Tag: Vol. LXXVII

IN CELEBRATION of the fiesta season, Raul Lakan Ilaw’s first exhibit, Debosyon, spruced up the Hiraya Gallery last May 28.

A graduate of the University’s then College of Architecture and Fine Arts, Lakan Ilaw had a successful career in local advertising as an art director. In 1993, however, he relocated and found greener pastures in the United Arab Emirates, and later in Shanghai, China. In the decade that he worked abroad, he showed a deep longing for his native Binangonan. The homesickness was the subject of the exhibit.

REALITY TV shows have now become the most talked-about entertainment programs in the country, next to telenovelas. Adapted from foreign programs, they have crowded the airwaves and have since evolved into many different forms—from the various types of star searches to the more adventurous extreme sports.

ABC 5’s Dokyu is one reality program with a twist. It features the perspective of the youth in the world around them through documentaries the young people themselves make.

THOUSANDS of people attended this year’s Fete de la Musique (Musical Celebration), the most anticipated event in the French Spring Festival at El Pueblo, Ortigas last June 18.

Featuring different stages and the best local acts today, the climactic end to the festival gave the clear statement of this year’s spring festival theme, “Unity in Diversity.”

EVEN before the CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) craze in the United States, crime and police thrillers have long been one of the themes of French movies. And in this year’s French film festival in Manila, murder, suspense, and conspiracy films dominated the silver screens—along with other genres that French films are known for.

Inspecteur Lavardin

Awed with the country’s pineapple textile and silk weaving industry, Designer Elodie Brunet joined the Runungan sa Tubod Foundation Inc., a group which aims to widen the weaving industry in Palawan.

Brunet, famed for designing scarves for Christian Dior, created wonderful designs of tablerunners, cushions, placemats, and tablecloths from pineapple textiles.

She named these light-weight creations Sli-On, a T’Boli word that refers to objects that are practically useless but priceless because of their elegance.

THE most romantic city in the world is captured in striking blue, violet, and green by the Philippine’s foremost travel photographer in George Tapan’s exhibit, “Paris Off Color,” mounted at the Greenbelt 3 in Makati City last June 3-19.

Using solarization, Tapan captures the most photographed city in the world with a different perspective, shooting familiar sights and uncommon locations as well.

TWO weeks after Pope Benedict XVI lifted the five-year waiting period before starting a beatification process, his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, is on his way to possible sainthood after an edict was issued calling for testimonies proving the virtues of the late pope.

The edict, signed by Camillo Ruini, vicar of the Diocese of Rome, was published on May 18 in response to the flood of requests to make the late pontiff a saint.

The edict will be posted on the headquarters’ doors of the Diocese of Rome and Krakow, Poland for two months.

SOME 42 UST students helped build houses in Quezon Province last May 23 to 25 upon an invite from a non-government organization (NGO).

Gawad Kalinga, a Manila-based NGO, invited the University to take part in the reconstruction of houses in Gen. Nakar in Quezon, a town that suffered massive devastation from typhoons Winnie and Yoyong last December.

National Service Training Program chief Dr. Lito Maranan said the students fully participated, but some of them were brought to the hospital due to urinary tract infection and gastritis.

A RENOWNED Thomasian artist along with his children successfully held an art exhibit at the Philippine Center in New York last May 23 to June 3.

Edgar Doctor and his four daughters—Amihan, Lualhati, Luningning and Yasmin—had their paintings, photographs, sculptures and jewelry designs on display. Edgar and Amihan are UST alumni, while Yasmin is a Journalism senior at Faculty of Arts and Letters. Lualhtati and Luningning are from Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle Univesity.

FOR THE second consecutive year, the UST Publishing House (USTPH) was awarded Publisher of the Year by the Manila Critics Circle during the 24th National Book Awards last Sept. 4 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City.

“When you say ‘winner’, you are producing quality books,” USTPH Director Mecheline Manalastas told the Varsitarian. “We had six award recipients out of 11, the most number of award recipients among the publishers.”