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whatever it is that has happened since this time and the present, since her rise to motherhood and wife-hood, since her now overexposed face selling every possible product on television — since the death of Cory — i daresay we have all forgiven Kris Aquino. or at least we’ve tolerated her. or maybe we’ve become immune to her? which is really why she’s getting away with ruining Noynoy Aquino’s chances at a decent win when he does run for president… Continue reading »
the only thing that links me to Cory Aquino is really memory. because while yes, it has been about these images of yellow my grandfather and mother carried, as her death sinks in it’s also about many other images in my head. of Butz Aquino and ATOM, and an uncle who was part of it. of Kuya at 13 asking that he be allowed to go with our older cousins to EDSA because, as he told my mother, what if there… Continue reading »
last friday, along katipunan avenue, ugly pink MMDA street dividers had yellow ribbons. today, driving through The Fort, lampposts and trees adorned with the same. on GMA 7′s sunday noontime variety show earlier today, all artists had yellow ribbons and pins on their shirts, Judy Ann Santos was in a crazy yellow bustier. the UAAP’s main game between U.P. and Ateneo this afternoon had all basketball players and coaches with yellow ribbons attached to their uniforms. and as in 1983,… Continue reading »
a version of this was published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer yesterday, June 8 2009, Arts and Books Section. It begins simply enough, with four chairs, four small tables, and two clothes racks onstage. The moment the actors begin the first monologue “I Am Man” though, it becomes clear that this is going to be more complex than that stage and its four actors. Because there is more to making a powerful and revolutionary play than just being inspired by… Continue reading »
If there’s any soundbite that I absolutely hated hearing in relation to the Hayden Koh sex videos, it’s from Boy Abunda, saying that sex, whether on video or not, must be about LOVE. Goodness. Is this the dark ages? How many women have been oppressed precisely by this notion of love? I love you girl, therefore sleep with me. This dialogue is what has brought women to bed, before they are of an age when they can handle it, before… Continue reading »
a version of this essay was published in The Philippine Daily Inquirer on May 4 2009. It took a while to get used to the sounds of Rico Blanco’s solo album Your Universe (Warner Music, 1998). It didn’t help that the first song “Say Forever” begins with a distinct electronica sound, made even more disconcerting by Blanco employing what sounds like a British accent (I’m at the central stay-shun/Without a des-ti-nay-shan). It has everything that would make a non-fan move… Continue reading »
This is a translation of the transcript of Joms Salvador’s comments on the unthinking and insensitive soundbites that have come out of Nicole’s last sworn statement. Click here for the original Filipino version. I could not help but respond to the views this note on Nicole’s “retraction” has elicited. First, on the basis of what’s preferable or not, it is true that it would’ve been better had Nicole and her family not “backed out”, if they didn’t get tired and just… Continue reading »
hindi ko mapigilang magkomento sa ilang mga naging pahayag hinggil sa note na ito. una, sa pamantayan ng ‘preferable’ o hindi, totoo namang mas maganda sana kung hindi “umatras” si nicole at ang kanyang pamilya. kung hindi sana sila napagod at nagtuloy-tuloy na lang sa laban. sa anumang punto de bista — bilang kapwa babae, bilang kapwa Pilipino, o kahit pa bilang biktima — walang puwedeng magkaila na mas maganda at kaayaaya sa mata ng publiko kung hindi inexecute ni… Continue reading »
There aresongs that become your guilty pleasure, the kind that you don’t admit you like, just because they’re too pop, or are downright cheesy. Many albums get hidden in the back of your closet, a little secret you keep to yourself, even when you’ve memorized it inside and out. This is exactly what A.K.A Cassandra, KC Concepcion’s debut CD is. Because truth to tell, there is really nothing spectacular about it. It’s an album that subsists on plenty of remakes… Continue reading »
It is such a strange time for Philippine TV – and I’m not talking about reality television taking over our lives and creating many talentless stars in the process; nor about the fantaserye reminding us of how much we need to escape from the realities of rising oil prices and NFA rice lines. Both of these aren’t so much strange as they are sad. What is strange is the rise of the Filipinized Korean-novela – a unique entity in a… Continue reading »
an essay by Ninotchka Rosca, aptly titled The Usual Can Be Criminal, on the ways in which our notions of womanhood and the roles we play, allow for us all to be victims. such an enlightening read, even when we can only truly imagine what our domestic helpers are going through as they sacrifice their own families for a life of discrimination elsewhere. my favorite quotes: “Household work has been historically women’s slave shackles, rendering her a service unit in… Continue reading »
Beyond ABS-CBN It is therefore no surprise that gone are the days when any actor or actress could just gather enough gumption to hold a microphone and instantly become TV host. So much more is at stake now, given the fact that many of these reality shows are expensive franchises. And it is that one host who needs to keep audiences from changing channels at any given time.
The reality show taking over local television has been lamented often enough; what has gone unnoticed is how this has also brought upon us a set of faces and voices that have become television show hosts. Unlike their predecessors, these hosts are usually created from scratch – they’re not primarily actors or singers who have ended up hosting one variety show or another. Instead, they are groomed to become the “ideal” hosts for any given show, any given network. Ultimately… Continue reading »
it’s easy to get lost in the mudslinging that goes into debates about any bill that touches on reproductive health and its contingent issues (contraceptive use, family planning) in this country. what with the notions of morality and rights, the Church and the State, religion versus the law, that get thrown in for good measure. talaga naman, the weak at heart would rather not say anything. baka nga namang matawag ka pang imoral (which, given the Church’s definition isn’t a… Continue reading »
it was the most discomforting sight. Lorna Tolentino sitting among these singers on variety show ASAP, who she seemed to barely know, but who were paying a tribute to her husband via the theme songs of his movies, and apparently, the theme songs of his life. interspersed with clips from Rudy Fernandez’s lives on screen, Lorna could barely manage a smile – forced and otherwise throughout the 10- to 15-minute tribute. it was painful to watch, and totally unfair. and… Continue reading »
That we are enamored by KC Concepcion is understandable. It’s not so much that we saw her grow up, or that she’s the girl born with a silver spoon in her mouth – many other young stars are the same. We find her interesting because in the past, she remained distinctly resistant to the idea of the limelight, having one-foot-in-one-foot-out of the showbiz industry she was born into.
To re-introduce the second season of reality show Pinoy Dream Academy, ABS-CBN showed reruns of the first season on Studio 23. So everyday last week, we were reminded of how great the talent actually was last year. Too, it was a reminder of how many of them turned out: those who haven’t become near-extinct have been forced into becoming “actors” instead of just singers; those who are seen more regularly on television have been forced to fit into the mold… Continue reading »