I stumbled upon Soleil Ignacio's work on Mega. She's a Filipino illustrator with a penchant for drawing beautiful topless girls with big hair. Her words, not mine. Check out how she styled Pinoy celebrities in glamorous high fashion. It is pure eye candy- the perfect kick to get me out of my fashion rut.
The Eugene Domingo in Alexander McQueen
Sweet Anne Curtis in Louis Vuitton
Fab Jinky Pacquiao in Chanel (At first glance, I thought it was Agot Isidro though)
The young Imelda Marcos in Christian Dior.
Judy Ann Santos in Lanvin (Also a dead ringer for KC Concepcion.)
A strikingly skinny Kris Aquino in Valentino
Last but not least, Nora Aunor in Prada. Ate Guy never looked chicer.
Last week, I got to check out an exhibit curated by Brian Tenorio. Ambassadors of the Philippine Brand is a feature on 18 personalities who represent the Philippine Brand to the World, as illustrated by several of the country’s emerging and established talent in illustration and visual design. Kudos to all the artists who worked on the portraits. AJ Omandac, Bren Baclan, Jose Daniel Castillo, Laraine Gazmen, Lawrence Anataran, Louie Lee, Meneer Marcel, and Valerie Chua. Brilliant stuff.
Scroll down to see who made the cut.
Journey songster Arnel Pineda
Filmmaker Brillante Mendoza
Little diva Charice Pempengco
Mother and son politicians Cory and Noynoy Aquino
My friend Mia with the dashing tycoon Jaime Zobel De Ayala
Furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue. Gotta love a sourpuss.
Songbird and broadway muse Lea Salonga
No need for introductions for this one
My friend Mia kissing male model Paolo Roldan
My personal favorite, the Filipino Healthworker.
A shout out to my mom and pops, both in the medical field.
I feel like this deserved a less cartoony rendition though.
I'm happy that people like Brian Tenorio are coming up with events such as these. At first glance, it is a list of famous people whose names have circumnavigated the globe. I was going to brush it off as a mere popularity contest, but then I realized the impact of the brand ambassadors around the world. Ignorant people are innumerable. Some people don't even know where the Philippines is. Some think that we all still live in Nipa huts and wear loincloths. Their image of being a Filipino is painted through interactions with domestic helpers, japayukis, Filam boys and girls who grew up in the hood. On the news and in movies, we are constantly portrayed as poor, dirty, and malnourished. KAWAWA ang dating natin in the international media arena. But slowly, with the help of the people listed here, that impression is changing.
Overall, the Ambassadors of the Philippine Brand Exhibition is a refreshing new way of looking at our country-- a brand that we all have to take responsibility for. Someday I hope that we can start introducing more homegrown talent who may not be known to the world. But they embody the best of us Filipinos. At the top of my head, I have names like: Street performer and activist Carlos Celdran, RockEd Philippines founder Gang Badoy, and the T'boli dreamweavers.
The exhibit will be going to Trinoma on April 13-27 and Alabang Town Center on April 28-May 12
New York based Filipino illustrator and designer, Pepper Roxas, created these prints to help raise funds for the victims of the recent tsunami and eartquake in Japan. On this drawing are the words Ganbatte Kudasai or “Do your best/Don’t give up!”
I feel a little guilty that I haven't kept abreast with what's happening in Japan. In the back of my mind, I have a strong feeling that Japan has it got it covered. They are a strong, self-sufficient society that's used to picking up the pieces. My friend who was recently in Tokyo told me about how shoppers in the grocery store did not panic after the massive earth shaking. They stayed calm and when the rumblings subsided, the crowds simply returned all the goods they were supposed to buy and filed out. Truly admirable discipline.
100% of all profits from the sales of this tee will be donated through the Japan Society of New York.
I'm a collector of Filipino illustrated childrens' books and I was so happy to have stumbled upon this little gem entitled, "Mga Tambay sa Tabi-Tabi: Creature of Philippine Folklore". It's basically a compilation of Philippine mythical creatures and monsters. Each creature is re-imagined by an artist and is brought to life by a poem and a description. On the cover, you can see the more popular creatures like a manananggal, a tiyanak, a vampire, and a white lady to name a few. But just flip through its pages, and you'll be pleasantly surprised to learn that there are more. So much more.
Take the Alan, which I've never heard of before. It's a winged elf or a disfigured spirit. It can make babies from a drop of menstrual blood. Eeeww! But it can also bring miscarried fetuses back to life. Another version of the Alan is a winged ogre that feeds on people.
The Bakunawa is a huge sea monster that is somewhat like a fish meshed with a shark. For our Filipino ancestors, it epitomized evil with it's lake-sized mouth, gills, and coarse whiskers. It is said to be the culprit of eclipses because it sometimes swallows the sun or the moon.
An Agta is similar to a kapre. It is a giant hairy creature that likes smoking cigars on top of a tree. But the main difference is that he likes to lure beautiful maidens into the woods. The only way to be free is to poke and burn his privates. Teehee.
The Tahamaling is a spirit dweller that protects the forest. Upon entering her domain, you have to say "Makikiraan po" (excuse me) in order not to disturb her. She has reddish skin with long flowing hair and a very moody disposition making her both an ally and an enemy.
I've always been confused by the siyokoy. As a child, I believed that it was the opposite of the sirena.
Instead of having the legs of a fish, the siyokoy has the head of the fish (and the legs of a man). That seems not to be the case in this book where it is described as having a scaly torso. It surfaces during floods so beware this rainy season.
The Wakwak is like a manananggal because she can half herself. But she has a preference for eating fetuses and thus drools at the sight of pregnant woman. Her name is derived from the "wakwak" sound her wings make when she flies up to the roof of your house.
I love this book. I think some children would not dare pick up a real encyclopedia of Filipino monsters because it simply is too frightening. This book elicits more chuckles than screams. As a child, I was always more afraid of the monsters I saw in, "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" rather than from movies like "the Exorcist" or "Poltergeist". Maybe something in our psyche makes homegrown monsters more sinister. As of writing this, I just saw a friend's FB page saying that she saw something jump from one side of the road to another. It was leathery with flowing white hair. Yikes!
Filipino graphic artists are getting famous around the world through the website: http://www.threadless.com/ . It’s a site that lets artists from around the globe submit t-shirt designs. People vote on them and they get a chance to be printed and sold. Kneil Melicano is among those Pinoy designers who's had more than 10 designs printed. He even won the coveted annual Bestee award. Every printed shirt is $2,500 with a Bestee bonus of $20,000.
This blog is like the Filipino dessert that mixes together unrelated ingredients such as ice, beans, gelatin, purple yam, and cream into something fun. Here’s a yummy serving of my own halo-halo musings on art, advertising, history, fashion, photography and inspiration.
First Aid II
