Culture Archives - The Flame

Nov302022 by Culture EditorNo Comments

UST Museum: Teaching about the past while keeping up with the times

Culture

THE UST Museum of Arts and Sciences has been home to some of the greatest cultural treasures of the country, ranging from paintings, sculptures, and other artifacts. Since opening its doors in 1869, the museum witnessed the evolution of times and mirrored Filipino values through various generations. Its current assistant director John Carlo Sayco shared with The Flame some of its treasures that are often overlooked by visitors but are great contributors to the representation of Philippine history and the Filipino-Thomasian identity. Fernando Amorsolo’s “Bayanihan” (1959) The Hall of Visual Arts is introduced with a breath-taker: Fernando Amorsolo’s “Bayanihan” painting. It features a group of men trudging uphill carrying a bahay-kubo. They are led by a man with ...

Sep172022 by Culture EditorNo Comments

In need of USTET advice? Here are six tips from ates and kuyas of AB

Culture

by SAMANTHA Z. ARGONZA and THEA REBECCA DC. FLORES BEFORE GETTING inside the den of the tigers and the home of age-old traditions, Thomasians must pass the University of Santo Tomas Entrance Test (USTET). Due to mobility restrictions during the pandemic, it was suspended, and UST Admission Rating (USTAR) was implemented for two years. With the return of USTET, The Flame asked six Artlets to share pointers that can help aspiring Thomasians prepare for it. Plan a study schedule Preparing for the USTET starts by setting the mind never to underestimate it. History senior Emil Martin Bautista recalled when people were making jokes about the USTET, labeling it “the easiest among the big four exams.” Bautista said that that was not the case. Preparations for the...

Sep162022 by Culture EditorNo Comments

‘This is our time’: Theater orgs perform on stage for the first time since the pandemic

Culture

by SAMANTHA Z. ARGONZA THE CURTAINS have finally opened. Artistang Artlets (AA) and Mediartrix return on stage as they welcomed the juniors and sophomores to the university-wide Homecoming event. This lauds their first live in-person performance since the pandemic happened. The applause and drumbeats inside the Quadricentennial Pavilion (QPAV) last August 23rd muted the heavy spatter of rain. Gleaming with the spotlight, the performers stood on the platform as the ocean of lights surrounded them like waves as if it was a cordial greeting solely meant for them. The homecoming “It’s unbelievable because we did not expect it,” Alea Loquinario, a performer from AA said. She said that it was a huge leap for their organization to be invited to the event as they were used...

Sep52022 by Culture EditorNo Comments

Turning to art after WWII: The fashion legacy of National Artist Salvacion Lim “Slim” Higgins

Culture

By THEA REBECCA DC. FLORES EVEN BEFORE bracing a peek into her designer creations, the late dressmaker Salvacion Lim Higgins has already sketched a fashion-forward outlook into this exclusive dressmaking called "haute couture." Haute couture, French for ‘high sewing,' is the high-end fashion luxury for custom-fitted dressmaking. Intricate embellishments and embroidery are ornate in this prestigious craftsmanship. Couturier Salvacion Lim, often referred to as ‘Slim,’ revolutionized the Philippine fashion industry during the ‘golden age of haute couture,’ starting mid-1940s. This ultimately established her as the “Queen Mother of Modern Terno.” The terno is part of the broad selection of filipinianas and is most often recognizable by its butterfly sleeves. It is also mista...

Jul272022 by Culture EditorNo Comments

Dream Walker: A peek into the process of Noel Layon Flores

Culture

WHILE THE story is important, visuals are usually what hook readers. The haunting and unsettling paths remain in their memory. Horror comic books are usually designed to warn about things that go bump in the night — things that are unknown. Dream Walker, a horror fiction comic book, was created and written by Filipino-American writer Mikey Sutton and international visual artist Noel Layon Flores. They started creating the series in 2019 and eventually got published in February 2021. It can be purchased online via the Second Skin Comics website. The story revolves around Kat, a survivor of a tragic bus accident in Pampanga that killed women and children. After the incident, she learns she can steal items from people's dreams and use them to combat monsters and demons. “Inspir...

Jul172022 by Culture EditorNo Comments

Must-try bento cakes around the Metro

Culture

BENTO CAKES, mini cakes, or lunchbox cakes are trendy treats that fit all your sweet cravings and Instagram needs in cute little boxes. These cakes are South Korean bakers' answer to their neighbor Japan’s bento lunch boxes. The Japanese term “bento,” which means lunch box or packed meal, was adopted to refer to cakes that are small in size but not in quality. These “kawaii” lunch boxed cakes are not just decorated to fit in one’s Instagram feeds, or flavored just to linger in one’s lips. Because of the cakes’ midget size, they are also portioned to keep forever out of our hips, as the saying goes. The Flame filtered out the overwhelming lists of “must-try” South Korean-inspired cakes to find the bento-est of them all in Metro Manila. Delicielo Can a person have their...

Jun132022 by Associate EditorNo Comments

Artlets talk about political volunteerism

Culture

House-to-house campaigns, mural paintings, and collateral distribution under harsh weather are examples of acts done by political volunteers. They go to the streets, carrying a cause with them and standing for what they believe in. Proven to be a critical sector, the Filipino youth nowadays inspires and enacts their political ideology through the conduct of political volunteerism. This is the case for Artlets Paulo Manuel and Martin Alcantara who stood on their beliefs and served as volunteers for the campaign period during the recently-held national elections. What it means to be a political volunteer Manuel, the president of UST Concilium Philosophiae for Academic Affairs and former volunteer for Chel Diokno, defined a ‘volunteer’ as an individual who "does something ...

May52022 by Associate EditorNo Comments

Three things you need to know to be election-ready

Culture

SOCIAL MEDIA is now a major platform for expressing political views and promoting causes. However, relying solely on the internet for election-related information is never adequate, even risky. Young voters need to cut through the clutter of social media and prepare for the coming elections, a crucial event that will shape the direction of the Philippines as it seeks to recover from the pandemic. After all, their decisions in the polling precincts will likely have a lasting impact on practically every aspect of their life. How can the youth, especially first-time voters, be election ready? Know thy political landscape Legal management junior Claudine Joanna Imperial and communication junior Jose Paulo Ryan Joson said they familiarize themselves with the political ...

Apr62022 by Culture EditorNo Comments

Barok in focus: What to see in Art Fair PH’s project section

Culture

By PAULINE JOYCE C. PASCUAL NOTHING is more life-affirming than acquiring an appreciation for the arts, and the new normal is the season for trying out new experiences. Quarantine rules have eased, and Filipinos are eager to engage in activities that were previously halted during the pandemic's peak. Art Fair Philippines is no exception, as it resumed highlighting the best and brightest of the contemporary Philippine art scene. The country's premier exhibit, a promoter of the strength of modern and contemporary Philippine visual art, returned for its 10th edition with a hybrid experience from March 23 to April 1 that included physical exhibitions at Ayala Triangle Gardens and gallery venues, as well as online exhibitions and other activities at artfairphilippines.com. One of ...

Mar242022 by Culture EditorNo Comments

Award-winning Filipina sci-fi writers to read on Women’s Month

Culture

By HAZEL N. CAMBA FINDING FEMALE writers on the science fiction shelves nowadays would not even be a surprise, unlike the old times. For the past decades, science fiction has been a male-dominated genre, with more men bagging recognizable awards like Hugo and being included in the list of “best-selling” science fiction. Today, an increasing number of women have successfully built their names in the genre, where they finally dominated Hugo awards for two consecutive years. In celebration of Women’s Month, The Flame rounds up the names of the Filipina sci-fi writers you might want to add to your "must-read" list. 1. Kristine Ong Muslim Fiction and poetry author Kristine Ong Muslim grabbed honorable mentions in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, and got nominated for the...