Shortly before midnight on Dec. 31, 2022, as I reached for a dozen grapes on the dining table to start the countdown to the new year, someone commented “pa-uso ka na naman.” I didn’t comment on the grapes being set in the middle of Mandarin oranges and other round...
Every year on Dec. 30, newspaper editorials try to make the martyrdom of Jose Rizal relevant to readers who know of him but have not really read Rizal’s works. Early in the morning, the President of the Philippines, or his designated representative, offers a wreath at...
For many people, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) is just a venue for the performing arts: a concert hall, a stage for dance and drama, and a screen for film, mainstream and indie. Outside of performances, the CCP has a library and an art gallery. For me,...
When I wrote my column for Wednesday, the price of onions (red, white, or mixed) was at P380 per kilo, up from P200 weeks earlier. Today, it is P400 per kilo. While seriously considering Sen. Cynthia Villar’s example and learning to live without onions, I reached far...
Unlike Sen. Cynthia Villar, I cannot live without onions, a staple in our daily cooking. My cook complained the other day about the price of onions at P380 a kilo. It is an increase from P200 a kilo some weeks ago when no white onions could be found. Today, P380 will...
Apps are breathing new life into archival photographs by enhancing, correcting, and adding color to sepia or black and white. Some apps can even make the dead figures in archival photographs move and smile! Well-meaning followers who “colorize” the archival photos I...
What passes for paella Valenciana in the Philippines is rice with chicken, pork, shrimp, and shellfish. Even the “Chorizo de Bilbao” is locally sourced because it does not exist in Bilbao, like pancit canton can’t be had in Canton. Perhaps the only foreign ingredient...
Fifty years ago this week, Imelda Marcos survived an assassination attempt while handing out prizes for her beautification projects at Nayong Pilipino. Recounting this incident years later, Mrs. Marcos said the “ugly weapon” could be improved with a yellow ribbon....
