Lifestyle

The ‘Star of Hope’ reminds one that faith overcomes fear, and courage sees one through crisis.*Christmas balls made from discarded Nespresso capsules.*Christmas is in the air at the Negrense Volunteers for Change as it artisans prepare for the holidays.The NVC “elves” are again working on Christmas ornaments from recycled materials to raise money to continue their mission to provide meals for malnourished children and create vegetable gardens to produce food for the poor who have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.Among NVC’s newest ornaments this year is the “Star of Hope” made from scraps of the 17,040 PPE gowns NVC Foundation made and distributed to frontliners for its “Combat Covid-19” campaign, NVC president Millie Kilayko said.“This new ‘Star of Hope’ he...

Actress Assunta de Rossi, who is married to former Rep. Jules Ledesma (Neg. Occ., 1st district) gave birth to a baby girl Friday, October 23.The baby has been named Guilia Florentina Alessandra, and her nickname is Fiore, which means flower in Italian.The couple were married in San Carlos City in Negros Occidental in 2002, and Fiore is their first child.Assunta’s sister, Alessandra , posted a photo of her sister with the baby shortly after she was born. (Photos from posts of Alessandra and Assunta de Rossi)

Former Rep. Mercedes Alvarez, Maj. Dranreb Lansang and their twins.*Former deputy speaker of the House, Mercedes Alvarez, has given birth to twin boys.Alvarez, 38, who served as representative of the sixth district of Negros Occidental for three terms, said yesterday that she and her husband, Maj. Dranreb Lansang, 37, named the twins Genaro Francis and Benjamin Asher.The twins were born on September 3 to the couple who have been married for four years.Genaro is the name of her father and Francis of the pope, while Benjamin is name of the father of her husband and Asher means blessing, she said.Alvarez currently works as the chief of staff of her father Rep. Genaro Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District).It’s fun having twins but of course the work raising them is twic...

BY CARLA GOMEZThe Negros Season of Culture (NSC), a global messaging platform that will promote Negrense heritage and culture through a website, will be launched on November 5, its creative director Alan Gensoli said Wednesday.The NSC is a project of the Angelica Berrie Foundation that is also on Facebook and Instagram.Negrense multi-awarded actor and art ambassador Joel Torre.“We are living in an extraordinary time, in the midst of a global pandemic, in a moment of radical disruption. Our messaging is focused on the future. We want to inspire hope and tap into the creative spirit that has always been part of who we are as Negrenses,” Baba Torre, president of the foundation, said.The website will have five editorial categories - heritage homes, handicrafts, food, cu...

Photos from Capt. Joseph PartidasA police officer of Isabela town in Negros Occidental raffled off his painting to build a house for a senior citizen.Captain Joseph Partidas, chief of police of Isabela Municipal Police Station, said his team had been helping out 72-year-old Raymundo Remilla of Barangay 5, whose house needed repair, however, they needed funds for the project.When he checked on the senior citizen himself one day, he saw his painting materials sitting at his car trunk, and that gave him the idea to paint for a good cause. He added he did not want to ask money from the stakeholders.He said it took him two weeks to complete the “Ruins of Isabela” painting.He said he has to do the painting after his work, but there were days he could not even paint because he...