Lifestyle

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Darlyn Rebatado Blancia*For the first time in the history of the province of Negros Occidental, an Indigenous Peoples (IP) scholar passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) Level 3 or N3 in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan.She is Darlyn Rebatado Blancia from the upland barangay of Kumaliskis in Salvador Benedicto and a recipient of the Negros Occidental Scholarship Program under the assistance to Grade 10 students in Miyakonojo Higashi High School, Japan, category.Darlyn, who is the youngest among five siblings, was 15 years old when she applied for a scholarship in Japan in 2018. She was raised by her mother, Merlinda Blancia, singlehandedly, along with her siblings because they were abandoned by their father more than a decade ago.Her mot...

Have you been talked into lending someone money even if you couldn’t afford to?Have you been pushed to do an errand meant for someone else just because you felt guilty for not being the “good” guy?Have you become so drained by constantly giving way too much too often?Then maybe it’s time to set and fortify healthy boundaries.Whether in personal relationships or at work, the ability to cultivate healthy boundaries is not only a matter of protecting your mental health but it can also help you become financially stable, more productive, and avoid toxic relationships.Setting boundaries is not a matter of selfishness or walling yourself up in loneliness and despair. On the contrary, deciding on healthy boundaries open up doors for people and things that really matter to...

The Institute of the Moving Image will be partnering with the Philippine Italian Association for MOVIEMOV, the Italian film festival on February 1-6, 2021. This will showcase Italian films with talks from the filmmakers.Following the great success of the past editions in Bangkok, Manila and Hanoi, Moviemov Italian Film Festival returns to the Philippines with its 10th edition. The festival will take place in an out-and-out virtual movie house, thanks to the participation of My Movies, bringing once more the best of the new Italian cinema to the Philippines.The guest of honor of this 10th edition will be the actress Sara Serraiocco, one of the new international faces of the Italian cinema.“Given the measures taken to contain the spread of the pandemic in Asia,” the two arti...

The Performance Laboratory Inc. (PerfLab) in partnership with the Women Playwrights’ International – Philippines, Teatrokon: West Visayas Theater Network, International Theatre Institute – International Playwright’s Forum, and the University of St. La Salle will hold the Kuris Theater International Festival and Workshops in Bacolod City on, February 17– 20.The celebration is being held in February that was declared National Arts Month in Presidential Proclamation No. 683 dated January 28, 1991, a press release from PerfLab said.The Kuris Theater International Festival and Workshops have become a creative and empowering nest in encouraging theater awareness, collaboration and strengthening network through workshops, symposia/conferences, performances and play festivals.Throughout th...

Lockdowns and quarantines did not deter 16 filmmakers from Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and the National Capital Region from chronicling their struggles and triumphs during the Covid-19 pandemic in the way they know best - through film.ECQ: Eksena Cinema Quarantine (COVID-19 Filmmakers’ Diaries), a project under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts - National Committee on Cinema (NCCA-NCC), in cooperation with University of St. La Salle- Artists’ Hub, features 16 filmmakers - Adjani Arumpac, Hiyas Baldemor Bagabaldo, Arbi Barbarona, Glenn Barit, Carlo Enciso Catu, Zurich Chan,Arden Rod Condez, Kristian Sendon Cordero, Khavn, Keith Deligero, Kyle Fermindoza, Bagane Fiola, Mark L. Garcia, Julienne Ilagan, Pam Miras, and Guillermo Ocampo.Sixteen short films made into two Omni...

Reena and Lynn Gamboa hand a copy of the “Negrense Heritage Cooking” book to Tourism Secretary Bernadette Puyat (4th from left) as mayors Evelio Leonardia of Bacolod City and Mark Golez of Silay City, and Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson look on.*CPG photoTourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the book “Negrense Heritage Cooking” is a testament to the region’s culinary traditions through recipes that tell stories of ingenuity, creativity, and passion.“It is a legacy that will be passed down to generations who will remember forgotten ingredients and keep heirloom dishes alive,” she said, at the launching of the book at Casa Gamboa in Silay City, Negros Occidental, today, January 19.Romulo-Puyat also thanked the Slow Food Community of Negros, who despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we...

A continuing Curators Converse for the Visayan Islands Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference (VIVA ExCon) Virtual Conference 2 (VCon 2), with the theme "KALIBUTAN: The World in Mind," featured the head curator Dr. Patrick Flores and Region 7 curators Jay Jore and Maria Taniguchi as well Region 8 curators Nomar Miano and Mars Briones on January 16.Flores expressed that there is a shift from locating the art world in society to the social world of art.It needs a mediation process addressed towards the social dimension of art and it is important to develop a venue of social imagination.He commented on the art’s scale and materiality, density and disappearance as well as the influence of place and geography on art.He acknowledged the welcome development regarding non-discu...

Love was given this pandemic Christmas season in a special way with affordable and original artworks from local artists."Art of Giving" has become a Christmas tradition for Orange Project as a way to make artworks accessible to the local community and at the same time to make sure that local artists will be able to generate holiday funds. It was made doubly special this passing holiday season because of the COVID-19 challenges.Edbon Sevilleno’s watercolor on paper ‘Balay Bougainvillea’ Gringo Benedicto’s ink on paper ‘Space X Acrylic’Anika Marie Loquite’s acrylic on canvas ‘Blossoms’Tiano Beto’s acrylic on canvas ‘Like Grass’Charlie Co’s oil pastel on paper ‘March Panic Buying’Jayvee Necesario’s pen and ink on paper ‘Detoxification II’ (4/6)Gibson Jimenea’s ballpoint pen on 30...

Pre-pandemic, I would have already received about three to five yearly organizers/planners by the time the holidays are over.This year though, not even the banks gave out their usual logo-embossed organizers and very few establishments rolled out their yearly calendar give-away.Really, who can blame them? Why should they spend so much on these items when they know that these days, masks, face shields, sanitizers, and grocery packs would be better appreciated?We used to be so excited upon seeing the schedule for the incoming year’s no-work holidays, immediately checking out flight promos and travel destinations. Now our inbox is flooded with piso-fares and other attractive deals, but no one’s biting the bait. We used to get hyped by the start of the year crossing out dates ...

Peque and Madie Gallaga*The wife of the late Negrense director Peque Gallaga thanked the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) for the Special Jury Prize it awarded her husband for Magikland.The action-adventure movie also won the FPJ Memorial Award, and awards for best visual effects, production design, musical score, and virtual float at the 46th MMFF Gabi ng Parangal Sunday night, December 27.Madie Gallaga, in a statement today, December 29, said she would like to clarify her stand regarding the MMFF awarding ceremony, stressing that she is grateful to the jurors for awarding her husband the Special Jury Prize.“I am humbled by the outpouring of support and recognition that he is getting by such an august body. I am also thankful to the MMFF for giving us a medium to be able ...