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Art & Culture
‘Let us not to the forgetting of our tales’
Indulge me for a while and let me make the roughest of conjectures: The lowest possible estimate for the total number of oral literary traditions in the country will be no less than four times the total number of ethnolinguistic groups across the...
More than old houses: Why conservation matters in a changing Philippines
In the heart of Quiapo stands the historic Bahay Nakpil-Bautista, a living witness to the nation's struggle for independence, cultural identity, and collective memory.
Its wooden floors, stone foundations, antique furnishings, and family heirlooms tell stories that cannot be found in textbooks alone. Yet...
Portrait by premier Filipino painter Damian Domingo rediscovered, went unnoticed for nearly 200 years
EXCLUSIVE: An important 1833 portrait by Damian Domingo, considered to be the father of Philippine painting, went unnoticed for centuries and has now been rediscovered.
The rediscovered painting Damián Domingo’s Girl with a Puppy (Niña con perrito, showing a miniature poodle) is an important...
Getting lost in Intramuros, on foot
I may not have been born in Manila, but I can confidently say that I am a Manileño at heart. I have spent much of my adult life in the city and worked here for 9 years. It was also where I went...
From Community to Commercial: The Vision of YPC Stage
In a time when everything moves at the speed of a scroll, where attention is fleeting and connection is often filtered through screens, the performing arts stand as a powerful reminder of what it means to be fully human.
Theater, dance, and live performance...
Florante at Laura as ‘cuadro historico’
When I gave a lecture on Francisco Balagtas’ (1788–1862) Florante at Laura to graduate students in literature at the University of the Philippines, I opened by asking them to recall its full title.
Only a few could summon its opening lines; fewer still remembered...
