If you grew up hearing someone described as kengkoy , you may have known the word long before you knew the man. Kenkoy was Francisco "Kenkoy" Harabas, the Filipino comic character who first appeared in Liwayway in 1929. Written by Romualdo Ramos and illustrated by Tony Velasquez, Mga Kabalbalan ni Kenkoy followed a funny, fashionable, and sometimes misguided Filipino trying to keep up with a changing world. Almost a century later, Alice Reyes Dance Philippines is bringing him into contemporary dance. KENKOY runs from September 18 to 26, 2026 at Hyundai Hall, Areté, Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City. Directed and choreographed by ARDP Artistic Director Ronelson Yadao, the new work looks at identity, colonial influence, humor, and resilience through one of Philippine pop culture's earliest recognizable characters. Who exactly is Kenkoy? Kenkoy is interesting because his name survived even for people who never read the comics. The chara...

Official Tops ArtFest 2026 artwork. Courtesy of Tops ArtFest. There is a lazy way to cover art outside Metro Manila: add a scenic adjective, call it a discovery, then wait for it to receive a Manila co-sign. Tops ArtFest 2026 gives that habit very little to work with. From October 22 to 25, more than 300 artists are set to gather at TOPS in Cebu City for four days of exhibitions, installations, performances, and other art experiences under the theme “Building and Breaking Norms.” Junyee and Nune Alvarado are the festival’s main artists, joined by Ronald Ventura, Romulo Galicano, Demi Padua, Charlie Co, Randalf Dilla, Dino Gabito, and other participating artists. The point is not that Cebu is producing an art event worthy of attention from elsewhere. A major Philippine art event is happening in Cebu. The rest of the country should learn to read the map properly. A festival with enough artists to make the curatorial question unavoidable “More than 300 ...

“It’s a Wrap,” published by Far Eastern University, written by Francine Medina Marquez, and edited by Gayle Zialcita—centered on the remarkable 40-year journey of internationally known wrap artiste and cultural advocate, Ms. Ditta Sandico. Quick take: It’s A Wrap: Ditta Sandico: Unraveling the Future of Fashion is a new coffeetable book from FEU Publishing that traces the Filipino designer’s 40-year journey through fashion, indigenous weaves, social enterprise, and the global life of Philippine craft. What to know The book: It’s A Wrap: Ditta Sandico: Unraveling the Future of Fashion The focus: Ditta Sandico’s four decades of fashion, advocacy, indigenous textiles, and work with weaving communities. Where to inquire: TAMS Bookstore at TamsBookstore@feu.edu.ph It’s A Wrap: Ditta Sandico: Unraveling the Future of Fashion arrives as more than a coffeetable book. Published by Far Eastern Universi...

Nicole Laurel Asensio has been named SHURE Philippines’ first brand ambassador for music, marking a milestone for Filipino music and live performance as one of the country’s most distinctive voices aligns with SHURE’s global audio legacy. In the evolving landscape of Manila’s music scene, Nicole Laurel Asensio’s appointment as SHURE Philippines brand ambassador signals more than recognition. It reflects how Filipino artists are increasingly shaping sound culture across both local and international stages, with a voice that carries not just performance, but identity. A Filipino music milestone, Nicole Laurel Asensio’s partnership with SHURE Philippines positions her at the center of a global conversation on sound, performance, and modern jazz culture. Some artists do not simply perform. They carry atmosphere with them. Nicole Laurel Asensio has long been that kind of artist, shaping rooms not only with voice, but with presence, phrasing, and emotional clarity. Her work has...

There are nights that arrive quietly. They gather slowly. In the quiet recognition of something familiar. In the way a melody, once heard in childhood or in passing, finds its way back into the body. On May 14, 2026, at Gallery MiraNila in Quezon City, one of those evenings takes shape. This Manila concert brings together Arthur Espiritu’s first all kundiman program in an intimate heritage setting. Arthur Espiritu, internationally acclaimed Filipino American tenor, comes home to the kundiman. Presented by the MiraNila Heritage House and Library in partnership with Gallery MiraNila by The Blue Leaf, Mga Awit ng Pag Ibig at Kundiman is not simply a concert. It is a quiet restoration of something that has always belonged to us. The Kundiman, Remembered Before it was labeled, archived, or digitized, the kundiman was already alive. It lived in zarzuela stages, in handwritten scores, in radio broadcasts that reached homes across Manila and beyond. It carried longing in a way that felt distin...

In Philippine fashion, the past sometimes returns quietly. Not out of nostalgia, but because certain ideas were simply ahead of their time. On March 19, 2026 , designer Randy Ortiz revisits that vision with “ Randy O. Man,” a menswear show at The Peninsula Manila that brings his signature approach to dressing the modern Filipino man back into focus. The venue is fitting. The Rigodon Ballroom of The Peninsula Manila , long associated with Manila’s most elegant gatherings, becomes the stage for what Ortiz describes as a renewed focus on menswear. The show, titled Randy Ortiz Man # Unofficial 40 , marks the designer’s first major menswear presentation in years and signals a deliberate return to one of his earliest creative passions. For nearly four decades, Randy Ortiz has dressed a broad spectrum of clients. Grooms preparing for wedding days. Celebrities stepping onto red carpets. Chief executives, politicians, and public servants navigating formal occasions that demand a particular b...