Culture Archives - The Flame

Sep142020 No Comments

Seeking Balance: Steadying One’s Self On Life’s Unstable Rope

by JOHN PATRICK A. MAGNO RANARA “HOW DOES one find solid footing in a world and future that is suddenly more uncertain as ever?” This is the question viewers are asked when they click Seeking Balance: A Tumba-Tumba Proof-of-Concept Show — a virtual exhibit presented by the University of the Philippines (UP) Vargas Museum in collaboration with The Center for Art, New Ventures & Sustainable Development (CANVAS). Balance is an intangible concept that everyone seeks in their life. As new problems rise and spread around the world, it seems impossible for anyone to keep on their toes. Most have even lost their footing and succumbed to the dark depths below. To inspire people to get back on their feet, CANVAS had gathered 25 individual artists and four groups to explore the hardsh

Aug232020 No Comments

Conquering Battles In Online Classes

Culture

by THERIZ LIZEL R. SILVANO MILLIONS of silent complaints about online learning in the midst of a pandemic are bottled up at the back of each students’ mind—no worries about feeling alone in this struggle. Students and parents think that studying amid the pandemic is somehow inappropriate for various justifiable reasons. After overcoming the challenges of the last school year’s adjustments to continue the semester, however, students are now able to adapt to the online learning environment. Although other students have experienced homeschooling, some are not born with that kind of privilege, making it hard for them to adjust to the new way of education. Despite knowing how wearying the country’s problems today, Education Secretary Leonor Briones believes that education should

Aug212020 No Comments

Artlets With Deep Pockets: Earning and Saving Money Amid The Pandemic

Culture

by THERIZ LIZEL R. SILVANO MONEY comes and goes—it doesn’t really stay long in one’s hands, but rather flies and shifts places or possessions from one person to another. And when talking about money, two impressions come to mind—earning and saving. Lack of “emergency money” pushes most people to commit poor decisions in handling their finances and resources in times of crisis. The absence of knowledge in financing is also another reason most people struggle in committing to saving their money. People also think that it is easier to finance at a young age. But in today’s circumstances, many may have noticed that both adults and students face troubles when it comes to budgeting. It turns out that making money for students is not completely effortless and fulfill

Aug32020 No Comments

Anting-anting: Alive or Forgotten?

Culture

words and photos by CHRISTINE JANINE CORTEZ IT IS not often that people of today will ever lay eyes, nor will they ever get a chance to witness an amorphous anting-anting; an inevitable reminder and a relic of a religious icon for protection, luck, and healing. Most might say it is absurd to even speak of it these days. It may be true, but not for the people who continue to believe. Some people even made an art out of it during a gallery exhibit curated by Norman Crisologo titled, Bulong at Sigaw: Mga Kontemporaryong Kulam, Dasal, Anting-anting, at Ritwal (Whisper and Prayer: Contemporary Witchcraft, Prayer, Anting-anting, and Rituals). Held at Art Informal on Connecticut St., Greenhills East, Mandaluyong City. Together, the exhibit was made possible by Crisologo and 11 ot

Jul292020 No Comments

Hanayo: A Taste of Korea, A Reminder of Home

Culture

by JOHN PATRICK MAGNO RANARA AS STUDENTS scout for a place to silence their hungry stomachs, they might feel a bit dismal from all the run-of-the-mill fast-food meals that dominate the streets around UST. Peter You had decided to make a difference with his restaurant, Hanayo, by offering all kinds of Korean specialties. Ten years ago, You was motivated by the sentiments of his children grown jaded from oily food such as fried chicken and hamburgers. With this, he wanted to create something that offered more than Western cuisine. In the narrow street of Antonio in Sampaloc, Manila, Hanayo welcomed customers with picture after picture of famous South Korean pop stars framed on the walls of the restaurant, eliciting a sense of satisfaction with the neatness of the displ...

Jul202020 No Comments

A Haven Within the Busy Streets

Culture

words and photos by THEA ANDREA C. MAGUERIANO Coffee and flowers — an ideal interior for an unfiltered elegance of flavors and decor. La Taza is located on the busy streets of Dangwa along the road of Laon Laan, near Dos Castillas. The café is not only located along the flower-filled streets but also in front of the flower shop that is run by the mother of La Taza’s owner, Nite Alparas. The coffee shop’s location used to be half a flower shop and a showroom. The former was first built into a cafe and later on expanded on the showroom side. “Showroom siya dati, bale dito sila nag didisplay,” shared Mark Letran, the Manager of La Taza. The interior had a special touch of a mother. All the motifs, the design, and ideas solely came from the mind of Alparas’s mo

Feb262020 No Comments

A Peek in ALT Philippines 2020

Culture

by JOHN PATRICK MAGNO RANARA and THEA ANDREA MAGUERIANO A TOTAL of ten galleries showcased a vast array of artful gems in the ALT Philippines 2020: The Art Show Reframed last Feb. 14 to 16. From traditional paintings to innovative sculptures, the collaborative art show was made possible through the hands of over 150 artists, each unique with their own styles and techniques. Art enthusiasts filled the hall of the SMX Convention Center at SM Aura Premier as they roamed and marveled at the various handiwork of creative minds and calloused hands. ALT Philippines showed that though art is a personal and intimate experience of an artist, it doesn’t mean that it could not unite them for a singular cause; to show that art could be reframed despite changing times.

Feb172020 No Comments

Grand Gestures of Life’s Wonders

Culture

by THERIZ LIZEL R. SILVANO NATURAL colors are exhibited through the rendition of life’s sceneries in Kenneth Montegrande’s 10th solo exhibition, ‘Grandeur Landscapes’. The exhibit displayed a sight of natural realities, incorporating a few colors to interpret the pieces’ sense. With the minimalistic and spacious exhibition room, what stuns the art enthusiasts is Montegrande’s inexplicable and earthy artistic works. The exhibition is on view at the Galerie Joaquin in U.P. Town Center, Katipunan, Quezon City from Feb. 4 to Feb. 10. Dispersed with lucent hues, Montegrande’s Life is Beautiful Beyond Measure speaks the value of life in its brightness. As the color red dominates the canvas, it describes how life consists of energy, strength, and power. It may also show a resemblance

Oct222019 No Comments

ManilART’19: An Omnium Gatherum of Artistry

Culture

by THEA ANDREA MAGUERIANO ManilART, a 5-day national fair on its 11th year with the theme “Showcasing the Global Filipino Artist” was held last Oct. 9 to 13 at the SMX Convention Center, SM Aura Premier, Taguig to unveil worldwide Filipino talent. The event was held in the said month in celebration of Philippines' commemoration of Museums and Galleries Month. Additionally, ManilART is a flagship project of the National Committee on Art Galleries of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. The exhibit showcased different forms of art from global Filipino artists. From paintings to sculpture, ManilART’19 did not fail to amaze the art world with its world-class talent. “Nostradamus Prophecies I” - Romulo Feliciano (Ominous) The entrance to the exhibit started

Aug92019 No Comments

Rekindling old reading habits

Culture

by JOHN PATRICK MAGNO RANARA There comes a time in a bookworm’s life where they lose the joyful spark of reading. To underscore ways to make time in coming back to reading the books forgotten in their dusty, spiderwebbed shelves or to the ones waiting to be unwrapped from their glossy, plastic prison, literary enthusiasts engaged bookworms in “The Library is Open: How to Get Back into the Habit of Reading Books,” a forum held at Raffles Makati on Aug. 3 as part of the 2019 Philippine Readers and Writers Festival. JM Cabral, Aaron de Borja, Gabby Padilla, George Evan Dungca, and Salve Villarosa all took their time to share their knowledge on getting back to reading for those who have gotten into a seemingly inescapable slump for their passion for literature. Setting a