Rock the vote

MANILA, Philippines - Have you voted yet? The Tatt Awards are underway and you can now vote for your favorite “Young STAR Future Perfect Blog of the Year” by logging on to www.tattawards2013.com. Leading the race as of press time is Stache magazine with 1,585 votes, followed by Kamusta? magazine with 1,079 votes, The Yellow Adventures with 796 votes, Purveyr with 470 votes, and Nothing Spaces with 196 votes.

It all started when the 2013 Tatt Awards dropped the words “young blood” and “fiery passion” in this year’s theme, and Young STAR couldn’t help but get in on the action. Seventy finalists, as deliberated by everyone from Rappler’s Maria Ressa to photographer BJ Pascual, were shortlisted for awards in 13 categories, among them, a “Young STAR Future Perfect Blog of the Year” award that recognizes emerging blogs run by young’ns ages 16 to 24. Passionate, opinionated, and crusaders for all things culture, these sites are changing the game the best way they know how — with a voice that is screaming to be heard.

From the week’s underground party to the latest in street-urban culture, Purveyr is an online news site run by a group of 20-somethings that offers a unique take on style, art, music, and design. Kamusta? magazine, on the other hand, is an online travel-zine that presents an authentic view of Filipino life you wouldn’t experience otherwise when hitting the usual tourist traps. 22-year-old photojournalist Hannah Reyes seems perpetually riddled with wanderlust, with everything from tribes in far-off mountains to cute surfers in bikinis sharing space on The Yellow Adventures. Championing personalities from the underground, Stache has made it their mission to “provide a venue for young people who think there is no place for them to share their art.” Finally, Nothing Spaces is 24-year-old artist/designer/writer Carina Santos’s sounding board for her creative life, from the artistic process to the latest exhibit openings in town.