HIGH PROFILE HIGHPROFILE IS A MAGAZINE PUBLISHED BY THE PHILIPPINE AMUSEMENT AND GAMING CORPORATION AND PRODUCED BY VEGAMEDIA. I DESIGNED THE FIRST FOUR ISSUES, BETWEEN 2008 AND 2009. HERE ARE SELECTED PAGES FROM ALL FOUR ISSUES.
HIGH PROFILE THE MAGAZINE OF PAGCOR / PHILIPPINE AMUSEMENT AND GAMING CORPORATION /
H I G H P R O F I L E - T H E M AG A Z I N E O F PAG C O R — I S S U E 1 – FA L L 2 0 0 8
How a multibillion-dollar Entertainment City is set to transform tourism in the Philippines
WWW . PAGCOR . PH
/ ISSUE 1 – FALL 2008
HIGH PROFILE THE MAGAZINE OF PAGCOR / PHILIPPINE AMUSEMENT AND GAMING CORPORATION / WWW.PAGCOR.PH / ISSUE 2 – SPRING•SUMMER 2009
H I G H P R O F I L E - T H E M AG A Z I N E O F PAG C O R — I S S U E 2 – S P R I N G • S U M M E R 2 0 0 9
The Philippines springs into the major league of destinations in Asia
HIGH PROFILE THE MAGAZINE OF PAGCOR / PHILIPPINE AMUSEMENT AND GAMING CORPORATION / WWW.PAGCOR.PH / ISSUE 3 – FALL 2009
H I G H P R O F I L E - T H E M AG A Z I N E O F PAG C O R — I S S U E 3 – FA L L 2 0 0 9
Queen of Spades: Maggie Wilson rules the deck
HIGH PROFILE THE MAGAZINE OF PAGCOR / PHILIPPINE AMUSEMENT AND GAMING CORPORATION / WWW.PAGCOR.PH / ISSUE 4 – WINTER 2009
H I G H P R O F I L E - T H E M AG A Z I N E O F PAG C O R — I S S U E 4 – W I N T E R 2 0 0 9
Force of nature:
why we should go greener in 2010
contents
HIGH PROFILE / SPRING•SUMMER 2009
MAIN FEATURES
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Q&A
President and COO Rafael Butch Francisco tells us about PAGCOR’s big plans for the Entertainment City project and the social commitments which help keep the company grounded.
Online gaming becomes more popular as modern and sophisticated e-Games cafés welcome a widening group of casual gamers.
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Banquet of Hope Taking charge of malnutrition in schools, the Sagip Musmos (Save a Child) program provides meals and dietary education sponsored by gaming earnings.
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Newport City A joint venture
Desiderio’s Desire
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Adding contemporary twists to belly dancing, Jenine Desiderio teaches women in the Philippines to be empowered by an ancient form of dance.
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Model and actress Teresa Herrera is used to shuttling between LA and Manila; now she ignites the small screen as the presenter of the Filipino version of Project Runway.
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An in-depth look at Vince Perez’ personal account of the most exciting race of his life while serving as coskipper on the Subic Centennial for the Rolex China Sea Race in 2008.
Café Games
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In the Absence of Words Artist Lao Lianben shows us that canvas can speak and reveal the most difficult meanings.
Minds at Play Three top administrators help run PAGCOR behind the scenes with a strategy based on intellect, performance evaluation and an eye on the future.
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Flow The new musical and dance extravaganza produced by PAGCOR tells an inspiring tale through the talent of an international ensemble.
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PEOPLE
Teresa Goes Live
Victory at Sea
HIGH LIVING
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Escape to Manila
Out on the town, the young and the glamorous hit the casinos showing off the work of some of the best designers in the Philippines.
between Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global and Malaysia’s Genting, Newport City is being built across from the international airport in Manila.
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The Legend of the Golden Pearl Brought into fruition by loving hands and the gentle waters of Northern Palawan, the famed golden pearl takes four years to grow, but spends the rest of its life attracting global praise.
HIGH PROFILE THE MAGAZINE OF PAGCOR
A PUBLICATION OF
President and CEO
Philippe Kindler Chairman and CEO
Efraim Genuino
Editor
Carmen Moura
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Declaration of Independence Originally driven by lack of capital, indie films have become a mainstay of Filipino cinema with all of their grit and glory.
President and COO
Rafael Butch Francisco
Managing Editor
Marco Venditti Directors
Manuel Roxas Philip Lo Gamaliel Cordoba
Art Director
Mercia Fuoco Marketing Manager
Senior Vice President
Ana Molinos
Rene Figueroa
TRAVEL
Associate Editor
Nikko Hinderstein
Chief of Staff
Jose Benedicto
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Davao A part of the lesser-travelled island of Mindanao, Davao has stunning wildlife and a rich culture to offer visitors.
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Beyond the Galleon Trade The Acapulco-Manila trade in the 15th century enriched the history and culture of three continents.
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Vice President for Corporate Communications
Edward King
Cea Bermúdez,12, Atico Madrid 28003 - Spain Tel: +34 91 5536616 Fax: +34 91 5544664
Assistant Vice President for Corporate Communications
www.vegamedia.com
Michael Cendaña
For all editorial and advertising enquiries, or to order a copy of this publication, please contact us at: vegamedia@vegamedia.com
Information Officer, Corporate Communications
Mary Anne R. Conde
© 2009 Vega Media. All rights reserved. Neither this publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Vega Media. All opinions expressed are that of the authors and do not necessarily coincide with the editorial views of the Publisher or PAGCOR.
The Sacred and the Profane Writer Jullie Daza shares an ironic view of spirituality in the Philippines and explains why many locals choose to embrace different faiths and cultures at the same time.
COVER: PHOTO: JUN DE LEON - MODEL: ISABEL ROCES
Our thanks to: H.E. Antonio M. Lagdameo Ambassador to the Philippines in Spain
Marceline Clemente President, Asia's Gem
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Nestor O. Jardin President of the Cultural Center of the Philippines
Raul Teehankee
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Consultant to the Vice-President of the Corporate Communications and Services Department, PAGCOR
Lovicar E. Wood Senior Marketing Officer, PAGCOR Hyatt Manila
Maria Viña Claudette P. Oca Office of the President and COO
Isabel Gatuslao Public Relations Manager, Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila
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LET US HEAR FROM YOU
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:
editor-highprofile@vegamedia.com
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HIGH PROFILE / SPRING•SUMMER 2009
HIGHLIGHTS Celebrating. Discovering. Changing. Renewing.
Happy New Year!
HIGHLIGHTS/DISCOVERIES
Bring in the new AS WE WAKE UP SOBER IN THE FIRST — WELL, SECOND — DAY OF 2010, AND AS THE GLOBAL CRISIS SIMMERS DOWN, MAYBE WE’LL THINK IT’S TIME TO BE ADVENTUROUS AGAIN, AT LEAST CULTURALLY. COLUMNIST PAOLO LORENZANA CREATES AN INSIDER’S ITINERARY FOR SOME RAPTUROUS DISCOVERY.
PREVIOUS PAGE: Photo: Apy Arevalo Styling: Dennis Celestial Gown: Josip Tumapa Model: Manette Mercado Make-up: Xeng Zulueta Hair: Felicity Son, L’Oreal
Hotel/
Hotel Céleste
For urban warriors who believe a skyscraper’s the limit, escapes from the city are imperative without having to actually leave it. The four-storey Hotel Céleste has become quite the rococo retreat in Manila. Amid such cosmopolitan convenience, you’ll find a quilted scarlet ottoman here, tassel-roped draperies there, and an Egyptian cotton cloud of a duvet to plop down on after a rain shower and L’Occitane bath gel have washed memories of Makati away. And downstairs, the “best French chef in town” serving up formidable foie gras, red mullet in red wine sauce, or sating your every amuse-bouche craving certainly makes Céleste one haute property in the city. www.hotelceleste.ph
Café/
Romulo and the New Nationalism Diminutive in stature yet hulking in bravado, Carlos P. Romulo was the Philippines’ ambassador to the U.S. and U.N. Consider, then, Romulo Café to echo this diplomacy, albeit delectably, with classic Filipino fare that bears a delicious forwardness. You’ll feel the Romulan ideal of progressing national identity so close, you can actually taste it. 32 Sct. Tuason Cor. Dr. Lazcano, Tomas Morato, Quezon City
Destinations/
Cultur8 Cultur8 aims to educate on the exotic through eco-tourism, unveiling a more “authentic Philippines” through five or 10-day adventures of your choice -- whether by “Ancient Highlands” expedition that’ll have you living high in a hut with T’boli tribe folk, showering under a 250-ft. waterfall and spotting a Philippine eagle (the world’s largest) on a “Southern Explorer” trip, or rolling down the Chocolate Hills and getting schooled on herbal healing via the “Visayan Experience”. What the un-tourist will find is a true source of southern comfort. www.cultureight.com 10
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HIGHLIGHTS/DISCOVERIES Book/
TOUCHING BASE: WRITING HOME 19 Writers Remember their Hometowns
Bar/
WhiteMoon
A true lounge in all the soothing respects of the word shouldn’t be associated with confinement, whether it be of dark walls or the din of a constricting crowd. Lounging should console. At WhiteMoon, raucous Roxas Blvd. may be a few steps away, but with the cushioning of a mod-Balinese sofa, aural interplay of cascading fountain water, astral plane ride chill-out music in the distance, and the Manila Bay breeze inspiring calm and contemplation, it almost feels like you’re on a ship deck as you stare out to where the sunset and sea converge. 2/F Sunset Quay, Manila Ocean Park, Quirino Grandstand, One Rizal Park, Luneta
Fashion/
Art/
Kiri Dalena Post-traumatic dialogue is inherent in Dalena’s installation art. Even if a viewer’s experience of what is tackled – the violence during anti-Marcos protests in the ‘70s, perhaps, or the great devastation wrought by one of 2009’s typhoons – is only through history or media perusal, it is art that does not just state what is obviously the matter but inspires intelligent sentiment.
Jerome Lorico: Men’s Spring-Summer Collection 2010 A good change, at least of clothes, would do us good. Young Designer’s Guild stalwart Jerome Lorico looked back, below, and around to sew the seeds of “origin and change” into a collection entitled “Parallelism”. What’s natural becomes industrial as hues of sand, sea, soil, and sky find themselves on cuff-orcollar-studded shorts, capris, and slim work jackets; dyed linen shirts made to resemble denim and an overlay of avant
apron or vest insinuating the idea of cohesion between distinct elements. It’s welcome wear after a bleak 2009, especially with pieces inspired by the “1800 gentleman” whose everyday ensemble included cotton shirt, trousers, and suspenders. To echo a past that now seems like a parallel universe -- a rising economy, thriving globalization, and all its positive change -- just seems apt at this point.
Ruel S. De Vera’s anthology of literary return trips satisfies our itinerant interest and wonder in those wandering about Arrivals and Departures areas, bus or airport terminals. Via memory or musing, we follow several writers back to their places of origin; a revisiting of curious folk and wise relatives, of superstitions shrugged at or ways of life still questioned, of bric-à-brac towns that were once just primitive but now welcoming to those who’ve come back whole. It all proves that an interesting way to experience the Philippines is vicariously. www.anvilpublishing.com
HIGHLIGHTS/SEASON OF GIVING 3
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features 78 natural colored golden South Sea and Keshi pearls set with 9.92 carat diamonds and 18-karat yellow gold. 2-3 Perhaps one of the most avant-garde 1 designers in Manila, Michelline Syjuco boldly fuses the art of sculpture with that of jewelry. Each one of her pieces is handmade from her choice of unconventional elements, such as cultivated rust, exploded bullet shells and acetylene burns. Available through www.michellinesyjuco.com and in FIRMA, Greenbelt 3. 4 Cullets are the glass scraps at the bottom of a batch furnace which is shutdown every eight to ten years for cold repair. Ramon Orlina fine-tuned the technique of 5 cutting, grinding, smoothing and polishing the green cullets with improvised tools and equipment, turning them into sleek sculptures. 5 With a background in Industrial Design, Maco Custodio is a fan of the Bauhaus ethos and likes to incorporate the idea that form follows function in his shoe designs. Having seen the mass production of footwear close up in China and experiencing the handcrafted method in the Philippines, he started his own line in May 2008 and is now being touted as a favorite of savvy fashionistas. To order call (63) 9228886226. 6 Is your significant other celebrity conscious? The 7 Voyage Bed by internationally acclaimed Cebu-based designer Kenneth Cobonpue graces the homes of the the fashionable and has been acquired by the world’s most famous couple, Brangelina, for their kids. 7 The embroidery skills Patis Tesoro learned as a young convent school girl would define her creative output many years after. In the course of sourcing raw material, she developed what is called Philippine Lace. Her work came to the attention of fashion houses such as Armani, Mary McFadden and Lecomet Hemant.
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Photo: Rxandy Capinpin
1 Jewelmer’s Rivage Perles necklace
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1 In Drip’s
His
Identity Theft it’s almost as if Beng CalmaAlcazaren’s vocals were programmed to give rise to contemplative undulation. With sultry synth-work and turntabling in the mix, consider this album mood music for thinking lovers. 2 From the brand that made a local wardrobe staple out of archipelago-emblazoned apparel the overnight bag by Collezione C2 is something he can definitely pack his Pinoy pride in. www.collezione-c2.com 3 VuQo Premium Coconut Vodka is a native wine twice-distilled 2 from “the best coconut sap”. VuQo’s what he’ll want to savor beginning a long but lush night. www.vuqo.com 4 Let’s face it: you don’t know what to give him. Ultimate Gifts and Adventures specializes in a unique package: with one voucher, the recipient can chose from a wide range of categories ranging from adventure, sports, travel, leisure, entertainment, lifestyle and gourmet. Here’s one gift that’s bound to thrill. www.ultigifts.com. Customer service: (63) 749-1343. 5 Hardbound covers that capture the spirit of a crazy city’s streets and sentiments can inspire the bearer of a Team Manila notebook to bring out the same through the written word. www.teammanilalifestyle.com 6 Whether it’s in the mold of a regular lace-up but with a Gothic python impression or a shoe resembling a raven pre-flight, Brian Tenorio’s is fanciful footwear grounded, literally, in elegance. www.tenoriomanila.com 6
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travel
THE SOUL OF THE FIESTA A REVELRY OF MUSIC, COLOR, COSTUMES AND FOOD, THE PHILIPPINE FIESTA IS A CELEBRATION OF THE ARCHIPELAGO’S UNIQUE CULTURE. Text: JOSE VICTOR Z. TORRES
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When one hears the word “fiesta” one conjures up images of revelry, parades, pageants, and carnival. But when the Filipinos say fiesta, seasoned visitors to the Philippines anticipate more than the usual merriment of a special day. Our fiestas are windows into the vivid and colorful souls of the Filipinos. Life in a Filipino community is not complete without a celebration — a festival of color, music, and noise. They commemorate an event — a bountiful harvest, a special holiday, a bid for blessings from a higher being — or honor a religious icon. The Philippines may be the only country in the world that has a fiesta marked on every month of the calendar. New Year celebrations mark January first and lengthy Christmas pageants light up December. Every month in between is reason for pomp and ceremony somewhere in this archipelago of seven thousand islands. Each fiesta is unique and participated in by barrio or townspeople, city folk and tourists. Like celebrations around the world, it is a moment to be shared by all. Contrary to popular belief, the Filipino way of fiesta is not a colonial influence. In fact, the Spanish friar missionaries recorded many native celebrations that lasted for days and involved drinking and eating heartily among the villagers of their missions. And what was unique about the natives, the friars noted, was that in spite of their indulgence they were able to work the next day. The earliest recorded Philippine fiesta was the banquet laid out by Cebu Raja Kolambu for Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer sailing under the Spanish flag. It was, as his chronicler Antonio Pigafetta wrote, a laden table of rice, broiled fish, meats, spices, and liquor. Pigafetta chronicled the blood compact ritual between the native king and his captain, but it is presumed that all around them the Cebuanos were already in the midst of heavy drinking and eating. “In spite of all the missionaries’ efforts, many preHispanic practices and beliefs continued to prevail,” wrote Filipino historian and cultural writer Regalado Trota José in his 1991 book Simbahan. “Some local customs found their way into the celebration of fiestas, with such deeply ingrained traditions as reverence for the dead, thanksgiving for the harvest, fear of evil spirits and, possibly, fertility rites reinterpreted in the Christian light. They continue to this day to color the particular brand of Filipino Christianity.” The fiesta is, therefore, uniquely Filipino, blended with drops of colonial religion, and not the other way around. The fiesta is a montage of what the Filipinos are in times of celebration. It is a people in festive spirit dressed in their best or in the traditional costumes of their festivals — the soot-black faces of the dancers of the Ati-Atihan in Aklan, the similarly costumed revelers of Iloilo’s Dinagyang, or the carousers of Pandacan in Manila with their buling-buling, or the dancers’ formal dresses (the local baro’t saya) in the fertility rites of Obando, Bulacan.
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“Everlasting Queen” by Edwin Loyola. Women at the Panagbenga or Flower Festival.
Š George Tapan
The fiesta is a montage of what the Filipinos are in times of celebration. It is a people in festive spirit dressed in their best or in the traditional costumes of their festivals, such as the soot-black faces of the dancers of the Ati-Atihan in Aklan.
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© Edwin Loyola
ABOVE: The women of the Pagsalabuk Festival. It is celebrated on the southern island of Mindanao and showcases the influences of the Muslims, natives and other settlers of the province. It is the spirit of “gathering” which has made the celebration a success. LEFT: Panagbenga means “season of blossoming” and is the flower festival of Baguio, a highland retreat in Northern Luzon.
© George Tapan
OVERLEAF: At Cebu's Sinulog Festival, participants reenact the conversion from Paganism to Christianity. Here the Santo Niño is descending from heaven, the people kneel down to give thanks and show their devotion, and they shout "Viva Santo Niño!"
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Photograher: Doc Marlon - Stylist: John Lozano - Make-up: RB A. Chanco - Dress by: Jeoff Gonzalez
SITTI NAVARRO HAS BEEN A BEAUTY QUEEN, A TELEVISION PRESENTER, AND IS ON HER WAY TO STARDOM THROUGH A SOOTHING VOICE THAT IS GIVING NEW MEANING TO BOSSA NOVA. AND ALL THAT WITHOUT LOSING A STRONG SENSE OF SELF AND A GREAT CURIOSITY ABOUT LIFE. Text: MARCO VENDITTI
Simply
SITTI
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t’s about the sentimental journey of a woman who is looking for love and spiritual life,” says Sitti. Our rendezvous is at an Italian restaurant in Greenbelt, a fashionable shopping center in Manila’s Makati district, and Sitti, accompanied by her mother, has just walked in with a copy of Eat, Pray and Love, the best-selling book by Elizabeth Gilbert. “I loved the fact that she finds balance at the end of the story,” Sitti continues, confessing that she wants to learn how to meditate before the end of the year. “It’s my goal for 2008,” she says. Just 23, Sitti Katrina Navarro appears mature for her age and her refined and composed approach seems the opposite of how a pop star should act or think. “My favorite pastime is to have meals with my family and tea with my boyfriend,” she says. A strong will and a clear sense of purpose, though, have allowed her to carve a dazzling career in the Philippines. A beauty queen at 16, she co-hosted Pinoy Big Brother Season 2 and won Philippines’ MTV Supahstar: D’ Supah Search in 2004. Her big break came two years later when she recorded her first best-selling album, Café Bossa, an 18-track compilation featuring all-time hits like One Note Samba by Astrud Gilberto and The Girl from Ipanema by Vinícius de Moraes and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Through Bossa Nova, Sitti seems to have found the way to convey a rich inner life that few people have access to, unless they hear her singing. “She has been singing since she was three years old,” says her mother, “but only when there were people around.” Sitti inevitably blushes at this remark, perhaps feeling herself exposed. Bossa Nova officially turns 50 this year, and although the movement – which was born in Rio de Janeiro – lasted only six years (1958-63), its ripple effect is still felt today. In this interview, Sitti talks about her personal relationship with Bossa Nova, as well as her future as a singer “outside the box.”
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THERE IS A SIDE OF ME THAT LIKES THE GLAMOUR OF ENTERTAINMENT, BUT I NEVER QUESTIONED MUSIC AS AN ARTISTIC PLATFORM. IT'S ALMOST LIKE HAVING TWO PERSONALITIES, SITTI AND KATRINA: THE FIRST ENJOYS THE SHOW, THE SECOND WANTS TO BE TRUE TO HERSELF.
How is piracy affecting music sales in the Philippines? Café Bossa sold 60,000 units and achieved double-platinum status. The following albums My Bossa Nova and Sitti in the Mix, both sold 50,000 units. Under the circumstances, that is already an achievement.
Bossa Nova can be translated as “new trend”, but to do something with bossa in Brazil also means to do it with charm and flair. Are these qualities that translate into your music? There is something in the rhythm of Bossa Nova that makes me happy. I used to sing pop music before recording my first album, Café Bossa, but I felt that I was trapped in a box as I couldn’t twist a certain note or interpret a rhythm the way I wanted. With Bossa you can do all of that, you can play along with the melody and that gives me a sense of freedom.
You have hosted several reality shows in the Philippines, like Pinoy Big Brother. Have you ever thought of being something other than a singer? There is a side of me that likes the glamour of entertainment, but I never questioned music as an artistic platform. It’s almost like having two personalities, Sitti and Katrina: the first enjoys the show, the second wants to be true to herself.
Have you ever been to Brazil? No, and I am ashamed of it. I am sure I would love it.
Who is talking to me today? Katrina.
Who is your favorite Bossa Nova singer? Astrud Gilberto. It was she who made The Girl from Ipanema popular and her voice carried the essence of Samba outside Brazil, even though her husband João Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim were the real pioneers. Stan Getz is also an inspiration.
What’s next in the pipeline? I am recording a new album which will be launched by Christmas this year. I can’t tell you the title as it’s still a work in progress, but it will feature original songs and a mix of genres including Bossa Nova, as well as swing, standard ballads and big band. One of the reasons for recording this album is to show the variety of my repertoire, as there are times when I also feel boxed by performing only Bossa Nova. Of course I will not turn my back on the genre entirely, but I want to venture more into Latin music for instance. To a certain extent, Gloria Estefan and Laura Figy are examples I would like to follow in the future. 춧
© Jesus S. Casabar
Why did you choose Bossa Nova? It may sound like a cliché, but it is actually the other way around. It is Bossa Nova that chose me, in the sense that it suits my voice best, compared to standard jazz for instance.
Filipinos seem to have responded well to Bossa Nova. The timing was right when we released the first album. Rock music was the popular thing at that time and Café Bossa was a break from all that noise, something cool and soothing for a change. At the beginning we thought it would appeal only to a mature audience, but we were wrong as even teenagers started to follow this “new” genre.
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PEOPLE
In the absence of words
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DESCRIBED AS “ZEN-LIKE” BY CRITICS, LAO LIANBEN ENJOYS THE SILENCE OF HIS STUDIO, WHERE MOST OF THE SPEAKING IS DONE ON CANVAS. TEXT: ANNA SOBREPEÑA PHOTOS: MARCO VENDITTI
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ao Lianben appears pained to speak. His words come slowly. Yet, one word can fill a canvas eight feet high and five feet wide, and capture the sound of language to give it dimensions beyond what the senses normally apprehend. “I translate the sound of the word,” he explains quietly. “How would the sound look? How can I make the word ‘obliterate’ visual?” He labors for weeks and sometimes months; beginning with a layer of acrylic, then crosshatching with graphite, then comes more acrylic paint and more crossed lines. This technique is repeated as many times as it will take for the medium to speak
to him. It is tedious and repetitive. Sometimes, after many long hours and days, he will destroy the work if it fails to convey the idea from which it came. “Painting is personal,” he reasons. “It is a very private vision.” “There is no recipe in painting,” continues Lianben. “I work through mistakes. I put in a lot of things, then decrease them until I feel it is finished.” Intuition determines when a work is done and only happens when the resulting canvas says something back to him. Sometimes, ideas come easily. Other times, they take a while to crystallize in his mind. “I cannot start a
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Lianben’s studio is not a factory where he churns out canvas after canvas, and he exercises a sense of detachment from his finished work. “I exhibit my best, then let go,” he says, “that way, I don’t keep comparing but move on to the next.”
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PEOPLE
Lianben likes to smoke as he paints. Though a form emerges, it can be erased or painted over if he feels it has not expressed what he wanted to say.
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painting without lighting a cigarette,” he admits. Smoking and drinking coffee, as much as five cups a day, help him stay focused. “I work slowly,” he says. He stays with each canvas till it is completed. “I paint because I want to say something.” Art patrons who come to visit him will find he has no inventory from which to make a selection. His studio, he explains, is not a factory where he churns out canvas after canvas. It is laborious process to create the visual from a thought. “Painting is very stressful,” he reflects. It is a confluence of vision, ideas, and the need to express these using a technique that demands much patience and time. There is a deliberate absence of color on his palate. Lianben believes much more can be seen when there are no bright hues to distract. “Color shouts at you,” he explains, “I like a painting that speaks little by little, growing on
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you.” Natural appearances are reduced to black and grays, white spaces, lines, forms and textures, which critics have described as Zen-like. Yet, he makes no attribution to Buddhist influences. The sensibilities his works convey are extracted from within. He keeps very few works for his personal collection. He has exercised a sense of detachment, not keeping a catalogue of who buys his paintings. Lianben feels his best works are with other people, some of whom he does not know. “I exhibit my best, then I let go,” he says, “that way, I don’t keep on comparing, but move on to the next.” His work space is where he is most at home. Being among the brushes and rags, the tins of latex, frames and canvases, he finds the quiet he is most comfortable in. The studio is, he feels, the place where an artist is most real. Being in touch with who he is, he can be even more himself in his art space.
“Painting and daily life are different,” he explains. There are practical concerns that need to be addressed when living in a house with a family. He is married to Lilia Cruz, also a visual artist, with whom he has three children. “I married Lilia with 7,000 pesos in my pocket,” he laughs. Lianben recognizes that interaction with other people requires going outside oneself. It is the demand of interpersonal relationships to react, to converse, to relate. Alone in the studio, he is not obliged to engage. He prefers the quiet. Sometimes, he just sits there and takes in the dust, the paint drips, the pencils and papers strewn on the drawing board and feels perfectly happy. He shares images of his studio on his website. The online walk-through provides a glimpse of where he spends much of his time. There are no descriptions or text. “Words are not my medium,” he says plainly: “it’s line, form and paint.” 춧
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Desiderio’s Desire
To the men out TEXT: MARCO VENDITTI PHOTO: JOHN TACA AND IGOR MAMINTA there who are about to read this article, we suggest you sit back and relax. Don’t try to understand belly dancing; it’s a world in which we are merely entranced spectators. “It’s like jumping off a plane,” says Jenine Desiderio. Also known as J9 among friends in the music industry, she is the artist responsible for promoting this ancient form of dance in the Philippines. “Women of all ages are now getting close to belly dancing because it empowers them, as long as they feel in touch with their own femininity.” And they had better be, because belly dancing leaves little to the imagination when it comes to women’s body parts and the many sensual ways in which they can move. “All I have done is to re-package the style by mixing belly dancing with pop music elements,” explains Desiderio, who dances and sings to the rhythm of famous hits by Shakira or Beyoncé, even though her renditions feature exotic instruments like sitars. “Adding a contemporary element allows me to draw in the audience, but what they are experiencing is authentic belly dancing.” Desiderio’s performance on stage is supported by two fellow choreographers who have years of training in belly dancing. “They call us Jenine and the Scheherazades,” she says with a smile, “after the legendary Persian queen of One Thousand and One Nights who saved her life through storytelling.” She feels belly dancing tells the story of women’s emancipation and sexual liberation. “That is why belly dancing is becoming so popular in the Philippines nowadays, and in a way is replacing ballroom dancing as a form of social interaction,” Desiderio explains. “Although we are a Catholic country and sometimes quite conservative, new generations of Filipinos are making giant steps to catch up with international trends, mainly thanks to high-tech communication. There is no turning back.” Belly dancing is a form of art full of historical connotations and it was something Desiderio kept in the back of her mind for many years. “I experienced belly dancing at the beginning of my career when I was only sixteen years old and performing in Dubai’s hotels. The sensuality and the rhythm of the music was something dramatically different to my ears and senses…ever since [then] I kept it inside me until I finally decided to revive it.” Desiderio is no neophyte when it comes to the artistic scene in the Philippines. A multi-talented and versatile artist, Desiderio had an early start in the industry and landed a major role as Kim in the London production of Miss Saigon, a part she kept for four years between 1989 and 1993. “I have been through many forms of art in my career, from theater, cinema, television and recording, but truly I consider myself to be a solo artist and belly dancing allows me to express myself the fullest,” she sums up. 춧
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TRAVEL
THE MYSTERIES OF DAVAO
DAVAO, ON THE ISLAND OF MINDANAO, OFFERS MARKETS WITH EXOTIC FRUITS, CRYSTALLINE WATERS TEEMING WITH LIFE, A RICH ARRAY OF FAUNA, EXPRESSIONS OF ISLAMIC CULTURE AND THE HIGHEST PEAK IN THE COUNTRY FOR TRAVELERS LOOKING A LITTLE BEYOND THE EASY BEACH LIFE. TEXT: BRENT HANNON PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM, DAVAO
LEFT:
The Philippine eagle is endangered, but can still be found in Davao; RIGHT: Different varieties of orchids inspire one of the famous festivals of the island.
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he soul of Europe can be found in its great cities but in Asia, it is often just the opposite. Consider the Philippines: there is much to do in Manila, but the country’s heart and soul are found in the provinces. Here, far from the bright lights of the big city, you can find fiestas, friendly people, famous local fruits and flowers and foods, and the ever-present natural beauty. In-the-know visitors to the Philippines take full advantage of this, flying to Cebu to see its Spanish heritage and relax on its beaches, or driving north to enjoy the rice terraces of Banaue and Sagada. But even enterprising travelers often stop short of mysterious Mindanao, one of the least-known islands in the archipelago. They are missing out, because here, cityweary travelers can soak up the serenity of rain forests and beaches, or they can dive deep beneath the tropical seas, plunge into caves, cast for tuna, climb tall volcanoes, shop for native textiles and carvings, eat the sweet local fruits and fresh seafood, and see the rare flowers, birds, and animals that thrive in this emerald-green, ultra-fertile landscape. The jumping-off point for Mindanao is Davao, a spreadout modern metropolis that has the friendly feel of an over-
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grown village, rather than a busy city. Visitors to Davao soon realize that Mindanao is refreshingly different from the rest of the country. The soft lilt of the Cebuano dialect replaces the Tagalog of the north; the markets overflow with turmeric, curry, lemongrass and other Southeast Asian spices; and mosques and headscarves and other signs of Islamic culture abound. Shoppers love Davao for its low prices and fun venues, including Magsaysay Market, which spills over with a halfdozen delicious varieties of bananas and mangoes, along with rare and tasty tropical fruits like lanzones, rambutan and mangosteen, and yes, the pungent durian, Davao’s most famous home-grown product. Similarly, at Aldevinco Shopping Center, you can find native batiks and one-of-a-kind woodcarvings hand-made by the area’s indigenous tribes, and at a fraction of their big-city prices. A clutch of fine restaurants also awaits, ready to serve must-try Davao dishes like inihaw, a ceviche made from fresh local tuna and flavored with palm vinegar and calamansi juice, along with seafood platters, coconut-flavored adobos, tropical fruit plates, and many other island specialties.
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The face of an Ata-Manobo woman tells vivid tales of her tribe; Ondoy, a young Ata-Manobo boy, was trained by the elders of his tribe in Talaingod to become a master epic chanter. THIS PAGE (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP): Marine life, from the beautiful to the bizarre, abounds in the waters around Mindanao; Catching the waves; Another of the many types of orchids to be found here.
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© Edwin Bejer
HIGH LIVING
ASPIRATIONAL: THE CCP WAS CREATED TO ENCOURAGE HIGH ART, BUT MORE AND MORE FILIPINOS ARE FINDING SOMETHING IN IT FOR THEM.
is for culture
CELEBRATING ITS 40TH ANNIVERSARY, THE CULTURAL CENTER OF THE PHILIPPINES IS MORE DARING, IMAGINATIVE AND DEMOCRATIC THAN IT WAS WHEN IT BEGAN. TINA ARCEO-DUMLAO TAKES A LOOK AT ITS HISTORY.
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ABOVE LEFT: The newly finished CCP 40 years ago; ABOVE RIGHT: On September 8, 1969, the inauguration gala took off with Ronald Reagan, then Governor of California, as the guest of President Marcos and First Lady Imelda; RIGHT: The CCP prides itself in promoting Filipino culture, but also in bringing international expressions of art to its theaters such as Taiwan’s Cloud Gate, which performed in August 2008.
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© CCP Archive
© CCP Archive
progressive young creators and the Virgin Labfest Theater Festival that gives new and talented playwrights a chance to premier their works — makes it clear that the future of the beloved institution is in enthusiastic hands. With these welcome developments, the CCP is finally starting to shake off the elitist image earned in its early years when it was dominated by high-brow and grandiose music, dance and theater events that were exclusively for the well-connected — or the well-heeled, such as Imelda Marcos. It was in fact the former First Lady who had the determination to create the CCP with the aim of elevating the arts and culture scene in the Philippines and make it as vibrant and noteworthy as that of other countries. Her vision was translated into reality by the late National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin, who was asked to build an edifice worthy of housing the heart and soul of Filipino art. His design for the CCP building was inspired by waves rising
© Teng Hui-En
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t’s said that 40 is the new 20, an adage proven by witnessing the renewed vim and vigor of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the leading light of the arts and cultural scene in the country. Over the past five years, jean-clad teenagers sporting jagged hairstyles and young film aficionados have been roaming the hallways of the CCP building on Roxas Blvd., excited to catch one of the short films, documentaries or full-length features that make up the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. The nine-day screening in July this year was marked by sold-out venues and jam-packed screenings attracting close to 40,000 enthusiasts, a big jump from last year’s 29,000. Next year promises to bring in even more young minds into the grand lobby dominated by the mural of H.R. Ocampo. Such growing enthusiasm for Cinemalaya and the CCP’s other art events — such as the Wi-Fi Body Independent Contemporary Dance Festival, the Thirteen Artist Awards conferred to
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© Edwin Bejer
© John Rene Fernandez
Cinemalaya jury members and 2008 winners Rommel “Milo” Tolentino for Andong (Short Feature Film) and Francis Xavier E. Pasion for Jay (Full-Length Feature Film). NEXT PAGE: Earth Day April 2009 with the work E-Tree of Life/E-Tree of Knowledge, made of used compact discs by the University of the Philippines Fine Arts Students. © Julio Sambajon
© Edwin Bejer
BELOW:
BEING EXPOSED TO NEW FORMS OF ART, SUCH AS INDEPENDENT FILM AND DANCE, WILL BROADEN MANY FILIPINOS’ HORIZONS AND ALLOW THEM TO TAKE A RENEWED PRIDE IN THEIR IDENTITY. 쑲쑲
out of the sea and it is still studied in architecture classes. The center’s ideals are embodied in its logo — from the indigenous Filipino Alibata writing system — representing katotohanan (truth), kagandahan (beauty) and kabutihan (goodness). The CCP opened its doors to Filipino culturati on September 8, 1969, and started a three-month long inaugural festival with the epic musical, Dularawan. Since its extravagant beginning, the CCP lays claim to discovering the best and the brightest in dance, music and theater, as well as bringing new art forms to the fore. To be able to perform at one of the CCP’s four theaters has become the goal of any local artist worth his salt. There are four resident dance companies: Ballet Philippines, the Philippine Ballet Theater, the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group and the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company. Tanghalang Pilipino is the resident theater company while the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Symphony Orchestra, the Philippine Madrigal Singers and the National Music Competitions for Young Artists Foundation represent some of the best in music. The CCP houses the largest museum of contemporary arts in the Philippines where visitors may view exhibits ranging from traditional musical instruments to over 500 pieces of
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modern Filipino sculpture, painting and prints. It also has a library devoted to film, music, dance and literature. The unfortunate and somewhat popular feeling that art is only for the rich is something the CCP is striving hard to address through grassroots development programs, collaboration with arts councils all over the Philippines and the inclusion of more folk and indigenous culture into its play list. The idea is that by exposing more Filipinos to new forms of art, such as independent film and dance, they will find it easier to like the more traditional art forms such as ballet, classical music, painting and sculpture, thus broadening their horizons and taking a renewed pride in their identity. The year long 40th anniversary celebration, which was off to a grand start with a star-studded gala last March, will feature performances and events with titles such as Excellence of Filipino Artists; Brave New Works: Original Filipino Creations and Cultural Empowerment; Flourishing of the Arts in the Regions — all in keeping with the thrust to sustain what is good and unique about the CCP while broadening its reach among Filipinos. It is the dream of Nestor Jardin, the former dancer who stepped down as CCP president on July 26, that there will come a day when Filipinos will consider going to the CCP as much a part of their lifestyle as going to the mall or sharing dinner with friends. 춧
Š Edwin Bejer
PEOPLE
shifting
ARCHITECT ED CALMA HAD AN EARLY START IN THE U.S. WHERE HE LEARNED ABOUT “LARGE SCALE PROJECTS AND HOW TO RUN AN OFFICE BY HAVING A DIALOGUE BETWEEN RESEARCH AND ART.” BUT WHILE THE BIG APPLE MARKED HIS BEGINNINGS, HE CAME BACK TO THE PHILIPPINES TO EXPLORE HIS IMAGINATION.
shapes PORTRAITS: MARCO VENDITTI OTHER PHOTOS: LOR CALMA & PARTNERS
“The Philippines has often neglected real architecture in favor of a speculative construction industry,” says Ed Calma in a ground floor office that faces a busy street of Makati through large glass windows. “Luckily things have started to move in the right direction in recent years.” A strong believer that architecture should be influenced by other artistic forms in order to be truly innovative, Calma turns to painting, sculpture and even music as inspiration, although the unique forces of Filipino life and nature are what really define his architectural style.
RIGHT: The Mind Museum in Fort Bonifacio, Manila, will follow a bio-mimicry concept covering over 6,000 square meters. OPPOSITE: (TOP) The Philippine pavilion in the Zaragoza Expo 2008 was awarded the gold medal by the organizing committee; (BOTTOM) The Agrarian Museum in Batangas is inspired by seeds thrown on the ground and uses sustainable energy like solar power.
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You’ve often been labeled as a minimalist. Do you recognize yourself in this definition? Actually I like to keep myself flexible instead of being associated to a specific style that can be defined as modern or minimalistic. My process has always been to look at a new project with a fresh eye, if possible without any preconception. I get inspired by the place, the people and all the nuances of the projects in order to come out with an innovative approach without having to look back and copy previous models of architecture. I have built houses in the Philippines that responded to our tropical environment, where the right position of windows in relation to the atmospheric agents can actually replace airconditioning units. Some of these projects have been labeled as “tropical modern” or minimalistic, but I think it is a simplification of a much more elaborate process. Outside the Philippines your name is associated with international Expos as you have designed the Philippine pavilions in several of these events. How are you dealing with this international recognition? The Philippine pavilions for the 2005 International Expo in Aichi, Japan, and the 2008 Expo in Zaragoza, Spain, were awarded with gold medals from the respective Expo committees. Prior to that I had designed the Philippine pavilions in Hanover, Germany, in 2000 and our firm has been commissioned with the design of the next Expo in Shanghai to be held in 2010. This last project is still under development and I cannot disclose too much, as we are finalizing details with the Philippine Department of Tourism. The main idea for the façade is based on a “lenticular” concept where shifting panels will represent different images of Filipino life: our landscape, people, products and so on. It is a complete wraparound photographic montage and from the distance it will look almost like a liquid form instead of a conventional structure. The idea is to draw the Expo visitors towards the pavilion with multiple versions of the montage as they walk across or towards the façade. Again the project is still under development and it may change slightly in the final stages of production. What about future projects in the Philippines? We are concentrating on a string of museums at the moment. In Batangas, two hours away from Manila, we designed the Agrarian Museum, which traces the history of agriculture in the Philippines.
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The exhibition areas are like seeds thrown on the ground that blossom there. The position of each pod responds to the terrain around it and the whole museum is sustainable, equipped with solar power and green roofs to reduce the heat of the building. Each pavilion is around 500 square meters and they are all linked by a sculptural steel canopy. A bigger project, though, is the Mind Museum in Fort Bonifacio, Manila. Starting off with a budget of 1 billion pesos, the whole construction will cover 6,000 square meters and our firm will design the building and the exhibition, as well as the interior. The museum has been conceived following a bio-mimicry concept, a design discipline that studies nature's best ideas and then imitates them. For this particular project we were inspired by how cells grow according to the environment that surrounds them. That’s how we based our form. We started from the interior and grew inside out to conceive the exterior form. We studied how the shadows of the adjacent buildings will hit the museum, or how the sun, the wind and the rain will affect the perception of the whole structure. We expect this museum to be a terminal link to an already busy area. A multitude of people will enjoy this institution, not only for its content, but also for its architectural value. Filipino architecture is not as clearly identifiable as that of other countries in the region: I am thinking of Indonesia, Thailand or Malaysia, for example. How do you explain that? You might argue that the Philippines lacks a coherent architectural style, but unfortunately most of our historical landmarks from both the Spanish and American period were lost during the last century. Take Manila for instance: 80 percent of Intramuros with its unique Spanish architecture developed in the tropics was razed to the ground during the final battles of WWII, while the rest of the city’s landmarks were systematically dismantled during the following decades — especially during Marcos’ regime, which had little regard for conservation. The sad thing is that the Philippines used to be at the forefront of the architectural world, at least in Southeast Asia. A building like Philam Life in Manila for instance, inspired by Scandinavian architecture with added local flair, was a case study even for international architects as it already responded to environmental concerns, which is something that became popular only a few years ago. Not only have single buildings been neglected over they years, but entire stretches of the city have been modified beyond
ABOVE: Belonging to a well-known photographer, Manalac Residence was built
in Calatagan, Batangas; RIGHT: Restaurant 12, formerly in Greenbelt, Makati. OPPOSITE: Calma’s own residence, Slice House, in San Lorenzo Village, Manila.
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recognition, losing therefore their original design and purpose. Manila Bay is a clear example of that. It was designed by Daniel Burnham, an American architect and urban planner at the beginning of the century but almost nothing is left of his original idea. How do you explain this lack of concern for the country’s architectural heritage? I guess that previous administrations failed to understand that architecture is what defines the essence of a city or a country: imagine Italy without its buildings and monuments. At the end of the day, though, lack of finance was the real problem. Too often the Philippines has experienced economic downturns in its recent history and the construction sector became the most obvious solution to jump start the economy, while inevitably neglecting architectural style or conservation in the process. Luckily, the tide has been changing in recent years. More and more local companies are employing foreign architectural firms as they develop new properties, while foreign investors are beginning to perceive the Filipino market as a place with great potential. To see a building like the Luneta Hotel for instance, one of the few remaining French-inspired architectural structures in Manila, be rescued after 40 years of oblivion gives us hope for the future. 춧
HIGH PROFILE / FALL 2009
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THE PLAYER TEXT: CARMEN MOURA PHOTO: IGOR MAMINTA AND JOHN TACA
With a glamour of its own, poker is gaining more fans in Asia through televised events. At only 26, Philippine poker champion Neil Arce likes a game that requires a keen eye and nerves of steel.
“No two hands you’re dealt are ever the same. No two people are alike,” says Neil Arce, explaining why poker is his game. “I like the challenge,” he concludes with a lopsided smile. At 26, Arce won the top prize at the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Philippines this year. He beat 262 other contestants representing 40 countries, to the delight of the local crowd. Arce is a sign of the changing landscape of gaming in Asia. Traditionally, baccarat has been the preferred game in the continent. But televised events have been attracting a faithful crowd to poker. This is how Arce and some of his friends got hooked. “I was into baccarat before, then I began watching poker on TV,” says Arce. “I started playing with friends at home and went on to play in the casino. I like this game: you see your cards before you bet.” Because of the rising profile of players likes Arce, PAGCOR supports the growing popularity of poker in the Philippines inside and outside its casinos. “We gave licenses to 26 private operators over the last few years and we’re planning to expand the scope of the operation as we clearly see the synergy between poker and pure games of chance,” says Rafael Butch Francisco, PAGCOR’s President and COO.
Arce himself is one of the beneficiaries of this policy. After having played in more than ten international tournaments in Asia, Australia and the U.S., he opened the Metro Card Club (MCC),with partner Nick Galan. One of the biggest card rooms in Asia, MCC is able to hold over 300 players and is the most successful of the 18 card rooms in Manila. Though poker doesn’t bring as much money for the house as other games or even slot machines, it does bring attention and a certain glamour particular to the great players of the game. Daniel Negreanu, Jeffrey Lisandro or Annie Duke have become very familiar names to aficionados while real Hollywood stars like Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have joined the ranks of eager amateurs. “In the U.S. poker players, whether famous or not, have no problem playing in a casino, whereas in the Philippines we still face a certain resistance,” says Francisco. “Our job has been to move the game out from private homes and into the main casino areas or into private entertainment complexes.” With the mixture of psychology and excitement as well as the high stakes that the game offers, it’s only a matter of time until more Asian stars reach the firmament in poker tournaments. Led by Arce himself, the Filipino Poker Tour held between July 31 and August 3 this year was televised from MCC and ended up awarding a 2 million peso jackpot. Even if you can’t aspire to these figures, poker is still fun to play at any level. “I am a good-bad player,” says Francisco, who admits that he normally folds on a bad hand and has no idea how to bluff. “Somehow, though, I always manage to come out on top. It must be pure luck,” he adds. 춧
TRAVEL
Eden Of
East
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ON THE 90-HECTARE PRIVATE ISLAND OF PAMALICAN, PALAWAN, AMANRESORTS HAS BUILT A DREAMLIKE WORLD WHERE WE DON’T MIND BEING “LOST”. FROM SLEEK ARCHITECTURE INSPIRED BY TRADITIONAL DESIGNS TO WORLDCLASS SERVICE, AMANPULO, OR “PEACEFUL ISLAND,” IS A PLACE THAT IS EASY TO GET USED TO, AND DIFFICULT TO LEAVE. TEXT: CARMEN MOURA PHOTOS: AMANRESORTS (unless otherwise indicated)
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t
The experience starts with us sipping chilled white wine in a wood-paneled VIP room at a small airport in Manila. We are bound for Amanpulo, the Aman resort located on the private island of Pamalican, Philippines Soon enough, after a painless check-in, we are airborne. After about an hour’s flight, the stunning archipelago of Palawan, with its craggy rocks jutting out, comes into view. A little while longer and we are approaching Pamalican, a 90hectare island surrounded by seven square kilometers of coral reef and a ring of dazzling powdery beaches. Our welcome drink and check-in are at the Clubhouse, where we are given keys to our own golf carts to explore the island at our convenience, though bicycles are also available for the guests. Amanpulo means ‘peaceful island,’ but I won’t deny the golf carts are fun; they also don’t seem to disturb the silence. We are taken to our hillside casita, a stunning construction with large windows looking out onto the sea. The bathrooms are spacious with raised Cebu marble bathtubs and twin vanities. There are 40 beach, hillside and treetop casitas on the island; all of them modeled after authentic bahay kubo dwellings by renowned Filipino architect Francisco Mañosa. Each casita enjoys a sprawling wooden sun deck. Hard as it is to leave such inviting accommodations, our first
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stop is the Beach Club, an open-air pavilion with mattresses and pillows spread out across a deck where breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served. This is the perfect spot to start our adventure, after securing our lounge chairs and umbrellas right in front of the club. A quick visit to the dive shop next door and we have our masks and fins to board the boat that will take us a hundred meters offshore for fish feeding and snorkeling. The water is refreshing without being too cold: one thing you’ll learn quickly in Amanpulo is that the elements always seem to be on your side. Underwater, the coral reef gives the feeling of a small city that must have been the inspiration for Finding Nemo. A large sleepy turtle is awoken by our arrival and makes its dignified exit into the deep water. A lone batfish, breaking away from its school, follows us quite a long way and seems to be observing us back with its large sweet eyes. Back at our chairs on the beach, we revive with a little spray of cold Evian from a can (we never seem to catch the staff replenishing our water or parking our golf carts) and it’s time for drinks and lunch. Fresh seafood and Spanish
© Marco Venditti © Marco Venditti OPPOSITE (CLOCKWISE): A private picnic on a sand bank; The master bedroom at a hillside casita; The Garden Sala, where outdoor massages for two may be booked.
THIS PAGE (CLOCKWISE): The view of a private villa from inside and (next photo) the pool; Sunset drinks at Shigerino’s Place; Preparing the lounge chairs for an evening at the Beach Club; A romantic dinner on the beach.
omelettes provide us a healthy but hearty fare. Then, to follow the Iberian theme, why not have a siesta on the hammocks underneath the palm trees? For those who seek a less languid agenda, there is tennis, a high-tech air-conditioned gym and the resort’s 30-meter pool for laps. We opt for a ride to see Amanpulo’s organic orchards where fresh vegetables and herbs are grown for the different in-house restaurants, and to visit the villas on the other side of the island. The private holiday villas are located just a few meters from the sea and are available for rent or sale. They differ in size, but each features a private swimming pool, separate bedrooms, living and dining pavilions, outdoor lounge and a kitchen. They also include a private chef and butler. Potential owners can work with the architect to shape a home that suits their lifestyle and will enjoy a beach frontage of no less than 40 meters. The sunset is best observed from Gary’s Nest, where we decide to have a grilled picnic dinner. We are serenaded by guitar at the small sandy crook high up in the island, from where we watch the sun drop like an orange over the horizon.
Later on, the soft sand has turned cool by the perfect breeze. We know that there is an astronomical refractor telescope at the Clubhouse for star gazing, but we prefer to do it with naked eyes back at the Beach Club with a bottle of wine and soft music drifting from discreet speakers. The following morning, after a delicious breakfast at The Restaurant looking out onto Manamoc Island, there is more diving and snorkeling and then we are ready for our massages at the open-air Garden Sala. Lunch today will be a casual, barefoot affair at the Picnic Grove where a variety of pizzas are cooked in a home-built wooden fire oven. We are invited to an afternoon drink at Shigerino’s Place. There are steps to climb (oh boy, are there steps), but they are worth it. A small pavilion has been built here in the name of a frequent guest, and we sit and sip our drinks as we watch the exotic birds in the trees and the sea below from our vantage point. When the time comes to leave, we consider “going native” and just running into the woods, but our imperfect life beckons and we regretfully take our last golf cart ride to the Clubhouse for checkout. The staff has gathered together to wave goodbye to us, and as we take off we stare out the window of the plane until Pamalican slowly disappears behind us. 춧 For reservations or inquiries about renting a villa at Amanpulo, contact reservations@amanresorts.com For inquiries about purchasing a villa at Amanpulo, contact villas@amanresorts.com
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Go greener in 2010 TEXT: CARMEN MOURA PHOTO: APY AREVALO
Climate change is a reality. As Al Gore has pointed out, “an inconvenient truth”. Your children may live in a world where green expanses have turned arid, glaciers have melted and water levels have risen, changing coastlines and even swallowing cities. They may only know what a polar bear, the Philippine eagle or a panda are through images sadly pointing out their extinction. We’ve tried to harness nature for our own purposes, and upset its delicate balance. The typhoons that killed almost a thousand people in the Philippines alone this September are only one example of the force that nature can unleash on us, if we don’t respect it and take action now. Through the exaggerated use of technology, wastefulness and ignorance we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere and temperatures keep rising. Severe storms and droughts are increasing, and human beings, sometimes the most helpless ones, will keep paying for our neglect. If we are to keep one resolution in 2010 it should be: Go Greener. Start with small steps and you will find yourself moving to new ones and finally making a difference. Here is a checklist: Think, before you waste energy. And waste less of it. 춧
R Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb. ! Move your thermostat down 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer. R Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner. & Install a programmable thermostat. R Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket. ! Use less hot water. R Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible. R Turn off electronic devices you're not using. & Unplug electronics from the wall when you're not using them. R Only run your dishwasher when it is full and use the energy-saving setting. R Insulate and weatherize your home. ! Be sure you're recycling at home. R Buy recycled paper products. & Plant a tree. R Switch to green power. W Buy locally grown and produced foods. ! Buy fresh foods instead of frozen. R Seek out and support local farmers markets. ! Buy organic foods as much as possible. R Avoid heavily packaged products. & Eat less meat. W Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible. R Keep your car tuned up. W When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle. & Fly less. From the website www.climatecrisis.net
HIGH PROFILE / WINTER 2009
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PEOPLE
S
PIRIT OF THE TIMES
SINCE HER RISE AS THE PHILIPPINES’ MOST CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ACTRESS, IZA CALZADO HAS BEEN RUNNING TOWARD MORE POWERFUL PERFORMANCES, A HUNGER FOR HOSTING, OR HOLLYWOOD JUST ON THE HORIZON. A LOOK AT HER PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. TEXT: PAOLO LORENZANA PHOTOS: WAWI NAVARROZA CONCEPT: CARMEN MOURA
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i
za Calzado has been running a lot these days. Everywhere, you might say, given the multitude of emotive shots and screen spots that make it possible to catch her on a “Coming Soon” movie poster via newspaper, accompanying a write-up for an event she hosted when you turn the page, and wringing tears out on the teaser of a new afternoon soap. So that when you’re driving down Manila’s spinal highway, EDSA, seeing a slimming center’s billboard with her body as taut testimonial isn’t surprising. It’s been a drastic change of pace for her. A far cry from the relatively relaxed stride she took two years ago, when we literally set out on foot for a magazine interview in late 2007, Iza requesting we walk three-or-so blocks to the mall for tofu chips. At the time, the already lauded actress had just wrapped shooting The Echo, the Hollywood remake of a thriller she’d done in ‘04, which had her single-handedly raising a banner for Filipinos making international crossovers in film. It was a rightful milestone for someone who, as a teen, had been overlooked by the industry for being overweight.
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THE SWELTERING TROPICAL HEAT IS TOO MUCH FOR A SEﾃ前RITA IN SPANISH-GOVERNED MANILA. DEEP RED AND BLACK LAYERED GOWN BY HAPPY ANDRADA (63) 9175242779; BLACK SAPATILLA WITH BEADS AND CARVINGS BY MICHELLE BALDEMOR (63) 9209456217; PEARL EARRINGS FROM D!LUXE ROCKWELL POWER PLANT MALL. HIGH PROFILE / WINTER 2009
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IT’S HARD TO SAY GOODBYE TO HER LOVER WHILE WWII RAGES AND THE PARTISANS FIGHT AGAINST JAPANESE OCCUPIERS. SILVER AND GOLD ROBE AND PINK CAMISOLE WITH BLACK LACE FROM HOT PINK LINGERIE; KHAKI PANTS BY JOY RAGO (63) 9204930754. MODEL: LANCE HOWARD OF MERCATOR.
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SOPHISTICATED AND JOYFUL TIMES AT THE NIGHTCLUBS ALONG MANILA BAY IN THE 50S. A FRANK SINATRA LOOK-ALIKE SERENADES A LOCAL BEAUTY. TULLE BALL GOWN BY KATE UMALI; PEARL EARRINGS AND V-SHAPED SPARKLING NECKLACE FROM D!LUXE ROCKWELL POWER PLANT MALL. BLACK SUIT AND PANTS FROM EXCLUSIVELY HIS; WHITE LONG SLEEVED SHIRT WITH FRENCH CUFF FROM NAVARRO, ROCKWELL POWER PLANT MALL. MODEL: MIKEE CARRION OF PMAP
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“I FIND IT SO FUN THAT PEOPLE DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M GOING TO DO NEXT. THAT EVEN I DON’T KNOW. I PROBABLY JUST NEED SOMETHING INSIDE ME TO START BURNING.”
THE PRESENT: IZA RELAXES AFTER A LONG SHOOT. SHE EMBODIES THE TALENTED, BEAUTIFUL, INDEPENDENT WOMAN: THE SPIRIT OF HER TIMES. BLACK JERSEY GOWN BY MARTIN BAUTISTA (63) 9173765501
Following her across Makati’s sidewalks, you could sense the anticipation in her step, whose briskness seemed to acknowledge so much of the future’s possibility. Her schedule made walks like ours rare, she said, but she still wanted to take up running. Maybe she could even become a triathlete, Iza giddily professed that night. “I did?” she says incredulously after I quote Then-Iza back to Present-day Iza, whose sprint through stardom’s commitments might just be as high-intensity as the actual running she made good on two years later. “I don’t know — it was a dream, a goal. If you want to be in tip-top shape when you’re older, you’re gonna have to start looking the part. I think I only try to be the best I can be and I don’t know what that is unless I try it.” Indeed, you could consider the past two years trying for someone who has asserted herself as a darling of the dark role. Like in the TV drama Impostora, where she played separatedat-birth twins who share downtrodden fates; or as an adulteress to an assassin in political thriller Bente (Twenty); and, most recently in martial law-era indie Dukot (Scorch), where an activist boyfriend becomes a forced witness to her rape. “Why don’t they give me a romantic comedy?” she says, laughing at having to take on the dirty job of drama on an almost daily basis. That’s why there’s been more of Iza speaking into a mic than weeping for a camera lately. Taking the stage as queenly commentator for the Binibining Pilipinas Pageant early this year proved to be a welcome change and challenge for her. More so when her erstwhile aim of doing vocals for a metal band led to her riotous roar as a host for the NU Rock Awards last week. There’s also her stint as the newest judge on reality fame factory StarStruck, a show that becomes midwife to the newest celebrities through the digital democracy of text and online voting. “It’s an opportunity for me to venture into something I’ve never done before and probably learn from it — good or bad,” she says of the show, even if, with two other industry stalwarts as co-judges, it’s Iza who’ll end up schooling the 14 showbiz soldiers with wise words and an occasional finger wagging. StarStruck is an easy entry point to entertainment. It is certainly different from her seven-year climb, which began after the death of her mother, when her decision to do something with her life led to seizing a Pantene commercial. Her understated beauty and her vulnerability prompted her rise from shampoo-ad obscurity and primetime bit roles to an early fil-
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mography that reads like a masochistic role call: Iza as an estranged wife in her first film, as a drug addict in Blackout, as a prostitute in Mona: Singapore Escort. It was almost as if directors got of a kick out of airdropping her into heavily emotional arenas. “I had no acting background but I wanted to deliver from day one. I had time to play with acting,” she explains of the versatile fare that would rack up an acting award or two. Today’s reality showdowns may have ushered in a new quick way of becoming a “somebody”, but Iza has remained committed to craft. “I’m also thinking how long I can last in this strain game of staying up ‘til seven in the morning for taping,” she says, alluding to another high drama in the works and her need for ‘biz breathers like hosting. “That’s why for the past year, I’ve been seeing if I can venture into other things. I realized it’s really time to make new dreams.” She also builds dreams for others, as her work with poverty-pounding foundation Gawad Kalinga (GK) has shown. And then there was promoting Typhoon Ketsana GK efforts along with her need to promote a new show, keeping her in a studio during the devastation. “I was so mad. Am I not going to be out there?” she says of having to answer calls for a televised helpline instead of giving actual hands-on help. “But I was thinking, maybe it’s important to be in front of a camera, making people aware.” After Ketsana, visiting areas where floodwaters hadn’t receded meant her significance hadn’t either. “I helped in some way but still felt that I didn’t get to do much. But I can’t beat myself up because I wasn’t directly affected by it. The main thing is to consistently help whenever we can,” she offers. It’s a sentiment that illuminates Iza’s momentum at this point. That even with her tight grip on the quality of her work during these quickly changing times, there is no settling for her. No stopping, even if the “best she can be” — as the host of a healthy cooking show she’s excited about or in a possible attempt to head out to Hollywood despite The Echo being a flop — is unclear. “I find it so fun that people don’t know what I’m going to do next. That even I don’t know. I probably just need something inside me to start burning. Then I can put some plans into action. Is it too much by feel?” she considers, her giggle shifting into a grin; cheekbones more prominent since last I’d seen her this close. “That’s why I run. I can tell myself, ‘okay, I’m alright…I’m energized.’” 춧
SET DESIGN: RAFFY TESORO/ STYLING: KREAME ISAAC /BODY PAINTING: RAMON DIAZ /MAKE UP: JAKE GALVEZ OF TONY GALVEZ SALON FOR L’OREAL PROFESSIONAL/HAIR: TANGO OF TONY GALVEZ SALON
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THE FUTURE IS GREEN. LETTUCE AND DRAGON FRUIT BY NATURE ITSELF.
PEOPLE
WORK •OF• HANDS
COAXING SHAPES FROM WOOD, BRONZE, CLAY AND SILVER, SCULPTOR DUDDLEY DIAZ CHISELS A MYTHICAL WORLD THAT IS INSPIRED BY HIS EXPERIENCES IN THE PHILIPPINES AND ITALY.
TEXT AND PHOTOS: MARCO VENDITTI
a DIAZ HAS BEEN DEVELOPING HIS ART AND UNIVERSE OF MYTHICAL FIGURES: TWO DISTANT WORLDS, YET SIMILAR IN WAYS THAT GO BEYOND PURE FORMS.
sudden smell of cypress, reminiscent of a summer day in Tuscany, meets me at the doorstep of Duddley Diaz’s temporary studio in Manila. There, resting on a table, stands a wooden sculpture of an androgynous and ageless figure, its eyes gazing somewhere in the distance. While strokes of primary colors define its contours, the irregular facets convey a sort of childish innocence to the face. Soon I find out that I am looking at one of Diaz’s trademarks as a sculptor: he is considered an eminence when it comes to wood work. “This particular piece I shipped all the way from Italy,” he says. “Cypress is much more capricious than other woods, but more interesting at the same time.” As he explains the nuances of the material, Diaz’s eyes remain focused on a dark piece of African mahogany he’s chiseling with impressive speed and precision. The final piece will be part of an altar commissioned by a local church. Florence and Manila forge the dual dimension where Diaz has been developing his art and universe of mythical figures: two distant worlds, yet similar in ways that go beyond pure artistic forms. Diaz began molding features of saints in aluminum foil and toothpaste caps when he was only six years old and never stopped. The bliss he derives from sculpting is still evident, and is the first thing one notices upon meeting him. Diaz’s work spans several decades and it has recently culminated in a mid-career retrospective held at the Jorge B. Vargas Museum in Manila.
TOP LEFT: Amansinaya (2005) is the Tagalog goddess of the sea. Fertile is the Night (2005): Eve emerges from Adam’s rib. Both: Polychromed African mahogany.
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TOP: Awakening of a Young God, 2008 Center: Flying Figure Over a Starry Night, 2005 BOTTOM: La Regina della Notte # 2, 1997 LEFT: The Virgin & The Unicorn, 2005 RIGHT: Dionysus/Nino, 2008
BELOW RIGHT: The Goddess Mebuyan (1998). Cast bronze.
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Diaz’s work does not limit itself to wood; it was in fact a procession cast in bronze that first caught the attention of critics when he was still a student of fine arts at the University of the Philippines. Clay, terracotta, marble and silver turned into jewelry are also his sculptural medium. If one had to choose a trait that characterizes his persona as well as his work, it would be his innate happiness, an inner joy that radiates peaceful strength contagious to anyone around him and that finds expression in his figures. “I had a happy childhood,” admits Diaz. “I was always surrounded by an extended family that provided a comfort zone as well as a source of countless stories and legends to fuel my imagination.” Because of his reinterpretation of standard Christian iconography, he has often been defined as a religious artist, although it is the spiritual dimension of his work that seems to draw people in more than their purely religious significance.
“Diaz’s spirituality and his ‘primitivist’ sensibility call to mind the imagenes repulsivas (repulsive images) cast away by friars because they thought these things were not fit for veneration in colonial time,” explains Patrick D. Flores, curator of the Vargas Museum, in his introductory note to The Art of Duddley Diaz, a book by Alice Guillermo. In fact Diaz’s work seems to exist in a middle ground where Christianity meets pagan symbols. And what better places to develop this particular style than countries like Italy and the Philippines: both deeply Catholic, but also eternally attracted to polytheism and folklore. “When I arrived in Italy as a student for the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, I realized that these two countries had a lot of the mythological figures I knew as a child in common,” he explains. “Take Mebuyan for instance, our goddess of fertility. Her characteristics are basically the same of Artemis, the goddess in Greek and Roman mythology.” Figures like Haliya, the goddess of the moon, or the owl, messenger of sacred and spiritual signs, are also recurrent symbols in Diaz’s work. Sitting in the garden of his friend, sculptor Agnes Arellano, I ask Diaz to tell me more about Haliya. He and Agnes begin a story which suddenly turns in an unexpected direction with both sculptors trying to recollect nuances while inevitably adding elements of their own. “Well that’s the beauty of oral tradition,” says Diaz laughing, “nobody expects you to remember these stories perfectly, what is important is to make them interesting.” The day is about to end and Diaz has something more important to do besides talking about art. His wife has just given birth to a baby girl and he seems totally immersed in his new role as a father. “You know, when they say that having a baby totally changes your life it’s not purely theoretical. Something chemical really happens to your body,” he says with a certain amount of surprise as well as pleasure. A new chapter in the life of Duddley Diaz has begun. 춧 To know more about the work of Duddley Diaz visit and contact: www.galleriaduemila.com and www.duddleydiaz.com
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PEOPLE
MEETING MERCEDES y
TEXT AND PHOTOS: MARCO VENDITTI
ou would expect a considerable amount of attitude from an actress who was voted the most beautiful woman in the 61st Film Festival at Cannes. After all, she was chosen over film goddesses of the caliber of Penélope Cruz, Natalie Portman or Salma Hayek. But Mercedes Cabral has no time for that. She is too busy dealing with a deep inner world instead. “I like to express who I really am,” she says when asked to pose for this article. No studios, no fancy props, no make-up artist. She chooses instead the atelier of her old mentor Alfred Galvez, a muralist and body-paint artist. There she offers her naked back as a canvas while she answers some random questions. “To be in this studio, far away from everything and everybody is like being in a spa for me, it works like therapy,” she says. Mercedes and Alfred have known each other for a long time, since she was a student at the University of the Philippines and a struggling model. The two don’t need to talk much, although she often breaks up in laughter as the brushes drenched in deep acrylic colors tickle a particular spot on her back. “She used to pose for me for hours and never complain once,” says Alfred, whose work as a muralist is found in highend residences all over Manila. Mercedes’ breakthrough in the film industry came early on with a role in Serbis, the controversial and critically-acclaimed film by Brillante Mendoza.
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Serbis was nominated for the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008 and Mercedes was suddenly catapulted into the international sphere. In Cannes critics noticed not only her unique and exotic beauty, which tends to be defined as pure Filipina or “Pinoy”, but also her capacity to embrace a role until it literally turns into a second personality. “I like to observe the world around me,” she says. “I go out and I look for real people who could match the character that I have to play. Then I start to imitate them to the smallest details. That’s why it takes me so long to switch off once the film is over.” Mercedes confesses also that she was shocked when she heard that an online poll by paparazzi judged her as the most beautiful actress at the festival. She says this suddenly lifting her eyes to the camera and one can immediately see what directors find in her. Mendoza had apparently already closed the casting for Serbis when he allowed one last audition. After seeing the rushes he had no doubt that Mercedes was perfect for the role he had in mind. “Working with Brillante was a real experience,” Mercedes says. “I had no script and I didn’t even know what the other characters were all about. He would only ask me to concentrate on my role and if I ever overacted, even for just an instant, he would catch it right away.” Mercedes’ relation with Mendoza continued a year later when she acted in Kinatay, the independent Filipino film which won the award for Best Director at the 62nd Cannes Festival in 2009. “I love to work on indie films because of the artistic freedom they provide, but also I feel ready to be in bigger productions,” says Mercedes. “As an actress I think it is important to stay flexible.” Her commitment to the roles she plays did not go unnoticed by Korean director Park Chan-wook, the creator of the successful Vengeance Trilogy (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance) who cast Mercedes in his new film Thirst, an original take on vampires in which Mercedes plays a passionate Filipina. “I haven’t seen the film yet,” says Mercedes, “but I know that it will be released in the United States soon.” While waiting for the next offer, Mercedes who has just came back from Korea, is taking time off to ponder her future. “I would like to work in the US if possible. This is my dream, but I wouldn’t mind working in Europe as well.” Meanwhile, Alfred has almost finished his painting and we have time for a few more photographs before the end of the day. “What about running down the street showing the neighbors your brand new back?” I ask almost as a joke. But Mercedes, who clearly enjoys challenges, doesn’t think twice about kicking off her shoes and running down the stairs with the spontaneity that often goes talent. At one point she turns back, almost scared, but her thrust forward seems destined to last. 춧
BUNCHED UP IN BOXES TEXT: CARMEN MOURA
RIGHT:“Bunched up in boxes”, 2008, by Romina Diaz.
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w
hen disaster strikes it’s always the faces of children we see first. We see them in the news, in the magazines, in our imaginations. They don’t suffer more than frail elderly people, maybe not even more than their own parents who are aware of what they’ve lost in a typhoon, a fire, a hurricane, a flood. The parents know how much work it will take to get back on their feet, and the parents worry about the children. Yet it always seems so much more unfair on the kids, especially if in the midst of a line while waiting for food or medicine or a roof they turn to really smile at you. Or if, as in Manila, they laugh outside the window of your car while trying to sell you some flowers. “What’s your name???” they ask and then shriek with laughter. Romina Diaz says she got into photography because “with just a click of a button at the right moment, you can catch reality in all its power and beauty. It’s quiet, it’s sincere, and it speaks volumes about a place, a person, a feeling.”
Her project Living on Loring included photographs of young children that she met on the street of the same name while they played outside her gates. “I knew that I had many things they didn’t, but despite our differences, at the end of the day, we were all just children,” writes Diaz. Returning as an adult, Diaz embarked on her project and not only gave young girls cameras to express their own realities, she also felt compelled to do a series about them, even though she was told there were too many poverty photos around. The image opposite is part of Diaz’s series. It expresses the contradictions of a country. Bunched up in boxes, the children are curious, quiet or asleep. Some are smiling as they dream. 춧
Romina Diaz is an artist, photographer, singer, and arts educator. She is finishing her B.A. in Fine Arts at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence. Her works have been exhibited in Italy and Poland. Living on Loring is her first major exhibition.
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