The LaSallianCoy, timid, and reserved, she fans herself gently with a wooden hand fan, speaking softly without meeting your eyes. An image that represents the Filipina virtue is often summarized with a single iconic name: Maria Clara. Her attributes are deeply embedded into our culture; the ideal woman should be dutiful, responsible, and most importantly, the…
An honest and deliberate attempt at self-reflection is sometimes all it takes for some obvious truths to slowly sink in. In my case, the discovery of the inherent ills of Western pop culture happened in batches; in interrupted bouts of conscious culture consumption in which I felt disillusioned seeing the way Hollywood films portrayed non-Western…
More often than not, the shared memories between two individuals is the thread that holds a relationship together. Now imagine if a gnarled hand slowly came out of nowhere, curled its wretched fingers around that thread, and began to pull–not quickly, not to startle, but slowly as to prolong the pain and agony of watching…
Some flights to Leyte are more memorable than others. The first time you tasted their sweet midget pineapples, your first time at the Pintados-Kasadyaan festival, or witnessing firsthand the horrors of Typhoon Yolanda. Rem Zamora is no stranger to polarizing moments in life such as these, being the professional photojournalist that he is. As he…
You enter the mall, and almost immediately, you’re greeted by bright red signs with “SALE” written in huge typeface letters. You enter the shop almost unconsciously without any intention except to look around, and before you know it, you’re inside the fitting room with about half a dozen clothes to try on. You fit them…
When the nights were long in December, I began to fall in love with somebody. Experiencing intimacy in new ways: Easily sleeping at his home in Cubao when I had lost electricity for a while in mine, teaching me the proper way to floss as his mother was a dentist, putting makeup on his sister,…
The news of the plastic surgery “transformation” of the internet sensation named Marlou Arizala, who now goes by the moniker “Xander Ford”, has been making headlines as well as memes on social media. Marlou had features typically associated with Filipinos: Dark moreno skin and a flat nose. His appearance when he was still Marlou got…
With the constant pressure to succeed heavy on our shoulders, and the everlasting existential crisis plaguing our seemingly mundane lives, we can’t help but sometimes feel alone and helpless, trapped within the confines of our minds. The struggle of battling bouts of depression and anxiety can be extremely difficult to overcome. Many have been victims…
The streets are filled with all types of creepy crawlers wafting through the sea of garbage and canal water and the rain seems to have no business in stopping. The squelching of your sneakers stop as your eyes are drawn to a small, curled up fur ball on the sidewalk right beside a sari-sari store.…
Along the financial district of Ortigas lies an ubiquitous building with a studio perched on its top floor. Soft electronic music plays in the background as the women in the room stretch in front of ceiling mirrors. It’s an odd assortment of women of different sizes and ages, with the youngest among the bunch…
