A gathering of stars in the Philets-Artlets Diamond Jubilee

The recently concluded grand gala night of the 60^th year of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters was a star-studded affair held recently at the Tent City of the Manila Hotel.

The event was in celebration of the decades-long academic affiliations of the three educational units—from the creation of the Facultad de Filosofia y Letras in 1896 to the fusion of the College of Liberal Arts and Philosophy and Letters to Faculty of Arts and Letters, known for its portmanteau, Artlets, in 1964.

Dubbed as “From Pen to Pixels Honoring the Past Embracing the Future,” the Diamond Jubilee which was headlined as a “A Tradition of Excellence USTR Philets and Artlets 1896-1964-2024,” was attended by not a few celebrities, all alumni of Philets and Artlets like Lou Bonnevie, Joey Lina, Isko Salvador, also known as Brad Pete, Isay Alvarez, Jojo Alejar, the Rainmakers, particularly by Joel Macanaya, Bo Cerrudo, Nestor Cuartero, Lito Zuleta, Marinel Cruz and emcees Sandra Aguinaldo, Mon Gualvez and Ali Sotto. Literary giant star Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo, journalist Julie Yap-Daza, mentor Pacita Syquia-Almario, among others, all grand dames of Philets were around.

Artlets alumnus and AB Commerce graduate 1980 Henry Tenedero; Macanaya and Cuartero, 1974 Economics and Journalism majors, respectively: Dr. Melanie Turingan, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters and Fr. George Phe Mang, OP, Artslets Father Regent were organizers of the event. (Boy Villasanta)