Philippine National Artists and National Heroes

[KulasKusgan]

@ Paul: actually, na-save ko na some of your works dati pa sa folders ko. nice gallery.

gusto ko yang pinost mo at yung mga sulat sa gilid.

[paulkrps]

salamat lili and dave. actually still updating my stuff dahil i need to submit some test shots for a stock photo site. plus i need to prepare some works for a group exhibit with artist friends from davao in new york come april (lili kitakits tayo!)

[Lili]

Paul. BTW, I like how you capture the interplay of light and shadows in your pictures. Vibrant! Ibang klase.

[simply_me]

@Paul: nice arts... and i love the paintings.. SAMOK! (hehe)

[paulkrps]

Originally Posted by simply_me

@Paul: nice arts... and i love the paintings.. SAMOK! (hehe)

lili, simply_me at dave - those works are part of my "sa ilang mga nawong" (in their faces) series. it explores the angst of immigrants anywhere (filipinos primarily). works are in mixed media and charcoal on paper. explorations of mental deliberations of life that immigrants have left back home and the uncertainty of the new home.

the photos are part of what i call "life's details". they're part of my "life project". these are mostly everyday objects which we tend to overlook, you're right lili, those lights, those curtains, those doors and knobs, those tables, those chairs and floors, those are your everyday everything.

[kiretoce]

Filipino doll fetches $1,300
By Volt Contreras Inquirer News Service Oct 18, 2005

A BARBIE she may not be, but a lifesaver she most certainly is.

A doll dressed up by Philippine fashion guru Pitoy Moreno emerged among the biggest sellers at a recent United Nations fund-raiser, fetching $1,300 to buy life-saving vaccines for impoverished children throughout the world.

Called “Binibining Pilipina,” Moreno’s creation had on a Maria Clara gown of heavily embroidered piña fabric at the Oct. 12 auction held by the UN Children’s Fund or UNICEF. The affair was held at the Pantheon of the Czech Republic’s National Museum in Prague, according to a report from Ambassador Carmelita Salas released by the Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday.

The only two higher bids went to dolls designed by the Italian fashion house Prada and Israel’s Michal Negrin, both highly popular brands in Prague, the envoy said. She did not say, however, how much they fetched.

The Philippine Embassy had approached Moreno to lend his touch and represent the country’s support for the UNICEF project, to which he responded “with great generosity of spirit and impeccable fashion sense,” Salas recounted.

The “Binibining Pilipina” doll, which was sold for 31,000 Czech crowns (roughly $1,300 or P72,000), was one of 17 dolls auctioned off under UNICEF's “Adopt a Doll and Save a Child” vaccination campaign.

Most of the buyers were members of the Czech business community.

The Czech edition of the UNICEF program raised a total of $9,800 -- roughly equivalent to the cost of vaccinating 375 children in developing countries, the DFA said.

With shots costing $20 per child, the tots could be protected from the “six most fatal” childhood diseases -- polio, tuberculosis, tetanus, measles, whooping cough and rubella, according to the UNICEF website.

For the past 20 years, vaccines have protected nearly three-quarters of the world’s children against major childhood illnesses, said UNICEF. Yet every year, more than two million children still die from diseases that could have been prevented with inexpensive vaccines.

[kiretoce]

Young directors go "Big Time." A group of La Sallians to be proud of
By Dennis Ladaw Wednesday, October 19, 2005

They look more like yuppies than indie filmmakers, who tend to appear bohemian in look and character. In contrast, Mario Cornejo and Coreen “Monster” Jimenez aren’t starving, struggling artists but they can make a good, edgy film that could do Quentin Tarantino proud.

Cornejo and Jimenez did just that when they joined the recent Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. Their entry, the comedy Big Time, emerged a crowd favorite—a feather in the cap for their alma mater De La Salle University, whose college basketball team is embroiled in a fiasco with the UAAP.

The two wrote the script themselves. It tells the unfortunate yet humorous tale of a group of not too smart people dreaming of making it big—from two petty thieves moving on to be kidnappers to an air-headed teenager aspiring to be a star.

The film’s dark, irreverent humor left audiences impressed. Here at last was a Tagalog movie that doesn’t oversell a joke or rely on slapstick. The lines come fast and quick and nobody mugs at the punch line. The cast, headed by Jaime Wilson, has perfect timing. Only in Big Time will you hear remarks about the heftiness of a megastar called “Shawie,” obviously named after the real megastar Sharon Cuneta. And what other film has Manila Mayor Lito Atienza doing a walk-on at his very own Luneta Park, only to have his wallet snatched by the lead actor?


Pinoy to the core

In an interview with Life & Times, Cornejo said the comedy in the movie is very Pinoy. “It’s just presented in a different way. We didn’t try to stretch the jokes. If we felt the joke wasn’t working, we’d tell the actor to just say it fast and go on to the next line!” he said.

“Many of the jokes in the film are actually the jokes everyone laughs about. The Shawie jokes, for instance. Everyone else talks about it but somehow, there seems to be an unwritten rule that you can’t do Shawie jokes on film, at least in mainstream films.”

As Cornejo notes, viewers get to miss out on great comedy when the writer is forced to remain reverent to certain people or institutions. Both Cornejo and Jimenez opted to be disrespectful and came up with an original, hilarious comedy.

He thought of writing Big Time when Fil-American actor Ernie Reyes Jr. flew into town to look for some scripts he could produce and star in. In Big Time, Reyes would have played the lecherous son of a crime lord. Cornejo tried to finish Big Time, but he had no access to Reyes and the star returned to the United States. Jaime Wilson eventually inherited the role Reyes would have played.

Then he learned about Cinemalaya and broached Jimenez on the script he was writing. Jimenez owns a production company called Arkeo. She was also producing an entry for the short film category, Joel Ruiz’s Mansyon.


Hail to De La Salle

Cornejo, Jimenez and Ruiz are old pals. They met in college at De La Salle University, where they majored in Communication Arts. “It doesn’t seem like it on the surface, but once you get to know us better, we talk a lot like the characters in our film,” he said.

After college, Cornejo began a career as an assistant director for TV commercials. He worked under Manolo Abaya, spouse of Marilou Diaz-Abaya. He said he learned much from Abaya and he paid tribute to him in Big Time by naming the villain after him (Don Manolo played by Michael de Mesa). Cornejo went on to be a TV director for shows like Nginig.

Coreen Jimenez, on the other hand, was hired as a writer for the defunct Manila Chronicle under the late entertainment editor Manny Pichel and was managing editor of the glossy magazine Agenda. She then worked as an assistant for the legendary director Mike de Leon, particularly in Bayaning Third World. (De Leon hired and fired her several times, she recalled)

Jimenez and Cornejo collaborated on the script of Big Time. To keep away from distractions, they drove off to a family rest house in Tarlac to live in recluse and finish the draft. “Sometimes we felt the script we were writing wasn’t funny at all. We’d ask ourselves, ‘Will the audience laugh at this?’ Thankfully, when the movie was screened, people said it was the most commercial entry of the Cinemalaya,” he said.

Joining the festival turned out to be a rewarding experience for the three directors. Ruiz, co-producer of Big Time (he also played a drug dealer in the movie) won the top prize in the short film category. The reviews of Big Time were positive and the movie compared favorably to Peque Gallaga’s astonishingly similar Pinoy Blonde. The latter had commenced its commercial run in the same week. In fact critics like Noel Vera and Mario Bautista noted that Big Time was everything Pinoy Blonde aspired to be. Big Time hit the bull’s eye while Pinoy Blonde, despite its pedigree and star-studded cast, flopped.

Beating a stalwart like Gallaga in his own game is a major accomplishment for this trio of newcomers, who all turned 30 this year. Yet they refuse to get swayed by the comparisons being made. “People said Pinoy Blonde has a lot of good stuff in it and I’m looking forward to seeing it when it comes out on DVD,” Cornejo remarked.

At this point, the three have received offers from major companies to release Big Time in theaters. Yet they may eventually release the film through Arkeo before Christmas. Cornejo has also been offered a directing job by Star Cinema. He and his two pals are also planning an even darker comedy for Arkeo. “It won’t be the same kind of comedy. The material is disturbing but if we do it right, it could turn out to be very romantic,” he said.

[KulasKusgan]

Originally Posted by paulkrps

salamat lili and dave. actually still updating my stuff dahil i need to submit some test shots for a stock photo site. plus i need to prepare some works for a group exhibit with artist friends from davao in new york come april (lili kitakits tayo!)

good luck paul! share to us some updates & articles on that... ha?... salamat.

[kiretoce]

Powerful and Personal: Pia Rivera ang Alfredo Mendoza demostrate the emotive power of art

SOMETIMES the only difference between scrutiny and appreciation is a white wall and a bare room; metaphor, perhaps, for the state of the subconscious set up by surroundings and social circumstance. Truth be told, when the defenses are down, and there are no expectations, appreciation comes easier, and art merges with life to become very, very real.

This would seem largely part of what Pia Rivera and Alfredo Mendoza have brought to each other’s crafts Set in the easy, comfortable and yet splendid world inside the Souk Gallery, a creative fashion and art space, the unusual joint exhibit of a painter and a photographer titled Open for Inspiration is a subtle yet strong display of art that demands closer inspection and is open to interpretation, offering depth and experimentation for the curious and the critical, but without the pretentiousness or intimidation that would drive away the common observer. Spread out, often inconspicuously, in the urban bohemia of the gallery slash fashion haunt, the common thread between paintings and photographs, upon first glance, would seem to be the ease with which it blends into the store—behind racks of clothing or between displays of beads and pearls, hung on walls or laid on the floor, each piece nestles comfortably in the space it is given, not desperately jumping out to be noticed, but, like hidden treasures, sit waiting to be discovered.

But what really ties these pieces together runs much deeper than that. Both Pia and Alfredo’s work reflect the common philosophy they have about their respective crafts: that it reflects their lives, their current thoughts and emotions, and things that are important to them. There is something very emotional about their works which, ultimately, make them very alive and very real.

Long-time painter and former full-time international model, 28-year-old Pia stands among the few who understand two rather obvious yet immensely profound things about art that are often unappreciated: one, that art is a powerful and effective tool for not just self-expression but for growth, learning, and communication, and two, that the understanding and interpretation of art, once borne out into the world, becomes the property of whoever views it, and no one person, not even its creator, can dictate its meaning. Pia’s acrylic and mix media pieces, which are richly textured collage-like pieces with layers of color and concreteness, lend to a degree of abstractness so that, despite having very personal meanings to her, they are easily open to whoever interprets them.

"I actually like it that people see things in my art," Pia explains. "Some people interpret it in a way that’s personal, they put their own meaning and see certain little details in a different way." Pia personally works according to her moods, which are sometimes apparent in series of pieces that she does at the same time—sometimes they have the same color palette or occasional style similarities—hints of the process she goes through in creating them. For her, art is very much about the process, not just the finished piece, and incidentally, she likes it that as much as art is the process of creating, viewing it also becomes a process of seeing.

"I like taking my time with my pieces," she says. "And I never know exactly what the outcome will be. I like looking through my personal scrapbooks and writings, getting ideas from the emotions and experiences I have. And I use softdrink can tabs, tea bags, embroidery, scraps of denim, or any other found objects in my works—whatever strikes me, sometimes a stamp I collect from my travels, or stitching and beadwork that I like. The pieces in the exhibit illustrate my relationships and my continuous search for meaningful experiences. I enjoy the whole process I go through to translate what I’m feeling, which is why my art is very personal to me." Pia goes on to explain that even when she had been a Fine Arts major in UST, she preferred a more emotional approach to art and didn’t quite take to the way art was presented in the institution, which was rather impersonal, technical, and constrained. "Honestly, if you ask me what school of art my paintings hail from, I can’t answer that," Pia says. "That isn’t how I create my pieces. I don’t think that way." After UST, Pia took studio painting courses at the San Francisco School of Art, then later went to Florence, Italy, where she earned a Graduate Certificate in Art at the Instituto d’ Arte Lorenzo de Medici. In between, she has had several exhibits, both group and solo, including one in Florence and several in Manila.

While Open for Inspiration is Pia’s sixth exhibit, it is actually Alfredo’s first. Having discovered the power of photography at the tender age of 11 (prompted by his wanting to let his father see more of the world through photographs after being diagnosed with Glaucoma), 26-year-old Alfredo has had remarkably comprehensive experience in the field so far. Having gone through the shift from the darkroom to the digital lab, Alfredo is one of the few and perhaps youngest in the overflowing pool of Philippine photographers with unquestionable technical proficiency and creative capacity, with an understanding of the medium that goes beyond prints on a page. For Alfredo, taking photographs is about presenting the realities of life no matter how grotesque or beautiful—about presenting what is real.

"I don’t use digital manipulations," he explained when he presented his photographs. "And I don’t like overly made-up shots, like some ‘artsy’ types who’ll tie tin foil to trees and do ‘artistic shots.’ I believe you should simply capture first, naturally translate the experiences you have in this world." Although Alfredo is a talented architectural photographer—and one of the few—his personal preference is photographing people, though in Open for Inspiration, his subjects are varied. Many of his prints are scanned from transparencies, though more recent works are on digital film, and are printed using a Durstlambda, which produces a result remarkably similar to film with accurate color reproduction, on fiber-based non-coated archival paper for better contrast and sharpness.

"The photographs in this exhibit are my personal shots," Alfredo says. "Working as a photographer, I started feeling like I wasn’t taking the photos I wanted to be taking, like I was always taking photos for other people. It’s about time I showed my personal works. These photographs reflect me as a Developmental Studies graduate, as a professional photographer, as a traveler, and as a Filipino." From a simple candle to a grand structure, the quietness of Alfredo’s photographs and unique way choosing the less obvious angles immediately draw the eye because of their simple, clean lines and vivid colors. Alfredo has a natural eye for composition and even when he breaks the rules of framing or plays around with the available light, his photographs always create a subtle yet striking image, open to the emotions and the interpretation of the viewer.

"Someone once said, ‘Capture the world through your photographs, then let the world capture you,’" Alfredo muses. "This is what I’ve always tried to achieve in my photographs—showing the world how I experienced this scene through my pictures."

Having studied both here and abroad in such prestigious institutions as the International Center of Photography in New York and under such people as Adam Eidelberg, who handled large scale printing of the Metropolitan Museum, and Allan Rocach of Southern Living Magazine, and, locally, Emilio Esguerra and Tom Epperson, Alfredo has a strong creative and technical capacity that is defined in his art. He has been a regular with such magazines as My Home, Real Living, FHM, Cosmo, Seventeen, Slam, Preview, Prevention, and Working Mom, among others, and has had several direct clients like Cena, Pilo, Dove, and Domex.

Pia is currently finishing her Master of Arts in Education at Ateneo and runs a studio in Makati where she teaches art to both children and adults with varying creative skills and encouraging them to let out the artist that is inside them. Alfredo is now the photography editor for CEMEX+Me, the full-feature corporate magazine of CEMEX Philippines. They have some plans to work together in the future, merging painting and photography, further creating art and interpreting on the canvas the world as seen through their eyes.

Open for Inspiration runs until the end of October in Souk Gallery, 2nd floor Crescent Building, 21 San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City (building with Union Bank on the first floor). Pia Rivera may be reached at 0917-5331336 and Alfredo Mendoza at 0917-5360479.

[paulkrps]

good read!

[kiretoce]

Pinoy indie movie producer wins grant in Cinemanila film summit
Thursday, October 27, 2005

Award-winning independent filmmaker Raya Martin's new project "Glint of an Alley in a Rush" received a US$10,000 grant from the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival of Rotterdam at the second Boracay International Co-Production Meeting held at the Casa Pilar in Boracay last October 20 to 23.

The Boracay summit, held as part of the seventh Cinemanila International Film Festival, is considered the first co-production market in the Philippines. Aside from providing partial financial assistance to selected films, the co-production meeting also aims to bring together quality and feasible projects from filmmakers with demonstrable talent and ability. Although the selection committee looks closely at the financial viability of the project, the decisive factors remain its content and artistic value.

Rotterdam film festival programmer Gertjan Zuilhof led the panelists in selecting the winning project.

Martin graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, majoring in film and audio-visual communication. His short atmospheric horror "Bakasyon" won for him the Ishmael Bernal Award for Young Cinema at the sixth Cinemanila. His first full-length documentary "Ang Isla sa Dulo ng Mundo," about the Itbayat tribe of Batanes, the Philippines, won Best World Documentary at the second .MOV International Digital Film Festival, and is part of the New Asian Currents Competition of the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2005.

Martin has just finished his first feature film "Maicling Pelicula nang ysang Indio Nacional," a primarily silent film set just before the end of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. He is currently writing for the Southeast Asian film journal, Criticine.com.

Producer Arleen Cuevas represented Martin during the summit. Martin and five other filmmakers from all over the world were selected for a six-month Cannes residency (October 2005 - February 2006). His thesis film "Infancia en las Islas de Filipinas sin fecha," which earlier won for him the Kodak Student Achievement Award for 35mm, was chosen by the Cannes jury, making him a part of the prestigious Cinefondation.

"Glint of an Alley in a Rush" tells the story of Rita/Tata, who lives in a world where escapism through entertainment marks the troubles of real life. The incongruence of her desired life versus actual life causes Rita to tune out from daily conversations with her family and friends. In the end, she sees that the value of the real is more important than the promises of the reel.

Martin bested fellow finalists Kamron Gunatikala ("Once, A Pond, A Time," Thailand), Leonard Lai ("The High Cost of Living," Singapore), Tan Chui Mui ("Love Conquers All," Malaysia), and Filipino filmmakers Erwin Romulo ("Paloma") and Mes de Guzman ("Balikbayan Box"), who earlier won second prize at the seventh Cinemanila's Digital Lokal film competition for his entry "Ang Daan Patungong Kalimugtong."

Last year, the first recipients of the grant from the co-production meeting were Singaporean producer Juan Foo and director Han Yew Kwang for their entry "Pinball" and acclaimed Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz for his new project "Heremias."

The Hubert Bals Fund is designed to bring remarkable feature film and feature length creative documentaries by innovative and talented filmmakers from developing countries closer to fulfillment. The fund provides grants that often turn out to play a crucial role in enabling filmmakers to realize their projects. Since it started in 1988, over 530 projects (scripts, post production, training and distribution) from independent filmmakers in Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Latin America have received support.

[paulkrps]

Originally Posted by sleepwalker_uno

good luck paul! share to us some updates & articles on that... ha?... salamat.

yup yups dave. if you know bong espinosa, surely he can give you updates there in davao.

[kiretoce]

Feminists recognize Pinay movers of RP cinema

Fabulous Filipinas of Philippine Cinema will be given special recognition for their outstanding body of work in feminist films on November 23 during the Feminist Centennial Awards.

The event will celebrate women producers, directors, writers or actresses of quality films that have advanced the feminist movement in the country. With the awards, festival organizers hope to give Filipinos the chance to see not just the issues and stories of women on the screen, but also the Filipina creative minds and talents behind it.

Organizers also hope that the awards will raise awareness on issues that affect the Filipina, and inspire young men and women to actively participate in the socio-cultural transformation of society toward the goal of gender equality.

Awardees will receive trophies conceived and created by mother and daughter sculptors Julie Lluch and Aba Dalena.

The awards night will be held at Cinema 3 of the Shang Cineplex, Shangri-La Plaza, on November 23 at 7 p.m. Local film luminaries, diplomats and cultural officers, especially of the countries participating in festival, will grace the affair, along with government, nongovernment and international funding agency representatives and members of the academe.

Other events during the festival include a symposia series under the general theme "Breaking the Stereotype" set to be taken on tour among colleges and universities. Local and foreign filmmakers will interact and dialogue with students and professors on feminism as a positive social force.

Opening the symposia series on November 24 is Revathy, a former Indian film actress who will discuss her film Pher Melenge (Till We Meet Again)—a drama about a young, modern, successful career woman whose romantic adventure brings her life to a standstill.

Arlene Ami of Canada will present her documentary, Say I Do on November 25. Shot in the Philippines and Canada, the film looks at the "mail order bride" industry.

The third symposium on November 28 will tackle "Women in Cinema."

A traveling photo display, to be exhibited first on the second level of Shangri-La Plaza, will present historical perspectives of Pinay feminism and feminist values in Filipino films from precolonial to contemporary times.

The festival is a project of Feminist Centennial Network, headed by former senator Leticia Ramos R. Shahani. Lead government agencies are the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women. The Communication Foundation for Asia organized the event.

The festival will run from November 23 to 29 at the Shangri-La Cineplex, UP Film Institute from November 30 to December 4. A tour of four key cities in the provinces is scheduled before Christmas.

[paulkrps]

ARTISTHOOD an independent art group of davao and guest artists
*in cooperation with the* *NCCC mall of davao** p r e s e n t
****************** YEAR-END GROUP PAINTING EXHIBIT
A G I F T O F A R T *O N *C H R I S T M A S
a fund raising project in preparation for the US group exhibition

featuring davao's *homegrown *multi-talented visual artists:
michaelBauzon, bongEspinosa, rodneyYap, *junPamisa, phillipSomozo, *rexKyamko, robTanedo, rogerPaconla, allanDesierto, benBanez,***egaCarreon,***juliusAlmonicar... & etc.

Opens on November 15, @ 6pm. NCCC mall, Second level mallway, near New Jersey Studio On view until December 31, 2006

" S U P P O R T *O U R *L O C A L T A L E N T S ... ! "

View**our Art Calendar project:
<http://groups.msn.com/AbitofArt/akonibay.msnw?Page=1>http://groups.msn.com/AbitofArt/akonibay.msnw?Page=1*

View our artwork samples:
<http://groups.msn.com/AbitofArt/membersupcomingexhibitsevents.msnw?action=view_list&viewtype=0&row=5&sortstring>http://groups.msn.com/AbitofArt/memb...=5&sortstring=

[kiretoce]

Perf de Castro, A rocker goes classical
By Dennis Ladaw Friday, November 04, 2005

With his long hair and cool demeanor, guitarist Perf de Castro looks every inch a rock star. He actually was a rock star and was for a time the guitarist of the popular alternative rock band Rivermaya.

Yet for some rock musicians, there comes a time when an artist has to move on to another genre. Rod Stewart, for instance, bid rock music goodbye to record the standards that made Sinatra a legend.

Perf de Castro’s move was much more radical. He decided to be a classical guitarist because as far as rock was concerned, he’s been there and done that.

“There’s nothing else to conquer in this arena,” he told Life & Times. “Classical music is harder to learn and the things you can do—the challenges—are endless,” he said.

De Castro said he also couldn’t imagine himself still playing rock 20 years from now. “I see Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones doing their stuff up to now and they’re all in their sixties. You have to admire them for having all that energy, yet it also feels sad to see them still make a go at it. They probably still enjoy it, yet the fact that they have to continue doing what they did 40 years ago, it’s as if they’ve lost a certain degree of dignity,” he said.

As a classical musician, the 31-year-old de Castro feels he can still play the guitar well into his seventies with his dignity intact. At a recent concert at the Philamlife Auditorium, de Castro wore a black suit as he played the works of Lucrecia Kasilag, Joaquin Rodrigo and several flamenco tunes. Ensconced at the center of the stage, holding his 10-string guitar, he gave everyone in the theater a high without having to dive into the audience or trash his guitar. (“The guitar is too expensive,” he laughed.)

De Castro’s passion for the guitar began in 1987 when he was 13. He had attended a concert of The Dawn and was mesmerized by what Teddy Diaz and company could do with their instruments. Diaz became his inspiration and he decided he wanted to study guitar. He was a high-school freshman at Don Bosco at that time and the school’s curriculum included comprehensive music classes. “Our music teacher required us to learn a musical instrument. Naturally I chose the guitar,” he recalled.

Strangely, instead of pursuing music in college, he majored in Political Science at the University of the Philippines in Manila. He said it was a crazy period for him. He’d miss classes to play gigs and was employed as a recording engineer for a recording studio. He eventually transferred to the College of Music of the University of Sto. Tomas (UST). Yet the college dean discouraged him from studying classical guitar and instead pushed him to play another instrument so he could fit into UST’s orchestra.

De Castro then went on to the Philippine Women’s University where his mentor, the Maestro Jose Valdez, nurtured his talent.

It was during college when he joined Rivermaya. The band was renting his studio in Parañaque for rehearsals and the guitarist was often absent. “I would sub for him and they eventually took me on permanently and fired the other guitarist,” he recalled.

His stint with Rivermaya lasted for more than a year. He left when the band took on a certain direction that was not interesting for him.

He then formed his own band, the Tri-Axis, and they recorded two albums. By the turn of the century, there was a lull in rock music. Tri-Axis refused to compromise their art by playing other music genres just to survive. They disbanded, and with the encouragement of Maestro Valdez, de Castro returned to classical music.

De Castro and his family moved to Los Angeles, California, in 2004. His wife had found a job there and he vowed to focus on his music. He attended concerts and met other guitarists, which paved the way for his recitals in various music festivals in Oregon, California and Connecticut. Despite his recent shows abroad, however, he said it remains very difficult to penetrate the American market.

This hasn’t discouraged, him, however. He’s planning to record a CD album next year and hopes other young guitarists could take classical music more seriously. “These young people who study the guitar, as soon as they think they can make it with a band, they stop the guitar lessons. They’re already having fun being famous. The result (is that) we don’t have any world-renowned Filipino guitarists. We already have a famous international pianist in Cecile Licad. I’m not implying I’m going to be her guitar counterpart, it’s just I’d like to see a Filipino guitarist become internationally famous.”

De Castro describes his life as a classical musician as obviously much quieter than it was when he was a rocker. “It’s also actually much scarier,” he stressed. “Because when you’re onstage, you have no band mates to cover up your mistakes. You’re alone up there and you can’t stop playing when you forget the notes. The people who attend these recitals listen to every note you play. And unlike rock fans, they don’t get drunk during a concert!”

[paulkrps]

true true kimber. there's a lot of rock musicians who turn to classical music.

[kiretoce]

I guess one mellows with age. You know you're getting old is when you go to a rock concert and you find the music too loud! I've changed my listening habits when it comes to the radio, before it was all rock and alternative Top 40, now I'm into easy-listening and music from the 1980s, plus throw in some of classical and jazz.

[paulkrps]

some musicians find classical music more challenging. ako naman ever since, i was into crossover (or jazz fusion), plus of course classical (i love arias!).

[bagel]

I have stopped listening to the radio except for NPR (national public radio. http://www.npr.org ) so I do not know what is popular music these days. But I've always been into all different kinds of music. If I find something challenging to listen to, I try to listen to more of it so that I can understand what's appealing about it. Sometimes, i even start listening to that music more. So I guess you can say I like challenging music. Mostly these days, I've been listening to hip hop (which I never used to listen to growing up), Bach cantatas and 1960s avant garde Jazz of the Ornette Coleman style.

[kiretoce]

Lea’s 10 tips on how to make your dreams come true
As told to Carissa C. Villacorta, Nov 02, 2005

On November 7, I will again have the opportunity to meet the one woman who has inspired the present generation of dreamers. Lea Salonga will perform at New York’s Carnegie Hall, an equally illustrious venue.

In one way or another, we’ve all met her. Via the stage, TV, or newspapers, we were inspired by how she’s lived her life and carried the pride of the Filipinos. These direct quotes below provide another way of getting into her outlook and approach, so that we too may transform from great dreamers, to great performers, as she has.

CV: If you were to give ten top tips to the young Filipinos on how to achieve their dreams, what would they be?

LS: I don't think my list will reach 10...these are what I live by:

1. Don't forget the people you meet on the way up, as they'll be the same people you meet on the way down. Remain humble and grounded always, and be grateful to everyone who helped you achieve success.

2. Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. It means practice, rehearsals, warming-up before shows, taking the time to perfect one's skill.

3. Be professional. Every occupation in this world deserves and demands respect. That means showing up to job interviews, auditions and rehearsals on time and well-prepared, being respectful to those working for you and with you, and treating the work with love. It burns me when I see anyone doing anything halfway, as I was brought up and trained to always give it my best shot.

4. Have fun at work! Enjoying one's work never hurt anyone, and it makes everything so much easier. I have a smile on my face when I sing, even on a relatively bad day. Just make sure it's never at someone else's expense.

5. Accept and appreciate both the compliments and the criticisms. The first is a great ego booster, and the second a good gauge of how you're doing and how you can further improve.

6. Take time to smell the roses. Once upon a time it was all work for me, and I realized that getting together with family and friends just to hang out, talk, laugh, eat with absolutely nothing to do with work keeps my head balanced and sane. It makes me appreciate and love the work even more.

7. Pray. When I feel that life is starting to get to me, I take some time for spiritual rejuvenation. I particularly like going to an empty church and spending a few minutes in silence. Also, when life is particularly great, I pray for thanks. God is a very important part of my life and my work.

8. Rest. Even God had a day off, what makes you think working 7 days a week is good for you?

9. Live life to the fullest. You'll be surprised at how that filters into your work. I've seen so many loved ones leave this world at a young age. That teaches me to really experience as much of life as possible before it's time to go.

10. Surround yourself with the people you love, as much as possible. Life is way too short to spend it with people you don't really like, or are indifferent towards. I know that it's not always possible to have those you love around you physically, and that you'll sometimes be working with people you just can't get along with, but as long as these loved ones are in your heart and mind, you're all set.

CV: What is your mantra in life?

LS: Have fun... at work and in life.

CV: After a fairy tale wedding, and a career on Broadway, is there anything else you wish and work for?

LS: Healthy children. I have a child on the way, and I pray that s/he's healthy. I can only wish for a good life for him/her.

CV: Anything else on your to-do list? / What are the next steps for you?

LS: Hmmm... shake hands with Barbra Streisand, maybe! As for next steps, I would just love to do more concert work all over the world. That's always a fun time!

CV: What does a regular week and weekend consist of for you?

LS: Well at the moment, my days consist of negotiating morning sickness. But
normally, it all depends. If I'm coaching someone in a show, I'm at rehearsals with that person for a few hours and at that person's first few performances. If I'm not working, I go shopping or eating with friends, spend time with my husband in the evenings and weekends, go to church, see shows, go to a movie. Normal stuff.

CV: What is your interpretation of the phrase "Harnessing Individual Successes Toward Collective Empowerment" (as Filipinos) ?

LS: Hmmm... if we are all successful individually, that can only build the country as a whole. It's kind of like every person being assigned each a square yard of sidewalk to clean. If we each do our individual share, the entire sidewalk would then be clean.

CV: What is your opinion of the Filipino diaspora? That many Filipinos leave the Philippines to find their individual destinies?

LS: On the one hand, it's unfortunate that so many of our countrymen decide to leave the country, but on the other hand, I can't blame them either for wanting to find what they believe to be a better future for themselves and their families. I left home for the opportunity of a lifetime, and I'm still living my dream.

CV: What are your favorite books and movies?

LS: Books: anything by Robin Cook (after the first book I was hooked), The Far Side series, the Griffin and Sabine series (all 6 parts). I'm currently in the middle of One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Movies: Mr. and Mrs. Smith was the one film I was recommending to all my friends. I also loved Batman Begins, and both Spider-man and X-men films. I'm also huge on cartoons.

CV: Did you ever think, when you were younger, that she would become an icon in Philippine history (as well as on Broadway)?

LS: No, that was the last thing I ever expected. I never in my wildest dreams ever thought any of this would happen, and I'm just thankful for everything. It's awesome.

When I was 11, and a visitor to New York, I had the privilege to meet Lea, and write my first ever published article “My Encounter with Lea Salonga in New York.” That meeting ended with her signing my Miss Saigon playbill with a smiley face after it. Many articles and smiley faces later, she, for this interview, emails me her own version of 10 Ways to be Happy, then signs “Lea” and a = and a ). I’ve wondered about this, but now know why she has that trademark sign. Because even though she’s away from home, she remains to be the carrier of Manila’s smiles across the miles. Her smiles are captured on stage, on TV and on every young dreamer’s most-prized moments. And her mantra – to have fun in work and in life, as she does, as well as her signature mark, should, as she hopes, make the jump from the papers and onto our faces, as when we met her, and always.