The Hispanic annotators wrote in their reports to the Hispanic monarchy that if not for their introduction of the theatre, the natives (the precolonial settlers in the islands in the Visayas) would not have one. In a way, this is true because the theatre (read here as formal theatre), meaning the staged, the costumed, and…
The Intramuros Project
On 8 June 2019, I reported about the OVCRD-funded project titled Performing Heritage/The Intramuros Project. The project officially ended on 15 June 2020. The entry below is an excerpt from the final report submitted to OVCRD and a short excerpt of the documentary-drama developed by the research/dramaturgical team. Excerpt from the FINAL REPORT: Performing Heritage…
The Map
For Alonzo A. Gabriel. . . Thank you for leading my life toward a beautiful direction! You will forever be missed but I am certain, I will never be lost again! Thank you for being my home for almost 15 years! THE MAP Streets and cities,Confusing districts;With your face,Illuminating . . .Like bright lightsIs a…
Almost 15, Happy Anniversary! (Part 3)
This is a semi-fiction and a semi-autobiographical narrative. The past few months have been very difficult for all of us due to the global health crisis brought about by COVID-19. But these months were even more difficult for me. I lost the love of my life, Alonzo. He was battling cancer (lymphoma) for almost six…
Almost 15, Happy Anniversary (Part 2)
This is a semi-fiction and a semi-autobiographical narrative. The past few months have been very difficult for all of us due to the global health crisis brought about by COVID-19. But these months were even more difficult for me. I lost the love of my life, Alonzo. He was battling cancer (lymphoma) for almost six…
Almost 15, Happy Anniversary! (Part 1)
This is a semi-fiction and a semi-autobiographical narrative. The past few months have been very difficult for all of us due to the global health crisis brought about by COVID-19. But these months were even more difficult for me. I lost the love of my life, Alonzo. He was battling cancer (lymphoma) for almost six…
Melbourne's Expo House and Royal Gardens
I am writing this post while the entire Luzon was on an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). It is the 7th day since the ECQ and right now, Barangay UP Campus (and the entire academic town of the University of the Philippines Diliman) is on lock down. This COVID-19 situation is really so scary and so…
Heritage appreciation tour, or adventures and misadventures in Vietnam and Myanmar (Concluding Part)
On our last day in Yangon, we hired a private charter with the agenda of seeing the spectacle that is Yangon city. On a personal note, I wanted to see only one thing: the Shwedagon Pagoda! Remember the bright golden monument I was describing on an earlier post when we finally entered the city center…
Come on and Ghent/Gent me, Gent me; Baby I’m Yours! (The Castle of the Counts/Gravensteen)
Belgium is my favorite European country. I have several reasons and Ghent/Gent is one of them. Why Ghent/Gent? I thought the city was really charming in a sense that its surroundings reminded me so much of the fairy tales I read in my elementary years and I watched on television and the big screen via…
Siquijor: A Hidden Paradizzze in the Philippines (Part 1)
“We are going to Siquijor,” informing one of my closest friends. She asked me to bring asin (salt) to shoo evil spirits. She also pleaded me not to take anything from the locals. More so, not to drink anything that the locals offer. Then, she asked me to remember Manilyn Reynes and Ana Roces, two…
Tanghal Kultura 