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Chus, Leo and I went to the artist Lee Paje’s solo show Mater Potestatem at Tin-Aw Gallery.

The exhibit features images of female archetypes—Delilah, Lilith, the Magdalene and others—painted on androgynous bust silhouettes,

Edible sculptures called Sanctus Cunnus—liqueur (tapuy)-filled chocolates that the visitors can eat,

and the Para Series, oil on relief sculptures done in collaboration with Abril Valdemoro. Yes, they are stylized female orifices. (Female iconography figures in the works of many artists including Agnes Arellano, who has made sculptures of genitalia, and Georgia O’Keefe’s flower photographs.)

We liked Manang Magda in particular.

Chus noted the scent in the gallery—lemony fresh, like some feminine hygiene product. “Smell-o-vision!” he said. “Clever!”

“Actually it’s our floorwax,” said the gallery owner. Haha!

“I love this show!” I declared. “Chus, we must reply to this show with the male version. You know—anthuriums, bratwurst, and of course, sculptures cast from real life.”

Then we would get banned and infamous.

Tin-Aw Art Gallery is on the upper ground floor of Somerset Olympia Makati (across from Old Swiss Inn), Makati Avenue beside the Manila Pen, Makati. Gallery hours: Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm. Telephone (02) 892.7522. Visit www.tin-aw.com.

I’M NOT MADONNA by Hi Fashion Music

We tag along to the My City, My SM events all over the country. So far we’ve been to Baguio, Tarlac, Lipa, Batangas, Lucena, Naga, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Davao with the hardworking marketing team of Ms Millie Dizon. My City, My SM highlights the histories and the sights of Philippine cities; now this acclaimed tourism promotion project has been expanded to include local cuisines. More reason for us to travel around the country!

At last Saturday’s My City, My SM, My Cuisine event at SM Batangas, old Batangas families proudly presented their heirloom recipes.

Adobong Pastor, a recipe that has been in the Pastor family for generations. This adobo has no soy sauce; achuete is used instead. And it has chicharon, mmmm. Probably the most evilly scrumptious adobo we’ve ever had. To the right, Ginataang Sugpo from the recipe of Cristy Irineo. Makes you feel like you’ve been on a long and penitential diet, no?

Adobo Sa Dilaw, another variation on adobo, an original recipe by Ka Ely of the Montenegros of Taal. According to Batangas tourism officer Dindo Montenegro, family occasions were always full house in anticipation of Ka Ely’s cooking. On the left, Taal’s Famous Tapa at Longganisa, one of the main reasons you should visit the Taal Public Market—look for Mr Rey Legaspi’s shop. On the right, a true Taal delicacy: Tinindag, the native barbecue, original recipe by Aling Consolacion Anura. Tinindag is made of pork cheeks and snout—yes, it is pigface barbecue and it is worth jumping into your car and driving at top speed to Taal.

TagHilaw, another original recipe by Ka Ely, is made of innards. Some people get queasy at the mention of innards, and faint at the sight of them. Good, we don’t have to share, then. (Ibili mo na lang sila ng hamburger, or as old ladies would say when I was a kid, “ham-boor-jer”.)

Sinukmani (rice cake) by Cesca’s catering. They make the best linupak (or is it Nilupak) on earth, look them up.

After dining on all of the above with a kilo of rice, a gallon of cold salabat, and don’t forget the hot tsokolate, walk up and down Taal Volcano.

One of our favorite books has been adapted for film (again)! The cast is amazing! We can’t wait! Excuse the exclamation points!

New trailer!!

Editor’s note # 1: This letter was emailed to Auntie Janey by one of the many readers under the mistaken impression that Auntie Janey is the author of this website. Auntie Janey is not the author of this website, I am. The misimpression has been corrected and the letter rewritten.

Dear Aunt Janey,

Thanks so much in advance.
Auntie Ninang

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In medieval times it was believed that there were four cardinal humours in the human body: black bile, yellow bile, phlegm and blood. To be healthy one’s humours had to be balanced; otherwise you were melancholic, choleric, phlegmatic or sanguine.

MANILA, Philippines – An art installation that mixes Christ with kitschy symbols of pop culture and includes a crucifix with a movable penis has set off an uproar in the Philippines among conservative Catholics, who say the installations are a mockery of their faith.

Mideo Cruz, the artist responsible for the installation – intended to be a commentary on icon worship – has been branded a “demon” and bombarded with death threats and hate mail since his work featured in an exhibit in Manila that began June 17… Read the report.

This reminded us of an amulet/pendant we bought in Quiapo some years ago: anatomically-correct Santo Niño. It was one of the many anting-antings (amulets) sold around Quiapo Church, along with “pamparegla” (abortifacients sold right by the church door) and herbal remedies. My friend bought a lot of anting-antings to hang in the genetics lab; the visitors are boggled.

Meanwhile on Wall Street: “Ocularpation”—naked performance art.

Thank you Marlon Rivera (director), Chris Martinez (writer), Eugene Domingo (star) and everyone involved in the making of Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank, the box-office hit and awards juggernaut at the recent Cinemalaya festival. You have saved me the trouble of letting off a rant that might’ve spoiled my mood and that of the sensitive people who would feel alluded to.

Everything we’ve always wanted to say about poverty porn—movies, mostly independently-produced, which focus on the squalor and desperation of the underclass in Philippine society—is encapsulated in Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank, the story of young filmmakers making an “authentic” “social realist” film that they hope will win Oscars (Note multiple ironies in that sentence). Except that the movie says it visually, hilariously, and better.

To recap:
1. Independent cinema—Indies—used to be an economic model, i.e. movies produced outside of the studio system. With the success of local indies, “success” being defined as entry into the international film festival circuit (there being few local indies that have had lucrative theatrical runs), Indie has become a style.
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