tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76899344498120578832012-01-29T08:18:25.884-08:00KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.comBlogger1121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-11629546489830939572012-01-29T08:16:00.000-08:002012-01-29T08:16:28.258-08:00

I see that you have finally made a statement regarding the issue - it's about time. I congratulate you for that. I must say though that, well, you lost me at "your wrong opinion." The issue about SM's plans was brought to the public's attention (or at least, my attention) in the early days of this month. On January 8, 2012, a petition was started by Michael Bengwayan which spread like

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-74762990888907021292012-01-21T15:59:00.001-08:002012-01-29T08:18:25.896-08:00

We promised that you will not be late for your taekwondo lessons yesterday, and that we will have that special dinner you’ve been begging for, but first, we had to print some posters and help set-up microphones and speakers for a protest rally. You first had to join thousands of other people to march down from the top of Session Road to People’s Park at the bottom, holding up the posters we

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-30351567365469284432012-01-07T06:22:00.000-08:002012-01-09T06:24:52.462-08:00

What comes to mind when you read or hear the following? "When you care enough to send the very best." "Ikaw lamang, wala ng iba." "Just do it." "Finger lickin' good." "Langhap sarap." "Connecting people." Or fill in the blanks: "Have a break, have a ___," "Come to where the flavor is, come to ___." "The united colors of ____." While my 13-year old son didn't get everything, he got most of it. My

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-61336966928736827282011-12-30T18:28:00.000-08:002011-12-30T18:28:06.278-08:00

Two things stand out as I look back on life in Baguio in the year 2011 – the Irisan garbage slide that claimed lives and property (and more than that, human dignity), and concrete pouring all over the city. And it doesn’t take much to see the relation between these two incidents. The Rose Garden would be unveiled soon after its months-long concrete rehabilitation. While some of us would go ohhhh

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-59472623431880403762011-12-17T19:49:00.000-08:002011-12-17T19:49:46.712-08:00

*My column in the Dec. 18, 2011 issue of Cordillera TodayAfter I wrote about the feeding program being conducted by Dr. Mark Ventura and his friend, Henry Carlin, at the Rizal Elementary School, I received a few inquiries from friends who wanted to help in various ways. Some pledged cash to cover the cost of feeding around 70 children at least twice a week, while others offered their help in

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-71717275831513376332011-12-11T05:32:00.001-08:002011-12-11T07:51:12.089-08:00

*My column in the Dec. 11, 2011 issue of Cordillera Today I used to worry a lot as a child on Christmas Eve when everyone would start going to bed and my grandmother would make sure the doors were locked for the night. It’s Christmas Eve, and my sock (we didn’t have those fancy Christmas stockings) would be hanging on the wall ready for Santa’s largesse for the year. Hours earlier, I would have

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-31582517769851814102011-12-04T07:36:00.001-08:002011-12-05T00:44:33.486-08:00

*my column in the Dec. 4 issue of Cordillera TodayIf I would light up our Christmas tree, and perhaps at least the main window of our home with even the cheapest (but still safe) Christmas lights, I calculated that it would cost at least P1,200.00. Nothing fancy - just plain, silver and yellow lights, ones that don’t even blink. I like them that way anyway.I walk down Session Road and notice the

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-84452312089543952002011-11-26T13:56:00.001-08:002011-12-04T07:38:41.956-08:00

*my column in the Nov. 6 issue of Cordillera TodaySeven years ago, Braulio Yaranon won the Baguio mayoralty race on a platform of graft and corruption-free governance. The main issue at the time was the local government’s contract with Jadewell to manage the city’s on-street pay-parking scheme. Most people thought that the contract was anomalous and grossly disadvantageous to the government, for

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-71798692488070261072011-11-19T18:56:00.001-08:002011-11-26T13:58:22.864-08:00

*my column in the Nov. 20 issue of Cordillera Today A former president is being accused of electoral sabotage. The accusation stems from her alleged actions to ensure the then ruling party’s majority victory during the 2007 senatorial elections. Wearing a contraption allegedly meant to protect her very delicate spine and seated on a wheelchair, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-29756880630196712532011-11-05T17:45:00.000-07:002011-11-05T17:51:18.145-07:00

*my column in the Nov. 6 issue of Cordillera Today  Of course their first major production would be excerpts from musicals such as Miss Saigon and The King & I, that’s how a lot of us have been introduced to theatre, thanks to Lea Salonga , Repertory Philippines and Atlantis Productions. Nothing really wrong with that, but it’s amusing, sad even, that when newly formed theatre groups decide

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-47253705745803951562011-10-30T21:34:00.000-07:002011-10-30T21:34:56.881-07:00

*my column in the Oct. 30 issue of Cordillera Today Last Wednesday, October 25, 2011, together with local media representatives, we were invited to cover the La Union leg of “Coffeetalks,” an initiative of a cement manufacturer that gathered together sustainable construction advocates from various groups to discuss possible collaboration efforts. I must admit that I was prepared for another

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-34316625945431770732011-10-22T03:37:00.000-07:002011-10-22T05:23:55.119-07:00

*my column in the Oct. 23 issue of Cordillera Today The world mourned the passing of one Steve Jobs a couple of weeks ago. Using a device just a bit bigger than a cigarette pack, I browse through the endless stream of text, photos and videos about the man who helped define the way humans live their lives in the Age of Aquarius. The contraption has a screen with a glass surface that shows

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-39581573736503153772011-09-23T22:18:00.000-07:002011-09-23T22:18:55.906-07:00

*my column in the Sept. 25 issue of Cordillera Today What were they thinking, those young boys, when they ganged up on their helpless classmate? After the first punch on the face, the first stab of that pen on his body, what motivated them to go on? I have had my share of pre-preadolescent fisticuffs – an older schoolmate once engaged me in a mano-a-mano over a girl he had a crush on who

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-39820120604865742962011-09-17T01:00:00.000-07:002011-09-19T17:24:36.468-07:00

Tonight, at 6:00PM at the Bulwagang Juan Luna of U.P. Baguio there will be no grand sets, no amazing lighting equipment, no state-of-the-art sound system. I write this at past midnight, the early hours of Saturday, the day of the premiere of our latest production. Minutes ago, I was talking to my mother and her best friend on the other side of the world – they are both theatre artists too. They

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-74719153903823032702011-09-09T23:28:00.000-07:002011-09-09T23:28:42.558-07:00

*my column in the Sept. 11 issue of Cordillera Today Someone once asked me, after doing a couple of plays here in Baguio a couple of years since I moved here, why I haven’t done a play that touches on Igorot culture. I told her I cannot possibly tell that story truthfully then just yet. It’s been 15 years since, and I still won’t dare tell that story, not yet. I don’t know enough about it to tell

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-38218558269164369912011-09-02T22:33:00.000-07:002011-09-04T05:42:10.976-07:00

No, they can’t pull out the “politicking” card and cry foul when it comes to the Irisan tragedy. That’s how they got elected themselves, by politicizing the issue during the campaign. But really, what led to the “garbage slide” that claimed lives and property at the height of Typhoon Mina last week?  In January, 2001, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 was enacted into law which

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-90681205869998414582011-08-27T03:43:00.000-07:002011-08-27T03:46:20.544-07:00

*my column in the August 28, 2011 issue of Cordillera Today Ang buwan ng Agosto ay buwan ng wika, dahil diyan susubukin kong isulat ang sanaysay na ito sa ating kinikilalang pambansang wika – Filipino, nang hindi masyadong umaasa sa diksyunaryo o, paumanhin po, sa... GOOGLE TRANSLATE. At sa bawat tatlong tuldok na magkakasunod na makikita niyo, hindi ito paggamit ng ...ELLIPSIS... kundi katumbas

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-18711275812731337722011-08-19T23:38:00.000-07:002011-08-20T00:31:09.308-07:00

*my column in the August 21, 2011 issue of Cordillera Today I received a message from an online acquaintance on Facebook.com last week – some guy was looking for a documentary filmmaker for a project. I sent that guy a message online and I got a reply. Later that evening, I received a call from one Illiac Diaz. Diaz was, not sure if he still is, an actor turned... and this I got from “Googling’

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-13323707057253762952011-08-06T19:09:00.000-07:002011-08-07T05:36:44.248-07:00

I can only speak of his story from the time he joined to tell the story of Timoune in the play, Once on this Island in 2006. I did not know him or of him before that. He was coming in with a clean slate and with nothing else but sheer talent and passion for his craft - any theatre director’s delight. One of the two roles he played in that musical was Agwe, the God of Water, who early in the play

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-56703494902117878292011-07-30T21:12:00.000-07:002011-07-30T21:12:45.836-07:00

*my column in the July 31, 2011 issue of Cordillera Today Maybe it’s because the travesty has gone on for a very long time that we long for the revolution to be magically instantaneous. Like the way the first rain of May immediately wipes away all memories of summer.  For more than three centuries we were enslaved by the Spanish colonizers, but just barely a year into Andres Bonifacio’s reign as

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-10204887491721006322011-07-09T00:46:00.000-07:002011-07-11T18:05:42.477-07:00

*my column in the July 10, 2011 issue of Cordillera Today According to Robert R. Reed in his book, The City of Pines, the biggest piece of level land in the area of what was then the proposed townsite of Baguio, was called “Minac,” which Architect and City Planner Daniel Burnham reserved for a huge public park, and everything else needed to realize the Americans’ dream of a hill station in

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-66789719749576253712011-07-01T23:18:00.000-07:002011-07-07T00:09:57.393-07:00

*my column in the July 3, 2011 issue of Cordillera Today Local religious and political figures are pushing for the declaration of those involved in the gay wedding ceremony held recently in Baguio as personas non grata. A bishop called it “kaidiri.” The brouhaha was all over TV and online forums. About that ceremony – unless you were one of the grooms or brides, or among those who officiated, or

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-59386730719010652502011-07-01T02:00:00.000-07:002011-07-01T02:00:20.022-07:00

I arrived a good four hours before the scheduled performance – it was the day after Jose Rizal’s 150th birth anniversary and SM City Baguio has put together a tribute that involved the following: An exhibit on the life and works of Rizal, a parade of 150 boys and men dressed as Rizal, a performance of a play on Rizal, and the screening of Gerry de Leon’s film, “Noli Me Tangere.” Our part was

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-59856418731081566532011-06-13T01:17:00.000-07:002011-06-13T01:17:51.016-07:00

*repost of my column in the June 12, 2011 issue of Cordillera Today That first time, I was seated at the stage left side of the “Presidential Table,” among the other godfathers. Nope, it wasn’t a Mafiosi meeting, rather a wedding reception. I was in my late twenties and my friends, fellow theater artists who were once students who sort of had their on-the-job-training as stage managers under the

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-6895212497771703412011-05-28T02:29:00.000-07:002011-05-28T02:29:01.720-07:00

*repost of my column in the May 29, 2011 issue of Cordillera Today What song are you singing? Will you be using a minus-one or do you want our pianist to play for you? Stand on the “X” on the floor in the middle of the room. Project, and remember to always face the panel while you’re singing. Break a leg. These were the words we would say to the thousands of performing artists who auditioned for

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-8458535739493422202011-05-22T22:47:00.000-07:002011-05-24T03:26:11.995-07:00

*repost of my article in May 22, 2011 issue of Cordillera Today One gloomy afternoon at the Baguio Arts Guild’s Greenhouse Effect Gallery at the Baguio Botanical Gardens, an emergency meeting was about to begin. Then the chair of the guild, the late Santiago Bose sat in the middle to deliver a statement. The issue was his decision to replace the current president of the guild and caretaker of the

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-87887713292100081322011-05-16T00:21:00.000-07:002011-05-16T00:21:06.173-07:00

*repost of my article in May 15, 2011 issue of Cordillera Today I am looking at a copy of the souvenir program for the play, “Manifest Destiny,” staged in 2001 – I am amazed by the number of advertisements in it, a rare occurrence in Open Space’s journey as an independent theater group in Baguio. With corporate sponsors and the local government continuing to ignore theater and pouring in their

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-87869974069669673142011-05-10T02:28:00.000-07:002011-05-10T02:33:20.398-07:00

*a repost of my article in the May 8, 2011 issue of Cordillera Today.  In the late 90’s, there were hardly any active independent theater groups in Baguio. We in Open Space hoped to fill that void. Our first production in 1996, “Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll,” which opened at the (then) BCF Theater as part of their Golden Anniversary celebration, seemed to have revived local interest in the art form -

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-84607486999250386132011-05-01T19:46:00.000-07:002011-05-01T19:46:15.498-07:00

*a repost of my article in the May 1, 2011 issue of Cordillera Today.  We’re moving house again, and while we, my wife and I, don’t really look forward to the packing and unpacking, I am quite excited to have that feeling of a fresh start, a new leaf, chapter, a clean slate that moving into a new house brings. I bought used boxes and packing tape from a grocery store one morning few days ago to

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-48705496249773455762011-04-04T18:48:00.000-07:002011-04-05T00:02:33.541-07:00

*a repost of my article in the Apr. 3 issue of Cordillera Today.  Here’s someone with no real artistic talent whatsoever, but has that uncanny ability to position himself as someone who actually matter much in this part of the world. So while we can all say that the man is devoid of decency, we can’t really say that this Willie Revillame is totally untalented. True, he can’t really sing, but of

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-28695805081315975112011-03-25T21:14:00.000-07:002011-03-29T05:30:52.125-07:00

*a repost of my article in the Mar. 27 issue of Cordillera Today.  After surviving the six hours in a cramped seat from Baguio to Balintawak, then another two and a half hours to traverse the length of EDSA to Pasay, then another hour to get to Las Piñas, I finally arrived at this salon and there she was – in her trademark denim shorts and no-nonsense t-shirt, seated in front of mirror, getting

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-24282578534115302802011-03-20T00:52:00.000-07:002011-03-21T20:24:55.810-07:00

*a repost of my Feb. 13, 2011 column in the Cordillera Today I have the right to free speech. I have the right to elect whomever I deem fit to be craft the laws of the land and the people who will enforce those laws. I have the right not to be held in slavery, nor be subjected to torture or other forms of cruel and inhuman punishment. I have the right to life, liberty and security of person. I

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-20883292409279972842011-03-08T00:27:00.001-08:002011-03-08T21:36:52.278-08:00

Two hours before the scheduled opening, we still didn’t have power. We were running all over the place buying cables and other electrical gizmos to upgrade the Botanical Garden’s (now known as the Baguio Centennial Park) electrical capacity to accommodate the lights and sound needed for the event. A man in his late 60’s lugging a guitar on his back approached me and introduced himself: his name

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-8478721113891712392011-02-13T00:35:00.000-08:002011-02-13T00:47:47.536-08:00

*a repost of my Feb. 13, 2011 column in the Cordillera Today I am 6 ft. tall, and despite the prolonged healing process the universe decided for my left knee after injuring it last year, I believe I can still be considered as athletic. While decades of smoking has taken its toll on my stamina and cannot go through a whole basketball game in one go, with ample water breaks and breathers, I can

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-51882560152424683102011-02-06T00:20:00.000-08:002011-02-06T00:20:02.658-08:00

*a repost of my Feb. 6, 2011 column in the Cordillera Today “…Where to, well, nobody knows...” For those born in the early 70’s, it was the time of transition from being clueless teen-agers to angsty young adults. At the time that band called Fra Lippo Lippi filled the local airwaves, the lyrics in our heads were, “wake me up before you go-go,” “children behave – that’s what they say when we’re

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-20599023196259543282011-01-26T00:02:00.001-08:002011-01-26T00:02:41.450-08:00

I haven’t really had the chance to catch my breath since the year started. Just when a particular project’s about to end, another one begins. And out of all the ones that have either been done or begun, there are three that have sparked inspiration not just in me but in the people I work in collaboration with. First, I’d like to talk about the recently opened exhibit at the Atrium of SM City

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-35640959498647137152011-01-02T15:53:00.001-08:002011-01-02T15:53:25.772-08:00

I’ll leave New Year’s resolutions, inspiring messages, you know - the niceties, to the others, there’ll be lots of that from other columnists in the first days of the New Year. So this is how it’s going down, it seems – get elected, mess up some, get re-elected, mess up some more, get replaced by an overwhelming majority, then whine about how the new guy seems to be taking forever to clean up the

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-10563760170534312322010-12-10T18:47:00.000-08:002010-12-10T18:55:27.858-08:00

I never really thought much about what dreams meant before, except those that almost ushered me out of this world – bangungot. I get those a lot.  For those who are lucky enough not to know what I’m talking about, it’s usually like this: the dream begins just like any other dream, then it slowly gets weirder and weirder and scarier and scarier and then you find

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-64358475767928546352010-11-21T02:59:00.000-08:002010-11-21T02:59:51.657-08:00

*a repost of my Nov. 21 column in the Cordillera Today The signs say – “Motorcycle and Bicycle Ban Along Session Road Is Strictly Implemented. Violators Will Be Apprehended.” In recent days, police visibility along Session Road has multiplied, particularly during afternoon rush hour. I’m sure this will help drive away so-called petty criminals such as pickpockets and snatchers (hopefully out of

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-22208207669662930802010-11-21T02:56:00.000-08:002010-11-21T02:56:17.808-08:00

*a repost of my Nov. 14 column in the Cordillera Today In one of our performances of a play here in Baguio years ago at a school gymnasium, there was a group of students who obviously did not come to watch a show but to be the show instead. While the show was going on, they kept on heckling, making unnecessary noises, doing all they can to disrupt the performance and catch attention. After some

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-41000252349589261122010-10-30T09:00:00.000-07:002010-10-30T22:02:19.381-07:00

It’s the morning after but their voices are still ringing in my ears. I like it. Baguio Apaches Rudy Paraan and Rae David  / Photo by Jojo Lamaria Of course we got the usual quips like, are these guys from Manila? It’s really so annoying, and sad, when our performers get asked that after a show. But you really can’t blame the people who do that for more often than not, institutions in the

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-77563350577950674462010-10-20T18:08:00.002-07:002010-10-20T18:08:49.126-07:00

The group has been known primarily as an independent theater group based in Baguio. For the past 14 years, we told stories – from that very first production of a performance art piece called “Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll” in 1996 to last year’s paean to the City of Baguio called “Kafagway, Sa Saliw Ng Mga Gangsa.” In between telling stories onstage, we’ve shared what we can with children from various

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-49066255145264723172010-10-20T18:08:00.000-07:002010-10-20T18:08:15.121-07:00

The saddest thing is that when I first came here six years ago, the roads were in exactly the same condition. It took an hour to cover 10 meters six years ago, it took us an hour, or so, to cover 10 kilometres now. The good thing is that the place itself looked almost exactly the same as it did 6 years ago. We arrived in Paracelis, Mt. Province, on our way to the next town, Natonin, last

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-47169343231363615022010-10-01T20:49:00.000-07:002010-10-01T21:10:04.411-07:00

They say it was bold, creative, fantastic, funny, brilliant. True. But it was also wrong. Pardon me for not jumping on the bandwagon praising famed storyteller/tour guide/performance artist Carlos Celdran’s  daring coup at the Manila Cathedral when he barged in during a mass dressed as Jose Rizal and holding up a placard that simply said, “Damaso,” to protest the Catholic Church’s stance on the

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-81521933931506676492010-09-25T06:31:00.000-07:002010-09-25T06:31:51.702-07:00

The promise is this: risk a small amount for a chance at a fortune. One for a thousand, 10 for a hundred thousand, a hundred for a million. The “less small” the amount risked, the bigger the potential earnings. In the land where the majority have less, with no clear chance at having more in the horizon, next to leaving the country, gambling provides the most promise at a better life. Gambling

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-17050744829374303202010-09-18T19:51:00.000-07:002010-09-18T19:51:51.765-07:00

If only the rest of Baguio’s pine trees were like the concrete one that once proudly stood at the top of Baguio’s most popular thoroughfare, insulting people’s sensibilities for years. Why? Nothing can kill it. It never dies. Not even with sledge and jack hammers and wrecking balls. As the song says, “they stab it with their steely knives but they just can’t kill the beast.” Due process is what

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-44968185749906787052010-09-12T05:15:00.001-07:002010-09-12T05:35:28.482-07:00

If you’re an artist, particularly a male one who wears your hair long, sadly, for the rest of us, you probably smoke pot. And if you happen to live in Baguio, then the odds get higher, this city unfortunately being known, especially by out-of-towners, to be a source of cheap, good quality toinks, as some locals call it. Not entirely true of course, but also not an entirely unjustified

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-88787968301159486772010-09-06T19:10:00.000-07:002010-09-06T19:13:08.277-07:00

I chanced upon this DVD containing several movies of the great Charlie Chaplin a few days ago, and it almost hasn’t been removed from our DVD player since then. I am not complaining. Not even about my kids arguing in mock-German owing, I guess their favorite among all the movies in the disc is “The Great Dictator,” Chaplin’s only “talkie.” Until that movie, he refused to use sound, a new

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-71858237829395354182010-08-23T06:37:00.000-07:002010-08-23T09:52:48.549-07:00

If “Murder, as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with ‘malice aforethought’, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide (such as manslaughter),” from a certain perspective, it may be said that the 42 people who died may have been murdered. According to another online legal dictionary, “the term malice

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-28397656287570129272010-08-08T19:26:00.001-07:002010-08-15T02:45:14.466-07:00

In the months leading to this year’s elections, Baguio produced an extraordinary number of experts in public administration and local politics. They commented criticized, damned, commented on practically every issue – the Athletic Bowl hysteria, the garbage problem, the traffic schemes. They all professed their love for Baguio – in the wonderful virtual world that is the world wide web, in fact,

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-12208280265352061752010-07-30T21:14:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:45:39.315-07:00

A comic strip in a national daily said it all. The first frame mentioned the government’s messed up plan to include sex education at certain grade levels in public schools. The next frame showed the other character saying that when he wanted to know about that double insertion issue involving Manny Villar and searched for those keywords on the internet, he ended up in a porn site. The Department

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-64669641818182698522010-07-28T18:40:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:45:59.107-07:00

I open my Facebook account and I was told that it’s my fault that the world is messed up. I was also informed that I must do something to save Mother Earth. I really want to, but saving a whole planet seems like a really, really tall order. Just yesterday, I was also told that Mother Earth is at war… with me! Yup, me and my co-inhabitants on this giant orb, which as Sagan put it, is actually

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-26923804816242265852010-07-16T21:34:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:46:30.713-07:00

We just had our first typhoon, and I’m very thankful that PAGASA got it wrong again – what they forecasted as a typhoon that would hit Baguio directly only brought about moderate winds and gray skies for a day, it was actually nice. While known as the Summer Capital of the Philippines – originally literally when the American colonial government declared this highland paradise as the official

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-30137289826009833002010-07-10T05:50:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:47:22.540-07:00

I usually start at the fish section, the Baguio Public Market isn’t exactly as organized as a boring supermarket – though there’s only one area where they sell coffee, the other sections recur in different places.“Tatlong lingo ka nang hindi nag-uulam ng tilapia,” my suki scolds me at the top of her voice when she saw me approaching from a good 50 meters away. I didn’t plan to buy tilapia that

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-91238859714773152472010-07-02T20:31:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:47:52.505-07:00

And that, for me, is the most important lesson one needs to learn in theater. That, for me, is the one question an actor needs to answer to become an actor, and to become the actor who can become whomever and whatever he wants to be. For we are whom we think we are – think it and believe it, that’s what it’s all about. You believe and we shall believe you. Think and believe that you have the

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-10514279775405692252010-06-27T04:34:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:48:13.923-07:00

Since it started way past my daughter’s usual bedtime, she couldn’t keep her eyes open and she fell asleep about ten minutes into the game. That’s why she missed Slovakia’s first goal against Italy in last Thursday’s do-or-die match. The Italians played like amateurs the rest of the first half – no rhythm, no organization, it’s as if there were only 11 individual players and no team playing

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-33847384423049986022010-06-20T19:57:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:48:37.116-07:00

“If everybody knows everything, then nothing means anything. Everything’s a cliché. That’s why a stopped making art,” the “Artist” laments in Eric Bogosian’s performance-art piece, “Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll.” In this digital age where everybody has access to perhaps all the knowledge the human race has accumulated, digitally stored as a series of ones and zeroes on hard drives and scattered out

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-28627299962104874662010-06-06T19:53:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:50:28.897-07:00

As we were loading the bags back in the car at the end of the day, my wife, RL, thought out loud: maybe when the car suddenly wouldn't start the previous morning, it was a sign. So since the car won't start last Sunday, we asked a friend if we could rent her dad's cab for Gabriela's birthday party at a beach house in Binloc, Dagupan. On her way to our place with the cab, the neighborhood

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-6873859601213969762010-05-15T19:50:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:50:47.075-07:00

They say never the kick a man when he’s down, but they just won’t let up. The Mayor did not win his bid to be the city’s representative in congress, and in a recent press conference, tears fell as he was bidding goodbye to his office and the members of his staff. But on a local news program the story was that the Mayor cried because he lost in the election. With this TV news program, it was

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-34196180641710539972010-05-08T19:48:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:51:19.091-07:00

I went there that morning fuming mad to get it straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. The news spread like wildfire on the internet – the Athletic Bowl is being “sold” to the Koreans and online rabble-rousers claimed that: for a measly 10k a month, a Korean company would take possession of the sports complex where they plan to build a resort hotel, a commercial complex and a golf course.

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-53875044507515989192010-05-01T19:44:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:51:54.037-07:00

The bad news is, good news isn’t news. Sadly, that’s the way it is. 90% of Baguio is allegedly landslide prone is news, but that Baguio has a not-so-bad-at-all 95% employment rate is not. A local tv crew has been hounding the relatives of a particular congressional candidate who happens to belong to a big prominent family because of rumors that his clan is not 100% behind his candidacy. Of course

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-8182404906226176952010-04-24T19:37:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:52:13.257-07:00

I have been interviewed twice the past few weeks regarding the use of Facebook in this current election season. The questions were about the usual pros and cons, dos and don’ts. Ahh, the many wonderful , and awful things about this crazy thing called Facebook. Created by college boys initially to provide a platform for their schoolmates at Harvard to get together online, share stories and keep

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-19084406293351698182010-04-17T19:31:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:52:42.199-07:00

The whole night we talked about nothing else but Baguio. Our newfound friend was Baguio-born and -raised, and in the last three decades since he left the city, he has only visited Baguio thrice. I myself have been living here for 15 years, but as a child has been a regular visitor to this haven nestled up in the mountains of the Cordilleras. Talking about Baguio, sitting at the table by the

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-29085884090640008842010-04-10T19:28:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:54:10.236-07:00

Our theatre group, Open Space, merited a one liner in an article in a national daily about local talents. It’s been months since our last production (KAFAGWAY our musical on the history of Baguio was last performed at the Rose Garden, Burnham Park last December), so I decided to reprint here an article I wrote about the group some time ago hoping it will get us fired up enough to once again tell

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-5843260595408701512010-03-31T19:23:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:54:35.140-07:00

Marko Angelo is my eldest son. And he just graduated high school. He was born 17 years ago, I was barely a grown up myself then. At 19, everything was happening so fast that the only thing I clearly remember about November 29, 1992 was that it was a blur. But one thing I will never forget is that first time I held him in my lanky arms and realization that hit me like a rock – I am a father. A

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-79250118949638115912010-03-20T19:20:00.000-07:002010-08-15T02:55:07.680-07:00

1:30am, a couple of hours ago the editor sent me a text message saying he needs all articles in first thing tomorrow morning. He wants to go to press earlier tomorrow. I just had a long week… no, I’m still having, struggling through, it - it’s not over yet. Anyway, back to the slowly filling up page on my computer screen. This is usually how I come up with my pieces here, at the last minute. I

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-56967625419863304932010-03-13T18:58:00.000-08:002010-08-15T02:55:35.273-07:00

Much has been said about the city’s garbage problem – including those coming from people who have political and personal agendas. I had to mention those because often, their pronouncements are tainted with exaggerations and half truths in order to advance their ulterior motives. These people hardly mention that the garbage problem is closely related to the rapid population growth that Baguio

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-22992147245610255782010-03-07T18:29:00.000-08:002010-08-15T02:56:24.157-07:00

I once wrote a piece for Cordillera Today's Lifestyle page called, “So you wanna be an actor?” In it, I talked about what I believe are the fundamental prerequisites to becoming a performing artist. I had to go back to it recently, if only to remind myself why I chose to be in this unforgiving field that is theater, after receiving a rather emotional and venomous retort online regarding the way

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-63297460193719912062010-03-06T02:29:00.000-08:002010-08-15T02:56:59.916-07:00

(article published in Cordillera Today last March 1, 2010) By the time this sees print, the infamous concrete pine tree at the top of Session Road would have been felled already. The reactions we’ve heard so far were mostly praises, although there are still a few who actually continue to defend it and its creator. So what’s the big deal about the damned tree that made that has continually made

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-39833866436583632662010-02-13T18:53:00.000-08:002010-08-15T02:57:37.706-07:00

February 14 was never really a special day for me and my wife – any given day can turn into Valentine’s Day in a beautiful city like Baguio. Here in Baguio, sometimes just walking hand in hand with your loved one to where you take your jeep to go home can turn into a most romantic stroll through afternoon sun-kissed flower gardens and trees. At times Mother Nature may even treat you to a

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-920758854481662872010-02-11T16:57:00.000-08:002010-08-15T02:58:11.476-07:00

Stalls selling RTW, miscellaneous export overruns, and shoes from Marikina. Big tents set up by telecom and cigarette companies and those nifty gift items they give away and amusing promotional gimmicks they come up with to grab the attention of passers-by. Rows and rows of food stalls selling shawarma, sweet corn-on-the-cob, and barbecue.Free rock concerts that hopefully won’t result in brawls

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-39195356200817186682010-02-01T05:47:00.000-08:002010-08-15T03:01:00.481-07:00

I first met the children of Coroz last November, 2009 when I joined the team of artists from the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) on a visit to three areas affected by last year’s devastating typhoons for art therapy sessions. We spent two days in Coroz, Tublay, Benguet and at the end of the second day, I knew I would be going back there some time soon. I did last Friday. I needed help,

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-69858997565430415892010-01-23T17:42:00.000-08:002010-08-15T03:01:35.513-07:00

One step at the wrong time on the wrong spot, the earth beneath shifted and my left knee twisted too far towards one side, way farther than the ligament in there can handle – a sprain and no, I did not hear any sound that would indicate any dislocation. The twisting itself wasn’t that painful, but I knew that whatever movement I make thereafter would be, so there I was halfway up the knoll

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-23440539010982131032010-01-17T04:22:00.000-08:002010-08-15T03:05:08.166-07:00

The first photo (the skating rink taken from, well, SM) was taken a few years ago, and the second one just a few months ago. Development? On the one hand, the controversial Memorandum of Agreement is being downplayed as nothing more than an understanding between two parties, the City Government and the development proponents, to pursue and study the possibility of developing the Athletic

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-56962908812773537732010-01-11T22:06:00.000-08:002010-08-15T03:35:01.807-07:00

The news was certainly enough to make your blood boil: the Baguio Athletic Bowl being rented out for a measly 100k a month to a Korean investor who will put up, as alleged in several blog entries, among other things, the following in the area: a commercial complex, a hotel and a golf course. I wanted to get it straight from the horse’s mouth, so I made it a point to attend the next morning’s “

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-55109401378780153382009-12-23T21:35:00.000-08:002010-08-15T03:35:51.080-07:00

A lot of people have been clamoring for it, the capitalists won’t hear any of it. Ladies and gentlemen, the City of Baguio presents: the proposed pedestrianization of Session Road. A few years ago, my wife and I journeyed to the country’s photography and videography hub in Quiapo, Manila – Hidalgo St., to purchase a piece of equipment. On our way there, anticipating the traffic, noise and

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-23873066709439371542009-12-12T06:14:00.000-08:002010-08-15T03:37:41.251-07:00

Would you offer fake snow in Aspen? How about plastic tulips in Holland? Papier-mache pyramids in Egypt? The concrete pine tree at the top of Session Road just doesn’t make sense. And it has to go. The reasons for keeping that cement tree doesn’t hold water at all (pun very much intended). While we don’t really want to antagonize and insult the people behind it, we also don’t want to

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-20621456810732075512009-12-04T23:51:00.000-08:002010-08-15T03:38:37.877-07:00

We recently wrapped up Open Space’s tribute to the city on its centennial year, BC09AD, held last Dec. 2-3, 2009 at the Baguio Convention Center. The event was a collaborative effort of the Baguio-based multimedia arts group and featured performances of the aforementioned musical, a visual arts exhibit that captured the different facets of this cosmopolitan city and screenings of two

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-24869543752567775432009-11-21T02:25:00.000-08:002010-08-15T03:39:42.813-07:00

There is no other time more fitting, this is it: the perfect time to get the community, particularly the youth, interested in the history of our city. No sir, ma’am, we don’t want your students to merely learn about and memorize dates like June 1, 1903 or Sept. 1, 1909 or December 7, 1941 or July 16, 1990. But we do want to let them know about how hard the Igorots fought for their independence

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-40695984678317009592009-11-07T06:53:00.000-08:002010-08-15T03:48:00.293-07:00

He first came to the city about three years ago – lonely, dirty and hungry. To him, everything must have seemed so big in this city: the mountains, the trees, the buildings, even the stairs leading up to the cathedral seemed absurdly steep. He was drawn by the tolling of the bells towards the church, and later drawn towards the park by the sight of this family of four who have just attended mass

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-69610530912787926202009-10-24T06:39:00.000-07:002010-08-15T03:48:53.187-07:00

I have read the article on AdCon Overall Chair Margot Torres’ rationale on the decision to move this year’s Ad Congress to Subic, and while I still do not agree with the decision, I must admit I see their point. For all of us up here, the reasons behind the AdCon pullout are baseless: students have gone back to school, the malls, restaurants, sidewalks, etc. are once again filled with people,

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-35515386919847896712009-10-17T05:14:00.000-07:002010-08-15T03:54:47.412-07:00

And so the people behind the 21st Philippine Advertising Congress decided to ditch Baguio for Subic. This comes at a time when the city and its neighboring communities can really use some much needed push to rise up from the devastation caused by typhoon “Pepeng.” “Ito ang tama!,” a beer commercial says. A number of reasons have been cited for this insensitive, selfish decision – the safety of

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-48320865373362764442009-10-10T17:21:00.001-07:002010-08-15T03:55:25.071-07:00

In the last 13 years since I made Baguio my permanent place residence, I have lived in various parts of the city – three times in three different houses in San Luis Village along Asin Road. During one really strong typhoon in 2001, San Luis was inundated with landslides, one of which brought down a house killing several persons. The house we were living in then was also hit by a landslide, but

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-8060193628850817372009-10-08T04:58:00.000-07:002010-08-15T03:56:24.161-07:00

Naguillian Road, City Camp Lagoon, Marcos Highway, Government Loop, Session Road, Balili River... Oct. 8, 2009, around 4:30PM.

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-72092300302761068452009-10-06T21:49:00.001-07:002010-08-15T03:57:51.888-07:00

After squeezing in between students, parents and other local theater patrons, the simple yet imposing set greeted us as we entered the theater. This didn't come as a surprise knowing that the indefatigable duo of Baguio theater, Atty. Damaso and Mrs. Bing Bangaoet, was behind this production of “Joseph the Dreamer.” Known for theatrical presentations with impressive production values and as the

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-29399849468868377262009-10-02T09:06:00.000-07:002010-08-15T03:58:48.921-07:00

“Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-4324114081197651722009-09-23T21:33:00.000-07:002010-08-15T03:59:17.849-07:00

The posh hotel was quite impressive, I should've worn shoes instead of rubber slippers. The coffee did not taste burned (well, at least the first cup didn't) and the sandwich came with a tiny umbrella. "We need your brain." All 8 or 9 or 10 of them said in perfect unison, and the man seated at the head of the table wolfing down a rather long longanisa looked up and smiled at me as if to say, "

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-31288375379770896472009-09-21T18:09:00.000-07:002010-08-15T04:00:29.844-07:00

It was the administration party’s own version of the primaries – the frontrunners, nay the only runners, were Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando. While Fernando has been virtually campaigning since last year (I base this statement on his “performance” in a convention held in the city last year where he promoted himself, not so subtly, as the next president of this

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-47769621749912839732009-09-05T20:16:00.000-07:002010-08-15T04:01:04.327-07:00

In the early 90’s, the Baguio Arts Festival, then run by the Baguio Arts Guild, was among Baguio’s biggest tourist attractions, drawing both participants and audiences from here and abroad. But sadly, the annual holding of one of the country’s most successful art festivals seized with the last festival that was held back in 2002. Since then, no major artistic and cultural even has been held in

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-31322326840875929162009-09-01T20:30:00.000-07:002010-08-15T04:01:35.893-07:00

Excerpt from the KAFAGWAY: Sa Saliw Ng Mga Gangsa, a musical journey though Baguio's history. Music and lyrics by KM Altomonte. Arranged by Ethan Andrew Ventura. Performed by Lloyd Celzo with Emerlad Ventura. Nung una kitang makilala, aking mahal Ang puso ko'y nabihag ng 'yong kariktan Magmula noon 'di ko na kayang mawalay sa'yo Kafagway, sa yakap mo ako'y hihimlay... Pinapawi mo'ng lumbay na

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-6621122253947416222009-09-01T18:16:00.000-07:002010-08-15T04:02:06.468-07:00

Excerpt from the KAFAGWAY: Sa Saliw Ng Mga Gangsa, a musical journey though Baguio's history. Music and lyrics by KM Altomonte. Arranged by Ethan Andrew Ventura. Performed by Robert Capuyan, Jr. with Ken Dingle and Lloyd Celzo. Dantaon na ang lumipas Mga Kastila ay lumikas Tayo'y lumaya ng pansamantala May bagong mga amo... mga Amerikano... Pagamutan ba'ng itatayo niyo? Bakasyunan ba'ng

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-16039747049738458472009-08-29T04:24:00.000-07:002010-08-15T04:02:34.188-07:00

And so it all comes down to Tuesday, September 1, 2009. Today, Session Road is slowly filling up with butterflies, and a mother wearing a shirt with that same butterfly leaves her son in Burnham Park for soccer practice while she rushes to join the throngs armed with tarpaulins, staple guns, squeegees and soapy water, to help the city to put the best face it could for its 100th birthday.

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-79546399903040945052009-08-23T05:37:00.001-07:002010-08-15T04:03:45.895-07:00

First off, what is a gang? Dictionary.com provides a few definitions, one of them is “a group of persons working together; squad; shift: a gang of laborers.” Our gang of performing artists just had a successful premiere a few days earlier so last Saturday, we celebrated that with some food, drinks, music and lots of laughter. The night ended and we left our host’s house in Scout Barrio and were

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-69528763820225602302009-08-09T18:07:00.000-07:002010-08-15T04:04:12.864-07:00

Top Ten (continuation) (OUT IN THE OPEN - Cordillera Today, Aug. 9, 2009) Eusebius Halsema – appointed mayor of Baguio City in 1920, it was under Halsema’s administration that Baguio seem to have gone into overdrive: the city was among the first to use the then cutting-edge technology sodium vapor lamps for its street lights; Halsema oversaw the improvement of the city’s roads – 11 kilometers of

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-86859506476683705402009-07-28T05:27:00.000-07:002010-08-15T04:04:35.831-07:00

In a little over the month, the city will be recognizing the 100 Builders of Baguio, I can’t wait to see who made it to that list. From what I hear, there will be a list of 100 individuals and another for 100 institutions. I share my very own list of Baguio's top ten... 1. The Ibalois – the Cariño, Carantes, Camdas, Molintas, Suello and other nameless Igorots who nurtured this land for

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-322293919331332192009-07-19T03:06:00.000-07:002010-08-15T04:06:11.052-07:00

Our 14th year, no precious stones, no grand getaways, just an evening with friends, an evening of whisky and brandy and chicharon, at an exhibit opening and at table number one in Luisa’s on Session Road. A beer brought over from Rumours next door. Acquaintances slip in and out. Monsoon rains raging outside. “Really?” asked Pigeon, this paper’s editor-in-chief, asked in between brandy refills, “

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-89213236599711268072009-07-10T21:07:00.000-07:002010-08-15T04:07:07.369-07:00

There’s an art gallery inside the auditorium, though since we started rehearsing there a few weeks ago, I have never caught it open, nor have I come across any announcement of an upcoming or ongoing exhibit. Beauty pageants, singing contests, the occasional music concert and once every couple of years, a stage play or two – but lately, it’s been cold and quiet at the Baguio Convention Center, and

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-61478818494811068452009-07-06T23:35:00.000-07:002010-08-15T04:07:48.049-07:00

I last worked with Raymond in "Sakay" (1993), and then last year he invited me to be a part of a new full length film he was working on... it was like a reunion of sorts, familiar faces in the cast: Raul Arellano, John Arcilla, Soliman Cruz, Raul Morit, Ronnie Lazaro, Nonie Buencamino, Nanding Josef, etc... here's the trailer...

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-12567694812118372552009-07-05T15:50:00.000-07:002010-08-15T04:11:23.646-07:00

The circus has come early to town. With elections still almost a year away, some have jumped the gun. They’re already out, everyday, on various media, but more commonly on television. Infomercials, talk shows, some are seen peddling themselves even on programs supposedly devoted to the glory of God. Politics. It’s that time of the year, still almost a year before the elections, when the lines

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7689934449812057883.post-19986775979482690942009-06-28T17:32:00.000-07:002010-08-15T04:12:10.128-07:00

Excerpts from the openSpace performance during Session Road in Bloom, Panagbenga 2009. Original songs by KM Altomonte, arranged by Ethan Andrew Ventura. The band, KMA (keyboard), EAV (guitar), EdgarBunying (bass), Josef Ventura (drums. Vocalists: Emerald Ventura, Eunice Caburao, Ro Quintos, Kelly McGurk, Robert Capuyan, Jr., Lloyd Celzo, Jeff Coronado, ROman Ordoña and Ron Ruiz. Featured

KMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12353658319030695942noreply@blogger.com0