Tag: No. 4

SPANNING four centuries of popular and critical acclaim, the classic novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes continues to shape the literary landscape. In line with the 400th year of its publication last 2005, the Instituto de Cervantes of Manila, the Spanish cultural agency, organized a series of lectures by three accomplished Filipino writers representing three generations of readers of Don Quixote.

These lectures are now compiled and published in a book, If a Filipino Writer Reads Don Quixote (Instituto de Cervantes and UST Publishing House, 2007). The book instantly places the reader in a position of curious familiarity with the often deranged but chivalric man from La Mancha, thus asking, “What if a Filipino writer reads Don Quixote?”

ON THE night of the first of September, 2007, the Rigodon Ballroom of Peninsula Manila teemed with Filipino creative writers of different generations gathering for a night of celebration of Philippine literary excellence.

Now on its 57th year, the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature stayed true to its goal of discovering the best in Philippine literature. With 27 new names in its roster of winners, six of whom are below 20 years old, the most respected literary award-giving body in the country continues to be the aspiring writer’s doorway into the foyer of the literary circle.

Senator Mar Roxas, the event’s guest of honor, commended the assembly of writers present in the awards night.

“I am awed by the commitment, the continuity, and the steadfastness that the Palanca family has given in recognition of the men and women who have excelled in arts and letters here in our country,’” he said in his speech.

COME noontime, variety shows indubitably rule the boob tube. Like rice, shows such as Wowowee and Eat Bulaga! have become staples of the lunch ritual, promising hungry viewers savory entertainment that’s sure to suit anyone’s palate. However, for these shows, too much competition for ratings runs the risk of compromising quality, not to mention compromising values.

In many instances, since these noontime variety shows have metamorphosed into nothing but game shows featuring multimillion jackpots, they have been accused of promoting the culture of begging among the general masses of Filipinos who are poor.

For countless of poor Filipinos, these shows could be the answer to their prayers to be pulled out of poverty’s quagmire. Little do they know that they have greater chances of being struck by lighting rather than winning the jackpot.

Have daily noontime variety shows really gone overboard? Have they become unsavory like spoiled lunch?

YOUNG LOVE with all its sweetness and heartache is the focus of Teatro Tomasino’s Unang Dalaw, staged last Sept. 16 and 17 at the Albertus Magnus Auditorium.

Written by Eduardo Perez and directed by Niña Belle Gavan, Unang Dalaw tells of the triumphs and troubles of the sisters Lucia, Clarita, and Barbara as they find themselves caught up in the unsettling dynamics of love and growing up.

The story is set at the turn of the 20th century during which societal norms dictated that Filipinas be strictly conservative and demure, suppressing their desires and sentiments.

Barbara has just turned 12 and experienced her “unang dalaw” (menstruation); she falls in love with Bisero, a Katipunero whose name means donkey, the lad’s mirror image. But Barbara overlooks Bisero’s unfortunate looks and is attracted to him because of his principled conviction and bravery.

THEATER and drama may not anymore be considered “cool” by the younger generation, but Teatro Tomasino continues to uphold the theater tradition in UST. The theater company in fact is marking its 30th anniversary this year with the theme, “Teatro Tomasino at 30: Celebrating the Grace of Excellence, Striving for a Higher Quest, and Fulfilling the Dream.”

“It is a special accomplishment for Teatro Tomasino to achieve 30 years of producing outstanding plays and molding thespians,” Teatro Tomasino president Niña Belle Gavan told the Varsitarian.

It was in March 1977 when Professor Myrna Hilario, along with 25 other students, formed a group that sought to hone the stage and acting talents of young people.

As a new organization, Teatro Tomasino encountered the usual birth pangs of any new theater group.

SIX YEARS ago, Thomasian Severino Navarro, an electronics and communications engineer, applied for a job in Singapore but was rejected. The agency apparently thought seniority mattered and at the age of 39, Navarro was considered a year short to land the position of senior engineer. He waited for a year and applied again for the same stint. Eventually, Navarro became the assistant senior engineer for Panasonic Singapore. This success, he said, he owes to God, his family’s support, and his UST diploma.

“Without it, I would probably never make it here,” he told the Varsitarian.

Born and raised in Manila, Navarro entered UST in 1978, but graduated only in 1989 due to scarce finances. He needed to get a job first to foot the bill for his tuition. Navarro even tied the knot before coming back to graduate.

“When I came back to school, I already had a wife and children,” he said.

AFTER opening last Jan. 16 at the UST Museum of Arts and Sciences, the Varsitarian’s pearl anniversary exhibit, the Varsitarian at 80: the Struggle and the Glory, will tour the campus next month.

The exhibit will chart the history of the Varsitarian, from its foundation in 1928 by Jose Villa Panganiban, a working student, up to the new millennium when it enjoyed much respect in and out of the campus press world, highlighted by an entry in the CCP Encyclopedia of the Arts, the only campus paper to make an entry.

Showcasing these grueling and glorious years of the paper will be the golden yellow pages of its past issues delicately framed in panels.

POPE BENEDICT XVI appointed Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams as the new Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines last September 3.

The 63-year-old former Vatican ambassador to Zimbabwe succeeds Archbishop Fernando Filoni, who was appointed a substitute for Vatican’s Undersecretary of State for General Affairs, the third most important post at the Vatican’s foreign affairs ministry. Filoni succeeded Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, who has been appointed Prefect for the Congregation for Eastern Churches.

Adams is the 15th in the line of apostolic delegates and apostolic nuncios to the country.

Born in Philadelphia, USA on Aug 24, 1944, Adams, who has a Doctorate in Canon Law, was ordained priest in May 1970. Adams began work in the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1976 and served in countries such as Rwanda, Kenya, Honduras, Ireland, Denmark, and Czech Republic.

THE YOUTH must face the problem of child pornography in the Philippines.

This is the call of Batingaw, a nationwide campaign against child pornography launched by the Anti-Child Pornography Alliance (ACPA) and Iskolar, an institute for youth development.

“We are the main victims of this evil in society,” said Lean Peace Flores, chair of the ACPA-Committee on Children and Youth Concerns. “Child pornography leaves far-reaching effects that may last a lifetime because these are lasting testaments of a child’s exploitation. It excuses no one: children who have access to cell phones with cameras are vulnerable to it; thus the proliferation of sex videos of minors taken through cell phones, finding its way ultimately to the Internet.

THE THUNDER of La Naval is expected to ring loudest next month when the Philippine Church and the Dominican Order mark the centennial of the coronation of the Nuestra Señora del Rosario, La Naval de Manila.

Now enshrined at the Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City, Nuestra Señora del Rosario de La Naval was the first Marian image in the Philippines to be canonically crowned in 1907. It is said that Pope Pius X had immediately acceded to the Dominicans’ request for the canonical coronation by writing his permission long-hand in 1906.

The festivities of La Naval were the most lavish and most-attended in Old Manila. They commemorated the miraculous victory of the outnumbered Spanish and Filipino defenders against the Protestant Dutch invaders in 1646.