6 December 2023

Göteborgs-Posten

I had an awesome first “Midsommarfest” at the fortress and glad to see my photo on Göteborgs-Posten, Gothenburg’s biggest newspaper! 🌺

The medieval fortress Bohus Fästning had crown-making activity, live performances, and lots of dancing and singing around the “midsommarstång.”

Some songs I’ve learned are “Prästens lilla kråka” (The priest's little crow), “Vi äro musikanter” (We are musicians) and my favorite “Så går vi runt om ett enerissnår” (Then we go around an energy thicket) which is about doing the laundry and circling the maypole. Vad kul!

Celebrating Midsummer the traditional Swedish way capped with a dinner with family and friends—and lots of strawberries—was a blast. 🍓

As a journalist who have talked to literally thousands of people in events, it was nice to be featured as a “source” on the news website, too. Link: https://shorturl.at/otvSU 📲

INQUIRER.net • 15 October 2023

Global payments company founded by Filipina aims to capture gig economy

In New York, a 20-something Filipina startup founder is making a name in two male-dominated businesses—financial technology (fintech) and cryptocurrency—and helping freelancers in the Philippines get more from their hard-earned dollars.

Mikaela Reyes, who also moonlighted as a content creator, hatched an alternative to more popular payment methods like Paypal and Payoneer. She is cofounder and CEO of Parallax (withparallax.com), a cross-border payments company that promises to provide a faster

INQUIRER.net • 6 October 2023

Tetra Pak recycling: From rubbish to kindergarten tables, chairs

Think twice before slinging an empty Tetra Pak carton straight into the bin because with recycling and technology, that trash can be used in making school chairs.

Responsible recycling is the highlight of the Cartons for Communities program created by packaging solutions company Tetra Pak with its beneficiary Del Monte Foundation, the corporate responsibility arm of food and beverage giant Del Monte Philippines. The partnership was recently formalized via a memorandum of understanding signing.

The POST • 3 October 2023

A travel guide for when beach and relationship goals collide

“Pilipinas muna” was the theme of the tour my Swedish partner and I had this time last year. Like many long-distance couples, our plans were pushed for almost three years which meant my promise of nice beaches, great food and unlimited hugs were put on hold.

So, when our borders opened, I made the ultimate itinerary on where to take my AFAM before he whisked me off to the other side of the world.

“AFAM” is short for “a foreigner assigned to Manila.” Well, I was the one who traveled to Scandina

The POST • 18 September 2023

Moving to the other side of the world for love

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to start a new life far and away from everything familiar, here are the stories of four women who did.

It’s been a year since I moved to Sweden for love—to be with my Scandinavian AFAM. It’s better than I thought it would be because despite having constant communication for years, my partner and I met in person only twice before living together, but the thing that baffles me till now is we don’t really fight.

When people ask me if my partner is Swedish, I

INQUIRER.net • 28 May 2023

Climate tech can save lives

Many Filipinos have a “Yolanda” story, bitter memories of the supertyphoon that pummeled the Philippines in 2013, causing not just damage to homes and livelihood, but also trauma to survivors. One Bicolano tech engineer came up with the idea of making a communications software system that can help communities prepare better for disasters.

“The Philippines is a beautiful country but it’s also one of the most disaster-prone in the world, with the islands regularly struck by typhoons, earthquakes

INQUIRER.net • 9 April 2023

Tips for the aspiring kiddo-preneur

A unique concept can turn into a profitable and fun business for kids, but how to start? Sisters Brielle and Ava Oreta have created a successful “Science in a Jar” business which they now share with their younger siblings, Mariella and Mario.

Their product consists of a jar with a caterpillar that transforms into a butterfly, plus leaves and twigs with an instruction kit. The idea is to nurture the caterpillar and let it go after metamorphosis. They have been joining the Kiddo-preneur event sin

INQUIRER.net • 9 April 2023

Tycoons of tomorrow in training

Gen Z kids are digital natives but can they actually be business-savvy?

For the Oreta family, entrepreneurship lessons started when mom Maiki and her daughters Brielle, now 17, and Ava, 13, cofounded Kiddo-preneur in 2011. It is “a socially oriented organization that aims to promote business and entrepreneurship among the Filipino youth” and provides early training and support to kids who are interested in building a business.

Before the pandemic, Kiddo-preneur was highlighted by selling event

Lifestyle.INQ • 16 April 2022

Theater is alive!

Happy energy bounced off between volunteer performers and the limited audience in the first and biggest gathering of Filipino theater artists in the “new normal” at a free concert in Quezon City.

The community show “Teatro Robredo-Pangilinan: Buhay Ang Entablado Para Kay Leni-Kiko!” on April 3 was organized by the Theatre for Leni-Kiko group led by founder Bea Racoma and attended by 300 people (online registration was required to avoid crowding). The gig, which united the top theater houses in

Lifestyle.INQ • 24 March 2022

Here’s proof: Instagram hasn’t killed fashion photography

Vintage celebrity photos done on film by photographer Ricky Villabona for ’90s fashion magazines got people excited on social media. There was intimacy in the raw, mostly black-and-white photos of Regine Velasquez, Melanie Marquez, Eric Fructuoso, Piolo Pascual, even the late rapper Francis Magalona “who volunteered to strip to his skivvies.”

“There’s a slowness in it there, an anticipation,” Villabona said of the works he posted on Instagram (@rickyvillabona) for fun. Before digital photograph

Getaway.PH • 14 December 2021

Legacy pastry from Bacolod and other sweets and drinks for holiday gifting

Can’t think of gifts to give? Food and drinks are always welcome because everyone loves pasalubong! Here are gift suggestions for loved ones this Christmas season, including new discoveries and holiday items from Inquirer Best Desserts brands you must be missing.

Felicia’s Pastry Shop from Negros Occidental is a legacy pastry brand that can now be ordered in Metro Manila Manila and Cebu through The Commissariat Manila, a company managed by siblings Gino Asensio Lopez and Monique Lopez Ong from

Lifestyle.INQ • 1 December 2021

How to ‘tita’ it out in Baguio: A pandemic tourist’s guide

Baguio is fully booked, but there’s a way around it if you really want to go for the holidays.

The COVID test requirement was dropped for fully vaccinated visitors in October, and there were (supposed to be) “three easy” requirements that one must meet to go there. The first one was getting a Visita QTP, a QR tourist pass that indicates where you’re staying and for how long—it’s practically a visa.

Baguio accepts only 2,000 tourists per day, so applying for a Visita code online (visita.baguio.

Lifestyle.INQ • 1 December 2021

Int’l Silent Film Festival pays homage to ‘father of PH motion picture’

For its 15th edition, the International Silent Film Festival will premiere nine new silent shorts made by filmmakers who qualified for the Mit Out Sound: International Silent Film Lab, a creative initiative launched earlier this year by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) to pique the interest of young filmmakers in the no-dialogue format.

FDCP Chair Liza Diño said the festival is “running out of old silent films” and the Philippine archive is almost maxed out, so the Mit Out

Lifestyle.INQ • 31 October 2021

At the foot of Mt. Banahaw, a place to chill, have comfort food—and a haircut?

At the foot of Mt. Banahaw is a homey weekend destination where one can chill, have good food and a private hair makeover.

Casa Lucretia bed-and-breakfast (tel. no. 0945-8132831, 0918-9356038; @casalucretia on Instagram) has yet to officially open Nov. 17, but guests are already booking for the Christmas holidays.

Haircut and coloring are part of the menu since the Laguna property is owned by Lourd Ryan Ramos, 42, the seasoned hairstylist who operates the Creations chain of salons. When COVID-

Lifestyle.INQ • 31 October 2021

Gory to glam: Easy Halloween looks by makeup pros

Halloween parties are still limited to virtual affairs, but it’s a chance to practice makeup skills—and to use the beauty stash that has been shelved due to the pandemic.

TikTok tutorials and reality shows such as “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and the British makeup competition “Glow Up” piqued Filipinos’ curiosity on creative makeup, according to Makeup Designory School (Mud Studio Manila on Facebook, @mudstudiomanila on Instagram) instructor Georginna Desuasido.

“With people stuck at home, there was

Lifestyle.INQ • 9 October 2021

Terno sleeves get couture treatment at Paris Fashion Week

Michael Cinco, the first Filipino fashion designer featured in Paris Fashion Week (PFW), was back with a Spring/Summer 2022 haute couture collection centered on metamorphosis.

“We celebrate new beginnings. And in rebirth, nothing is more exalting than the metamorphosis of a butterfly,” Cinco told Lifestyle in an email interview.

“From the ordinary caterpillar to the exquisite winged creature of ephemeral beauty, it has become the metaphor for hope and change. It is an emblem of the soul, an al

Lifestyle.INQ • 1 October 2021

Fine arts grads design pageant costumes

The national costume competition in beauty pageants allows designers to push their creativity and go over the top, but the look should be cohesive and representative of the region the candidate is from. The costume must be amazing without looking like a prop, and must follow a given theme, such as this year’s Miss Universe Philippines (MUP) pageant, which honors the elegance and sophistication of past Carnival Queens.

Manila Carnival Queens are said to be the “first Filipina beauty queens whose

Lifestyle.INQ • 24 September 2021

Size XS and XL women agree: Ideal swimwear is like a unicorn

My friend Cy said hitting the beach is “a big production number” for girls. It’s true. My beach prep involves exfoliation, moisturization, deep conditioning, full-body waxing and stressful swimsuit shopping. Unlike men who just pack board shorts (or ugh, basketball shorts) and can’t be bothered with sunscreen, women have to actually prepare.

I once bought an expensive tankini top from a British brand at the mall before online shopping was a thing—a wine-red halter tank top with gold studs, whic

Lifestyle.INQ • 19 September 2021

Fashion as a thoughtful tribute

A fashion collection can be a thoughtful tribute, as three Fashion Design and Merchandising graduates of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde showed through their contemporary designs produced over the pandemic. One is an homage to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), another celebrates Korean-Filipino culture, while the other addresses stigmatized women.

Pamela Madlangbayan’s “Balikbayan” is composed of pieces featuring inscriptions and symbols often found on balikbayan boxes, or the supersized,

Lifestyle.INQ • 9 September 2021

Edwin Ao: Painting his worries away

Cebuano fashion designer Edwin Ao has been making made-to-order clothes for clients since the ’90s. To ease his anxiety over the COVID situation, he picked up a brush and painted away in his studio.

“People are dying of COVID just in front of my gate, so I unearthed my watercolor and revisited painting; it has been therapeutic,” he told Lifestyle.

Despite having no comorbidities and being fully vaccinated, Ao, who’s in his 40s, felt awful, and had to channel his creativity into something else,

Getaway.PH • 5 June 2021

Hip hotel-and-hostel properties soon to open in Palawan and Siargao

Palawan and Siargao will soon have new resorts that will cater to a range of budgets.

For future beach trips, Discovery Hospitality Corp. (DHC) recently launched Kip & Kin, a brand that will combine a hostel and a hotel in a single property. The first three locations are El Nido and San Vicente in Palawan, and Siargao.

The hotel side will have comfortable guest rooms ideal for families, while the hostel side will have shared rooms for travelers who wish to socialize and meet new friends. The “

Lifestyle.INQ • 23 April 2021

Safe space for stuff you are too ashamed to dispose of

Declutter and support art via Humble Sustainability, the startup founded by Niña Mirabueno Opida and Josef Werker, that collects junk for free. Here’s how:
• Book a free collection through humblesustainability.com, or @humblesustainability on Facebook and Instagram.
• Prepare the items. Humble Sustainability accepts everything, even stuff you are too ashamed to dispose of. Think of it as a safe space for all your clutter.
• The founders did not mention this, but perhaps give a tip to the collect

Lifestyle.INQ • 23 April 2021

Help! I’m a hoarder: Easy, free way to declutter

If you are overwhelmed with clutter and don’t know what to do, the startup Humble Sustainability will pick them up for free. There’s no minimum requirement to book a pickup, but founders Niña Mirabueno Opida and Josef Werker recommend pooling them for a single pickup to reduce carbon footprint.

They will take anything—good stuff, broken things, electronics, hand-me-downs, objects that trigger bad memories, literal baggage from exes—and have them reused, recycled or upcycled.

In an email interv

Lifestyle.INQ • 15 February 2021

He doesn’t believe in V-Day, I don’t believe in LDR, yet here we are

“I don’t believe in Valentine’s Day,” Martin said, rather dismissively, a week before Feb. 14.

“But you sent me flowers last year!” I said. Well, I also don’t believe in long-distance relationships (LDRs), yet here we are on a requisite video call.

We met in Gothenburg, Sweden, almost four years ago during my monthlong Scandinavian sojourn, a cold and expensive but super worth it trip, since who knows when we can travel for fun again?

Before Martin Karlsson and I became long-distance lovers,