told The Sunday Times Magazine a day after winning the gold in an exclusive online interview.

Hidilyn Diaz displays her prowess during the weightlifting competition of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia; upon her return, she is touched by a grand welcome and promotion at the Philippine Air Force where she has served since 2013.

“Eto yung lahat ng resulta na pinagpaguran ko sa training, lahat ng sinakripisyo ko. Masaya ako, lahat ng doubts ko, lahat ng pressure nalampasan ko at naging maganda ang kinalabasan kaya nagpapasalamat ako kay God,” she expressed.

(“All this is the result of my hard work in training and all my sacrifices. I’m happy I got over my doubts and all the pressure, which is why I’m very thankful to God for this win.”)

Proud parents meet their gold medalist daughter with hugs and kisses on arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Jakarta, Indonesia.

Golden journey

For the Asiad, the 27-year-old Zamboangueña lifted a leading 207 kilograms in the women’s 53-kg event to beat Turkmenistan’s Kristina Shermetova (206 kg) and Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao (201 kg) at the Jakarta International Expo Hall.

But her journey from winning a silver medal in the Olympics to snagging the Asian Games top prize did not come easy.

Sergeant Diaz flexes her muscles in front of a roaring crowd during the ‘Hero’s Welcome to the Philippine Air Force Athletes’ held at the Villamor Air Base.

After her Olympic stint, Diaz was expected to deliver a bigger win for the Philippines at the 2017 World Championships in Anaheim, California in December, but only managed a bronze. Prior to that in September, she maintained her silver win at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

Short of delivering glory amid well wishes and immense pressure, Diaz took everything in stride all the same, never considering her bronze finish a setback. Instead, she focused her sights on her most compelling motivation, that is, the reality that she is not just competing for herself but more importantly for country.

The Weightlifting Women’s 53-kg 2018 Asian Games champion (center) with silver medalist Kristina Shermetova of Turkmenistan (left) and bronze medalist Surodchana Khambao of Thailand (right).

“Gaano kahirap? Mahirap. Sobrang hirap parang iniisip ko na kung tama ba itong ginagawa ko at parang ayoko na (It’s been a very difficult experience, so much so that sometimes I felt like giving up),” admitted Diaz, who made her athletic debut at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a wild card entry at 17. She mostly trained at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex on Vito Cruz, Manila despite its outdated sports facilities.

Four years after her Olympic debut, she made it to the 2012 London Olympics too and was flag bearer of the country’s lean contingent. Although her first two Olympic stints were hardly impressive, Diaz was never daunted, pushing herself to the limit through intense discipline.

With fellow gold medalist for the Asian Games Women’s Street Skateboarding category Margielyn Didal(left) at their Senate courtesy call.

“Two months before the Asian Games, the pressure was already unbearable. I could hardly sleep, planning how to execute my lifts. It’s the pressure that’s the most difficult to deal with—it’s difficult to have the whole nation’s hope on your shoulders. But with God’s help, I was able to do it,” she finally said of her recent win to The Sunday Times Magazine.

Achiever

The fifth of Eduardo and Emelita (nee Francisco) Diaz’s six children, the gold medalist learned the basics of weightlifting from her cousin, Allen Jayfrus Diaz.

President Rodrigo Duterte awards cash prizes to Diaz, Didal and gold medalist for Golf Yuka Saso (right) on September 12.

At her debut in the Beijing Summer Olympics, Diaz may have just placed second to the last among 12 weightlifters in the women’s 58-kg class. However, lifting 85 kilos in the Snatch and 107 kilos in the Clean and Jerk for a total of 192 kilos broke the national record that she herself set at the 2007 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.

Sports officials praised her performance and considered it promising for her age. Even then, she was seen to become a strong contender in future competitions.

At a young age, Diaz already looked up to Manny Pacquiao as her idol in sports.

Meanwhile, Diaz was recruited into the PAF in 2013 through the Direct Enlistment Program after her London Olympics stint. She was assigned to the Air Force Special Service Group and given a Specialty Code in Recreation in Weightlifting.

She was promoted to Airwoman Second Class in 2014, then assigned to the PAF Personnel Management Center while training for the Rio Olympics. She went up the ranks again as Airwoman First Class following her feat at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Enjoying a boodle fight with fellow athletes at Camp Aguinaldo.

Still very much aware of the value of a college education, Diaz did her best to pursue Bachelor of Science in Computer Science studies at the Universidad de Zamboanga amid all her commitements, but come third year, she had to stop schooling in order to concentrate on her training full-time.

As pride of the nation, she was overjoyed to receive a scholarship from the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in Manila where she is now working toward a Business Management degree.

For her success in the international sports scene, not to mention her varied achievements, Diaz was awarded Athlete of the Year of the Philippine Sportswriters Association on February 13, 2017.

Even at a photoshoot, Diaz shows she has her eyes set on the gold at the next Olympics.

Lifting for the future

Literally strong and empowered, the Filipino ace athlete declared she is determined to get another gold at the Southeast Asian Games in 2019 when the country hosts the regional biennial meet. It will be the crowning jewel to her two silver medals from the 2011 and 2013 SEA Games editions.

And as the athlete who ended the country’s 20-year Olympic medal drought at the 2016 Rio Olympics, she is looking forward to bag the Philippines’ first ever Olympic gold medal in Japan two years from now.

“I have no gold from the SEA Games yet, but of course my main aim is for the gold at the 2020 Olympics. I’m really hoping and praying I get it. It needs careful planning and it’s very important to have a good mindset and as much support as I can get. The Olympics is no ordinary games—it’s on a very different level,” Diaz added.

Like any Mindanaoan, the ace athlete loves durian and marang, Enjoying a boodle fight with fellow athletes at Camp Aguinaldo. two of the island’s exotic fruits.

Buoyed by love

Diaz appeared before President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacañang on Wednesday to receive her P4 million cash bonus from the government along with other 2018 Asian Games medalists and sports officials, led by Philippine Olympic Committee Chairman Abraham Tolentino and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William Ramirez.

Looking back at the years before this golden win, Diaz mused, “There have been times I’ve asked myself why am I still here. I mean, can I still do [weightlifting]emotionally and physically? It’s the Olympics, of course… I was already there [in Rio]…” and just as her words started fading, she joked, “You know, I can stop weightlifting any time and pursue a normal life. I can just get a job at the Philippine Air Force!”

And then she quickly backtracked, saying, “I chose to stay here because it’s my dream and my goal to win in the Asian Games and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.”

Asked what keeps her going, she said it is simply her faith that keeps her dream alive.

“It also has to do with conditioning the mind. My goal is to get a gold in the 2020 Olympics because that will be historical. The World Championships, well, that’s fine but like I said Olympics is different—it’s pride. Mine is a long-term goal and that’s why I really need positive people around me who will support and understand me.”

The champion athlete further admitted to The Sunday Times Magazine that she is also inspired these days from being in a relationship. She refused to reveal the name of the lucky guy though.

“After the Rio Olympics, everything changed. I’m so lucky with to have a boyfriend who’s very understanding even if we hardly get to be together. To have him is a blessing because sometimes I really feel so hopeless and I really need someone like him to cheer me up.”

The post Gold! appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

BY ROBERT HARLAND

Every October, British communities around the world, including the Philippines, celebrate a remarkable naval battle — one, which made a French invasion of England impossible.

In 1805, the First French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte, was the dominant military power on the European continent and England was under real threat of invasion.

But on October 21 in that year a brilliant English admiral, Lord Nelson, put paid to Napoleon’s invasion plans when his fleet of 27 British ships decimated a combined fleet of 33 French and Spanish ships off the southwest coast of Spain, just west of Cape Trafalgar.

Admiral Lord Nelson, painting by Lemuel Francis Abbott

Nelson’s fleet was outnumbered and outgunned, but such was the mastery of his tactics the Franco-Spanish fleet lost 22 ships, while the British lost none. A notable Spanish loss was the Santísima Trinidad, then the heaviest-armed ship in the world.

It was one of the most decisive naval battles in history, and it cemented Nelson’s reputation as Britain’s greatest naval hero. Sadly, the victory cost Nelson his life. At the height of the battle he was shot by a French sniper as he paced the deck of his ship HMS Victory.

Rather than bury Nelson’s body at sea, it was preserved in a cask of brandy and sent back to England. His funeral in London was a tremendous occasion with the streets lined with thousands of weeping people. He is buried in the crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Nelson’s Column in London’s Trafalgar Square

From 1793 until his death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 Nelson had scored a number of outstanding naval victories against the French. He suffered serious injury during these years, losing the sight in his right eye and his right arm.

During his long and distinguished career Nelson gained a reputation as a brilliant tactician. He was often able to surprise his enemies by audacious tactics.

In 1793 he met the woman who was to become the great love of his life, Emma, Lady Hamilton. She was a great beauty with a voluptuous figure and a rather shady past. Eventually in 1801 Nelson abandoned his wife and lived with his ‘dearest Emma’.

In London’s Trafalgar Square can be seen the country’s memorial to the most inspiring leader the British Navy has ever had. Nelson’s Column, erected in 1843, stands 51.6m high and is crowned with a statue of Nelson.

Interestingly, German dictator Adolf Hitler planned to take Nelson’s statue back to Berlin as a trophy “once he had conquered London”.

To commemorate Nelson’s great victory, Trafalgar Day is marked as a public day each year in Britain. On October 21 commissioned officers of the Royal Navy celebrate the victory by holding a Trafalgar Night dinner in the officer’s mess. Similar dinners are held each year around the world.

In the Philippines, the Manila British and Commonwealth Club, the oldest membership club in the country dating back to before 1877, hosts an annual Trafalgar Night gala dinner in Makati. It’s one of the social highlights of the year for the British and Commonwealth community.

This year’s Trafalgar Night dinner will be held at the New World Hotel on Saturday, October 13. Guest speaker will be LTCR Patrick Panjeti, US Naval Attache at the US Embassy, Manila.

At each Trafalgar Night dinner the guest speaker ends with a toast to “The Immortal Memory of Lord Nelson and those who fell with him”.

Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory, the oldest commissioned warship in the world, has been preserved and is on show in a dry dock in Portsmouth Naval Harbor in the south of England. The ship is major tourist attraction with more than 25 million visitors since she entered dry dock in 1922.

The post The man who saved England appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

This coming October, the whole nation is celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Month, and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), led by its chairman, National Artist Virgilio Almario, executive director Rico Pableo, Jr., and deputy executive director Marichu Tellano, is leading the celebration with its annual festival touted as the biggest gathering of indigenous groups in the Philippines.

This year, the Dayaw: Philippine International Indigenous Peoples’ Festival will be held in the province of Capiz, led by Governor Antonio del Rosario, in Western Visayas from October 8 to 10, under the helm of NCCA’s Subcommission on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts (SCCTA), led by its head, Commissioner Alphonsus Tesoro, who is also Capiz’s Provincial Tourism Officer and Cultural Affairs Officer.

For three days, hundreds of indigenous delegates from about 40 ethnolinguistic groups will gather in Roxas City, and the satellite venue in the town of Cuartero, to present an enriching and fascinating array of activities and events including performances, rituals, forums, traditional cuisine demos, traditional houses, traditional games, arts and crafts exhibit and cultural exchanges, among others.

The Dayaw Festival aims to highlight the importance and richness of indigenous cultures, promote a deeper awareness and appreciation of intangible cultural heritage through the Schools of Living Tradition (SLTs), to discuss issues on indigenous peoples and cultures, and to facilitate interactions with other ethnic groups.

This year, the Dayaw Festival has the theme, “Celebrating Heritage of Creative Communities/ Pagpupugay sa Pamana ng Malikhaing Sambayanan.”

The festival has several components, invigorating traditions and inspiring life stories of the indigenous.

The traditional performances component, called “Bantug sang Banwa,” narrates the ancient wisdom and contemporary truths of the indigenous communities through their songs, dances, and other performative platforms and cultural expressions. This component makes manifest a sense of identity and continuity, provides links from the past to the present, and accordingly helps individuals and groups to feel part of one or different communities and of society at large.

The exhibit component, “Katutubong Likha, Daluyan ng Biyayang Kaalaman,” is designed as an interactive showcase of the shared wisdom and ingenuity of indigenous peoples from all over the country, conveying the richness of their traditional craftsmanship and wealth of indigenous knowledge. It promotes that indigenous heritage is a source of pride of the all Filipinos.

The conferences and forum component, “Maaram, Maalam, May Kinaadman,” is focused on safeguarding and reinvigorating intangible cultural heritage intended to raise cultural awareness, advance cultural sensitivity and nurture sustainable development-orientation for students, educators, cultural practitioners, government workers and administrators, as well as policy makers from all over the country.

”Mamugnaong Pagpa-ambit” is the community outreach component where participating contingents are encouraged to share aspects of their culture in different communities of Capiz.

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BY NIKA ROQUE

Banking on the waves the show created when Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas first staged it in 1990 — combining that with the acclaimed performance of RS Francisco in the title role, the Tony Award winning play “M. Butterfly” is now catering to a wider audience of the new generation.

It can be recalled that when the play was first performed in Manila 30 years ago, the graphic and controversial themes tackled were considered taboos.

As such, now that they are restaging at a time when the audience is supposedly open-minded and more open to these themes, the team behind M. Butterfly is doing its best to put the play under a new light.

In the story, Song Liling or Madam Butterfly is in an extra-marital affair with straight French diplomat played by Olivier Borter.

Francisco was only 18 years old when he first starred as Song Liling or Madam Butterfly, an Asian transwoman and opera performer in an extra-marital affair with a straight French diplomat played by Olivier Borten. Interwoven in the LGBT and racial themes of the play are numerous political issues.

“M. Butterfly, based on a true story, is truer than ever and more relevant today than when it was originally written in 1988 by the great David Henry Hwang,” said director Kanakan-Balintagos (formerly known as Auraeus Solito).

With a roster of impressive creations which includes the music video for “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” by The Eraserheads, and the first Cinemalaya Special Jury Prize awardee “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros,” the intriguing visual mindset of director Kanakan-Balintagos was present all throughout.

‘M. Butterfly’ was originally written in 1988 by the great David Henry Hwang

Paired with eye-catching costumes and a unique production design, the play keeps the audience on the edge of their seats as the characters’ secrets are revealed at unexpected times during the performance.

In the conservative period of the 1990s, Francisco was able to deliver an energetic and iconic performance brought about by his passion for the arts. As such, the theater has garnered long lines of curious audiences and became the most talked about Dulaang UP play at the time.

The talented actor expressed that this role served as a large milestone in his career. After all, he was able to captivate the audience that he is still known as Song Liling today.

RS Francisco was only 18 years old when he first starred as Madam Butterfly

Now that he is no longer the 18-year-old waiting for his big break, Francisco noted he is excited to bring to the audience an update portrayal with the help of all the lessons and accomplishement he has garnered through the years.

Off the stage, Francisco presents his business skills through his marketing and entertainment company Frontrow. He is also co-producing M. Butterfly with Tony and Grammy Award-winner Jhett Tolentino (best known for “A Gentleman’s Guide to Murder,” and the Broadway revival of “The Color Purple,”).

M. Butterfly will hold limited performances at the Globe Auditorium, Maybank Performing Arts Theater in BGC until September 30 for the benefit of their partner organizations.

The post How ‘M. Butterfly’ flutters in the New Age appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

CARLA BIANCA RAVANES-HIGHAM

Hollywood — the land where dreams come true. It is a place where one can go from relatively unknown to renowned in a matter of seconds (but as they say, barely anything counts as overnight success) and where glitz and glamour is a daily, 24/7 thing.

Hollywood is filled with stories of triumph and victory, however, growing up, it was extremely rare for me to find someone on the red carpet that I could associate with.

Growing up in the Philippines, Lea Salonga was the first one to land Filipinos (for my generation at least, I am sure there were quite a few before her) that made me feel seen as a Filipino. Seeing Lea Salonga become a Disney Princess made me feel like maybe one day, I could too.

Today, thanks to a smaller world that brought about new technology, more and more Filipinos are shining brightly in Hollywood. One of which is Emmy Award-winning producer Marc Anthony Nicolas.

Marc Anthony Nicolas with his Daytime Emmys Outstanding Talk Show trophy as producer of ‘The Talk.’

The first time I met Marc was in a party for Philippine Airlines. He was jovial, very friendly, and was very attentive to his father.

It turns out, Marc is an accomplished producer of “The Talk” with hosts such as Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Julie Chen, Sheryl Underwood, and Eve. He was ranked number one in the list of the “75 Most Influential Filipinos of 2016.” I did not even realize that Marc was behind a show I watched faithfully for years, “The Tyra Banks Show.”

And on April 29, 2018, Marc won another Emmy (he has been nominated six times already!) when The Talk won for the “Outstanding Talk Show” besting other shows such as “Ellen,” “Kelly & Ryan,” and “The Real.”

I was immediately drawn to his story and was fortunate to have been given a chance to share his story to Filipinos everywhere.

Humble beginnings

As with any story of triumph, Marc’s story is marked with humble beginnings.

“I was born in the Philippines. My mom was from Pasig and my dad was from Sampaloc, Manila. We moved to the United States when I was four years old. I did not have much growing up. My family lived in a one-bedroom apartment and my parents worked double jobs to put food on the table. My mom and dad were hard workers who tried their very best to make ends meet. I got my work ethic from them,” he recalled to Thought Junkie.

It was his humble beginnings that inspired Marc to strive hard and desire a different life.

Just like most Filipino-Americans, Marc was encouraged by his mom to enter the field of health sciences and be a pharmacist. Being the dutiful and dedicated son that he was, Marc went on to pursue his mother’s dream and became a pharmacy assistant for Kaiser Permanente, one of California’s biggest hospitals.

However, this was not a happy time for Marc and he longed for something else, “I was unhappy because it wasn’t my passion. In my heart, I knew I wanted to work in television and become a producer.”

Marc then took the leap of faith, quit his job after four years, and became a waiter, “Everyone thought I was crazy to quit pharmacy. As I was serving pizza and pasta and working until midnight, I was fueled by a dream that I wanted so bad.”

Hollywood door opens

With determination and a persistent attitude, Marc persevered and sent out his resume to every network, television show, and executives.

“Every single job application was rejected. I called asking for interviews too and even those calls were denied. My dreams were slowly fading away and I would cry every night because I thought that working in the TV industry was close to impossible,” he related.

However, Marc marched on and soon the break came, “I finally got a big break when I was hired as a production assistant. I was paid $4.25 an hour, which was very little, it was less than what I was getting in tips as a waiter but this was what I wanted and so I pushed through. I knew I had to get my foot in the door to reach my goal.”

Because his paycheck was close to nothing, Marc sacrificed a few necessities, “I slept in my car and used a 24-hour gym’s shower facilities to save money. I started from the bottom making coffee, driving the producers to and from set, and mopping the kitchen floors. It was a very difficult job but I had to keep my eyes on the ultimate prize.”

Soon, Marc was slowly moving up. After that stint, he got hired as a casting recruiter for MTV.

“With my personality and charisma, I impressed the casting department and quickly got promoted to casting producer. From there, I learned the tricks of the trade of the casting world and I loved it. My casting skill spread like wild fire through the television industry.”

It was his impeccable work for MTV that led him to The Tyra Banks show.

“I went in for an interview and was hired on the spot. I quit MTV and I was excited for my new venture – the talk show world. I learned how to produce celebrities, musicians, and find the best human interest stories. It was the best four years of my life!”

Losing mother to cancer

Unfortunately, Marc had to put a pause on his career when his mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.

“I put my career on hold to take care of her. There was no hesitation on my end because I knew she would have done the same thing for me. She was put into a hospice and I saw her grow weaker and weaker. That awful day came when she took her last breath and I was there to see it. When she died, a part of me died with her. I fell into depression and wanted to be alone. I just lost my best friend and I felt the weight of that.”

After allowing himself to grieve, Marc found himself back in the field of his passion of making television and was soon hired as a producer on The Talk on CBS in 2011.

“It was one of the best decisions of my life. My work background, professional ethic, and enthusiasm for the talk show was undeniable. Now, I am the only Filipino producer in the 200-person production team.”

Winning an Emmy

When asked what it was like to be an Emmy Award-winning producer in Hollywood, Marc said, “Winning an Emmy was my greatest achievement because it proved to me that everything I worked so hard for had a purpose. When I was on that Emmy stage, I was so proud to be part of The Talk on CBS.

‘The Talk’ producer with hosts (from left) Sheryl Underwood, Sara Gilbert, Sharon
Osbourne, rapper Eve (Jihan Jeffers-Cooper) and Julie Chen.

“Flashbacks came through my head while I was staring at the crowd including growing up in the Philippines, graduating high school, and all the struggles I endured to get to this point. The Emmy is now in my living room to remind me that I can do anything.”

Marc hopes that his story of bravery, courage, and perseverance will help inspire others.

“I literally started from the bottom and I finally made my way to the top. I want to tell everyone that it did not happen by luck. It happened because of productivity. Get uncomfortable, get scared. If you want to make your dreams come true, you have to do the things that are difficult,” he imparted.

“Whatever your dream may be, work hard at it each day. You cannot just say you want it – you have to do something about it. I was only serving pasta and pizza and now I am a producer. Think big, dream big, believe big, and the results will be big!” the proud Pinoy Hollywood TV producer testified.

The post Filipino producer shines in Daytime Emmys appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

Michele Gumabao in Miss Globe, Eva Patalinjug in Miss Grand International

Two of this year’s Binibining Pilipinas queens are competing in October. Michele Gumabao will carry the Philippine flag in the Miss Globe pageant in Albania on October 21 while Eva Patalinjug will try to win the elusive Miss Grand International crown for the country in Myanmar on October 25.

During their send-off party organized by the Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) at Novotel Manila Araneta Center on Wednesday, the two queens radiated with confidence as they talked about their advocacies.

Gumabao advocates grassroots sports programs for the youth (she runs a volleyball sport clinic every year for kids), while Patalinjug actively works with an NGO that protects women and children victims of rape and domestic violence.

Binibining Pilipinas-Globe Michele Gumabao and Binibining Pilipinas-Grand International Eva Patalinjug are all set to represent the Philippines in their respective international pageants.

Gumabao, who hails from a showbiz clan― and is the daughter of character actor Dennis Roldan,―has built a name for herself as one of the fiercest volleyball players in the country, having won championships in both the collegiate ranks and the professional leagues.

Underneath Patalinjug’s porcelain skin, meanwhile, is a hard worker who will stop at nothing to make her dreams come true. She is a registered nurse who’s studying to become a lawyer, and has recently been appointed by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process as a peace ambassador.

“I don’t稚 know what my fate will be, but I know that I will do my best because I know that I am bringing the hopes and dreams of the Filipinos with me and I will really do my best to bring the first golden crown to the Philippines,” said Patalinjug.

2018 Binibini queens (from left) Binibining Pilipinas Intercontinental Karen Gallman, Binibining Pilipinas International Ahtisa Manalo, Gumabao, Patalinjug, Miss Universe Philippines Catriona Gray and Binibining Pilipinas Supranational Jehza Huelar.

The country’s last two bets in the pageant came really close to bagging the title. Nicole Cordoves was adjudged first runner-up in 2016, while Elizabeth Clenci emerged as second runner-up in 2017.

Gumabao, perhaps one of the most eloquent athletes in the country, said she is unperturbed that unlike most pageants, Miss Globe does not have a question-and-answer round.

“I think I have lots of strength as a person. When I was told that there’s no Q&A, my first thought was to be just a spokesperson. You don’t need to be asked a question to be able to share what you are feeling, to be able to share what you stand for. They (the organizers) will see that in my actions. They will see that in how I speak, how I answer interviews and how I deal with the other queens who are also there and I am sure that my knowledge and my advocacy will radiate throughout the pageant,” Gumabao said.

Gumabao hopes to duplicate the feat of Ann Colis who won the title in 2015.

‘Force of nature’

Even their Binibining Pilipinas queen sisters expressed excitement for Gumabao and Patalinjug.

Binibining Pilipinas Supranational Jehza Huelar called the two “forces of nature.”

“I know that you are forces of nature and I know that you will do well in your respective pageants,” Huelar said.

Miss Universe Philippines Catriona Gray also praised the two queens for their hardwork.

“We have seen your strength in different facets, we have seen how hard you work, and that you continue to excel in your professions and your hobbies as well as in your beauty pageants and I think those make you exceptional women,” Gray said.

“I have great faith that you will smash it out because not only are you ladies so smart, so beautiful, so driven, but you ladies exude such great confidence and I know that once you walk into that room, you will light it up,” Binibining Pilipinas Intercontinental Karen Gallman added.

Binibining Pilipinas International Ma. Ahtisa Manalo said she knows the two have prepared well for their respective competitions.

Also in attendance were the relatives, mentors and significant others of Gumabao and Patalinjug.

“I am happy and proud to call you my sister. Minsan ko lang sabihin ito. I just pray to God that you’ll do your best and I am sure you’ll make the Philippines proud,” said actor Marco Gumabao to his sister.

Confident, beautiful, smart, driven. These are the traits shared by Gumabao and Patalinjug, which will only aid them as they try to win their international crowns and do well in their chosen field in the future―whether it be sports, crime fighting or even the presidency.

The post First two Binibinis off to make PH proud in int’l pageants appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

STOCKHOLM: Thanks, but no thanks: Japanese author Haruki Murakami, a finalist for the “alternative Nobel Literature Prize,” has withdrawn his nomination, telling organizers he wants to focus on work and avoid the spotlight.

The New Academy Prize in Literature was founded by more than 100 Swedish intellectuals in protest after the Swedish Academy, which selects Nobel laureates, postponed this year’s award over longstanding ties to a man accused of assaulting several women during the peak of last year’s #MeToo movement.

The New Academy said in a Facebook post last week that Murakami, the author of Norwegian Wood and who’s often tipped for the Nobel Literature Prize, “expressed his gratitude at being nominated, writing ‘It… is a great honor for me.’”

“Murakami then said his preference was to concentrate on his writing, away from media attention, and asked that his nomination be withdrawn,” in an e-mail, it added.

The alternative honor serves to denounce “bias, arrogance, and sexism,” according to its founders, who include authors, artists and journalists.

Swedish librarians nominated 47 authors who were later voted on by 32,000 “people from around the world,” leaving four authors on the shortlist: Vietnamese-Canadian author Kim Thuy, Britain’s Neil Gaiman, Maryse Conde of France, and Murakami.

Juan Antonio Perez Sobrado, a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, commented on Facebook that Murakami withdrew his nomination because “he knows the writer selected” for the alternative prize will lose “the opportunity to win the real Nobel Prize for Literature.”

Several other authors tipped for the Nobel appeared on the librarians’ list of nominees including Canadian Margaret Atwood, the Americans John DeLillo and Joyce Carol Oates, and the Israeli Amos Oz.

Authors who have never been tipped for the Nobel, including J.K. Rowling, writer of the popular Harry Potter series, and novelists Sara Stridsberg and Kerstin Ekman, who have resigned from the Swedish Academy, were also listed by the New Academy.

Picked by a jury after the popular vote, the winner of the “New Literature Prize” will be announced on October 12.

The post Japan’s Murakami snubs ‘alternative’ Nobel prize appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

LONDON: A pair of debut novels, including one in verse, are among the six “miracles of stylistic invention” shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, judges of the British literary award announced last Thursday.

Poet Robin Robertson’s The Long Take, commended as “a wholly unique literary voice and form,” became the first book written in verse with photographs to vie for the prestigious prize.

It focuses on a World War 2 veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who is unable to return home to rural Nova Scotia and instead seeks refuge and anonymity in urban America.

Meanwhile, judges praised the youngest author ever to make the shortlist—27-year-old Daisy Johnson, author of Everything Under—for producing “a modern variation on Sophocles’ Oedipus.”

Her first full-length book charts the childhood memories of a solitary lexicographer who grew up on a canal boat with her now-estranged mother who is forced to confront the past.

“All of our six finalists are miracles of stylistic invention,” said Kwame Anthony Appiah, head of the jury.

“In each of them the language takes centre stage. And yet in every other respect they are remarkably diverse, exploring a multitude of subjects ranging across space and time.”

The Man Booker—open to authors of any nationality writing in English and published in the United Kingdom and Ireland—this year pits four female writers against two men.

The shortlist, whittled down from a longlist of 13, features three Britons, two Americans and Canadian Esi Edugyan.

The only contender previously nominated, Edugyan’s latest book Washington Black—about an 18-year-old’s flight to freedom from childhood slavery on a plantation in Barbados—was praised for its “majestic grandeur.”

The judges honored US novelist Richard Powers for nine “powerfully written” interlinked tales woven together in The Overstory.

“A novel about trees and people who understand them, [it]is the eco-epic of the year and, perhaps, the decade,” judge Leanne Shapton said.

Fellow American author Rachel Kushner spent time inside a US prison to produce “a heartbreaking exploration of lives at the margins of society” in her shortlisted work The Mars Room.

Last, Northern Irish writer Anna Burns was nominated for Milkman, an exploration of the British province’s pervasive violence during the three decades of The Troubles through the eyes of a young woman.

Appiah, who leads the five-strong judging panel, said each novel “explores the anatomy of pain.”

“But there are also in each of them moments of hope,” he added.

The Man Booker is the world’s most prestigious English-language literary award, with the winner guaranteed a huge increase in global sales that dwarfs the £50,000 (56,400 euros, $66,400) prize.

The winner will be announced on October 16.

The post Six literary ‘miracles’ shortlisted for 2018 Man Booker appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

(Photo from the University of Santo Tomas Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies Facebook page)

THE University of Santo Tomas Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies (UST CCWLS), in cooperation with the UST Publishing House, the UST Department of Literature, and the UST Literary Society, will launch three books in an event titled “Lumugar Ka! Ang Lokasyon sa Pagsasalin, Talambuhay, at Kritisismo” at the TARC Auditorium on the ground floor of the school’s Thomas Aquinas Research Center on October 2 at 4 p.m.

The event will feature three of the UST CCWLS’ resident fellows and their latest books of poetry: Ralph Semino Galán’s Sa Mga Pagitan ng Buhay at Iba pang Pagtutulay, Joselito D. delos Reyes’ Finding Teo: Tula at Talambuhay, and Chuckberry J. Pascual’s Ang Tagalabas sa Panitikan. The UST Publishing House published all three books.

Galán is the assistant director of the UST CCWLS. He is an associate professor of literature, the humanities and creative writing in the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters and the UST Graduate School. His poems in English and Filipino have won national prizes, and his creative and critical works have been published in numerous national and international anthologies and literary journals.

His first book, The Southern Cross and Other Poems, was published by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in 2005 as part of its UBOD New Authors Series. The UST Publishing House published his next two books, Discernments: Literary Essays, Cultural Critiques and Book Reviews and From the Major Arcana (Poems) in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Delos Reyes is chairman of the UST Department of Literature. He teaches literature, creative writing and popular culture in the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters and the UST College of Education. He has published two collections of poetry, Ang Lungsod Namin at Iba Pang Mga Tula (2005, NCCA UBOD New Authors Series) and Paubaya (2014, UST Publishing House); the highly popular nonfiction books Istatus Nation and Titser Pangkalawakan (2014 and 2015, respectively; Visprint Inc.); and the short story collection, Troya: 12 Kuwento (2016, Visprint).

He has won several awards, including the Makata ng Taon honor from the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, National Book Development Board, NCCA, Maningning Miclat Awards for Poetry, and UST’s Gawad San Lorenzo and Gawad San Alberto.

Pascual is the coordinator of the newly established BA Creative Writing program of the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters. He teaches literature, creative writing and the humanities in the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters and the UST Graduate School.

He is the author of the short story collections Hindi Barbra ang Ngalan Ko (2011, independently published), 5ex (2012, Youth and Beauty Brigade), Kumpisal: Mga Kuwento (2015, UST Publishing House), and Ang Nawawala (2017, Visprint), as well as a book of criticism Pagpasok sa Eksena: Ang Sinehan sa Panitikan at Pag-aaral ng Piling Sinehan sa Recto (2016, University of the Philippines Press). He is the 2016 Gawad San Alberto winner for best creative work.

The event is open to students, creative writers, literary enthusiasts, and the general public. For seat reservations, call Anna Nicolas at (632) 406-1611, local 8281.

The post UST writing center to launch three books appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

Beverly W. Siy talks about ‘Pukiusap’ during the Philippine Readers and Writers Festival 2018 in Makati City on August 11. (Photo by Alvin I. Dacanay)

NOW is not exactly an awesome time to have a vagina. We have people applauding leaders who talk about shooting women in the vagina or grabbing them by the pussy. Some of those who cheered on this anti-vagina sentiment are women who have betrayed the sisterhood, intentionally or not, in favor of the ultimate vagina wrecker—patriarchy.

Then again, has there ever been a good time to have a vagina? This is one of the important questions answered in Pukiusap (Pride Press; 144 pages; 2018), Beverly W. Siy’s superb Filipino translation of Swedish comic-book artist and radio moderator Liv Strömquist’s 2014 work Kunskapens Frukt (Fruit of Knowledge).

The vagina has, arguably, remained a taboo topic, even for women. Cultural programming has convinced women that they have absolutely no right to talk about their own bodies, unless it’s to castigate themselves for being fat or yearning for white skin. Most women would prefer any conversation about the vagina to be stuffed with euphemisms. How many times have some women called out other women for daring to talk about the vagina without the expected hushed tones? You’ll get a barrage of “Ano ba ‘yan? Nakakahiya (What is that? It’s shameful)!”

Pukiusap pokes fun at this screwed-up sensibility with its seemingly harmless, bubblegum pink cover that features a drawing of a figure skater whose panties are stained with menstrual blood. It is guaranteed to stir up a lot of pussy haters.

Of course, there is the witty title that addresses all the elephants—or pussies—in the room. Pukiusap—a play on the word pakiusap, or “please”—is obviously not a literal translation of Fruit of Knowledge, and reminds one of Eve Ensler’s celebrated episodic play The Vagina Monologues, translated into Filipino as Usapang Puki.

From its title and illustrations to its irreverent tone, Pukiusap certainly offers a refreshing take on a topic that patriarchal culture has tagged as taboo.

The graphic nonfiction book opens with the author (or a cute illustration representing her) pointing out how society always wants to hush up vagina-centric discussions. It then begins to list the men who have demonized or subjugated the vagina, among them the clitoris-hating Dr. Isaac Baker Brown; the misogynist Saint Augustine; and Prof. John Money, the proponent of the binary two-gender system.

Pukiusap manages to shoot down every anti-vagina sentiment that so many people, including women, have subscribed to. It’s a treasure trove of factoids about the vagina and its many enemies.

One of the highlights of the book for me is the story about the Pioneer Plaques. These were a pair of gold-anodized aluminium plaques placed on board the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecraft that were launched toward Jupiter and its surrounding areas in 1972 and 1973, respectively. Linda Salzman Sagan, wife of scientist Carl Sagan, designed the artwork for the plaques.

The plaques were supposed to serve as pictorial messages for extraterrestrials in case they got into the spacecraft. The plaques feature several elements, including a diagram of our solar system and a drawing of a naked man and woman.

Pukiusap points out that the pudendal cleft (the slit between the labia majora), or “maikling guhit na indikasyon ng puke ng isang babae (the slit indicating the woman’s vagina),” was erased. It was later revealed that John Naugle, the associate administrator for space science and applications at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at the time, nixed that cleft.

This just goes to show that even men who are capable of reaching the stars are not able to break through their own misogynistic biases. Because, really, would aliens really take it against NASA if they were shown an accurate representation of the human female anatomy?

It’s raining mens

Another very significant segment in the book is about menstruation, aptly titled “Bundok ng Dugo (Mountain of Blood).” When it comes to this particular subject, women are assaulted on all fronts.

For starters, when it’s that time of the month, we are all constantly worrying that we’ll bleed through our clothes or that we’ll leave blood stains on seats. Pukiusap notes that the shame that women feel over the stain is very complex: “So, ang kinakatakutan natin pag may mens tayo ay hindi ‘yong mapipilitan tayong gumawa ng dagdag na gawaing-bahay, kundi natatakot tayong malaman ng iba na may regla tayo (So, what we fear whenever we’re menstruating is not that we’ll be forced to perform more housework, but that other people would find out that we’re menstruating).”

Pukiusap then adds that Leviticus 15 in the Old Testament further ruined people’s perception of menstruation. Indeed, the said chapter classifies it as one of the “discharges causing uncleanness.” To be specific, verses 19 to 30 is a litany of anti-menstruation reminders. Check out these gems: “When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening. Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. Anyone who touches her bed will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.”

On top of that, all those sanitary napkin and feminine wash advertisements keep insisting that women should feel dry and smell fresh during their periods. Truth be told, that is pretty hard to do when blood is gushing between your legs. You’ll feel like a stuck pig bleeding like there’s no tomorrow. Who the hell can stay smelling fresh when they’re barely able to stand up or concentrate on work because of severe menstrual cramps?

Pukiusap brings up all these complaints about the vagina being punished, objectified, pathologized, and politicized without becoming “whiny.” The book retains a very fun-loving and energetic tone, despite the horrors that it discusses.

Pukiusap should be recommended reading for young girls. Their lives will probably turn out better if they read Pukiusap first before they encounter Leviticus 15 or any other nonsense. Of course, the chance of this happening in Philippine schools is highly unlikely. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) would probably not allow so much knowledge to be given to the young girls who need it most. I won’t be surprised if the CBCP ends up calling for a ban on this book, even if it doesn’t glorify Satan in any way. They’ll probably hate it because it infers that female masturbation is a wonderful thing.

Pukiusap is also the perfect material for the “TL;DR (too long; didn’t read)” crowd. The comic-strip form serves it well. The illustrations are entertaining and cheeky. The words alternate between cheeky, enraged, exasperated, and sarcastic. There is never a dull moment with this book.

I think the book’s only weakness, if you can call it that, is that some of its references may not make an instant impact on Filipino readers. For instance, the Salem witch trials, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, and Sarah Baartman may put off the less determined crowd. Then again, there’s always Google to help them know more about these curiosities.

More than anything, Pukiusap should encourage women to get to know their vaginas and give them the love that they deserve.

Pukiusap costs P395 and is available in National Book Store branches.

The post ‘Pukiusap’: Irreverent take on a taboo topic appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

Iza Calzado is easily one of the most talented actresses of the day. For so many years, she has captivated the public with her charm and acting prowess on television beginning with teen variety show “That’s Entertainment” Monday Group (1992 to 1993), and such drama series as “Te Amo, Maging Sino Ka Man” (2004), “Encantadia” (2005), “Impostora” (2007), “Hawak Kamay” (2014), “A Love to Last” (2017) and the ongoing “Ngayon at Kailanman.”

Calzado also delivered memorable portrayals on the big screen, among them Olivia Lamasan’s “Milan” (2004), “Moments of Love” (2006), “Ouija” (2007), “Etiquette for Mistresses” (2015) and “Ilawod” (2017).

Consistently honing her acting skills, she has reaped the fruits of her labor with several recognitions. Calzado has already won an Urian Best Supporting Actress plum for her role as a wandering spirit in Yam Laranas’s “Sigaw” in 2004. In March 2017, she bagged her first international award when she was named Yakushi Pearl Best Performer at the Osaka Asian Film Festival for Jerrold Tarog’s “Bliss.” She also won Movie Actress of the Year at the 34th PMPC Star Awards for the same role in February this year.

Perfect as her life may seem given her flourishing career, Calzado hardly had an easy journey to get to where she is today. She has had her share of rejections, painful reviews and a long time battle with insecurity.

Being in the public eye most of her life, she had enslaved herself to meet the unrealistic standards of beauty set by media and society for those in her profession, especially since she was obese in her early teenage years.

Calzado was awarded Movie Actress of the Year at the 34th PMPC Star Awards for her performance in ‘Bliss’.

Back then, she had to endure name-calling, an experience which she said, “caused a pileup of insecurities even if I am generally a happy and positive person.” These feelings of unworthiness unfortunately led to more binge eating for the would-be actress.

It was during high school when Calzado became more conscious about losing weight, turning however to extreme measures such as starvation diets in the hopes of quickly shedding her unwanted pounds.

Whenever she hit a plateau, she employed other “shortcuts” and took different weight loss pills.

Her unhealthy route in losing weight, however, proved futile as she would always go back to her eating habits.

The situation only got worse when she joined show business, which doubled the pressure on her to be slim. She therefore resorted to liposuction twice—once in 2006 and another in 2008—which, according to the actress is “something I’m not proud of.”

Calzado treats her late father Lito as her number one supporter and motivator.

After learning the hard way there is no shortcut to a fit and healthy body, Calzado then tried doing regular exercises and having a well-balanced diet. She started making adjustments by avoiding carbohydrates and choosing yogurt, fruits, and nuts for snacks instead. The rest, she said, is history. So far, Calzado has tried swimming, yoga, crossfit and 360 fitness, among others.

Now at 36, Calzado claims she looks and feels the best she’s ever been. Using her voice as a public figure, she has inspired many others to share their stories of insecurity and acceptance. But she’s not stopping there.

Celebrating the modern woman

As a teenager, Calzado experienced obesity and was name-called which caused her a ‘pileup of insecurities’.

To continue spreading positivity to more people of different ages, Calzado co-founded She Talks Asia—a movement that celebrates the modern woman. She Talks Asia provides a space for inspiration and support for women using multiple platforms.

According to the group, by way of on-ground conferences and multimedia content, She Talks Asia aims “to spark, document, and sustain community conversations that help educate, empower, and inspire people who are learning to understand, unpack, and better appreciate the role of women and female-identifying individuals in a fast-evolving world.”

Joining her in the lead of this benevolent movement are three equally empowered personalities who have broken the glass ceiling in their respective fields. They are model, host and creative entrepreneur Victoria Herrera; editor, model, host and culture columnist Sarah Meier; and award-winning social entrepreneur and educator Lynn Pinugu.

To continue spreading positivity to more people of all ages, Calzado co-founded She Talks Asia—a movement that celebrates the modern woman, providing a space for inspiration and support among women across multiple platforms.

Since the group’s inception in 2017, they had already held a record of inspiring campaigns, including last year’s “Every Girl Can” conference and She Talks Asia Summit 2018: “She Is Self Made” last March.

Come September 29, She Talks Asia will hold another inspiring and empowering event aptly titled “#TheBodyLoveRevolution” conference. Happening at Whitespace Manila in Makati, it will take deeper look at topics surrounding body love such as: knowing one’s self-worth, how emotions affect the physical state, myths of body positivity, and media and perceptions of beauty. The conference will also offer different movement workshops on the sidelines.

To effectively deliver the conference’s message, #TheBodyLoveRevolution will feature an impressive lineup of speakers that includes Miss Universe Philippines 2018 Catriona Gray, The Fat Kid Inside founder Erwan Heussaf and renowned photographer Sara Black.

Through this project, Calzado is able to talk about women empowerment and body love to other people who are experiencing the same struggle like them

According to the founders, the event is a continuation of the body positivity campaign that She Talks Asia first launched during Valentine’s Day. It could be remembered that their online campaign saw celebrities Judy Ann Santos, Bea Alonzo, and James Younghusband talking about self-love.

To further drive their message, She Talks Asia will also be having a Body Love Exhibit where they will showcase photos and moving portfolios of women of different body types, from different stages of life.

The main goal of this is to show the audience that no matter what size or age they are in, people have the power to celebrate the body they have been given.

Finally, it was revealed that the profits from the said the conference will be used to help fund body love workshops and module for high school and college students.

With her in leading this movement are three equally empowered ladies—model, host and creative entrepreneur Victoria Herrera (left), award-winning social entrepreneur and educator Lynn Pinugu (right) and editor, model, host and culture columnist Sarah Meier (not in photo).

Body positivity: a long journey

With the nitty-gritty of #TheBodyLoveRevolution already laid out, Calzado brought The Sunday Times Magazine into a more intimate recollection, sharing how her journey actually brought her to She Talks Asia.

“I kind of imposed myself in She Talks Asia,” the 36-year-old began smilingly.

“Early last year, I really wanted to do something on body positivity because it was really taking off in the Western world and I knew my story was perfect. My journey is a perfect example,” she proudly continued.

While she is proud that the country is following suit, Calzado admitted that there still are hurdles when it comes to the body movement here in the Philippine market, specifically because of the local culture.

After learning the hard way that there is no shortcut to a fit and healthy body, Calzado then tried doing regular exercises and having a well-balanced diet.

“We’re quite passive-aggressive,” Calzado pointed out.

“Recently, I had a talk in my alma mater, Miriam College, and one girl asked me, ‘What should I do? My parents keep teasing my sister because she’s big and she has to lose weight so she can have a boyfriend.’ It was very difficult for me to answer,” she began narrating.

“But I told her, ‘First of all, I am sure that your parents just learned this from their parents and from the generation before that so first you understand that they don’t mean it to hurt your sister, but you need to also have a discussion with them and tell them that, ‘Ma, Pa, this is what I’ve learned so far.’ And you know, since you are the one enlightened now, perhaps you should be the one to explain to them.

Now at 36, Calzado looks and feels the best she’s ever been. Using her voice as a public figure, she has inspired many others to share their stories of insecurity and acceptance.

“As they say, it’s harder to teach the old dog new tricks, plus meron na silang pride. It’s hard to be open to what the younger people say and to be schooled by younger people,” she intimated.

Calzado then recalled an experience from her own father – the late actor and director Lito – who used to tease her about her weight, not to demean but instead to motivate her.

“My father was telling me, ‘Kailan ka kaya liligawan?´ Sometimes papatabihin ako sa aparador because I was as big as the aparador and that’s my own father who love me so much.

“Maybe, for them, it was just a playful teasing but children could actually be more vocal, and still respectful, by saying, ‘Dad, that hurts. You’ve hurt me and I hope that it does not happen again.’ I think they will realize your point as a child when you say that instead of just saying they are wrong or fighting them,” Calzado further explained.

Putting a deeper perspective, Calzado said these parents and the majority of the population’s approach stem from the fact that they have been fed the kind of narrative that was far from body positivity.

“It’s very hard to unlearn the negative self-talk. It’s very hard to unlearn judging your body. It’s very hard to unlearn that skinny is beautiful but so is average body, or having folds or having imperfections. I realized that it was easier for me to transform my body than it was to transform my mind. Because until now, ang hirap pa rin. I am still on that path and I think that I am not even 50 percent there. Whereas my body I feel like malayo na talaga ang narating ko.

“So it’s so hard to unlearn, especially culturally, what has been passed on to us. Some people wanted to be praised for being thin, wanting to hear the words ‘pumayat ka’, as if your worth is measured by your weight or your size. It’s very hard to unlearn—probably especially for me because I work in the media—that you are in front of the camera and everybody around you is almost perfect. But you have to really take a step,” Calzado shared.

Before finally parting ways, Calzado said she would like to emphasize another important factor in this journey of achieving body- and self-love among women: that men should be included in the discussion too.

“As women we’ve been targeted to be insecure—by the media and culture—whereas men, they will just be like ‘I don’t like my body, bahala na . But it doesn’t mean they don’t experience it. They just deal it in a different way. We should not also objectify men. Always think, if I don’t want to be objectified in that manner, then I shouldn’t objectify other sexes, right? So it’s hard to unlearn that too even though sometimes it seems fun.

“At the end of the day, if you’re making someone feel uncomfortable by the words that you say, then that’s tough. These are the sensitivities that we have to think about,” Calzado finally reminded.

The post Actress, wellness enthusiast, ‘body love’ and woman empowerment advocate appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

“Long ago and far away, a young girl named Cinderella is living a sad and miserable life, at the mercy of her abusive stepmother and her equally cruel stepsisters. A simple and beautiful girl – with a pure and equally beautiful heart – Cinderella is the object of her family’s envy and has been reduced to the role of a scullery maid in the household, in an attempt to belittle her obvious beauty and grace.

Reynard Kristoffer Reyes and Regine Magbitang as the Prince and Cinderella.

Unaffected by the envy, Cinderella works hard to care for her family, and fate rewards her long-suffering patience, diligence, and goodhearted kindness …”

But of course, Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters.

Philippine Ballet Theatre’s (PBT) “Cinderella” makes use of this original story of Nikolai Volkov, set to a popular melody by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. Composed sometime between 1940 and 1944, Cinderella premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1945.

The ballet is known for its breath-taking sets, scenes and joyful music, along with the explosive comic roles of the stepmother and stepsisters. Adding more twist to this production, the aforementioned roles will be performed by male dancers dressed as women.

This season’s Cinderella is skillfully choreographed and presented by PBT’s artistic director, Ronilo Jaynario to appeal to Filipinos’ knack for finding humor and goodwill in the most bleak of circumstances, and injecting comedy into the whimsies of everyday life.

The ballet calls upon a veritable arsenal of dancing skills, that is exquisite classical ballet technique, with a side of character dancing, mime, and theater acting. Reynard Kristoffer Reyes, a dynamic danseur and Ballet Master from the Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet Theatre in California, performs the title role of the Prince, partnering two of PBT’s ballerinas, Veronica Atienza and Regine Magbitang.

Ably performing a highly entertaining antagonist is PBT alumnus Marvin Arizo as Cinderella’s stepmother. Another alumnus, Rolby Lacaba and company artist Jimmy Lumba show off their versatility and acting chops as the stepsisters. Indeed, great character acting is a big part of dancing too.

Don’t miss the last chance to watch Cinderella today, 3 p.m. at Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo. For tickets and inquiries, call 632 8848 or email secretariat@pbt.ph.

The post ‘Cinderella’ leaps onstage anew appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

Shamaine Buencamino leads the all-star cast of Dulaang UP’s ‘The Kundiman Party.’

After celebrating its golden anniversary and the milestone of receiving a Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2017, the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) welcomes its 51st theater season with another breakthrough.

From September of this year to June 2019, PETA is devoting all aspects of its artistic and teaching practice to “Stage of the Nation,” a creative campaign that hopes to utilize the arts and engage artists to contribute to the discourses that concern our nation.

PETA has always harnessed the power of the arts to capture the imagination, shape opinion and provoke feelings that could transform and affect change.

“The arts, specially theater, can tell stories, make us understand history and our past. It can communicate and educate, bring people together, inspire and heal,” PETA executive director Beng Cabangon shared.

Given the political, economic and social challenges that have divided the country, PETA has dedicated all its performances, programs, activities and workshops to break barriers between creed, colors, labels and stereotypes. All of these to move audiences to reflect, think and speak.

PETA artistic director, Maribel Legarda, known for creating plays like “Rak of Aegis” — which are not only wildly entertaining but also thought provoking — believes that art can be a platform for meaningful conversations and discussions.

“That is why, all our shows this year will be followed by debriefings. Some of them have also been designed to be coupled with workshops that can happen in the schools and communities,” Legarda imparted.

The theater’s 51st theater season line up is composed of three returning shows and one new musical that aims to tackle pressing social and political issues in typical PETA fashion.

Gabe Mercado of Third World Improv.

“A lot of the chosen productions will talk about the themes of truth, historical revisionism, human rights and EJK, martial law, the elections and people’s participation,” says Legarda.

For its opening salvo PETA is bringing back “Ang Buhay ni Galileo,” which serves as a clear and powerful interrogation of truth and power on stage until October 7.

The show will be followed by a short run and a mobile tour of “A Game of Trolls” for the month of October, a musical piece for millennials about fake news, martial law and EJK.

By November, PETA presents another installment of the PETA Laboratory featuring new and original works devised by its members. It also welcomes the return of its enchanting musical for young audiences “Tagu-taguan Nasaan ang Buwan?” a play that illustrates how storytelling can enrich a child’s understanding of the world.

In the early half of 2019, PETA will premiere a new production “Charot,” a political satire about the country’s future under a new chapter.

PETA will also host special performances and events like Jon Santos’ political spoof “Trumperte,” Dulaang UP’s “The Kundiman Party,” Third World Improv Theater’s “Manila Improv Festival 2019,” the 5th year anniversary show of popular spoken word group Words Anonymous and a “Human Rights Film Festival” in March, which will surely liven up the conversations with the audiences even more.

Also part of the line up is the reunion concert and album launch of the band Buklod, composed of members Noel Cabangon, Rom Dongeto, and Rene Boncocan, who were known in the 80’s for songs like “Tatsulok”, “Kanlungan”, “Pagbabagong Nagbabago”, songs which were inspired by the lives, struggles, and aspirations of Filipinos.

“‘Stage of the Nation’ aims to bring two of the things that PETA does really well, which is teaching and performing. We are going to bring those two experiences together, in the hopes that this interaction with the arts can make a more powerful experience for our audiences and participants,” Legarda finally noted.

With this, Legarda, on behalf of PETA, is calling all artists, young people and the public to join the campaign.

The post A creative stage for the nation appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

CARLA BIANCA RAVANES-HIGHAM

Crystal Gail Alvarez shines as bright as the Los Angeles sun. With a personality that is both endearing and inspiring, Crystal is a prime example of a 21st century woman – she is a dreamer, a go-getter, and a woman that is for women.

Inspired by this philosophy, she embedded her core beliefs into her Crystal Gaily line that is based in California, “I wanted to offer and showcase a fashion line that solely promotes women empowerment, femininity, modernism, and individuality while remaining timelessly elegant. I aim that whoever wears my clothes would be confident about themselves because they know that being true to who you are is what makes you the most beautiful one of all.”

Crystal was born and raised in Lipa, Batangas and moved to the States with the support of her family to grow out of her comfort zone and learn more about the world. She soon moved to Los Angeles to pursue a Master of Business Administration Major in International Business, Trade, and Commerce from the California International University.

From blogger to businesswoman.

A lover of fashion, Crystal also enrolled in Otis Fashion School and completed short courses in Web and Graphic Design in Art School in LA, “Learning has always been paramount to me and I always see myself learning something new.”

With all this knowledge, she first set up a fashion blog to share her love for clothes, shoes, and bags, “For me dressing up was a way to express ourselves so I saw it as an avenue to share myself with others. I shared everything I knew on my blog.”

Soon her blog turned into an avenue for her to sell her designs, eventually leading to the birth of Crystal Gaily, “It was like a domino effect from just sharing my outfits to creating my own line.”

Crystal fondly recalls the early days of her business and what kept her going, “Starting a business is always a gamble. There is no assurance how successful and profitable it would be but because of the people who have consistently motivated and supported me. I always tell my friends that what kept me going is that I love what I do and my passion for it is what made it easier. It was challenging, yes, but when you are doing what you love – it will never be too hard for you.”

“A lot of prayers, perseverance, dedication, drive, and patience – this my formula to stay in the game,” she added.

Keeping her feet on the ground, the young entrepreneur also credits her parents as the inspiration that fuels her fire, “My family has been in the manufacturing business since I was young. My parents are my inspiration to also start my own line. I saw how dedicated they were and because of this business, my parents managed to give me and my siblings a good life. They do however taught us one thing, that if you dream of something, you must be prepared to be consistent on your work, never ever give up and always put your heart on what you are doing. The characteristics of my parents made me look up them a lot that I wanted to be like them as well.”

As a Filipino making waves abroad, Crystal noted, “Being a Filipino alone making it to the international market already makes me feel honored and proud. However, my blessings and opportunities always taught me to remain humble and appreciative of what I have. By appreciating, I believe on consistently working hard with the support of prayers and loved ones.

“I always remind myself to stay true. Wherever I go, however far I reached in terms of my success, I will remain grounded and I will never forget the people who have helped me and was there for me along the way.

“I think all my followers felt the fulfillment in every milestone I had as they have seen how I started from scratch. I am always grateful for the support and I vowed to always do my best so that my followers would always be inspired to pursue their own interest.”

To know more about Crystal you may visit www.crystalgaily.com

**

www.carlabiancaravanes.com

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October is celebrated as Filipino American History Month across the United States because the earliest documented Filipino presence in North America was on October 18, 1587 in Morro Bay, California.

They were late physicians Fred Cordova and his wife Dorothy Laigo Cordova, founder of the Filipino American National Historical Society (Fahns).

Local performers will be featured at the City of Carson’s celebration (clockwise from top left): Carson Kindreds, Jason Farol, CSU Long Beach Pilipino American Coalition and Shane Selloria with his puppet.

Fahns is a community-based organization whose mission is “to promote understanding, education, enlightenment, appreciation, and enrichment through the identification, gathering, preservation, and dissemination of the history and culture of Filipino Americans in the United States,” who first introduced October as Filipino American History Month back in 1992.

In 2009, the United States Congress passed subsequent resolutions recognizing October as Filipino American History Month, urging people across the country to celebrate the significant contributions of Filipino Americans to the enrichment of the country.

Miguel Vera and Fe de los Reyes are set to perform in Carson City.

ABS-CBN subsidiary The Filipino Channel is one of the foremost organizations taking part in the annual celebration of Filipino American History Month, and will take part this year in four major events.

On October 6, the City of Carson will host the kick-off ceremonies for the 9th Annual Filipino American History Month festivities. The day starts at the Dr. Jose P. Rizal Monument outside the Carson Community Center where a wreath-laying ceremony will be held as well as a leadership awards ceremony in three categories: Community Leadership, Youth Achievement, and Heroism.

Various cultural activities will take place in Daly City on October 13.

Headliners for the program are singers Fe de los Reyes and Miguel Vera, along with the CSU Long Beach Filipino American Coalition, Shane Selloria, Jason Farol, Kindreds of Carson, and former “Fil-Ams Got Talent” champions Charishma Marquez, Shekinah Austria, and Therese Masangcay. Keynote speaker is Asian Pacific Studies Professor Mary Talusan-Lacanlale. Consul General Adelio Angelito Cruz and Council Member Elito Santarina will also grace the kick-off.

Daly City will then mark Filipino-American History Month via “Kasayahan sa Daly City” at the Marchbank Park on the same day. There will be food trucks, a family fun zone, arts and crafts, a jump house, a beer garden, several vendor booths, a bubble machine, and entertainment from homegrown talents.

Former champions of “Fil-Ams Got Talent” (from left) Charishma Marquez, Shekinah Austria, and Therese Masangcay.

Capping off the day is the “TFC Hour” where “Queen of Freestyle” Jocelyn Enriquez and rapper and spoken word artist Ruby Ibarra are set to peform.

Furthermore, “12 Million” – a glimpse into the Filipino diaspora through story and song, will be shown in Los Angeles and the Bay Area on October 20 and 27, respectively. Through artistic expressions of music and drama, the show will offer a glimpse into the real-life experiences of Filipinos from across the globe.

Ruby Ibarra (left) shares her powerful message via rap and Jocelyn Enriquez (right) returns onstage for Kasayahan sa Daly City.

On October 27, the 9th Annual Larry Itliong Day Celebration will be held at the Veterans Park, also in Carson, California to be capped by an awards night for exemplary laborers. Speakers for the event are Johnny Itliong, director of the Larry Itliong Foundation through Education, and son of labor leader Larry Itliong; Fernando Chavez, founder of the Chavez Law Group and son of union leader and labor organizer Cesar Chavez; and Historian Roger Gadiano, who is also a member of the Filipino American National Historical Society-Delano chapter.

Silakbo sa Mik Tinig, a socially relevant rap group whose songs tackle issues on immigration, women and demilitarization will serve as performers.

The post Fil-Am contributions take front and center during Filipino American History Month appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

JEFFERY Deaver has many talents as a writer of thrillers. One of these is making a supporting character engaging within a few pages, like he did in his latest Lincoln Rhyme novel, The Cutting Edge (Grand Central Publishing; 434 pages; 2018).

Throughout the book, Deaver introduces numerous “throwaway” characters. Characters who are confronted by the malcontented bad guy in this book.

Readers quickly get to know them, then Deaver throws them into peril. Then he doesn’t let the reader know what happens to these characters for a few pages, or even a few chapters later. Then, they’re gone—either dead or harmed by their brief encounter with the bad guy and readers.

These brief characters keep The Cutting Edge moving more than main player Lincoln Rhyme, the paraplegic forensic investigator, and his cast of regular supporting characters. Rhyme and his partner-wife Amelia Sachs are, in many ways, backup characters in their own book here.

Rhyme and Sacks must find and stop a mad killer who claims he means to save/avenge the world’s diamonds by attacking engaged couples and fiancées with diamond rings on their fingers. Meanwhile, the killer seeks an assistant to one diamond cutter who escaped as a witness to a brutal crime, while a series of earthquakes rock and imperil New York.

Lincoln Rhyme fans will find The Cutting Edge a fast-paced thriller filled with more twists and turns than normal and plenty of surprises that meet readers’ suspicions and some that may not.

The novel omits a staple of past Lincoln Rhyme books—the long lists of forensic information that Deaver regularly uses to fill several pages. Those lists are not included in The Cutting Edge, and just as well. Most readers likely flipped through them, anyway.

And that’s OK. Deaver’s plots are enough to turn pages. THE VALDOSTA DAILY TIMES, GA./TNS

The Cutting Edge costs P1,199 in hardcover and is available in National Book Store branches.

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BY RODRIGO DELA PEÑA JR.

Roots, thorns, underbrush: the path is overgrown
with all that can be sheltered in the woods.

Cicadas hum and hum among the leaves,
their sound torrential in the woods.

What can a bamboo thicket hide? A curate’s
eyes, snooping on ladies in the woods.

The ground is strewn with secrets, the canopy
a filigree of light in the woods.

In a clearing, the men gather, surrounded
by their servants, a picnic in the woods.

A woman wanders, looking for her sons.
Disheveled, she flees into the woods.

As diversion after lunch, the wheel of fortune,
playing cards, a game of chess in the woods.

How resplendent is the idle life, the lure
to catch a bird or shoot a fugitive in the woods.

Be careful where your foot lands: a dead branch,
quicksand, a snake slithering in the woods.

Something in the cocoon shudders into life,
wings full and iridescent in the woods.

The post In the Woods appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

FILIPINOS and Filipino-Americans who made it big on Broadway, the undisputed theater capital of the United States, are again taking center stage, this time in the independently published Barangay to Broadway: Filipino-American Theater History by US-based Filipino theater writer Walter Ang.

Barangay to Broadway deals with Filipino-American artists and theater groups from the 1900s to the 2010s. It also includes some of Ang’s previously published articles on Filipino-American theater, as well as new interviews and additional research.

The artists featured in the book include Tony-winner Lea Salonga, Oscar- and Tony-winning composer Robert Lopez (Avenue Q and Book of Mormon), and Tony-winning costume designer Clint Ramos (Eclipsed), an alumnus of the University of the Philippines. It also explains the Filipino connection with the hit musical Miss Saigon, for which Salonga won her Tony in 1991.

Salonga, who just finished her stint in a revival of Once on This Island, remains active on Broadway. So are Ali Ewoldt, who is in The Phantom of the Opera; Arielle Jacobs and Don Darryl Rivera, in Disney’s Aladdin; Robert Brill, who designed the sets of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical; and Lopez, who penned songs for Disney’s Frozen.

Then there are the actors in touring productions: Jose Llana and Joan Almedilla just finished The King and I; Isa Briones in Hamilton, N’Jameh Camara in The Color Purple, Lissa de Guzman and Jay Paranada in Disney’s Aladdin, and Emily Bautista and Christine Bunuan with visiting Filipino actor Red Concepcion in Miss Saigon.

“Fil-Ams have been performing on Broadway since the late 1940s. Barbara Luna was in South Pacific, Neile Adams was in Kismet, and Patrick Adiarte was in The King and I,” Ang says.

Barangay to Broadway also lists seminal Filipino-American theater groups, such as Ating Tao and Sining Bayan, as well as artists who either founded or were early members of pioneering Asian-American theater companies in the 1960s and 1970s in Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles.

“In the 1970s, after founding Philippine Educational Theater Association (Peta) in Manila, Cecile Guidote-Alvarez went into exile in New York. There, she founded Peta’s sister company, [the]Philippine Educational Theatre Arts League (Petal), and did Filipino-American theater work for many years,” Ang says.

The book also tackles the establishment of Filipino-American theater companies in the 1980s and 1990s, such as Ma-Yi Theater in New York, Circa-Pintig in Chicago, and Bindlestiff Studio in San Francisco.

“During those decades, Manila-based theater stalwarts, such as Marie Eugenie Theater of Assumption artistic director Ana Valdes-Lim and Cultural Center of the Philippines artistic director Chris Millado, founded or helped found theater groups during their stints in the US. Loy Arcenas got involved in a lawsuit when his set design for a Broadway play was plagiarized.” Ang says.

“Hopefully the book will be useful to Filipinos and Filipino-Americans, whether they be casual theatergoers, passionate theater fans, new or seasoned theater makers seeking information about the paths carved by their fellow artists, or parents and educators looking for resources to help younger generations become more aware of the rich heritage and artistic work that has been and continues to be created by our fellow Pinoys,” he adds.

Ang was a former juror of Philstage Gawad Buhay, regarded by some as the Filipino counterpart of the Tonys. He was also a fellow at the University of Santo Tomas’ Varsitarian-J. Elizalde Navarro National Arts and Humanities Criticism Writing Workshop.

Barangay to Broadway is available in hardcover ($35.51), paperback ($23.75) and Kindle ($25) editions on Amazon.com.

The post US book puts Fil-Am stage artists, groups in limelight appeared first on The Manila Times Online.

(From left) Sydney Paige Guerrero, VJ Campilan and Jenny Ortuoste pose with the medals and certificates they won during the 2018 Nick Joaquin Literary Awards ceremony at El Calle bar in Resorts World Manila in Pasay City on September 25. (Photo by Roy Domingo)

FOR the third time in its history, female fictionists dominated the Nick Joaquin Literary Awards (NJLA) this year, two of whom have been already recognized by other award-giving bodies for their writings.

In a ceremony at Resorts World Manila integrated resort and casino in Pasay City last Tuesday, business writer and novelist VJ Campilan won first prize for “The Visitation.” It deals with a woman constantly hounded to finish a story she has discontinued writing by its protagonist, an abused boy with a butcher knife sticking out of his chest.

Campilan’s win came two weeks after earning the Gintong Aklat (Golden Book) award in the Literature in English category for her debut novel All My Lonely Islands. It is the third prize that the book won, after the Grand Prize for the Novel from the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 2015 and the Madrigal-Gonzalez Best First Book prize in 2017.

Manila Standard columnist and fictionist Jenny Ortuoste scored second prize for “The High Priestess,” about a tarot reader named Diwa who takes stock of what has become her profession and reexamines her purpose after a session with a regular client left the latter dissatisfied.

Ortuoste’s win is her fourth in six years. She placed third for “How I Spent My US Vacation” in 2013, second for “Wolves I Have Known” in 2014 and third for “Marry Me” in 2015. These stories are included in her first collection of short fiction, Fictionary.

She first caught the attention of the literary community when she nabbed first prize in the 2011 Palanca Awards for her essay “The Turn for Home: Memories of Santa Ana Park.”

Sydney Paige Guerrero garnered third prize for “The Other Side,” which focuses on a young woman waiting to meet her boyfriend at a café he told her to go to, only to come to a shocking realization when he finally shows up.

Their wins came 21 years after women swept the awards for the first time: First-placer Rebecca A.E. Khan for “Picture Bride,” second-placer Norma Miraflor for “Sweet Delight and Endless Night” and third-placer Andrea Pasion for “Skin Art.”

This feat was repeated in 2014, with Michelle F. Cheidjew clinching first prize for “Revelator: Like a Thief in the Night;” Ortuose, second for “Wolves I Have Known;” and Maria Amparo Warren, third for “Upon the Arrival of the Whale Shark in Manila Bay.”

Three other fictionists received honorable mentions this year: Ortuoste’s daughter Alex Alcasid for “Blue-Black,” Miguel Escano for “Little Star” and Matthew Jacob F. Ramos for “The Final Bullet.”

All six stories recognized this year were published in the Philippines Graphic magazine—after which the awards was originally named—between July 2017 and July 2018.

Ramil Digal Gulle, meanwhile, was named Poet of the Year based on the quality of his poetry that was published in the Philippines Graphic during the aforementioned period. Publisher T. Anthony C. Cabangon, editor-in-chief Joel Pablo Salud and literary editor Alma Anonas-Carpio chose the winner.

This year’s panel of judges were made up of chairman Susan S. Lara, author of the National Book Award-winning short-story collection Letting Go and Other Stories; eminent poet and scholar Dr. Gemino H. Abad; and prize-winning fictionist Angelo “Sarge” Lacuesta, who has won in the NJLA five times.

Previous winners were Palanca Hall of Fame awardees Jose Y. Dalisay Jr., Leoncio P. Deriada and Edgardo B. Maranan; Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo; Charlson Ong; Lakambini Sitoy; Luis Joaquin M. Katigbak; Katrina P. Tuvera; Danton Remoto; Rosario Cruz Lucero; Virgilio Harry C. Tejero; and Gemma Guerrero Cruz.

Held annually since 1990, the awards was renamed after National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin, the author of the novel The Woman Who Had Two Navels, the short stories “Three Generations,” “May Day Eve” and “The Summer Solstice,” and the play “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino.”

The awards was revived during his tenure as the magazine’s editor-in-chief in 1990.

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Savoy Hotel Boracay is a four-star hotel nestled right at the heart of the Boracay Newcoast, an integrated tourism estate with world-class resort offerings. It is the first and only master-planned leisure-oriented community in the world-famous island.

Surrounded by an array of various leisure activities being at the center of the entertainment complex, the property stands as a perfect complement to an expansive stretch of white sand beach and clear blue waters.

Savoy Hotel Boracay has 559 well-appointed rooms with spectacular views of the island.

The palette of aqua, magenta, purple and green paint a vibrant and hip vibe that lets one live a colorful Boracay experience— full enjoyment of the sun, sand and sea plus the serenity of the other side of this tropical paradise.

Savoy Hotel Boracay has 559 well-appointed rooms with spectacular views of the island, giving guests comfort and refuge.

A 10-minute walk from the hotel is the Newcoast Beach, a 295-meter powdery white sand beach stretch.

Savoy Café, a sophisticated dining café offering contemporary cuisine is open to serve guests all day, while a fitness center awaits the active bodies with a spa that provides a welcome respite for everyone. For business matters, fully-equipped meeting rooms are available anytime.

Surrounding the hotel is a huge Party Pool—the first and only concert pool arena in the country.

Surrounding the hotel is a huge party pool —the first and only concert pool arena in the country—with an adult wading pool and pool deck with cabanas and lounges.

Finally, a 10-minute walk from the hotel is the Newcoast Beach, 295 meters of white and powdery sand beach stretch with a private feel and relaxing ambiance.

Log on to www.savoyhotelboracay.com.ph for more details.

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