Life is indeed fantastic now that the highly-anticipated film of the year by Greta Gerwig, the ‘Barbie’ movie, gracefully tops the charts and caresses the emotions of multitudes— from the young and the seasoned, the feminine and the masculine, and the extraordinary to the ordinary.
Twenty-eight-year-old, Johnmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna consistently shatters the tall barriers of the commonly cis-het, male-dominated world of E-sports by carrying the title of an openly gay team captain and support main of the notorious multi-gaming organization in the Philippines, and in the process, waving the flag of inclusivity and representation that goes beyond the bounds of his virtual playground.
Poet and university instructor, Joey Clutario recounts his first Pride, the long tumultuous road that led him to this and the realization that this a journey that transcends the personal. He writes, “Coming out as gay to my family in the wake of my 33rd birthday was easy. But the last twenty years that led me to that self-defining moment were definitely not.”
The ever-evolving titan of the music industry, Taylor Swift, has made a return to the stage with her above-and-beyond performance with 44 songs spread across more than three hours in what is now globally known as the historic “The Eras Tour”. The 33-year-old icon has since positioned herself as the soldier ready to lead her troops of Swifties into the great musical journey through the 10 eras of her 17-year career.
It is not new to hear from Filipino students how historical subjects can make them doze off. From numerous names to events that occurred during unfamiliar times, these really send some to sleep. With younger generations losing interest in this country’s roots, GMA Entertainment Group revives the languishing Filipino spirit with their historical fantasy series reimagining Jose Rizal’s famous novels Noli Me Tángere and El Filibusterismo. With its success, the contemporary take does not just invite the young audiences to revisit history, it also significantly mirrors the current state of the country.
The cherished ensemble of ‘Ang Huling El Bimbo’, years after it last made its way to the live stage and after reintroducing the beauty and power of the theater to a larger audience in its momentous streaming event amid the pandemic, recounts their personal journeys in bringing the beloved narrative to life in the highly-anticipated return of the musical hit.
On representation, Phi Palmos, who plays the role of Ada in Ateneo Blue Repertory’s sold-out staging of Carlo Vergara’s iconic superheroine ‘Zsazsa Zaturnnah’, stands firm on the notion that there’s something intrinsically wrong when people call to ‘break the stereotypes’ when they refer to the queer community being represented in media because more often than not, they refer to and look the loud, effeminate, ‘baklang parlorista’ stereotype, as if this is a wrong representation of the LGBTQIA+ community. While he makes the case that it rings true that this should not be the only way to represent queerness, it is a “lazy advocacy” for representation when they say this and fail to recognize the realities and truths anchored on these stereotypes, thereby inadvertently erasing the existence and lives of those who are loud, flamboyant, and effeminate. To which, he points out, “Instead of saying ‘break the stereotypes’, why don’t we ‘humanize the stereotypes’ and not use them as a punchline, a joke, or worse, an insult?” Palmos, along with the cast of fresh and established movers in theater behind ‘Zsazsa Zaturnnah The Musical… Yun Lang,’ take us on the journey of bringing an iconic gay character to today’s audiences.
As kumu strives to successfully expand throughout the world, countless people, particularly, but not limited to the younger generations, have nabbed its magic and are gearing up to access and ultimately, thrive on the landscape. Three rising streamers, Kelly Canoza, Lawrence Balbuena, and Algeleth Mika Pardo, took a seat with Rank Magazine to describe the beauty of stepping into the realm of streaming.
Virtual gamer-turned-consistent streamer Natalie Xynia sits down with Rank Magazine and talks about the road to her hard-earned triumph as a streamer on the social media platform kumu. Xynia speaks passionately about her turnaround to becoming the person she is now and she will be next.
Similar to everyone on and off the spotlight, John Prats, who began his career in show business at a young age, has also gone through a phase of questions, in search for what he was really meant for. Now a man of 38, Rank Magazine talks to Prats in time for his birthday month, and travels back in time to chart his evolution from his storied life as one of the most visible child actors of his generation, to becoming a certified television heartthrob, to now a well-celebrated concert and television director.
