Although kabuki as a theater form in Japan has been around and embedded in the Japanese arts and culture for four hundred years, it has not reached mass audiences in the Philippines except perhaps to lit students and theater enthusiasts and practitioners and Oriental philosophy learners. Unlike anime which has swept the whole world by storm, kabuki has been relegated …
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Young aspiring playwrights can now apply for the Virgin Labfest XX Writing Fellowship Program (VLF XX WFP) until April 30, 2025. The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), through its Artist Training Division, spearheads the VLF XX WFP, a two-week mentorship program on the study and practice of dramatic writing for the stage. The VLF XX WFP is open to …
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by Boy Villasanta The local entertainment industry is in mourning. It is because Asia’s Queen of Songs Pilita Corrales is gone. Pilita, Maria del Pilar Garrido Corrales, died this morning due to a still unknown cause. Corrales’ death was announced by her granddaughter Janine Gutierrez. “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our beloved mami …
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by Boy Villasanta Once more, the ABS-CBN Ball has unleashed its glitzy and glamorous parade of multigenerational stars in their stunning outfits made exclusively for them by their equally talented fashion designers. Held at the Solaire Resort North over the weekend, the 2025 annual ABS-CBN Ball was teeming with a shimmering glow not just of the fashion stars wore but …
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by Boy Villasanta Fake news, of all shapes and sizes, is everywhere, in high and low places. In the glitz and glam world of show business, the latest victim is Megan Young, an actress and 2013 Miss World. It might not be an offensive and destructive false news but fake just the same. Megan and husband, actor and TV host …
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I am disappointed with former Senator Franklin Drilon discrediting movie, television, theater and multimedia celebrities in politics or running in public office. I thought Drilon is a well-rounded person and an independent-minded politician. To begin with, he is a lawyer and a legal luminary who supposedly understands governance but there’s more to government and public service than meets the eye. …
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What is an engineer doing in the broadcast realm as an announcer? To spread knowledge on inventions for human consumption and development, that is. Ask Engr. Ria Liza Centeno Canlas and she’ll tell you more about it. “I want to share to the world the skills and talents of Filipinos to sustain life,” Canlas shared in one of our conversations. …
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While artist Ihman Esturco is in the Philippines for a short vacation from his photography work and producing concerts in the US, he is able to get a meaty role in ABS-CBN’s “Batang Quiapo.” “Habang nasa Pilipinas po, puwede namang gumawa ng TV show o pelikula. Kahit siguro theater (While in the Philippines, it’s okay to do TV show or …
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by Boy Villasanta It’s party time for Kim Chiu and Paulo Avelino. The reason: Box-office success of their first team-up on the big screen. According to Star Cinema publicity machine, “My Love Will Make You Disappear” earned a whopping P12M at the tills during its opening day. At the moment, Kim and Paulo, better known in their portmanteau as KimPau, …
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I wonder how National Artist for Film Lino Brocka would react if he were alive today about the arrest of former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Lino who was an anti-fascist, first and foremost, as a person and secondly, as a citizen of the republic. Most of all, Brocka was a freedom fighter as an artist. Remember that during the fierce …
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The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business