VANCOUVEREYE ZINE

DOUGLAS NIERRAS' POWERDANCE TOURS CANADA AND THE USA 2019 “ A good dancer is not necessarily defined by great technique, skill, or ability to pick up choreography but by confidence. When you feel the music, it penetrates your soul. Everybody’s a dancer. The greatest dancer is someone who is willing to dance, not afraid.”   Alyssa Edwards Afraid Douglas is not. For 3 decades he has been honing his dance and creative output. He is not afraid to blend technology with a live human component. He projects video clips in 3D format and he adds 4D synchronized dance movements. The dancer syncs with the motions in the film clips. He also employs aerial dancing techniques. People wonder how Douglas creates his dance artistry and movements. He quips, “ I go through experiences and transform my thoughts into dance movements.”   Nierras continues, “When I lost my Dad, I created some dance moves to honour him.” He taps Pinoy classic music, jazz, contemporary pop musi...

LAWYER BECOMES DIPLOMAT WITH A HEART by Tom Choy Vancouver, British Columbia “ Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become of value.” Albert Einstein D eputy Consul General (DCG) Leo Tito Ausan may have spent a limited time in Vancouver but his limited presence was huge to all the people he came across and touched their lives. His brief legacy will stay for a long time. “ I met DCG Leo in Surrey during the SPIDS Philippine Independence Day celebration and I felt DCG Leo’s genuine interest in talking to people,” quips Vancouverite Ana Napieralski. Before Vancouver, DCG Leo was also the previous Consul General of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He was in charge of helping kababayans who may be falsely accused of a crime. He made sure if there was voting to be done by our overseas workers in the Kingdom, he made it smooth and honest. He was also in charge of repatriation of deceased compatriots. He was a man with a mission. DCG Leo is a lawyer ...

THIS GIRL IS ON FIRE By Tom Choy Vancouver, British Columbia “ My parents taught me how to become successful in both my academic and athletic journeys.”     Maxine Isabel Esteban, Fencing Sportswoman Maxine Isabel Esteban is not even 19 years old but everyday and every moment now, she dreams, breathes and wakes up in the morning wanting to become an Olympian to make the Philippines proud of her. At the rate she   is winning medals and accolades, she may be on her way to Tokyo in 2020. “ I want to excel in my academic and athletic pursuits,” declares Maxine. She is a Management Engineering student athlete at the Ateneo De Manila University and a star   fencing athlete. She was the Rookie of the Year and MVP of the UAAP fencing Season that just concluded. She just won 2 Gold medals in the individual women’s fencing in 2 weapons (Foil and Sabre). In team events, she was awarded a Gold and a Bronze medals. She was in awe: “It was truly surreal wi...

By Tom Choy Vancouver, British Columbia “ Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”   Calvin Coolidge When I met Jay Razon, 64 at the Don Bosco basketball court in Surrey, I saw Jay played basketball with gusto and passion. You can not miss Jay playing and also coaching his teammates. His voice was all you hear in the court. His teammates don’t mind. Jay is the leader of his team. “ Jay play likes the legendary Kobe Bryant,” opines Chris Cunanan, a community photographer and is currently the President of the Circulo Pampangueno of BC. Chris continues, “ Jay is truly one hell of a character.” Jay moves and talks like Kobe. Jay breathes, inhales, and adores Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and a Hall...

By Tom Choy Vancouver, British Columbia “I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality.”    Frida Kahlo And for the award-winning young filmmaker, Kathleen “Kat” Jayme(30) it was her own fascination with basketball since she was a kid and her idolizing the basketball game of former Vancouver Grizzlies star Bryant “Big Country” Reeves that led her to write and produce her award-winning documentary “Finding Big Country.” But even before her love of basketball her eyes and destiny were already pointed towards films. Her lolo (grandfather) on her mother side, Danilo Santiago   was a filmmaker for the Premiere Productions in the Philippines. It was in her blood so to speak. Kat was a tiny child when she started shooting hoops with her older sibling. And her brother admitted how great a basketball player Kat is. Kat would be a regular fan watching Big Country Reeves and the Grizzlies play at the Roger’s Arena. Only a little kid the...

By Tom Choy Vancouver, British Columbia “ Sit here, so I may write you into a poem and make you eternal.”    Kamand Kojouri TV host Boy Abunda on Youtube told Sharon Cuneta, “ We heard  you are very generous giving diamonds as gifts.” To which Sharon answered, “ Di naman Tito Boy. I just wanted to surprise Regine V, our Songbird.” Asked by Boy A. how she became generous, Sharon replied, “ I got it from my Dad(Mayor Pablo Cuneta of Pasay).” Sharon Cuneta, 53 has been entertaining ever since she appeared in Ike Lozada’s Bulilit portion of his show. Sharon mimicked her Aunt Helen Gamboa’s singing.  And then she was very young when she did her first movie, the Rosanna Ortiz and George Estregan starrer- Lovers For Hire. At the tender age of 11, Sharon sang “Bato Sa Buhangin,” and her uncle Tito Sotto, then VP of Vicor Records was impressed and asked her to make a record for his label. She recorded her first single, “Tawag ng Pag-ibig,” ...

“ There is no failure except in no longer trying.”   Elbert Hubbard It was not always happy going in the entertainment career of AC Bonifacio, hip hop artist, singer and actress. AC stands for Andree Camille. AC and dance partner Lucky just won as Grand Champions of a Filipino TV dance competition, Dance Kids. Lucky and AC were known as the Lucky Aces tandem in the dance competition. They were on a high after just winning 2 million pesos, a house and lot, 300,000 pesos shopping spree money and a contract with the famous Starmagic. Big Filipino entertainment stars are signed up with Starmagic. After this euphoric phase, Lucky left the tandem and AC and her Mom Cherry were still in Manila trying to generate activities for AC. There were few and far in between calls from the studio. AC is originally from Vancouver and now lives in the suburbs called New Westminster. There was a noticeable doldrum in AC’s career.” Shall we quit?,” Mom Cherry asks herself. “ Anak...