MEDIUM RARE Quoting Jimmy Laya who was quoting Imelda Marcos, “The water will rise. The land will rise. The curtain will rise.” Sounds like a real haiku, except that Mrs. Marcos and Mr. Laya were not talking about nature and her quirks, but the Cultural Center of the Philippines...
MEDIUM RARE Of course Tarlac’s Belenismo is the logical first stop for an exhilarating Christmas tour, but as not everybody has the means or the wheels, Metro Manila is another good place to start. If London has their Harrods, we have Rustan’s, with branches in Makati, Quezon City...
MEDIUM RARE A cellist occupying center stage with a full orchestra supporting her – how often are we allowed to enjoy this kind of a show? The last time I attended a cello concert, about three years ago, the performer was 13 years old or thereabouts. After the show, I remember very clearly now, I...
MEDIUM RARE Standing at the entrance to the shopping mall, the tall and friendly-looking security guard seemed bored enough to start a conversation. So I asked him a few questions while waiting for my car. I began, “How many pregnant women have come into the mall today?” He was quick to...
MEDIUM RARE One takeaway from the pandemic of 2019 that benefitted many of us: We learned that we didn’t need to “see the doctor” face to face. Before Covid-19 there was only one way to consult a doctor, which was to make an appointment to see him or, in special cases, make him...
MEDIUM RARE It’s not a glass house, it’s The Glass House. And there it sits, like a huge cube of ice – better yet, like a diamond almost as big as the Ritz – beside Goldenberg Mansion, one of the jewels of Malacañang Park. Several footsteps away from Goldenberg, especially when both...
MEDIUM RARE Letty Hahn turned 93 years and one day old last Tuesday, Nov. 5, and like magic a pretty cake frosted in pastel colors showed up under her nose. Just as wonderfully, the room full of gentle people erupted into polite waves of applause under the soft glitter of a colony of Czech-made...
MEDIUM RARE When Dr. Isa Cojuangco Suntay and her mom and namesake, Isabel Cojuangco Suntay, declare the Belenismo season open in Tarlac, that’s the signal for the spirit of Christmas to descend not only on Tarlac but also the rest of our provinces. Belenismo, mismo! The Belenismo tradition...
MEDIUM RARE Fukuoka, Japan’s sixth largest city. Laid back, compared with the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, or with the touristy Osaka. Fukuoka, call letters FUK, gateway to Japan. We landed in Fukuoka, too late to catch the cherry pink of the season of cherry blossoms, too early to earn a glimpse...
MEDIUM RARE Now that our Christmas tree is up and dominating the living room, let me sing praises to what makes it different. First, it’s not new, it’s no longer young and fresh. Next, many of the ornaments hanging on it are older than the tree, and they come from cities near and far,...
MEDIUM RARE My all-time favorite Christmas book, published in the last year of the last century, 1999, is The Twelve Teas of Christmas. Not that I’m that deep into tea, but because it’s a charming book with pretty illustrations and notes on decorating, gift-making and giving, with a table of...
MEDIUM RARE Seven days to go before October gives way to November. Thirty days in November. Then it’s December, the merriest month. Peru, a Catholic nation like ours, jumped the gun on us by declaring Christmas officially opened on Oct. 1. One supposes their season ends just like ours on...
