Human Interest Archives - Page 2 of 5

A Philadelphia story

Now that the devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic is on full display, this US-based Filipino doctor has found new meaning even in his after-work hikes: walking slower, putting more care in taking pictures and savoring the fact that he could still do so. His decision to turn his back…

Marital Arts

By Alex Y. Vergara Photography by Mau Aguasin / Makeup and grooming by Eddie Mar Cabiltes / Styling by Nasia Celine Cammayo Apart from their shared passion for competitive contact sports such as muay Thai and arnis, Mike and Kathy Huang also go on what they describe as “unorthodox” measures…

No strangers in paradise

Having lived in the Bahamas for several years now, this former Manila-based communications practitioner has become WFH-proficient even before the global lockdown began. Instead of writing, a passion she’s cultivated at a young age, she’s found new obsessions while sheltering-in-place: painting and learning to play the ukulele. Even her weekly…

How the “happiest” place on earth deals with a harrowing disease

Since the entire world isn’t out of the woods yet, Filipinos could probably learn a thing or two from the Danes on how they face up to COVID-19—calm, collected and with a sense of purpose. By TESSI CRUZ-LARSEN In early February, I found myself scouring online shops here in Denmark…

IN STILLS: COVID-19 through a photographer’s lens (and immense heart)

By Hermes Joy Tunac Photography by Mau Aguasin A photographer’s primary job is to capture an image that's worth a thousand words. But during a global pandemic, Mau Aguasin, a leading lifestyle photographer and regular PeopleAsia contributor, proves that her profession is much more than that. Two weeks after the…

Baguio on ECQ, under a new, totally different light

Ever wondered how the "City of Pines" looked and felt like back in the day? This pandemic, despite the disruption and damage it has caused, has invariably turned one of our favorite summer destinations into a pristine oasis of calm and unspoiled beauty. Perhaps, as the author writes in an…

Endless locked-down weekend in New England

For a Filipino mother raised almost singlehandedly by a no-nonsense Nanay in the Philippines, it would have been easy to simply dismiss her two American daughters’ “sassy episodes” by contrasting the family’s relatively comfortable life with countless hard-up folks during this pandemic. But instead of trivializing her children's emotions, she…

The best of times, the worst of times for the arts and those deemed as “non-essential”

Define essential. In the context of this pandemic, someone said that it refers to what's essential to survival—food, water, shelter, medicines. Neanderthals didn’t have toilet paper, alcohol, face masks and dishwashing liquid, but the caves had drawings. There was art in their dwelling places. Even then, art was essential! By…

Simple pleasures of celebrating Mother’s Day under lockdown

A career woman through and through, the author is surprised by the speed with which she has learned to juggle and appreciate work-related responsibilities from home while savoring ECQ with her family, especially moments spent with her lovely, strong-willed daughter recuperating from brain cancer. By JOANNE GOLONG-GOMEZ I’ve never been…

Lockdown conversations with my mother

By Bum D. Tenorio Jr. While on a hammock under the himbaba-o tree at home in Gulod, a coastal barrio in Cabuyao, Laguna, I was doing the now normal WFH when something wet and warm dropped on my shoulder. “Swerte yan! Magkakapera ka! (That’s lucky. You’ll have money)” my mother…