Many were saddened to hear the news of the death of Manila taipan Emilio Yap. His name may not ring a familiar bell as that of other taipans or businessmen, but he is influential nevertheless being the chair of historic Manila-based institutions such as the Manila Bulletin, (which also includes the historic Liwayway group of publications) Manila Hotel, and Centro Escolar University. Forbes Magazine as the 13th richest in the Philippines. Like many Filipino-Chinese taipans, Emilio Yap was born in Fujian Province, China. Born on September 24, 1925, young Emilio first came to Manila actually to study, living with his grandfather who was already based in the city as a…
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Terra 28th: An Urban Playground and Much More
Talking about a playground in the middle of the concrete jungle which happens to be a major metropolitan commercial-business district is a sight as rare as a blue moon. But in the bustling Bonifacio Global City, (BGC) one can actually find such a sight within the green, open space called Terra 28th.
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Manansala’s Philamlife Paintings at the National Museum
When the Urban Roamer got the opportunity to visit the Philamlife Building at Ermita during its (sob) final days, one of the things I was fixated upon was the artworks whose artist was a mystery to me at that time. Thanks to a reader, I found out that those artworks were actually done by Vicente Manansala himself, National Artist for Visual Arts alongside with colleagues like Fernando Amorsolo and Botong Francisco. The paintings are a a series of 7 commissioned works completed by Manansala in 1961, the same year the Philamlife Building was completed, done in the cubist style Manansala was known for. While the issue about the fate of the…
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The Metropolis and Natural Disasters
A few days ago, a story was published by the Philippine Star about a study by a Swiss insurance firm which stated that Manila was the 2nd most at-risk metropolis from natural disasters. With such a story, one has to get more information, preferably straight from the source. Fortunately, Swiss Re, the firm that commissioned or has done the study, has a copy of this study online, which you can check here. One thing to note though is that this study has been published way back in September 2013. So how it managed to fly under the radar of local journalists until a few days ago is a puzzle to…