The creative artistry of renowned designer Jaki Penalosa mesmerized fashion enthusiasts during ILUSTRADO: A Night with Jaki Penalosa, held at Royal Palace Banquet Hall on October 22.

Beyond the runways of Vancouver Fashion Week rises ILUSTRADO – a unique fashion show slated for October 22 that highlights the Spanish cultural heritage of the Philippines while updating it for the new millennium.

The Filipino language is peppered with derogatory terms that often pertain only to women. Maarte (dramatic), maldita (bitchy), mataray (contemptuous) often refer to women but matapang (brave) and malakas(strong) are often attributed to men.

Spring is here, the sun is shining, and it looks as though, finally, the threat of Covid -19 is slowly fading away to a more tolerable level. 

It’s been over a year since we started living in the shadows of The Pandemic.  Now, by following the stay-at-home advisories and getting The Vaccine, it seems we can finally look forward to a more carefree summer. We may still have to wear masks and observe social distancing depending on where we live, but, hopefully, we won’t be living in fear of getting The Virus anymore.

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in March 2020, Winnie Chan was working for an insurance company.

There will only be just the two of us this Christmas, my husband and myself.  There will be no children, no grandchildren, no friends over, no big dinners, no cocktail parties.  And hopefully, because of these sacrifices, no visiting coronaviruses either.

 In the middle of March, we came back from a rather self-indulgent holiday in post-Mardi Gras New Orleans only to find that Covid-19 had arrived in Toronto. We immediately found ourselves in mandatory self-isolation and I did not exit our front door for the next 14 days.  I had just started a staycation!

Finally. April has arrived. But with it also came the dreaded Covid-19 which forces all of us to stay home for our safety and the protection of others.  No one knows how long our confinement will last but we must hunker down as long as necessary.   

A new online bridal boutique aims to provide customers with a true Filipino wedding by offering wedding accessories, ceremony essentials and practical planning tips to help couples incorporate Filipino wedding traditions into their big day.