Limelight

by Boy Villasanta The deaths of actors Ricky Davao and Amay Bisaya have offered a discussion of how the two distinct showbiz personalities have affected and influenced the public consciousness and the entertainment industry. Two icons with two or more extreme attributes. Amay, Robert Gloria Reyes in real life, started his television, film and stage career as a production utility …

It is Maytime festivities once more. And one of the traditional and colorful events that is celebrated in the month of May is the Santacruzan, a religious festivity that observes and hails the discovery of the Holy Cross by Queen Helena accompanied by her son Constantine. In the Philippines, Biblical characters in the historical find of the Holy Cross, Santacruzan …

Music conductor Robert Delgado has been involved in the local Tin Pan Alley for almost four decades and his experiences in musical shows are invaluable especially in choral group singing. Robert had been a teamwork player and member of the Philippine Madrigal Singers, or simply Madz, where he composed, arranged and inspired a lot of songs by the group even …

Parañaque, Philippines — On May 3, 2025, Araw Hospitality Group, the emerging hospitality powerhouse, hosted Araw Rising, its first Media Premiere. Held at Palacio de Memoria, the event was attended by media, partners, and representatives from the Department of Tourism. The hospitality group set out to redefine travel by introducing three groundbreaking initiatives: its CSR program Araw Aruga, the loyalty program Araw …

Forget Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO)—the primer orchestra of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP)—for the moment and this time, let’s give way to another orchestra, the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) which will look back this month on its nearly a century of music manufacturing from classics to pop. On May 24, 2025, MSO will kick off its “Music for …

Filipino theater, TV and movie actor Bong Cabrera is too excited for being part of internationally renowned filmmaker Lav Diaz’s “Magellan” to premiere in the prestigious 2025 Cannes International Film Festival this month. “Excited for my first Lav Diaz film. I was so nervous on my first day of filming for ‘Magalhāes’ (the Portuguese lexicon for Magellan),” admitted Bong. According …

By Boy Villasanta Controversial and fastidious filmmaker Jade Castro is back to the grind. After being indiscriminately accosted in a bucolic town somewhere in Quezon Province early last year for a crime he surely wasn’t even an accomplice, Jade and three of his companions suffered, endured and languished a jail term that lasted for months. Castro was hailed by his …

Here’s a poignant narrative of two young guys in love but no histrionics, steamy bed scenes or sex acrobats elsewhere, just feel-good moments. As a matter of fact, their gayhood per se isn’t the source of the irony or conflict in the story but realizations of their little mundane thoughts as jealousy or self-consciousness which they easily dismiss. Main characters …

by Boy Villasanta The local entertainment industry is mourning once more. It is because of popular actor-director Ricky Davao’s death yesterday, May 1, 2025 to still unknown cause. Ricky’s demise was confirmed by Viva Entertainment through its Facebook page. “Pahinga ka na (Rest now), Sir Ricky,” wrote the social media arm of the entertainment company. Ricky, Frederick Charles Caballes Davao …

Santé International’s CEO Joey Marcelo shared insights on resilience, purpose, and building a global brand at the Asia SME Forum 2025 held March 27 at the Marriott Hotel Manila. In his keynote speech, Marcelo shared his journey—one marked by resilience, reinvention, and relentless optimism. He opened about founding Santé International back in 2007 after enduring five failed direct-selling ventures, a …