Smoking weakens a gene that protects arteries

May 12, 2017 | 8:03 am

WASHINGTON — People who smoke cigarettes may boost their risk of clogged heart arteries by weakening a gene that is otherwise protective of these important blood vessels, US researchers said Monday.

The findings point to a genetic explanation for how smoking can lead to the plaque buildup that stiffens arteries and causes heart disease, said the report in the journal Circulation.

“This has been one of the first big steps towards solving the complex puzzle of gene-environment interactions that lead to coronary heart disease,” said co-author Danish Saleheen, assistant professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Researchers pooled genetic data on more than 140,000 people from more than two dozen earlier studies, with a particular focus on regions of the genome that have been previously associated with a higher risk of plaque buildup in the heart’s arteries.

“A change in a single DNA ‘letter’ on chromosome 15, near the gene that expresses an enzyme (ADAMTS7) produced in blood vessels, was associated with a 12% reduction in heart risk in nonsmokers,” said the report.

“However, smokers with this same variation had only a 5% lower risk of coronary heart disease — reducing by over half the protective effect of this genetic variation.”

Follow-up lab studies showed that in cells that line arteries of the human heart, the production of the enzyme ADAMTS7 dropped significantly when the cells contained this single-letter DNA variant.

INHIBITING AN ENZYME
Another experiment showed when coronary artery-lining cells were exposed to the liquid extract of cigarette smoke, the cells’ production of ADAMTS7 more than doubled.

If researchers can find other ways to inhibit this enzyme, they might be able to help smokers and others at heightened risk of coronary heart disease, said co-author Muredach Reilly, director of the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Columbia University Medical Center.

Cigarette smoking is known to cause about one in five cases of coronary heart disease, and is linked to approximately 1.6 million deaths worldwide each year.

“Through these large-scale genetic studies, we’re beginning to understand the genetic variations that drive risk in response to certain environmental exposures or lifestyle behaviors,” said Reilly.

“Not everyone reacts the same to the same exposures or behaviors. For example, some people who don’t exercise develop diabetes while others do not,” he added.

“So, instead of saying there are rules for everybody, we can specify which interventions will be especially beneficial for specific populations or individuals and focus our health resources more efficiently.” — AFP

Working towards universal health care

May 12, 2017 | 8:03 am

Medicine Cabinet
Teodoro B. Padilla

AMBISYON NATIN 2040, representing the collective long-term vision of the Filipino people, emphasizes the significant role of health in the country’s overall national development. This vision states that by 2040, the country will be composed of a middle class society where no one is poor.

Health remains a fundamental pillar in the realization of this vision for 2040. Apart from the people’s expressed desire to live longer and healthier in the next 25 years, no country can claim full social development and inclusive economic progress with an ailing citizenry and with the vulnerable left to care of their own.

The increase in national government and social health financing is evidence of the government’s resolve to improve people’s health. Undoubtedly, the wheel towards the attainment of health for all has been set in motion. It is time to accelerate the momentum and broaden the gains of universal health care (UHC), which examines and addresses the country’s health issues from the wider and holistic perspective of health system.

The University of the Philippines’ Acta Medica Philippina health journal defined UHC as the provision to every Filipino of the highest possible quality health care that is accessible, efficient, equitably distributed, adequately funded, fairly financed, and appropriately used by an informed and empowered public. With this system, the poor and marginalized are the priority as it helps ensure health as a right regardless of ability pay. This is notably important for the poor who do not have enough money even for the most basic needs, thus the move to provide services for free.

At present, legislative measures have been filed to institutionalize, enhance, and fund UHC. Authors of these bills concur that UHC will avoid the piecemeal or incremental approaches in addressing the country’s health woes.

Common to the provisions are the strengthening of primary health care and outpatient services, engagement of local government units, the development of enabler systems, and identifying possible funding sources.

One of the measures is House Bill (HB) 5120 or the Philippine Universal Healthcare Act, which espouses a whole-of-system, whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, where all sectors and relevant stakeholders are considered in the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of all health-related policies, programs, and actions.

Its primary feature is the establishment of a Universal Healthcare Commission composed of the Departments of Health, Finance, Budget, and local government as well as representatives from PhilHealth, the academe, and the private sector. The UHC Commission will be tasked to determine the types and extent of health care services that shall be provided to Filipinos free of charge, including prevention and treatment of communicable diseases, vaccine-preventable diseases, and the provision of essential medicines.

Under the bill, all Filipinos will automatically be PhilHealth members and that coverage will be gradually expanded to include outpatient medicines, medical diagnostics, and vaccines. In ensuring sustainability, PhilHealth will be asked to work with private insurance for co-payment to be charged to non-sponsored patients.

Expansion of benefit coverage is also the intent of HB 1875 or the “Enhanced Universal Healthcare Act of 2016.” The bill seeks to expedite the attainment of UHC by increasing PhilHealth benefit coverage to lessen the more than 56% out-of-pocket expense of patients.

The bill likewise identifies sources of funding such as sin taxes, the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation, and the Charity Fund of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

As health is everyone’s business, HB 5120 is mandating government agencies to strengthen coordination mechanisms and linkages with the private sector to harness and align it to universal health coverage. One area identified for collaboration is the conduct of research on existing and emerging health concerns in the country and globally.

The attainment of the highest attainable standard of health is a fundamental right of every Filipino. Beyond the personal gains of leading longer and more productive lives, health is an essential investment to the people’s overall social development and the country’s economic progress by the year 2040.

Medicine Cabinet is a column of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP), representing the research-based medicines and vaccines sector in the country. The author is the executive director of PHAP. E-mail the author at medicinecabinet@phap.org.ph.

Teodoro B. Padilla is a cum laude graduate of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of the Philippines and further acquired a masteral degree from Kellogg School of Management.

What you need to know about diabetes

May 12, 2017 | 8:03 am

DIABETES is one of the most common illnesses in the Philippines yet many people do not know that they have it.

“Many people are being affected by diabetes, and some aren’t even aware that they have it. Poorly managed diabetes can lead to severe health complications such as heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and a blood vessel disease that may require amputation. That is why it’s vital to learn more about diabetes and if needed, seek proper treatment immediately,” says MediCard president and CEO Dr. Nicky Montoya.

HERE ARE SOME BASIC FACTS ON THE DISEASE.

What is diabetes? Diabetes is a condition where the body either can’t produce insulin or does not use insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone that enables the body to use glucose that is found in food for energy. There are several types of diabetes but the most common are Type 1, where the pancreas does not produce insulin; and Type 2, where the body does not use insulin properly.
What are its symptoms? People with diabetes experience frequent urination, excessive thirst, constant hunger, irritability, blurry vision, extreme and unexplained fatigue, wounds or cuts that are slow to heal, weight loss even if you are eating more, and tingling, numbness, or pain in the hands and feet. In some cases, individuals with diabetes don’t show any symptoms, which is why it is very important to visit a doctor regularly for check-ups.
What are its complications? People with diabetes are more prone to infections. High glucose levels and high blood pressure can also lead to cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, nerve disease, and eye diseases, among others. To avoid complications, it’s important to regularly monitor and maintain blood glucose levels, blood pressure and cholesterol.
How is it treated? To prevent complications, diabetics should have a meal plan prescribed by a dietitian. Eating healthy and engaging in physical activities will help the body break down insulin better and convert glucose into energy. Some patients need to take insulin injections and oral agents, pills which help diabetics produce more insulin or utilize insulin better. Visit a diabetes specialist regularly to monitor glucose levels.
How does one prevent diabetes? To reduce one’s risk of developing diabetes, get moving and have a regular exercise routine like 30 minutes of walking a day. Reducing one’s consumption of alcohol and processed sugars such as candies and sodas while adding more food rich in monounsaturated fats like avocados, nuts and olive oil, is recommended.

How Spain became the world leader in organ transplants

May 12, 2017 | 8:03 am

MADRID — Juan Benito Druet has just learned that his life may be about to change.

In the next few hours he will receive a healthy kidney thanks to a pioneering system that has made Spain the world leader in organ transplants for the past 25 years.

“We don’t know what will happen. But you have to take a chance,” said Druet, 63, a reserved and moustachioed boilermaker, as he lays in his bed at Madrid’s La Paz hospital.

Hospital staff try to reassure him by telling him organ transplants are carried out every day in Spain.

Doctors performed 4,818 transplants last year, including 2,994 kidney transplants, according to the health ministry’s National Transplant Organisation (ONT).

That means there were 43.4 organ donors per million inhabitants last year, a world record, up from 40.2 donors in 2015.

By comparison, in the United States there were just 28.2 donors per million inhabitants in 2015, 28.1 in France and 10.9 in Germany, according to the Council of Europe.

“It is even better than if we had won the jackpot in the lottery,” says Druet’s wife Jeronima, 60, as she sits close to him along with the couple’s two adult children.

Now she dreams of going on a cruise with her husband, something impossible as long as he needed to be hooked to a 15-kilo (33-pound) kidney dialysis machine every night to filter his blood.

‘TRANSPLANT LIVES’
The transplant operation lasts four and half hours.

Surgeons make a 15-centimeter (six-inch) incision in Druet’s abdomen to transplant a healthy kidney extracted the night before from a woman who died.

After a transplant patients “start to regain weight, their health improves. It is as if we transplant lives,” the founder of the ONT, Rafael Matesanz, tells AFP.

Matesanz oversaw the implementation of a centralized and well-oiled organ donation and transplant system which has been replicated in Portugal and Croatia and inspired others across Europe.

Each hospital has a transplant coordinator, usually a doctor or nurse who specializes in intensive care, charged with identifying patients at risk of a heart attack or brain death.

In both situations kidneys, livers, lungs, pancreas and sometimes even the heart can still work and can be transplanted.

Organ donations are quickly reported to the ONT which searches for the best match from its organ waiting list.

If the patient is far away, a cooler with the organ is sent by plane inside the cockpit with the pilot.

The operation is free under Spain’s public health system, anonymous and available only to residents of the country to avoid organ trafficking.

CENTRALIZATION
“What makes the difference is the organization of the system. This network, this centralization, is the key,” says Marie-Charlotte Bouesseau of the World Health Organization’s department of ethics.

Worldwide only about 10% of all patients who need a transplant receive a donated organ, she adds.

“That means that 90% will die while they are on a waiting list,” she explains.

In Spain only four to six percent of patients died in 2016 while they were on a waiting list for a vital organ — a liver, heart, or lung.

Ramon Garcia Castillo, 85, a former TV technician, spent 13 months on dialysis before he received a kidney transplant in 2010.

He would previously trek to a hospital three times a week to be hooked up to a machine for three-and-a-half hours.

The kidney transplant “gave me my life back,” says Castillo, who now just needs to take pills to ensure his body does not reject the donated kidney.

‘EMPATHY AND RESPECT’
The other secret to the success of the Spanish system is training and communication, explains Matesanz.

Since it was set up in 1989, the ONT has trained over 18,000 transplant coordinators who break the news of a person’s death and then gently convince their loved ones to agree to donate their organs.

Spanish law presumes consent for organs to be removed on their death unless they had previously made clear that they were against donation.

But loved ones are systematically consulted.

“You have to have a lot of empathy, sensitivity, respect,” says Belen Estebanez, the transplant coordinator at Madrid’s La Paz hospital.

The work of a transport coordinator was depicted in Spanish director Pedro Almodovar’s 1999 Oscar-winning movie All About My Mother. The director consulted with the ONT to prepare the movie.

“If they have a lot of doubts we ask them what the person was like, if they were generous… from there we get them to reflect on an organ donation,” adds Damiana Gurria, another transplant coordinator.

“It comforts many families to know that the organs of their loved ones will live on inside someone else, that people will be thankful for the rest of their lives.”

Castillo said he drinks two liters of water each day and follows a balanced diet since he received his new kidney.

“I have to take care of it, especially since it was given to me. I have to be thankful.” — AFP

WHO hails major gains against once ‘neglected’ diseases

May 12, 2017 | 8:03 am

GENEVA — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday hailed “unprecedented progress” in the fight against 18 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) — including dengue fever and sleeping sickness — which kill 170,000 people and disable millions each year.

The UN’s health agency, pharmaceutical companies, and civil society groups led by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have been waging a protracted effort to eradicate the group of highly treatable diseases, which had previously received scant attention and resources.

“It’s really a story of wonderful progress,” the billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates said in Geneva. “A lot of pieces have come together.”

His comments came as WHO launched its latest report on the battle against so-called NTDs.

“Over the past 10 years, millions of people have been rescued from disability and poverty, thanks to one of the most effective global partnerships in modern public health,” WHO chief Margaret Chan said in a statement.

A full 1.6 billion people remain affected by NTDs — more than 500 million of them children — but that number is down from more than two billion in 2010, WHO said.

The effort against the group of diseases intensified in 2012, when governments and drug companies signed the London Declaration pact committing resources to help eliminate the most common NTDs.

Companies have since annually donated hundreds of millions of treatment doses, enabling one billion people to get therapy for at least one disease in 2015 alone.

Before the deal, “we really weren’t organized as a global community to solve the problem,” Gates told reporters, describing the accord’s five-year anniversary as “a milestone in global health.”

INFECTIONS FALLING
Great strides have been made to rein in some of the worst ailments, including Dracunculiasis, a crippling parasitic condition caused by the flesh-burrowing guinea worm.

The worm, which exists in South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, and Mali, enters the body when people drink stagnant water contaminated with parasite-infected water fleas.

In its bid to exit the body, the worms, which can be up to a meter long, dig their way out of the body, including through the eyes and genitals.

Last year, only 25 human cases of guinea worm were recorded, down from nearly 900,000 in 1989, when it was endemic in 21 countries, “putting eradication within reach,” WHO said.

There has also been a huge reduction in human African trypanosomiasis, commonly known as sleeping sickness, which is transmitted by the tsetse fly.

The initial stage of the disease is symptom free, but during the second stage the parasites cross into the central nervous system and the brain, where they can be lethal if untreated.

In 2015, only 2,804 cases were registered, down from 37,000 in 1999, WHO said, putting the goal of eliminating the disease altogether by 2030 “on track.”

While much has been done in the battle against NTDs, WHO cautioned that progress would stagnate without efforts to address broader poverty-related issues.

WHO estimates that 2.4 billion people still lack basic sanitation facilities like toilets and latrines, while nearly two billion use drinking water sources contaminated with fecal matter. — AFP

DIY dengue test kits out

May 12, 2017 | 8:03 am

PHILAB Holdings Corp., through its brand LABitDx, has launched the Dengue NS1 Ag self-test screening kits which are now available through the e-commerce company Lazada Group.

Philab Holdings President Darlene Marie B. Berberabe said Philab decided to sell the product through Lazada.com so that working parents can access the product by simply going online or downloading the Lazada app and ordering the test kits from their mobile phones.

“For now it is available online, but we hope to start delivering to drugstores nationwide so that everyone can have access to the self-test screening kits by first half of the year,” she added.

“Parents can now act faster because the self-test screening kit provides a result in as fast as 15 minutes,” she was quoted as saying in a press release.

The kit comes with a lancet or finger pricker that draws out blood for testing. Like a pregnancy kit, a result of two lines in the dengue test kit indicates one is positive for dengue while one line indicates negative.

The screening kit can be used at the onset of fever. It is advised that if one has a positive result, and if symptoms persist after getting a negative result, that the user consult a doctor.

Your Weekend Guide (May 12, 2016)

May 12, 2017 | 7:21 am

PERFORMANCE

Music and French cuisine will come together in Musique et Gastronomie, the fundraising send-off concert of Coro San Benildo, the resident choral group of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB). Dine on a meal prepared by Vatel Restaurant Executive French Chef Pierre Cornelis as members of the choir perform a selection of songs. Guests have a choice of dinner on May 12, at 7 p.m., lunch on May 13 at noon, or dinner on May 13, at 7 p.m. The choir plans to participate at the 46th Florilège Vocal de Tours International Choral Competition in Tours, France,. Tickets to Musique et Gastronomie are priced at P1,500. Proceeds will fund the airfare of the delegation. Vatel Restaurant Manila is located at the Roof Deck of Hotel Benilde Maison de La Salle, Estrada corner Arellano Sts, Malate, Manila. For reservations call 230-5230.

Bunk Puppets uses household items to create surreal shadow puppets in the show Sticks, Stones, Broken Bones, a shadow puppet comedy which is an Adelaide FRINGE award winner. There will be performances on May 5, 2 p.m.; May 6 at 1:30 and 4 p.m.; and May 7 at 1:30 and 4 p.m., at the PETA Theater Center, No. 5 Eymard Dr., New Manila, Quezon City, Tickets, available at TicketWorld (891-9999, www.ticketworld.com.ph), are P938.72.

Comedy Manila’s Funny Fridays, stand-up comedy nights every Friday until May 26 at Teatrino at Greenhills Promenade, Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan. Featured artists are Alex Calleja, GB Labrador, Victor Anastacio, Red Ollero, James Caraan, Ryan Rems and Nonong Ballinan. Showtime is at 8:30 p.m. Tickets, available through Ticketworld (891-9999, www.ticketworld.com.ph), cost P579.20.

MUSICARTES restages its first Broadway rock opera Godspell, on May 12-14, 19-21 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium of RCBC Plaza, Ayala Ave., Makati. Led by the international hit, “Day By Day,” Godspell features a powerhouse cast with Jef Flores, Myke Salomon, Shiela Valderrama-Martinez, Caisa Borromeo, Poppert Bernadas, Topper Fabregas, Abi Sulit, Maronne Cruz, Rhenz Gabalonzo, Gab Pangilinan and Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo. Tickets range in price from P1,045 to P2,612.50 and are available through TicketWorld (891-9999, www.ticketworld.com.ph) and at Musicartes (895-8098, 519-3603, musicartes.manila@gmail.com).

Paolo Santos performs in a Mother’s Day show on May 14, 8 p.m. at the River Park Activity Court of Festival Mall in Alabang.

ART

Due to popular demand, the exhibit Mapping the Philippine Seas has been extended until May 31. The exhibit features a comprehensive collection of rare historical maps and charts of the Philippine archipelago and its surrounding seas from the early 16th century to the end of the 19th century. The museum is at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex, Roxas Blvd., Malate, Manila, and is open Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

CURRENTLY on view at the Ayala Museum is Eduardo Castrillo: A Prism of Art & Friendships, an exhibition on the late Filipino sculptor Eduardo Castrillo (1942 – 2016) with guest curator Jeannie E. Javelosa. The exhibit is the third of series that serves to honor Castrillo’s artistic legacy, as well as the friendships he developed through the years. The exhibit is on view from until June 4 at the Ground Floor Gallery of Ayala Museum, Makati Ave. corner De La Rosa St., Greenbelt Park, Makati City.

1335MABINI’s artist-in-residence Peter Moosgaard has an ongoing solo exhibition titled Xenorealism which runs until May 24. The gallery is located at 1335 Mabini St., Ermita, Manila.

Shared Residence, a collaborative art project initiated by Poklong Anading, examines the notion of public and private spaces and communal ownership, from the artists to its prospective borrowers. Adopting a system similar to borrowing a book from a library, members of the Ateneo de Manila Loyola Schools community are given the option to borrow an artwork to reside in their personal space for two weeks. This act of temporary ownership or possession introduces borrowers to collecting as a social practice which also comes with the responsibility of care and integrity. The project is ongoing until March 1, 2018 at the Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila, Katipunan, QC.

Painter and sculptor Roberto M. A. Robles returns to the basics of form and examines a piece as a post-sculptural work in Form | Kata, an exhibit which runs until May 27. In it he rediscovers light and shadows through tones of gray, black and white that result in a new dimensional angle. The exhibit will be held at the Galleria Duemila, 210 Loring St., Pasay City. For details visit www.galleriaduemila.com.

Known for her photographic works in portraiture, contemporary landscape, and installation, Wawi Navarroza returns with her solo exhibit, Medusa. The exhibit runs until June 3. There will be a Walk through with the artist on May 27, 3 p.m. In this exhibit, the artist calls forth the Medusa and the gaze that can turn the seen into stone. Medusa will be on view alongside Issay Rodriguez’s exhibit titled “…” at Silverlens, Lapanday Center, 2263 Don Chino Roces Avenue Ext., Makati City.

Alliance Française de Manille and Fundacion Sanso present an exhibit of works by Juvenal Sanso entitled The Triumph of the Spirit: a healing inspired by the coast of Brittany at the Alliance Française de Manille’s Total Gallery. It runs until May 26.

MARIANO CHING and Yasmin Sison present Traveling on the Edges of Lost Maps until May 21 at MO_Space, MOs Design, B2 Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City.

JEWELRY, art, furniture, couture, and objets d’art are on view in Wynn Wynn Ong: Redefining Boundaries (A Retrospective) until June 15 at the Yuchengco Museum, RCBC Plaza, corner Ayala and Gil J. Puyat Avenues, Makati City.

THE group show LIGALIG: Art in a Time of Turmoil is on view until May 27 at the Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo University Campus, QC.

ARTINFORMAL has three ongoing exhibitions: Eugenia Alcaide’s See, Rene Bituin’s The Earth Doesn’t Need Us, and Micaela Benedicto’s Paths of Invisibility. The gallery is at 277 Connecticut St., Mandaluyong City.

AN EXHIBIT of 53 photographic replicas of masterpieces from Spain’s Museo Del Prado is on view at the Ayala Triangle in Makati before moving to Intramuros in Manila. It will then go on view from June to August at Intramuros, Manila. This is a joint project of the Intramuros Administration and Embassy of Spain in Manila.

Due to popular demand, the exhibit Naichayu: An Architectural Exploration of the Kalinga Tattoo, which delves into the history and tradition of this indigenous practice of self-expression, has been extended until May 13. The show is at the 12th Floor of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School of Design and Arts at 950 Pablo Ocampo St., Malate, Manila. Open daily, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Lost Frames is coming to the Ateneo Art Gallery on May 18, International Museum Day. The participating artists — Poklong Anading, Vic Balanon, Lena Cobangbang, Rico Entico, Cocoy Lumbao and Kaloy Olavides — will screen and discuss unfinished video works, abandoned projects and ideas that have yet to be made. Lost Frames is a community-based initiative for viewing artists’ moving images. It started with a small group of artists who took interest in showing each other’s works through an evening of presentation and discussion alongside a video projector. The Ateneo Art Gallery is at the Rizal Library Special Collections Bldg., Ateneo de Manila University, Katipunan Ave., Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

THREE exhibits are now on view Vinyl on Vinyl gallery: Tar Pits by Tokwa Penaflorida, Frames of Mind by Ren Quinio, and Kalaban by Renz Bautista. The gallery is at 2135 Warehouse II Chino Roces Ave., Makati.

EVENTS

The Travelling Trunk bazaar will be held on May 13 and 14, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at A11 at The Henry Hotel Compound, 2680 FB Harrison St., Pasay City. A carefully curated selection of items, ranging from bags to banana pudding, will be available.

Pets will take center stage as Robinsons Malls Nova Market holds its Summer Pet Fest on May 13, 2 p.m. Pet owners and their furry friends can compete in a series of matchups and participate in different activities such as the Leash Decorating Contest where the first 50 participants get to show off their creativity and resourcefulness in making a unique and stylish leashes for their pets. At 3 p.m. there will be a pet costurme competition with the most exceptional look getting prizes. There will also be a photo corner, interactive booths, and the Pet Fair where partner stores such as Handy man and St. Roch Pet Grooming sell different accessories at a regular and discounted price. The day ends with a pet blessing at 4:30 p.m.

Festival Mall in Muntinlupa will hold the Mom’s Amazing May Sale from May 12 to 14. A P1,000 minimum purchase from any of the mall’s restaurants or fashion stores on May 13 and 14 entitles mothers to a free make-over and diva photo session at the Carousel Court on May 14.

Shangri-La Plaza Mall celebrates Mothr’s Day on May 14 with special discountrs from several tenants. There will also be a Happy Mother’s Day musical greeting along with special cupcakes for mothers. The Manila Philharmonic Orchestra will perform at the Gand Atrium at 6:30 p.m. Photo booths will be set up at the Main and East wings.

Eastwood City celebrates UnMother’s Day on May 13 and 14, aiimng to give all mothers an unusual way to celebrates Mother’s Day. They will get free henna tattoos, nail art, make-overs, and hair color are specialty booths. There will also be a slew of activities including wall climbing, archery, and a mechanical bull ride. There will be Baby-wearing Hiphop and Zumba dance classes on May 13, plus an unMother’s Day Fashion Show, and #Momtribe Meet-up. On May 14, there will be booths and activities including talks on fashion, yoga for babies, and baby photography. The highlight is a Breastmilk Donation Drive for the benefit of the Quezon City Human Milk Bank.

FILM

Seven films from Korea will be showcased in the Philippine leg of DMZ International Documentary (DMZ Docs) Film Fesstival from May 11 to 13 at the University of the Philippines Film Insitute. The films are: Mrs. B, a North Korean Woman; My Love Doesn’t Cross that River; Planet of Snail; The Emotional Society; Red Maria; Summer Days in Bloom; and, Troublers. All films will be shown with english subtitiles and free of charge. For details visit www.koreanculture.ph.

The Revolution is not over

May 12, 2017 | 7:21 am

Theater
Lean – A Filipino Musical
May 12, 7 p.m.; May 13, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Adamson University Theater,
San Marcelino St., Ermita, Manila

POOR Lean Alejandro. Perhaps he never saw the bullet that shot his face off while on his way to his office in September 1987. The former student-leader and sworn activist, a young enemy of the Marcos regime, was possibly still burning with hope for the newly restored democracy when he was gunned down in 1987, just a year and a few months after the EDSA Revolution that toppled many of his enemies.

Lean’s story is a bitter example of change that never came, and Lean: A Filipino Musical, composed by his fellow activist Gary Granada (now better more for his ad jingles and his love songs), serves as a tribute not only to Lean himself, but to other people who fought the Marcos regime and paid the price for freedom and change with their own lives. The musical had been produced two times previously: once in 1997, and again in 2013. This 2017 production is staged by UP Manila Dramatista.

A press preview on May 5 showed a stumbling crew, a cast which can sing but cannot be heard properly, and a stammering narrator. However, these may be forgiven as the student production has a battle to fight themselves.

The internal drama to which director, student-activist Vanessa Rubian, admits to, serves as a perfect foil for a play about a society that does not work, thanks to an inefficient bureaucracy. Ms. Rubian said that if the press preview was sub-par, it was because they had only been able to rehearse on the day itself. “We’re from UP-Manila Dramatista, and in UP-Manila, there’s no space,” she said. According to her, various organizations have been fighting over the limited space within the campus for about three years now, and if one wanted to use a classroom for extracurricular activities, an organization has to pay P600 for two hours. How’s that for wanting to be heard?

The press preview only included about six songs from the production, and because of the sub-par quality of the sound (again, not Ms. Rubian’s fault, as she and the crew had only stepped into the theater just the night before), some of the songs could not be properly heard. One also has to excuse the lack of accuracy in the costumes: one of the actors playing an activist in the 1970s was wearing sneakers released perhaps two years ago. The set we saw was also quite simple: three black platforms draped in black, as well as a projection screen. Yet for all the technical grandeur and mastery that this production may lack, it has heart, reason, and passion — backed by data, research, and internalization, such precious things in a world smothering in fake news. As well, the weekend showings might promise a better show.

Not many know Lean Alejandro’s story. Unlike many of his contemporaries in the student movements of the 1970s, Lean Alejandro never rose to mainstream politics, and was killed too early to make a real name for himself after Martial Law. As well, his death is a blot on the early years of Cory Aquino’s administration, for the respected activist was supposed to be running free with his ideals, with the shackles of the Marcos regime supposedly having been shaken away. Mr. Alejandro, born in 1960, began as an intellectual and challenging student in a Catholic school, and tried to pursue a degree in Chemistry in UP Diliman. After being exposed to history and political science, particularly Marxist ideology, Mr. Alejandro shifted to Philippine Studies, and began the long fight against the Marcos regime. He was jailed in 1985, and released after two months. After the 1986 EDSA Revolution, Mr. Alejandro tried to enter mainstream politics by running for a Congressional seat in Malabon-Navotas, but was defeated by Tessie Aquino-Oreta. Ms. Oreta happened to be slain senator Ninoy Aquino’s sister, and therefore the current president’s sister-in-law.

In the 1930s, and later revised in the 1960s, historian Crane Brinton wrote The Anatomy of Revolution. In the book, he dissects the reasons for revolutions, but more importantly, using the British, French, American, and Russian revolutions, he constructs a timeline that might happen before and after every revolution. The Fall of the Old Regime might be the label for the later decline and eventual flight of the Marcos family, and the EDSA Revolution that came between those events. The coup d’etats and instances of violence during the first Aquino administration might fall under the Reign of Terror and the Thermidorian Reaction (named for the month in the French Revolutionary calendar). Thermidorian reactions in revolutions see eventual regressions to pre-revolutionary ways (such as the state-sponsored violence many thought would fade after the fall of the Marcoses). Mr. Alejandro’s death can be seen as part of this timeline.

As for the production itself, we have noted its technical blunders. Most of the songs deal with Mr. Alejandro’s conflict between what each activist seeks from the coming revolution, and what he has to give up for freedom. However, two scenes may stand out in memory: the narrator recited that it would be a tribute to the fallen members of the Left and the victims of the Mendiola massacre. While their names were recited (Eman Lacaba, Lorena Barros, and Edgar Jopson were some), a chorus in black held up candles, as if a living candlelight vigil on asphalt. The effect was soulful and haunting. The second song to watch out for is “Dito,” a bouncing tune showing the elections in which Ms. Oreta defeated Mr. Alejandro. It’s cheerful, but masks corruption in traditional politico techniques such as vote-buying. Finally, the choreography is a jab at the restored democracy: while the actors playing Ms. Oreta and her party flash Laban (fight) “L” signs, indicative of her family’s alliances, Mr. Alejandro flashes the more inclusive, more militant raised left fist.

It’s no small stroke of luck that the production is directed by Ms. Rubian, a self-confessed activist. Because she’s actually aware of the causes that Lean fought for, the storytelling in this production is very sincere. When asked why Mr. Alejandro as both person and figure is still relevant today, she noted that this year is Lean Alejandro’s 30th death anniversary. She says that the play is also for Martial Law victims who have yet to see justice, pointing to the former dictator’s recent burial at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani. She also took the opportunity to educate the cast about the causes that Lean fought for (and she presumably believes in). “Ano ba iyong imperyalismo, at bakit kailangan natin itong ibagsak? (What is imperialism, and why do we need to bring it down?)” she said.

Finally, the composer of the libretto himself, Mr. Granada (who was present that evening), a bit bent, a bit old, expressed some regrets — not about the production, but about the world he continues to move in. “When I look back, wala naman kaming nabago sa lipunan (we weren’t able to change society),” he said. He said that the poor are even more vulnerable now: “Gabi-gabi, ilan namamatay (every night, how many of them die?)”

He added, “In a sense, we failed as a generation to change things; to turn things around.” This isn’t defeatist for there’s still a bit of the revolutionary spark in him, apparently: “Ang urgency, nandiyan pa din (The urgency [to move] is still there).”

When asked about the political tinge in the songs for Lean, he said, “We don’t want to hear about these songs anymore — maybe my corny love songs, I hope they will last. But these political ones, I hope, wala na… tama na (enough!)” Not a call to drop one’s arms, but to create a world where heated political songs will no longer be needed.

For details and tickets, call 0906-427-3981.

Your Weekend Guide (May 5, 2016)

May 12, 2017 | 7:21 am

PERFORMANCE

Comedy Manila’s Funny Fridays, stand-up comedy nights every Friday until May 26 at Teatrino at Greenhills Promenade, Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan. Featured artists are Alex Calleja, GB Labrador, Victor Anastacio, Red Ollero, James Caraan, Ryan Rems and Nonong Ballinan. Showtime is at 8:30 p.m. Tickets, available through TicketWorld (891-9999, www.ticketworld.com.ph), cost P579.20.

BUNK PUPPETS’ show Sticks, Stones, Broken Bones
Bunk Puppets uses household items to create surreal shadow puppets in the show Sticks, Stones, Broken Bones, a shadow puppet comedy which is an Adelaide FRINGE award winner. There will be performances on May 5, 2 p.m.; May 6 at 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.; and May 7 at 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m., at the PETA Theater Center, No. 5 Eymard Dr., New Manila, Quezon City, Tickets, available at TicketWorld (891-9999, www.ticketworld.com.ph), are P938.72.

BRING picnic baskets and enjoy the sunset as the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) serenades the public on May 6, 5 p.m., at the Tanghalang Maria Makiling of the National Arts Center in Los Baños, Laguna. The event, presented by the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Filipinas Opera Society Foundation, Inc., is free to the public. Entitled PPO Sunsets at Makiling, the program includes overtures, arias and ensemble pieces from well-known operas. The concert’s Music Director and Vocal Coach is international Filipino baritone Andrew Fernando. Conducted by PPO Associate Conductor Herminigildo Ranera, the concert features up and coming opera singers including soprano Nerissa De Juan, mezzo soprano Ma. Krissan Manikan, tenor Lorenz Lapresca, and baritones Belford Mabunga and Joseleo Logdat. Jeepneys to the National Arts Center will be available at the Baker Hall of the University of the Philippines Los Baños from 2 p.m. onward on May 6. Fare is P50 (one way).

PLATINUM: World’s Favorite Hit Songs… LIVE!, a concert featuring Morissette and Tanya Manalang, will be held on May 6, 8 p.m., at the Newport Performing Arts Theater , Resorts World Manila #10 Newport Blvd., Newport City Complex, Pasay City. Directed by Freddie Santos, the concert will feature the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra with Ogie Alcasid as the guest. Tickets range in price from P2,151 to P6,453 and are available through TicketWorld (891-9999, www.ticketworld.com.ph).

MUSICARTES restages its first Broadway rock opera Godspell, on May 6-7, 12-14, 19-21 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium of RCBC Plaza, Ayala Ave., Makati. Led by the international hit, “Day By Day,” Godspell features a powerhouse cast with Jef Flores, Myke Salomon, Shiela Valderrama-Martinez, Caisa Borromeo, Poppert Bernadas, Topper Fabregas, Abi Sulit, Maronne Cruz, Rhenz Gabalonzo, Gab Pangilinan and Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo. Tickets range in price from P1,045 to P2,612.50 and are available through TicketWorld (891-9999, www.ticketworld.com.ph) and at Musicartes (895-8098, 519-3603, musicartes.manila@gmail.com).

The Philippine Madrigal Singers present the concert BOOM! PAK!, a collection of the Madz’s favorite and most requested songs through the years, on May 6, 8 p.m., and May 7, 5 p.m., at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Main Theater, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City. Tickets, which range in price from P309 to P5,150, are available through TicketWorld (891-9999, www.ticketworld.com.ph).

Dance Xchange 2011: The Philippine International Dance Festival will bring together the best dance companies and dance experts, both local and international, for a grand celebration of dance from May 8 to 11 in Ilagan City, Isabela. Dance Xchange bring together international dance companies and top Philippine dance companies. It will also have a host of activities including performances and dance concerts, workshops, master classes and a cultural tour to experience the province of Isabela. There will also be outreach performances in the city of Cauayan and the towns of Roxas and Echague. For inquiries, contact Shirley Halili-Cruz at shirleyhalilicruz@yahoo.com or 0920-951-4911; Marichu Tellano at 527-2214 or 0920-951-4911 or mgtellano@yahoo.com; or the NCCA Public Affairs and Information Office head Rene Sanchez Napenas at (632) 527-2192 or 0928-508-1057, visit www.ncca.gov.ph, or e-mail ncca.paio@gmail.com.

All Time Low returns to Manila
THE BAND All Time Low will be coming back to Manila for the All Time Low: The Young Renegades Tour on Aug. 22 at the Mall of Asia Arena. The four-piece band from Baltimore, Maryland — composed of Alex Gaskarth, Jack Barakat, Rian Dawson, and Zack Merrick — has evolved from teenage pop punk up-and-comers to today’s trailblazers, producing six studio albums through the years. All Time Low first played in the Philippines at the Araneta Coliseum in 2011, then made a headlining appearance at Pulp’s Bazooka Rocks Festival II in 2013, and most recently played in a packed Mall of Asia Arena on Aug. 12, 2015. “I tried to change perspective in my approach to writing and center in on all of the different versions of me that other people might have met over the years, through the ups and the downs, in the public eye and behind closed doors. Would I like this person? Do I like this person? Do I even recognize this person anymore?” said the band’s frontman Gaskarth upon sharing the news of the upcoming album Last Young Renegade, slated for release this coming June under their new label Fueled By Ramen. Presented by Pulp Live World, tickets for All Time Low: The Young Renegades Tour are on sale at all SM Tickets outlets nationwide and online thru www.smtickets.com, with prices ranging from P2,500 to P6,000.

ART

1335MABINI’s artist-in-residence Peter Moosgaard has an ongoing solo exhibition titled Xenorealism which runs until May 24. The gallery is located at 1335 Mabini St., Ermita, Manila.

SHARED RESIDENCE, a collaborative art project initiated by Poklong Anading, examines the notion of public and private spaces and communal ownership, from the artists to its prospective borrowers. Adopting a system similar to borrowing a book from a library, members of the Ateneo de Manila Loyola Schools community are given the option to borrow an artwork to reside in their personal space for two weeks. This act of temporary ownership or possession introduces borrowers to collecting as a social practice which also comes with the responsibility of care and integrity. The project is ongoing until March 1, 2018 at the Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila, Katipunan, Quezon City.

PAINTER and sculptor Roberto M. A. Robles returns to the basics of form and examines a piece as a post-sculptural work in Form | Kata, an exhibit which will run from May 6 to 27. In it he rediscovers light and shadows through tones of gray, black and white that result in a new dimensional angle. The exhibit will be held at the Galleria Duemila, 210 Loring St., Pasay City. For details, visit www.galleriaduemila.com.

KNOWN for her photographic works in portraiture, contemporary landscape, and installation, Wawi Navarroza returns with her solo exhibit, Medusa. The exhibit will run from May 6 to June 3. There will be a walk-through with the artist on May 27, 3 p.m. In this exhibit, the artist calls forth the Medusa and the gaze that can turn the seen into stone. Medusa will be on view alongside Issay Rodriguez’s exhibit titled … at Silverlens, Lapanday Center, 2263 Don Chino Roces Avenue Ext., Makati City.

ALLIANCE Française de Manille and Fundacion Sanso present an exhibit of works by Juvenal Sanso entitled The Triumph of the Spirit: a healing inspired by the coast of Brittany at the Alliance Française de Manille’s Total Gallery. It runs until May 26.

MARIANO CHING and Yasmin Sison present Traveling on the Edges of Lost Maps until May 21 at MO_Space, MOs Design, B2 Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City.

THE group show LIGALIG: Art in a Time of Turmoil is on view until May 27 at the Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo University Campus, Quezon City.

AN EXHIBIT of 53 photographic replicas of masterpieces from Spain’s Museo Del Prado is on view at the Ayala Triangle in Makati City for five weeks before moving to Intramuros in Manila. It will then go on view from June to August at Intramuros, Manila. This is a joint project of the Intramuros Administration and Embassy of Spain in Manila.

DUE TO popular demand, the exhibit Naichayu: An Architectural Exploration of the Kalinga Tattoo, which delves into the history and tradition of this indigenous practice of self-expression, has been extended until May 13. The show is at the 12th Floor of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School of Design and Arts at 950 Pablo Ocampo St., Malate, Manila. Open daily, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

EVENTS

Pets will take center stage as Robinsons Malls Nova Market holds its Summer Pet Fest on May 13, 2 p.m. Pet owners and their furry friends can compete in a series of matchups and participate in different activities such as the Leash Decorating Contest where the first 50 participants get to show off their creativity and resourcefulness in making a unique and stylish leashes for their pets. At 3 p.m. there will be a pet costume competition with the most exceptional look getting prizes. There will also be a photo corner, interactive booths, and the Pet Fair where partner stores such as Handy man and St. Roch Pet Grooming sell different accessories at a regular and discounted price. The day ends with a pet blessing at 4:30 p.m.

THE children’s television group Hi-5 returns to the Philippines with the Some Kind of Wonderful show at several Robinsons malls. Hi-5 entertains audiences both young and old, being primarily aimed at aged 1-8. There will be performances at Robinsons Las Piñas on May 4 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Forum Robinsons on May 5 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Robinsons Galleria on May 6 at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Robinsons Magnolia on May 7 at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Robinsons Malolos on May 9 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Robinsons Jaro on May 10 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.; Robinsons Imus on May 12 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Robinsons Metro East on May 13 at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Robinsons Galleria Cebu on May 14 at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Robinsons Manila on May 16 at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Robinsons Gen. Trias on May 18 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Robinsons Lipa on May 19 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Robinsons Antipolo on May 20 at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; and Robinsons Bacolod on May 21 at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

FILM

RICHARD WAGNER’s Tristan und Isolde is the 6th and last offering of the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Metropolitan Opera in HD Season 4, set on May 9, 6:30 p.m., at Cinema 3 of Greenbelt 3 in Makati City. Tristan und Isolde opened the Met season in a new production by Mariusz Treliński, and featured Nina Stemme as Isolde, Stuart Skelton as Tristan, Ekaterina Gubanova as Brangäne, and René Pape as King Marke, with Sir Simon Rattle conducting. The CCP’s Met Opera in HD series, in cooperation with The Filipinas Opera Society Foundation, Inc., features screenings of the latest operatic productions of the Metropolitan Opera in New York through High-Definition digital technology. For more information, call Greenbelt 3 cinemas Customer Service Hot line: 757-7883 or CCP Sales and Promotions at 832-3706 or e-mail ccpsalesandpromo@gmail.com.

Your Weekend Guide (April 28, 2017)

May 12, 2017 | 7:21 am

PERFORMANCE
TOP STREET dancers from all over Asia will perform in Japan Foundation, Manila’s Dance Dance Asia: Crossing the Movements on April 28, 8 p.m., and April 29, 3 p.m., at the Teresa Yuchengco Auditorium, De La Salle University, Manila. For details, visit www.dancedanceasia.com.

PULP SUMMER SLAM 17: Redemption, the 17th edition of Southeast Asia’s largest and longest-running metal festival, will be held on April 29 at Amoranto Stadium, Quezon City. It will feature both international and local rock stars including Megadeth, Dragonforce, Whitechapel, Crossfaith, I See Stars, Gods of Eden, Slapshock, Greyhoundz, Wilabaliw, Razorback, KJwan, and Shotgun Combo. Tickets are available nationwide through SM Tickets at P669. Gates open at noon. Log onto www.smtickets.com and www.pulpliveworld.com for more details.

IT WILL BE an evening of soul and funk music as Apartel performs at Big M Night on April 29 at Buddha-Bar Manila, which will also feature the grand draw of this year’s winner of “Dine and Drive a Maserati” promo. Apartel is composed of members Ely Buendia on vocals and guitars, RJ Pineda on vocals and keyboards, Redge Concepcion and Coco Coo on guitars, Deej Rodriguez on percussion, Jun Lazo on bass, Pat Sarabia on drums, Diane and Donna Sagun on backing vocals and horn section Bras Pas Pas Pas. Pasta Groove, Lustbass and Tarsius will also be performing. Buddha-Bar Manila is located at Picar Place, Kalayaan Ave. Makati City. For inquiries and reservations, call 856-6719, 856-6859, or 0998-983-3918.

ATENEO BLUE Repertory’s re-imagined and revamped version of Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady: The Musical will have performances tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m., with 3 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday, at the Rizal Mini Theater, Ateneo de Manila University. Quezon City.

TWIN BILL Theater Productions presents WIT, directed by Steven Conde, has performances on April 29 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; April 30 at 3 p.m.; and, May 2 at 8 p.m. at the Trinity University of Asia, E. Rodriguez, Sr. Ave., Quezon City. The one-act play, which won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama by Margaret Edson, stars theater veteran Tami Monsod as a cancer-ridden literature professor whose last days are framed by the poetry of John Donne. Tickets are available through TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph).

WORDS ANONYMOUS will be turning three with a celebration show at PETA Theater Center, Quezon City, on April 29, 7 p.m. Tickets are priced P500. For reservations, call 725-6244 loc. 23 or text 0915-687-6053.

ART
ALLIANCE Française de Manille and Fundacion Sanso present an exhibit of works by Juvenal Sanso entitled The Triumph of the Spirit: a healing inspired by the coast of Brittany at the Alliance Française de Manille’s Total Gallery. It runs until May 26.

MARIANO CHING and Yasmin Sison present Traveling on the Edges of Lost Maps until May 21 at MO_Space, MOs Design, B2 Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City.

THE group show LIGALIG: Art in a Time of Turmoil is on view until May 27 at the Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo University Campus, QC.

THE Korean Cultural Center presents a Korean media art exhibit, Eternal Light, featuring 15 works and installation art by Korean artist Han Ho, at the KCC Exhibit Hall, Taguig City until April 28.

AN EXHIBIT of 53 photographic replicas of masterpieces from Spain’s Museo Del Prado is on view at the Ayala Triangle in Makati for five weeks before moving to Intramuros in Manila. It will then go on view from June to August at Intramuros, Manila. This is a joint project of the Intramuros Administration and Embassy of Spain in Manila.

THE exhibit Alex Cu Unjieng: Jouissance is now on view until May 4 at the Mezzanine level of the Makati Shangri-la Manila. The exhibit is held in partnership with Hiraya Gallery.

DUE TO POPULAR demand, the exhibit Naichayu: An Architectural Exploration of the Kalinga Tattoo, which delves into the history and tradition of this indigenous practice of self-expression, has been extended until May 13. The show is at the 12th Floor of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School of Design and Arts at 950 Pablo Ocampo St., Malate, Manila. Open daily, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

EVENTS
HOW TO WRITE Scripts for Theater, a six-hour crash course taught by Joem Antonio, will be held on April 29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Millenia Suites, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. The enrolment fee is P3,500.

BECAUSE of the ASEAN conference which will be held in Manila this week, The venue for the lecture “Ways of Seeing: The Linked World of Maritine Trade and the Making of the Selden Map” by Stephen Davies, has been moved to The Manila House Private Club at the 8th floor, Net Park Bldg., 5th Ave. Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. This is part of the lecture series held in conjunction with the exhibit Mapping the Philippine Seas at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila. For details e-mail info@metmuseum.ph or call 708-7829.

AXN and Sony Channel take part in the Labor UNION Festival 2017 from April 28-30, a three-day event which features a variety of sports and other activities including performances from iconic Filipino artists. The AXN Big Thrill, a beach obstacle course competition will be held on the Kahuna Beach Resort beachfront on April 29. From 4 p.m. to midnight, dance to the beats of Slow Jam Hip Hop or Chill House music and listen to the music mixes of DJs Cam Abecina, Abdel Azis and DJ Badkiss on wireless headphones at The Sony Channel Sunset Silent Disco at San Juan Surf Beach Resort.

Your Weekend Guide (April 21, 2017)

May 12, 2017 | 7:21 am

PERFORMANCES

Top street dancers from all over Asia will perform in Japan Foundation, Manila’s Dance Dance Asia: Crossing the Movements on April 28, 8 p.m., and April 29, 3 p.m., at the Teresa Yuchengco Auditorium, De La Salle University, Manila. For details, visit www.dancedanceasia.com.

Ateneo Blue Repertory presents a re-imagined and revamped version of Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady: The Musical by Carlo Vergara at 8 p.m. on Thursdays to Saturdays, and 3 p.m. matinees on Saturdays and Sundays until April 30, at the Rizal Mini Theater, Ateneo de Manila University. Quezon City. For ticket, call 0956-845-2030 or reserve through bluerepertory.org/tickets.

This is the last weekend of performances of Repertory Philippines production of Sarah Ruhl’s In The Next Room or the Vibrator Play at the Onstage Theater, Greenbelt 1, Paseo de Roxas, Makati City. A comedy set in the 1880s, it revolves around Dr. Givings’ invention of the vibrator to relieve “hysteria” in both men and women. Directed by Chris Millado, the play is for adults only. Tickets are available at TicketWorld (891-9999, www.ticketworld.com.ph).

Twin Bill Theater Productions presents WIT, directed by Steven Conde, from April 20 to May 3 at the Trinity University of Asia, E. Rodriguez, Sr. Ave., Quezon City. The one-act play, which won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama by Margaret Edson, stars theater veteran Tami Monsod as a cancer-ridden literature professor whose last days are framed by the poetry of John Donne.

ART

Ayala Museum’s ArtistSpace presents Vintage Beauty by Baguio-based artist Art Lozano until April 23. Meanwhile, ARTURO LUZ: First Light is on view until June 11 at the Ayala Museum, Makati Ave. corner De La Rosa St., Greenbelt Park, Makati City.

THE BenCab Museum in Baguio presents SinEaster, paintings by Olan Ventura, at the Gallery Indigo, and Philippine Religious Engravings (18th to 19th century prints) at the Print Gallery until June 11. The museum is at Km. 6 Asin Road, Tuba, Metro Baguio.

MARIANO CHING and Yasmin Sison present Traveling on the Edges of Lost Maps from April 22 to May 21 at MO_Space, 3rd level of MOs Design, B2 Bonifacio High Street, 9th Ave., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.

NAICHAYU: An Architectural Exploration of the Kalinga Tattoo is on view at the 12F of the School of Design and Arts, DLSC Saint Benilde School of Design and Arts until April 29. Meanwhile, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s traveling exhibition The Serenity of Madness is on view at the school’s Museum of Contemporary Art and Design.

RUSS Ligtas’ Another World, his first solo exhibition in seven years, is currently on view at the Bulwagang Fernando Amorsolo at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) until May 14. Also at the CCP is Lying In State: Cesar F. Legaspi, ongoing until June 4 at the Bulwagang Juan Luna.

MAPPING of the Philippine Seas, an exhibit of rare antique Philippine maps and sea charts, is on view until April 29 at the Tall Galleries, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex, Roxas Blvd., Manila.

MAYIE DELGADO’s Poetic Images, an exhibit of photos featuring landscape images in New Zealand and Iceland, is currently on view at the Globe Art Gallery at the Globe Headquarters in Bonifacio Global City.

PANG Hui Ba Ho Public showcases a private space that is made public, specifically a toilet shared by multiple users with varying private routines. The group exhibit runs until April 24 at the Post Gallery, Shop 7 of Cubao X in Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City.

JEWELRY, art, furniture, couture, and objets d’art are on view in Wynn Wynn Ong: Redefining Boundaries (A Retrospective) until June 15 at the Yuchengco Museum. Also on view is Naoko Tosa’s Digital Dimensions. The museum is at the RCBC Plaza, corner Ayala and Gil J. Puyat Avenues, Makati City.

THE group show LIGALIG: Art in a Time of Turmoil is on view until May 27 at the Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo University Campus, QC.

THE Korean Cultural Center presents a Korean media art exhibit, Eternal Light, featuring 15 works and installation art by Korean artist Han Ho, at the KCC Exhibit Hall, Taguig City until April 28.

FILM

There will be a free screening of Lamrag: Stories of Hope and Inspiration in the Time of a Changing Climate — short films made by young filmmakers from Eastern Visayas who participated in a filmmaking workshop initiated by Greenpeace Philippines and SINErangan in November 2016 — on April 22, 3:30 p.m., at SM Megamall Cinema 12.

EVENTS

Instituto Cervantes celebrates Dia del Libro on April 22. This year, discounted books from top bookstores and publishing houses will be made available at the Ayala Triangle in Makati City, and free books will be given away by Instituto Cervantes. Every book purchase entitles the buyer to one free rose. There will be many activities throughout the days. Admission to all Dia del Libro activities is free. For details visit http://manila.cervantes.es or Facebook page, www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.

The National Book Development Board is celebrating the World Book and Copyright Day on April 23 at the Promenade, Quezon City Memorial Circle (near the Peace Monument). There will be a free workshop on erasure poetry and on-the-spot comic book making. For details visit www.booksphilippines.gov.ph.

Art Exchange, which gathers artists, crafters, and enthusiasts for capsule workshops and free demonstrations, is ongoing until April 25 at The Gallery, Greenbelt 5. These include workshops on basic calligraphy, lettering, watercolor techniques, and florals. For details, visit artexchange.thecraftcentral.com.

Asexual Healing

May 12, 2017 | 7:21 am

Theater Review
In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
By Sarah Ruhl
Presented by Repertory Philippines
April 7 to 23, with 8 p.m. performances on Fridays to Sundays, and 3:30 p.m. shows on Saturdays and Sundays.
There are no performances on Holy Week.
Onstage Theater, Greenbelt Mall 1, Paseo de Roxas St., Makati City

By Sujata Mukhi

I really should stop reacting to my own perceptions of things. Just based on the title, not knowing anything about this third offering in Repertory Philippines’ 80th season, I thought this was going to be a period farce featuring a cast of philandering partners playing musical beds. In the next room. Using a vibrator. While navigating the hoop skirt or crinoline, and undressing layers and layers of underthings. Imagine the imagery in my mind, and maybe you would be enticed to watch that play instead.

You would understandably get thrown off by how the play is marketed. Just like my opening paragraph, audiences may be teased into thinking it’s a sexual comedy of erotic errors and watch it with the expectation of being titillated. The synopsis in the program notes, directly quoting a Wikipedia entry, gives the impression that it’s a wanton search for the joy of sex by desperate Victorian housewives

There’s the rub — pardon the pun that is not intended to be lascivious. There was nothing sexual in scene after scene women were genitally stimulated by a rather terrifying looking dildo prototype until they reached what was called a “hysterical paroxysm,” aka climax, aka orgasm in today’s language. It was clinical, it was medical, it was asexual.

But the play itself, presented with so much love by a very courageous cast, was far from clinical, far from medical. At its heart, it is a story about love and intimacy unfolding, but in a rather unorthodox way, framed within the context of the politics of sexual expression and repression.

Inspired by American historian Rachel Maine’s research entitled The Technology of Orgasm: “Hysteria”, the Vibrator, and Women’s Sexual Satisfaction, playwright Sarah Ruhl interweaves quite remarkably the themes of technological and sexual liberation, and the consequences thereof. The play is set on the cusp of the 20th century. Gas lit lamps have started to be replaced by electrical incandescent bulbs, and electricity now powers the home.

Dr. Givings (the spot-on Joshua Spafford) is very pleased with his latest invention: an elongated instrument that vibrates when powered electrically. He uses the instrument to cure “hysteria,” the catchall word describing women’s symptoms that ranged from nervous disorders, insomnia, fainting, or what could have been interpreted as sexual immodesty. With the assistance of Nurse Annie (the incredible, understated Tami Monsod), Dr. Givings looks away as he instructs his clients to undress, lie on the clinic bed, and cover their private parts with a sheet. With supreme professionalism and efficiency, Dr. Givings gives his treatment which involves inserting (?) or moving his gadget around his patient’s clitoris, maybe vulva, until muscular contractions, or a paroxysm, are induced. If the machine for some reason doesn’t work, he instructs Nurse Annie to administer manual stimulation. All under the sheets of course, as the audience gets no peep show.

Okaaaay. What’s the rating of this play again? (Repertory Philippines is adamant that it is for adults only. — Ed.) But never mind that. At this point I’m laughing and agog all at the same time, as I can’t get over the utter naturalness of how Caisa Borromeo, who plays Dr. Givings’ client Mrs. Sabrina Daldry, gives in to her character’s first orgasm. Mrs. Daldry is initially brought to Dr. Givings for treatment by her husband Mr. Daldry (Hans Eckstein) as she suffers from fatigue and anxiety. No one, including Dr. Givings’ wife Catherine (Giannina Ocampo) seems to know what the treatments consist of, which happen in the clinic adjacent to the Givings’ drawing room. Neither does Mrs. Daldry reveal what she has been experiencing.

As Mrs. Daldry looks for more treatment sessions, transforming to a confident, outspoken woman in the process, Catherine becomes more and more curious about what goes on in the next room, hearing strange but alluring moans through the door. A new mother, Catherine is frustrated that her baby refuses to suckle from her, is generally dissatisfied with her life, and yearns for attention and intimacy from her husband who spends more time in the clinic and with friends at the club. Mrs. Daldry suggests Catherine employ the services of her colored servant Elizabeth (Cara Barredo) as a wet nurse, whose own baby was still-born. The introduction of Elizabeth into the Catherine’s life makes Catherine confront her own limitations as the baby easily takes to Elizabeth’s nursing. Elizabeth on the other hand is forced to face her repressed grief at losing her own child, and develops a maternal attachment to the white woman’s baby.

Repression and expression are the undercurrent of the play. Leo the artist (Jef Flores), also a client of Dr. Givings, is unabashed in his free love for all women, and flirts with Catherine. With deep feelings stirred, she summons the courage to break the barrier and open the door to the next room to see for herself what panacea lies therein, and Mrs. Daldry, her partner-in-crime, helps her experience her very first paroxysm/orgasm. Ever.

The beauty of the play is how the tone never gives in to mockery or exaggeration. There is a deep compassion for the needs of these women, trapped by the demands and expectations of the times. Just as interesting is the view of sexual release as a healing modality, independent of this release being in the context of a relationship or encounter with another person. Release for its own sake, without the trappings of morality and judgment. This very much reminds me of the English movie Bliss (no, not the current controversial Tagalog film) where a married woman, unable to orgasm, seeks the help of a sex therapist to help her unlock deep dark secrets stored in her somatic memory. Esoteric eastern spiritual practices also seek to channel pure sexual energy as a link to the divine, which may or may not include another person.

But that is the interesting contrast between Mrs. Daldry and Catherine. Mrs. Daldry is content with the release for its own sake, while Catherine loses interest in it if it’s not accompanied by love, intimacy, and companionship.

Just a marvelous is the transformation of Dr. Givings. The treatments he gives women are purely objective and clinical, and there is no association of their experiences with sexual activity. In the same way, sex with his wife is devoid of intimacy, and female orgasm in that setting is unheard of. But his jealousy and passion are roused when Catherine tells him she is attracted to Leo, and later, in a truly touching scene, he caresses Catherine sweetly and earnestly and uses the language closest to intimacy that he knows, by naming each part in anatomical terms. Some audience members laughed and tittered, but I found it very moving.

And that cast. That truly giving cast! Joshua Spafford has chosen a great vehicle for his return to Philippine stage, and we truly hope to see more of him (no pun intended! Watch the play and you’ll know why I say this!) He had the perfect carriage of a Victorian gentleman. Ms. Borromeo’s shift from an hysteric to a self-possessed woman was compelling, and the changing quality of her rendition of orgasms, scene after scene, were sights and sounds to behold. Tami Monsod, who I think is one of the best actors on the Philippine stage, says so much with so little. A look, a gesture, a bit of stage business, is all it takes to feel her intensity. Giannina Ocampo has an even wider room for transformation, and delivers effectively. Cara Barredo smoldered with repressed anger, and Hans Eckstein, who clearly stood out recently as the butler in Annie, tightened the ensemble. The flamboyance of the gorgeous Jef Flores as the artist Leo just felt a little forced, but you have to give it to the man for being willing to bend over and pretend to be impaled. Once again the vibrator to the rescue.

The set was detailed, and someone mentioned it was a throwback to the good old days when realistic box sets were the hallmark of Rep productions. It was split into two areas, with the clinic on one side and the drawing room on the other, and there would be times you would see actions take place simultaneously that reflected opposing undertones. While Dr. Givings was getting ready to administer treatment clinically on one side, restlessness and stirred emotions were expressed on the other side. It didn’t matter if your attention would be split, a kind of integration takes place as you watch.

Under Chris Millado’s direction (his plays are fast becoming some of my favorites to watch), the whole is so much more than the fractured parts. He is sensitive to the vulnerabilities of his actors, and gradually peels off the layers, very similar to how the ladies’ clothes and underthings are meticulously and expertly removed. (I understand that actors had days and days of practice to just get that process right. And it looked seamless.) Mention must be made of the excellent costume designer Bonsai Cielo and set designer Mio Infante for the realism.

You may avoid The Vibrator Play if you don’t want to ruffle your sensibilities, or you may want to watch it to titillate them. But the end moved me to tears at the innocence of re-discovery, and the re-awakening of tender passion. And it is all good.

Tickets cost P836 and P1,045 and are available at TicketWorld (www.ticketworld.com.ph) and at the gate.

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