Tag: Vol. LXXIX No. 7

A FLOCK of Thomasian nightingales accompanied by UST’s finest instrumentalists serenaded audiences with a repertoire of classical and modern Christmas carols during UST’s fifth Christmas concert, Symphony of Carols, at the Santisimo Rosario Parish Church last Dec. 7.

Besides celebrating Christ’s birth, the concert served as a channel to display the incomparable performing artists of the University.

“It is a way by which the University showcases the Thomasian talents and shares them with friends and other stakeholders,” said Giovanna Fontanilla, director of the Public Affairs Office.

Monsignor Joseph Edward Adams, the papal nuncio to the Philippines, led the diplomatic corps who were invited to the concert. Others in the audience were Wellington Wei, director of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, and Vic Vianzon, ABC 5’s vice-president for programming.

MADALAS isipin ng karamihan na limitado sa isang larangan lamang ang pagkakamit ng tagumpay. Subalit ipinakita ni Basilio Valdes, Tomasinong doktor at heneral, na maaaring mahigitan pa ito sa pamamagitan ng dedikasyon at husay sa pagganap sa mga tungkulin.

Nakilala si Valdes sa kasaysayan bilang isa sa opisyal na humawak ng mga matataas na posisyon sa pamahalaang Komonwelt. Itinalaga siya ni Pangulong Manuel L. Quezon bilang chief of staff ng Philippine Army at ng Philippine Constabulary (kasalukuyang Philippine National Police) noong 1939. Naglingkod naman siya bilang kalihim ng Department of National Defense mula 1941 hanggang 1945, sa ilalim ng government-in-exile ni Quezon sa Estados Unidos. Sa ilalim ng kanyang pangangasiwa sa departamento isinagawa ang mga paghahanda ng hukbo ng Pilipinas sa noo’y napipintong digmaan sa pagitan ng Estados Unidos at ng bansang Hapon.

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” -Epicurus, BC 341-270

IT WAS after the opening Misa de Gallo, when I saw that little girl, who was walking alone across the rough road of one of the summits of Sierra Madre. She was wearing a small stained white blouse, a navy blue skirt, and a threadbare pair of slippers. Although she was only seven then, she already taught me one of the most inspiring lessons that I will treasure forever.

SOME 2,000 years after Jesus Christ’s birth, do you still know why Filipinos celebrate Advent, decorate their homes, sing Christmas carols, go to midnight Mass, eat noche buena, and, when the clock strikes 12 on Christmas eve, greet each other “Merry Christmas”?

Or amid the hype and fanfare, have you forgotten the real meaning of Christmas?

In the Philippines, celebrating Christmas starts way ahead of other countries. Enter the so-called “Ber” months and Christmas lights, lanterns, and other Christmas decor start to sprout everywhere.

Then Christmas-themed advertisements start to fill the media and commercial establishments. One toothpaste commercial in the past even had the traditional Midnight Mass as a setting for girl-watching.

Could things get any worse for Christmas?

“They say a person needs just these things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do and something to hope for.” -Tom Bodett

GONE are the days when I would write a very long wish list two months before Christmas and tell everyone about it (hoping that they would get the hint). I have a theory. The older you get, the less materialistic you become. Though I still have my Christmas wish list, I don’t write it anymore. Though I really want a Bratz baby doll (at the age of 20), it’s unlike 10 years ago when I would be a Scrooge all the day if I didn’t get what I wanted.

I am a spoiled brat, and I am still one. The difference now is that the things that I am throwing tantrums about are no longer tangible. I am not a child anymore, although I continue to dream.

IBA TALAGA ang Pasko sa Pilipinas.

Sa kabila ng dami ng problemang dinaranas natin taun-taon, may kakaibang ngiting namumutawi sa mga labi ng bawat taong makakasalubong mo sa kalye, sa eskuwela o di kaya’y sa opisina. Sadyang kakaibang sigla ang naidudulot ng simoy ng Pasko sa ating mga Pilipino.

Hindi maikakailang malakas ang impluwensya ng Kristyanismo sa ating bansa dahil sa buong Asya, tayong mga Pilipino ang may pinakamaaga, pinakamahaba, at pinakamatagal na pagdiriwang ng Pasko. Pagpatak pa lang ng buwan ng Setyembre, nagsisimula nang makarinig ang lahat ng mga tugtuging pamasko sa radyo. Mayroon na ring mga kaakit-akit na mga ilaw, parok,at palamuti sa daan. Siksikan na rin sa mga mall at mga tiangge sa Divisoria. Halos lahat ng mga palabas sa telebisyon ay may temang tungkol sa Pasko.

DURING the feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle last November 30, the Vatican formally promulgated Pope Benedict XVI’s second encyclical, Spe Salvi. Although the official English title of the document is On Christian Hope, the original title is really a Latin expression meaning “saved by hope.” The encyclical takes its inspiration from the 24th verse of the eighth chapter of St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans: “For in hope we were saved.”

The promulgation was obviously timed with the Christmas season, which is called Advent in the Catholic calendar, the season of hope. And that hope is impelled by the birth of Jesus Christ, the source and engine of human redemption.

ON THE brink of glory.

Flaunting a little of everything in its retooled artillery, the Faculty of Arts and Letters (Artlets) is slowly making its championship intentions clear in the 2007 Thomasian Goodwill Games basketball wars.

The AB team capped the month-long eliminations with a flawless 7-0 slate, following a 96-78 drubbing of the Ecclesiastical Faculties last December 13 at the Engineering Sports Complex.

Banking on the prolific three-point sniping of shooting guard Ed De la Torre, Artlets underscored its reputation as the fiercest offensive machineries in the tournament, whipping their opponents by an average margin of 19 points an outing.

“We are excited going to the finals, the competition is much more intense compared to previous games,” Artlet guard Rainier Santos told the Varsitarian.

FOR THE first time, painting majors of the College of Fine Arts and Design experienced how it was to showcase and sell their works in an open-house exhibition at the gallery of the Beato Angelico Building last Nov. 19 to 23.

“(The professors wanted) the students to feel how is it like to sell an artwork,” said Mailah Baldemore-Balde, painting professor and one of the organizers of exhibition, titled Mga Pyesa: 1 2 3 4. “We want them to be appreciated when someone buys their painting. This is like a steppingstone where we make them feel the life of an artist in the world outside.”

The works, which covered different artistic styles such as modernism, impressionism, expressionism, cubism, surrealism and realism, were plates required of the students.

However, Balde said she did not want the students to consider their works as mere plates.

BAMBAN, Tarlac – The aeta culture may be slowly fading away, but tribesmen remain optimistic on the future.

During the “Araw ng Katutubo” spearheaded by the UST Office for Community Development of last October 25, Fernando Mallari, 50, leader of Sitio Haduan, told the Varsitarian that many in the younger generations of their village no longer want to practice traditions inherited from their ancestors. “Dahil sa impluwensiya mula sa kapatagan, nahahati kami,” Mallari said.

One of the reasons for this is that younger aetas want to imitate the way the “unats” (straight-haired) wear clothes, especially those they see on TV.

Despite this, he still sees hope for their culture and traditions. Elders are starting to take measures to preserve their way of life, like greater use of the ethnic dialects, Mag-antsi and Sambal, in conversing with each other.