At Tea and Therapy, the eclectically designed tea room at Serendra, there’s a tea for every ailment.

Want to lose weight? The Fat-Losing Leaf lowers cholesterol levels and reduces blood pressure, in addition to eliminating fats and toxins (the store manager says it is their best-seller, at P195). Need to distress? Try Peace of Mind. A few cups promise deliverance from dizziness, vertigo, and migraine. Lemon Grass regulates digestion and protects skin from premature aging. Want to Live Life to the Fullest? A cup of this tea alleviates problems of high blood pressure, asthma, rheumatism, gastric ulcer, diabetes, and liver diseases.

[Read more]

You must have caught a glimpse of them–that black-and-white Converse billboard in Cubao and a similar one on transit–and you surely must have recognized any one of them.

From actor James Dean to American journalist Hunter Thompson, musician Billie Joe Armstrong to Miami Heat’s shooting guard Dwyane Wade, they all have something in common: these icons have excelled in their chosen fields, proud of their individuality, and embodying Converse’s tradition of leadership, something the brand celebrates on its 100th year.

If I were to draw up my own list of Pinoy icons, I’d have Ely Buendia and Lea Salonga on mine. While they’re not Converse-wearing, I believe they embody the ideals that we’re proud of–strong, independent, and always striving toward perfection.

Now tell me, who are your Pinoy icons?

Children of the diaspora they are: This historical photo is part of the recently released book Filipinos in the East Bay.

A new historical book by Arcadia Publishing documents the migration of Filipinos toward California’s East Bay beginning in the twentieth century.

With never-before-seen historical photographs from public and private collections, the book Images of America, Filipinos in the East Bay by Evangeline Canonizado Buell, Evelyn Luluquisen, Lillian, Galedo, Eleanor Hipol Luis, and the Filipino American National Historical Society East Bay Chapter chronicles the lives of early Filipino immigrants from their arrival to the United States through the present.

Printed by local and regional history publisher Arcadia Publishing, Filipinos in the East Bay weaves the stories of hardships, achievements, growth, culture, and activitism of the Filipino-American community in the East Bay–something the authors hope future Filipino-American generations will take pride in.

Filipinos in the East Bay, 128 pages, softcover, is now available at area bookstores, independent and online retailers, and through its publisher, Arcadia Publishing, at (888) 313 2665. Price is $19.99.

Visit the official Arcada Website.

Photo credit: Arcadia Publishing

We sooo love Lea Salonga, and we’re happy to hear this world-class singer and actress is the new face for ICanServe, an advocacy group that empowers women with breast cancer.

This July, Lea will be appearing in ICanServe’s English-edition video, “Take Your Breast Care to Heart,” on breast cancer detection techniques. A Filipino version, “Ating Dibdibin,” will be presented by multiawarded actress Dawn Zulueta.

Directed by Jeannette Ifurung, with cinematography by Lee Meily and production design by Leo Abaya, the video presents a step-by-step process on how to do the breast self-exam and offers tips on breast care.

The video will be distributed free to public hospitals and barangays and will be sold on the ICanServe site and in local bookstores.

Find out more about ICanServe and how you can help. Visit this site.

Lea appears in the June 2008 cover of Town and Country.

Image from ICanServe

Stages’ major musical offering this 2008, West Side Story, brings together a strong cast of world-class talent that includes Christian Bautista, Karylle, and London West End’s Joanna Ampil. Gerard Salonga is the musical director and Audie Gemora and Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo team up as executive producer and director, respectively. (Interestingly, Audie and Menchu played the lead roles in the first production of West Side Story in Manila in 1982.)

The rigid auditions took two months, and aspirants came not just from the Philippines but from Singapore, Australia, the US, and the UK. [Read more]

The Vermont Hibernation Project features works by Pinoy artists Plet Bolipata and Thomas Daquioag during their stay at the Vermont Studio Center in the US as fellows under the Freeman Fellowship for Asian Artists.

Bolipata is known for her whimsical, colorful Manet-inspired works in mixed media. Some of her works were used as illustrations for the Japanese fable “The Hummingbird” as part of a full-color trilogy of environmental stories published by nonprofit artist org Canvas.

[Read more]