YouTube singing sensation turned international star Charice Pempengco returns to Manila for a one-night concert for Filipino fans. An up-and-coming international artist, Pempengco has performed with foreign artists like David Foster, Celine Dion, Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli. She has appeared in popular television shows including Oprah. In this video, INQUIRER.net multimedia reporter Anna Valmero talks to Pempengco about her plans.

SEEING artworks in museums and galleries is often perceived as an activity only for the elite when in fact anyone can go and visit them.

This was what the Neo-Angono Artists Collective (NAAC) hoped to address when they opened the fifth Public Art Festival.

“Kino-consider lang na art ang isang bagay kapag nasa loob ng museum [A piece of work is considered art only when it is inside a museum]. The Neo-Angono artists found the need to explore art outside the gallery. So, we are utilizing public spaces like Angono River, public market, and the freedom park,” said Richard Gappi, festival coordinator and past president of NAAC.

Last year’s festival, which carried the theme “Bringing Arts and Culture to Public Space and Closer to the People,” hopes to address this misconception about art.

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By Anna Valmero

AT first look, anyone can mistake him as the lost twin brother of Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao. But blood relatives they are not.

Pacman’s double “Manny Paksiw” joined the motorcade of Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao along Metro Manila. Riding a yellow truck at the end of the convoy, Manny Paksiw said it is his way of showing support for the international boxing champ.

“Hindi ko lang siya idol, kaibigan ko rin siya at ito ay paraan ng pagsuporta ko sa kanya bilang kaibigan [He is not only my boxing idol, he is also my friend and this is my way of supporting him],” he said.

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The Philippine national anthem’s title has often been mistaken as, “Bayang Magiliw.” It is the first few words in the lyrics composed by Julian Felipe in 1898.

But more than being a cheerful nation, the Philippines is a chosen land, hence, the title, “Lupang Hinirang.”

I remember singing Lupang Hinirang in my elementary years under the heat of the sun every morning in school. Back then, I felt that the national anthem had lost its meaning, as we sang it everyday. Of course, that was before. Today, you will hear the national anthem played in movie theaters before it opens and closes. So it was refreshing to hear a new version of the national anthem complete with new visuals.

For several minutes, I was enthralled, as I saw, for the first time, the recent movie screening of Mae Paner’s Lupang Hinirang at the Rockwell Powerplant Mall.

Here’s the same video uploaded on YouTube:

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By Marjorie Gorospe
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines – Renato “Boy” Samson discovered magic when he was six years old.

Due to his persistent desire to learn, he volunteered to be an assistant to a magician for free. In return, he was taught how to be one until finally he has polished the craft.

Samson was eventually known for combining sleight of hand with charm, making sure he maintains rapport with his audience.

Samson is one of the founding members of Inner Magic Club of the Philippines. It is one of the pioneering clubs of magicians in the country.

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By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

MARIKINA, Philippines—MONDAY nights are for abandon.

Veering away from the usual notion of “busy-ness” attached to Mondays, college students, faculty and business professionals troop to Mag:net Katipunan Cafe to celebrate a night of poetry reading, drinks, fun and lots of learning. Welcome to Happy Mondays.

Happy Mondays started three years ago when a small group of poets met Monday nights after work to read and write poems over several bottles of beer. The drill is nothing too formal: chat, draft poems and enjoy the company of friends over some drinks. And the results are impressive: hundreds of poems, some of which have won the Palanca Awards.

A year after, the group was approached by Mag:net Katipunan owner Rock Drilon to bring their poetry reading session at the cafe, said Joel Toledo, a poet from the original group during an interview with INQUIRER.net at the 39th installment of Happy Mondays. Since then, the group attracted other poets from all genres and age, growing to a community of poets. And though people come and go, a fully-packed night can have about 80 persons at the house, Toledo noted.

Though a community, they avert the structure of an organization since they don’t want exclusivity or having the image of an elite group. A faculty member at Miriam College, Toledo said what they have is a loosely based organization where everyone is invited to join and have fun.

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By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

IN textbooks, tribes are often pictured in their twilight years dressed in their native clothing. So when I visited the Tam-Awan Village in Baguio City, I was expecting to see the elders dancing. But instead of the elders, young Igorots dressed in their tribal costume were the ones performing and entertaining the audience.

Most of the members of the Tam-Awan Village Dance Troupe, whose ages range from 13 to 21 years, were cousins, said Ransam Abrod who was one of the dancers.

Yes, these young people spend Saturdays performing for tourists at the Tam-Awan Village instead of going out to a nearby mall, party or play computer games. Not only were they performing but also interacting with the audience as they invited them to dance.

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By Anna Urquiola-Green

WHEN I was invited to write an article about a Filipina’s life in the United Kingdom, I jumped at the opportunity. Mainly because I want to share the experiences I had in this country and quite a lot of these were eye-openers for me.

Moving here three years ago, I learned to adapt quickly especially with the climate. My family and I spent the previous 10 years in the Middle East and from a place where there is only one season — summer, and here in England when they have 4 seasons, it is a total shock to the system. After all, out here one can sometimes experience 4 seasons in one day! I did enjoy shopping for clothes and acquiring a few pairs of boots and not realising that after winter, you have to store the bulky clothes you’ve collected which has taken space in the closet. This is one of the few instances a Filipino’s inborn talent of maximizing the space of a cardboard box when sending pasalubong (presents) back home to the Philippines comes in handy.

Although we Filipinos have English as a second language in the Philippines, here in the UK, I have realized that I still have a lot to learn too, not with the accent but the ordinary words we know. When somebody offers you a fag, it doesn’t mean they’re fixing you up on a same sex blind date, it is an offer for a cigarette! I must have heard this line before I just can’t remember where but it does show that a single word can mean two different things and could land you in hot water.

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Marjorie Gorospe
INQUIRER.net

ANTIPOLO City, Philippines — Who would have thought that I would catch the world-renowned Loboc Children’s Choir in Antipolo City instead of Bohol?

The Loboc Children’s Choir is composed of young kids ages 6 to 15 years. Just this October 8, 2008, they went all the way to Assumption College of Antipolo together with the Loboc Youth Ambassador’s Band to render series of song and music for peace. It was a concert for a cause and the proceeds will go to the scholarship and development fund of Loboc Children’s Choir and Loboc Youth Ambassador’s Band.

Before their concert, I spoke with Maestra Alma Taldo, the conductor of the famous children’s choir that was born in 1980. According to her, she never really expected that they will go this far.

Here’s the video interview I conducted:

“We assembled a choir because there was a memorandum from National Musical Competition for Young Artists (NAMCYA ) to organize a choir and so we did for the sake of organizing,” Taldo says. But no one had a clue that they will eventually earn recognitions and invitations from different parts of the world after winning three times in the National Champion Prize in the NAMCYA. The choir won its first NAMCYA in 1993.

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By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

“Bahay Kubo kahit munti ang halaman doon ay sari-sari…”

The song brings nostalgia of how life in the rural side can be simple and modest. But as time ticks away, such life calls for modernization. Would a modern Bahay Kubo be possible in the age of digitization?

Isolina Calma made it possible when she conceptualized a modern Bahay Kubo 57 years ago. Her daughter, Jophine Calma-Lazaro recalled how her mother fancied bamboos.

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