Lifestyle

The continuing virtual observation of the curated ‘Kalibutan’ exhibition has now brought the Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition & Conference (VIVA ExCon) VCon 2 to "Seminar Node 3: Works Disclose | Materialities of Art" featuring the Regions 6 and 8 "Kalibutan" artists. Region 8 curator Mars Briones was the first to present artists RV Sanchez and Popo Amascual. Sanchez main concept for his “figure drawings” project is a drawing that offers a gateway to a more peaceful and happy place, it has become a meditative practice. The proposed project takes its cues from structure and gesture where structure takes the form of leftover food packaging and paper bags as base, surface, or background for drawings. Gesture, on the other hand, is a participatory video performance wh...

CONTRIBUTED BY MARJORIE CANTILLER KOA The Diamond Princess in Yokohama Bay being boarded by the Japanese Ministry of Health representatives* For three months every year, Henry and I would leave home in Vancouver where we permanently reside, for our retirement home in Bacolod to escape from the cold of the December solstice and migrate to the warm equinox of March to spend our “winter” like typical “snowbirds.” This time, after a long pre-dawn planning, we decided first on a side trip to Yokohama, Japan, and join the “Diamond Princess” cruise from there. The cruise would be a round-trip venture that would take us to 6 ports of call. It would cost us only $699 each for 14 days, so dirt cheap indeed as we were computing a benchmark of $100 per day. On the 1st of January 2020, we too...

It was never a question of how lofty art is, but of how rooted, relevant, and responsive it is to the local community and the rest of the world. March 27 Session: Part One The V-CON 2 session commenced with the music video launching of Martin Miravalles’ socio-political track, “Tiktik sa Dulom.” The webinar “Kalibutan Seminar Node 2: Artists Explore | Intimacies and Communities of Practice,” with head curator and moderator Patrick Flores and artists Rhine Bernardino, Leo Abaya, Joar Songcuya, and Joshua Serafin, was the first part in the eighth session of V-CON 2. A few minutes into the webinar, VIVA ExCon Director Mariano Montelibano gave insights to the conference. Ma. Teresa Buenaventura and Noemi Lacambacal from Benilde School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies inter...

"Kalibutan Seminar Node 2: Artists Explore – Intimacies and Communities of Practice" is part of the Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition & Conference (VIVA ExCon) VCon 2 that turned the lens on the artists chosen by the Region 6 and 8 Kalibutan curators. For Region 6, curator Guenivere Decena was with artists Perry Argel and Denli Chavez. Argel shared his process which starts the day with exploration, cleaning, and organizing things. He makes a connection to forms encountered in the surroundings and creates something out of objects found in collaboration with the environment. He operates with the belief that the ocean connects him with parts of the world through found objects. His way is ritualistic, collaborative, immersive, and a participatory art approach. He hopes t...

The Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference (VIVA ExCon) 16 continues with its Virtual Conference 2 with "Residencies after the Pandemic." It was moderated by Mayumi Hirano, an independent curator, researcher, and translator based in Manila and Osaka, Japan. Resource persons include Wu Dar-Kuen of Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab, Inti Guerrero of Bellas Artes Projects and Martijntje Hallmann of Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten. Hirano started with the interaction and hospitality showed in the 1992 VIVA ExCon in Bacolod and moved on to the nature of mutual ideations, especially since the pandemic has greatly affected residency programs. She raised the need for a sharper focus on pressing global issues and rethinking of ways to produce, present and receive art. ...

The cast and crew of “Ang Pagsalop sang Adlaw” as they receive their trophy for Best Picture in the second Margaha Film Festival.*Alfonso Macam Jr. receives the Best Actor award for his performance in the film “Hunas”Crystal Puying of “Paraiso” wins Best Actress*Brian Ferraro wins Best Original Song for “Ang Pagsalop sang Adlaw”Nelson Emnace wins Best in Production DesignKent John Desamparado (center) receives the Best Director Award with Festival Director Helen Cutillar, Jenalyn Palacios of City Information and Tourism Office, and Rosalia Alvarado, wife of painter Nunelucio AlvaradoDesamparadoMargaha Film Festival Director Helen Cutillar“Judith” director Junmarl Alconga receives the Nunelucio Alvarado Panublion AwardFilm still from “Ang Pagsalop sang Adlaw,” Margaha Film Festival 2021 Be...

Braving the challenging times now, Artfull aims to promote Negros art and its artists. Artfull is an art collective managed and run by artists Dr. Orlando Canlas, Tey Sevilleno, and Bethoven Tiano. It has a new art gallery, cafe lounge, collab shop, workshop spaces, and artist studio that recently opened in Bacolod City. “We hope to be a home of creators. Artfull is definitely a space for all artists and art lovers,” says Tey Sevilleno who is one of the founding partners for this collective. “As a gallery, our responsibility is to help the creative process of our resident artists and market their products. If artwork is not sold, it is both the artist and gallery’s losses. That is why we have chosen a pool of artists that we will give support to. From materials to framing,...

The iconic boat-shaped mansion*CPG photosLilia Villanueva and her son Ben Scharlin at the mansion.*All of its bathrooms also have water-related scenes The "aswang" hunter alcove*The plaster and cement relief designs on its walls and ceilingsBelle Arte was inspired by the Balay Daku and was designed to render a modern version of Art Deco.*Lilia Villanueva explains a sugar farm scene on one of the walls of the mansion* An iconic boat-shaped mansion, that survived World War II and the rigors of time unscathed, is set to become the center of an Art Deco District in Bacolod City. Art Deco is a popular design style of the 1920s and '30s characterized by sleek geometric or stylized forms that is seen throughout the mansion built by Don Generoso Villanueva, between 1933 to 36. The ma...

Dr. Edwin Miraflor, Katrine Frances Palma, City Administrator Em Ang, Jonathan Manuel Lo, Jesus Co, Jacinto Palma, Ailyn Co- Gutierrez and Shirley Palma (l-r) cut the ribbon at the inauguration of the Advanced Hyperbaric Healthcare Center in Bacolod City, Saturday, March 20.* The Advanced Hyperbaric Healthcare Center in Bacolod City, a first in Western Visayas, was inaugurated Saturday, March 20. “This will open up medical tourism for Bacolod City,” City Administrator Em Ang said. “Amidst the backdrop of COVID-19 never before has health and wellness been more highlighted…This is a very welcome development in the city of Bacolod,” said Ang, in her message in behalf of Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia. She also said the center, located at Narra and CL Montelibano Avenue in B...

Chef Don Angelo Colmenares with his Pasta di Sarde*Ronnie Baldonado photosDoreen Alicia “Reena” Gamboa Peña & Dahlia Rubito with their bangus dip and Tortilla de Patata con Hamon*Tortilla de Patata con Hamon*Bangus empanada*Pasta di Sarde with fish roe* Victorias Foods Corp. (VFC) launched its “A Taste of Negros” campaign with a VFC Cookout a Casa Gamboa in Silay City, Wednesday afternoon, March 17. VFC partnered with rising-star Chef Don Angelo Colmenares, and foodie Doreen Alicia “Reena” Gamboa Peña in coming up with exciting creations using VFC products, enriching once again popular Negrense cuisine. Since the 70s, VFC has been producing food products that include its sought after ham and popular Spanish Style Bangus and Sardines in Soya Oil. At the Cookout Colmenares c...

Franklin and Lorna Demonteverde* They donated their prize money to the IBP Negros Occidental chapter, Lorna Demonteverde said. Tejada said it has been 54 years since the Demonteverdes were married but “you still see the same gleam and excitement in their eyes when they see each other – a feat rarely happening in couples having been married for so long.” Franklin Demonteverde was Regional Trial Court judge of Himamaylan City and Bacolod City, and after his retirement, he was appointed chairman of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System. He has since been appointed a regular member of the Judicial and Bar Council, a constitutional body tasked to interview and nominate applicants to the judiciary, which includes justices and judges in all courts. Lorna Demonteverde, wh...

Drip and Ratchet photos A T-shirt campaign for dogs has raked in P40,000 in less than a month since it was launched. Twenty-three-year-old Mark Gather, whose family runs Inkcreme Printshop that offers shirt printing services and corporate giveaways, said he has used his own resources to help raise funds for Bacolod-based PAWSsion Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming of dogs in distress. He said his old store, Drip and Ratchet, a streetwear clothing line, is now dedicated to producing “T-shirts for a cause.” Gather said 100 percent of the proceeds will aid operational costs in running shelters of PAWSsion Project, including pet food, medicines, veterinary bills, and rescue operations. Every purchase of a T-shirt “brings us c...

The search is on for QCinema International Film Festival’s new batch of entries for its short film competition. Each chosen film will receive a production grant worth P350,000 with ownership of film rights. QCinema, which has been recently voted as the best local film festival in the country by local film reviewers and regarded as one of the leading international film festivals in Southeast Asia, is now in its 9th year. This year’s production grants have been increased to help local filmmakers abide by the increased safety protocols due to the pandemic. Filmmakers, at every stage of the production, must follow existing shooting guidelines like working hours, testing, and lock-in safety procedures. The selected narrative concepts must be feasible to shoot under these conditions, ...

Simplicio Palanca’s dream lives on at Magikland as he turns 98 years old on March 12.*Ronnie Baldonado photo Magikland in Silay City celebrated the 98th birthday of its chairman, lawyer and visionary Simplicio Palanca, Friday, March 12, by continuing to live his dream of bringing fun and magic to all who visit the park. The 5-hectare park themed after the ancient Bakunawa legend offers 12 exciting rides for the young and old and many other exciting attractions. Magikland mascot, Bakunawa, led a parade of the park’s characters who danced to the beat of lively music as guests on a train joined in the fun today, March 12, just as Palanca had envisioned. Palanca’s nephew, Reynaldo Bantug, AtonLand president and chief executive officer, said it had always been the dream of his Uncl...