Folkerie

SB19 (From left to right: Stell, Josh, Pablo, Ken, Justin) Back in my teens, I was mostly updated with music. Music channels like MTV and Myx, which were available on free TV, and radio stations like NU 107 made it possible. But as I got older and priorities changed, my appetite for new music waned. I just listened to what I grew up with or whatever I came upon by chance, and what I found would set the tone for the next few years or so. I have had phases of folk, 90s hip-hop, and K-pop, but never OPM. My relationship with OPM was not as strong as I would have liked. For instance, my pre-teen mind shunned OPM rock at its height in the 90s. Then when I developed a respect for its artistry, music began to change its course. Many new releases were either formulaic, low-quality songs or just not my type of music. So my OPM playlist was sadly stuck in the past. That is until SB19’s 2021 EP Pagsibol . Boy Bands A friend once asked what my guilty pleasure was. I told him I liked boy bands. Wes...

by Lorie Ann People swarm into a small village in Vientiane to see the Naga fireballs themselves despite others’ belief that the phenomenon is but a legend. VIENTIANE, Laos (MindaNews / 24 Octet) – Somewhere around 7 p.m., visitors and the villagers of Pakngum in Vientiane see hundreds of golden lanterns rising slowly beyond a full moon from Thailand’s Nong Khai province. Between Laos and Thailand, where the Nam Ngum and Mekong rivers converge, an intermittent exchange of fireworks conveys the people’s excitement at seeing the Naga fireballs shoot up from the deep recesses of the river. Locally known as “bangfai paya nak” and described as pinkish-red fireballs, they surge like rockets every Boun Ork Phansa at the end of Buddhist Lent, says Mr. Khamphuan Bouthsingkham, 65, who was the village’s chief 13 years ago, speaking in an interview hours earlier. He says that according to their ancestors, the Naga festival has been a 400-year-old celebration above and “under” the Mekong. “While...

by Fr. Joemar Sibug, OP (from his Slice of Life column) photo courtesy Hans Brandeis I ARRIVED in Davao City for my new assignment last September 5, 2011. One of the things we needed for our mission house in Bajada was a bell. Our religious community uses the bell for our wake up call in the morning. We also use the bell to gather the members of our community, like for example at meal time and prayer time. And so I tried to look for a bell in Aldevinco. I was hoping to find one that is “Mindanao inspired” and at the same time functional – one that would fit the purpose. Then I chanced upon this souvenir store that sells all sorts of “antiques” or old items. They have a wide range of items for sale – from small furniture, to house decors and traditional musical instruments of Mindanao. They also have what I was looking for – bells of various sizes and sounds. It took me a while to finally choose and buy a bell that will answer our need. But what caught my attention was the array of tw...

Kadayawan is a month-long annual festival in Davao City. This event serves as a thanksgiving for the bountiful harvest as well as a way to honor Davao’s cultural heritage. The photos in this gallery are from the Indak-indak sa Kadalanan (Street Dancing) and a tribe from Bukidnon performing a traditional song. For more information, please visit Kadayawan sa Dabaw Festival’s Official Website . Photos by Julienne