Into the Valley of the “Vigo”

Crank up the “Vigo” Volume Challenging mainstream musical conventions, Vigo combines jazz, rock, traditional pinoy balladry (kundiman), modern beats, and a dash of folk to create their own unique sound. With each artist having already forged their own reputations in the Manila soundscape, Vigo is more than just your run-of-the-mill garage band. Vigo is a [...]

A Heritage of Smallness by Nick Joaquin

“Society for the Filipino is a small rowboat: the barangay. Geography for the Filipino is a small locality: the barrio. History for the Filipino is a small vague saying: matanda pa kay mahoma; noong peacetime. Enterprise for the Filipino is a small stall: the sari-sari. Industry and production for the Filipino are the small immediate searchings of each day: isang kahig, isang tuka. And commerce for the Filipino is the smallest degree of retail: the tingi.”

Video Nights, Global Insights: Dissecting and Digesting Pico Iyer’s Video Night in Kathmandu

Pico Iyer’s Video Night in Kathmandu is a collection of essays on the evolving landscape of Asia. Veering away from the all-too-common colonial perspective, Iyer’s work dissects the cross-cultural relationship between the East and the West. His forays into Bali, Tibet, Nepal, China, The Philippines, Burma (now Myanmar), Hong Kong, India, Thailand and Japan bring [...]

Friday Finds to Get You Through this Complex Sphere of Life

Well, hellloooooooooooo there…….. (pornstache photo via www.latfh.com) Watch Homer’s life flash before your very eyes with this video — PICTURE A DAY FOR 39 YEARS. Join the battle for the MOST AWESOMEST THING EVER!!! (And no, that wasn’t a typo.) You can also kick your favorite videos into Mortal Combat…yes, it’s a waste of time. [...]

On Film and Culture

Pablo Picasso once wrote “Everyone wants to understand art, why not try to understand the song of a bird?” Like Picasso, many follow the school of thought that art should be done for art’s sake. However, when it comes to film, the search for a deeper message is much stronger. The call for intelligent and [...]

“Boses” (Voices) Film Showing

For movie fanatics in Manila, check out Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil’s new film “Boses” (Voices) which will premiere this Sunday in the CCP. “Boses” (Voices) is the story of a musician, who regains back his humanity by giving violin lessons to a battered child, who in turn, is able to get back his voice from a muted, [...]

Couch-trip: Films to get you going

If I’m not on the road, I turn into an “armchair traveller” and head over to the nearest video store (i.e.download films) to vicariously experience a world away from home. An aspect of films that gets me itching to strap my travelin’ boots on are those that takes you through a city or a country, [...]