The YS hotlist: 37 degrees of cultural heat over this week and next.
(1st of 2 parts)
MANILA, Philippines - We know you’ve heard about ?how this summer is warmer ?than last year’s, all global ?warnings saying our earth is headed for extreme hotness and all that. These toasty temperatures, however, have only gotten us to match our hydration with a whole lot of enculturation.
As this summer and the summer before it have freed us up a bit (our time as well as our clothing), we’ve been paying more attention to what’s around us — some of it searing our senses, some slow-cooking our expectations, but all smoking enough to set off our radars. What better time than now to put together a hot list of what’s been bubbling up this season — from sweat-inducing models to new foreign acts coming to Manila? Young Star brings you 37 degrees of cultural heat just to prove that though things have gotten too damn hot this summer, we’ve also been witness to a lot of undeniable cool.
1. Sizzle-boom-bah: Team Pilipinas Cheerleading wins the first
Southeast Asian Cheerleading Open!
We’ve got news for you. Football’s not the only sport heating up this season. Ladies and gents, cheer girls and pep boys, it’s about time cheerleading grabs the spotlight. In fact, we’re freaking good at it! Just when summer was about to kick in this year, Team Pilipinas Cheerleading — trained by the National Cheerleading Championship (NCC) — took home the crown at the first Southeast Asian Cheerleading Open in Singapore. But this is not the usual cheerdance contest we’ve grown accustomed to in the collegiate leagues. It’s the real deal, a universally standardized sport wherein cheerdance is only a single element of cheerleading.
While different sports have their respective governing bodies, the Philippine Cheerleading Alliance under the International Cheer Union oversees the sport in the country and these federations are pushing for the recognition of cheerleading as a demo sport at the 2016 Rio Olympics. “If that happens, we’ll be officially considered a sport here in the Philippines. That’s the time when we possibly get the support of the government,” says Team Pilipinas coach JR David.
The goal is to send a true national team, as most joining international teams are only school-based squads. Hence, they held a national tryout to form an all-girl team and coed Philippine team and this was opened to the teams that joined NCC Philippines, the biggest cheerleading competition in the country. Team Pilipinas All-Girls is composed of cheerleaders coming from different high schools such as Poveda, St. Paul College of Pasig, Assumption College, School of the Holy Spirit Quezon City and Taguig Science High School.
Although they didn’t have the funds to send the whole team, they encouraged members to go. “Though we were trying to get sponsors, the mere fact that cheerleading isn’t considered a sport, it’s really hard to get financial support,” he adds. Fortunately, these are high school students coming from exclusive schools who have the backing of their parents. “This is the second international championship of the Philippine all-girl team. Last year, we won in Brisbane, Australia.”
Their most recent victory was in Singapore where Team Pilipinas beat out five other countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Chinese Taipei and Singapore. “Being the first Southeast Asian champion, we’ll definitely be back next year to defend the title. We only join ICU-sanctioned competitions, which uses standardized rules in competitive cheerleading.”
Now, the goal is to compete in Malaysia later this year, but the greatest challenge is to join the biggest international competition in Orlando, Florida. These girls could win it.
CHESCA LAYUG 16, Poveda
Cheerleading is: the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
Your hardcourt trademark: Aerial, pike jump, front hurdler.
Rah-rah breakthrough: I was in gymnastics training in seventh grade when they first opened tryouts for Junior Hardcourt. Back then I already loved to dance and I wanted to develop my dancing skills even more, so I decided to try out. I also looked up to our Senior Hardcourt team, so I told myself I wanted to be just like them in high school!
Champ moment: When it was our turn for a practice run-through on the competition floor, you could see that everybody really stopped what they were doing. The whole stadium cheered for us after each stunt we did, and it was at its loudest when we completed the entire routine. It felt really great and heartwarming to know that we were welcomed by all the countries that participated even before the actual competition! I love the adrenaline that comes when I perform for hundreds of people, not to mention the cheering crowd!
ALYSSA CONCEPCION, 14,
St. Paul Pasig
Cheerleading is: a sport. It is a way of interacting with the audience with the stunts, dances and skills you perform. It is done with heart and it is a way to uplift the spirits of the people.
Your hardcourt trademark: Heel stretch.
Rah-rah breakthrough: I’m a dancer and I wanted to join varsity for dance when I was in grade school. But since there was no varsity yet for our age, I looked for a varsity that has dancing with it. Then, I saw a flyer for cheerleading. Since I trained for gymnastics when I was young, I gave it a shot, not knowing that passing the tryouts would make a great difference in my life and the reason why I made it this far.
Champ moment: My most memorable experience at the Southeast Asian Cheerleading Open was our performance itself. We were so focused and I felt the love of my cheermates while performing. We were so happy and relieved that we did our very best and got first place.
KARLA MORTEL 17,
School of the Holy Spirit
Cheerleading is: fun!
Your hardcourt trademark: Booty shake.
Rah-rah breakthrough: I joined because I heard that it’s fun and awesome.
Champ moment: When Team Pilipinas was announced as the champions!
MYCA MAALA, 16,
School of the Holy Spirit
Cheerleading is: love. It sounds cliché, but it’s true. Through the years, I have learned to love cheerleading. I’ve been doing it for five or six years.
Your hardcourt trademark: Aerial
Rah-rah breakthrough: My dad told me to try cheerleading when I was in grade four. I didn’t have any background in dancing and gymnastics, but that didn’t stop me, because I learned to love the sport.
Champ moment: We won because we had faith and we trusted each other.
PIA MATAS, 18, Poveda
Cheerleading is: family. No one gets left behind.
Your hardcourt trademark: My trademark would be the bow and arrow, press-to-handstand, flick of the fingers and round-off back tuck.
Rah-rah breakthrough: I joined cheerleading because I wanted to pursue my passion not only for dancing, but also in other related fields. Cheerleading made me become a well-rounded person because with it, I discovered more of what I am capable of doing and furthermore sharing it with my teammates.
Champ moment: My most memorable experience at the Southeast Asian Cheer Open would be the two minutes and 30 seconds that brought us all to dance, fight and cheer together while we were competing for the glory of our country.
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Log on to http://www.philstar.com/youngstar to view the entire Team Pilipinas shoot.
2. Playing the field: Azkals-Global Football Academy
When cleats and that black-spotted, kaleidoscopic-tiled ball meet, beautiful things can happen. Just ask Ghana native Ayi Nii Arnee, whose love for football has taken him out of his homeland and into one foreign country after another before finding himself in Manila, playing for the state university’s championship-winning varsity team, and putting together a grassroots program with Team Azkals manager Dan Palami and Azkals-Global director Ricky Chan. “For the longest time, football has not been popular among the Filipinos,” Ayi notes, expressing a concern that goes beyond the obligatory promotional enthusiasm. “I think Filipinos can excel here because the average height is 5’4”, 5’5”, and the world’s best players are at the same height — like Leo Messi. I don’t see Filipinos not excelling in football.” The Azkals-Global Football Academy, following guidelines set by Palami and Azkals coach Michael Weiss, boasts of an impressive coaching staff composed of professional players like Iranian Misagh Bahadoran and Ivorian Carlos Guisso.
“When kids reach a certain age, they switch to basketball because it’s more popular, they get to meet more girls that way,” explains Coach Ricky Chan. “We’re trying to bank on the existing popularity of football in the Philippines. It’s never too late to learn.”
The Azkals-Global Football Academy will run till June 6 at Corinthian Gardens football field and is open to kids aged 4-18. For more information, contact coordinator Aldrick Diaz at (0917)8191976 or head coach Ayi Nii at (0906)2592419.
3. Futkal
It’s not just football that’s making its way into mainstream consciousness. Freestyle football — or “futbol sa kalye” — is a fresh way of making the game even more accessible. Futkal in the Philippines was conceived and cultivated on the streets — you don’t need a goalpost, uniforms, or a full group of 11 players; just a lot of heart, and the desire to play.
4-5. The new hotspot: Socio-slouchy nocturnal establishments—Craft Pub & Grill and Borough
Being more “connected” these days doesn’t necessarily mean everyone’s closer. You can spend your nights clicking the “Refresh” button on your Facebook feed but sooner or later, you’ll want to put in some actual face time with living, breathing, three-dimensional people.
Face time for us, though, means quality time — which you’ll find more of in the new crop of low-hanging bars, pubs, or gastropubs we’ve taken note of this summer. They aren’t so much about the boastful toast you’d most find at that frigid super club but about dim lights, cold beers and social warmth.
At Craft Pub & Grill, it’s almost as if that well-loved, wealthy college kid you know decided to open his living room’s doors to the neighborhood, offering libreng Cuba Libres in the process, which is granted from 6 to 10 p.m., when you and three other friends spend a thousand-peso minimum. And apart from the hooch-offering hospitality, this tech-furnished, high-ceilinged venue also houses both casual culinary craft and musical artistry. There’s the straight-up good-time grub like the masterfully constructed burgers and nachos that go well with a free and easy, house party atmosphere, especially when the house’s staple wings (lemon pepper, Hawaiian, or six other variants) can even arrive at your table as a 50-piece order (less than P1,500). It’s why international crossover acts like Taken By Cars (refer to Luis Katigbak’s column) decided to throw their new album’s listening party here, and where last month, acoustic felt right at home when Johnoy Danao (#5) liberated the genre from its bastardized confines to cool-son-of-a-bitch territory. Sounds like the type of place we’d want to see that independent act we’d brought in by Facebook pledge (#26).
Following in joints that eschew bottle service for that bottles-of-beer-on-the-wall spirit is Borough. With spare lighting and melting pot interiors (floral banquettes, industrial sliding doors), this looks like the sort of underground haven you’d duck into to escape the streetpolitik. On Wednesday and Friday nights, music happens to unwind here when some cred-packing cool kids get on the decks and get a smart crowd reveling in aural abandon (especially since there’s no closing time here; the place is open 24/7). Whether at Craft or at Borough, though, we guarantee that once you round up your friends, you’ll be ordering another round of beers.
Craft is located at Unit E, The Fort Entertainment Complex in Taguig; Borough can be found at the G/F of Podium Mall, ADB Avenue, Ortigas.
6. Johnoy Danao gets us laid to acoustic again 
YS chats with the man who’s bringing the sexy back to a neutered music genre.
YOUNG STAR: Was it hard getting people to give a crap about acoustic music again?
JOHNOY DANAO: Not really. Acoustic music is always in the hearts of Filipinos. Folk singers have often strived through the years, from Heber Bartolome, Gary Granada, Noel Cabangon to Paolo Santos. Some will break through the music industry, some won’t, but it doesn’t matter. I’m not here for the spotlight. I’ve been doing this for 10 years. No bright lights. Just me and my acoustic guitar.
What did you have to go through to get your solo debut “Dapithapon” made or heard?
I had to go through a heartbreak to get this done. (Laughs) Working with veteran musicians like Sammy Asuncion, Louie Talan, Wendel Garcia, and Aia de Leon among others, was amazing. As far as “Dapithapon” goes, it’s as personal as it gets. Listen to the album and you’ll know who I am.
The ideal manner of listening to “Dapithapon” this summer would be…
Driving on a long trip, lying on the beach, or just hanging with your friends. It won’t interfere with anything you’re doing.
And what’s made your summer “hot” so far?
Definitely Good Times Acoustic podcast with Mo Twister. Been playing it five times a week since Mo put my name on the map.
Listen to, “like”, or follow Johnoy at johnoydanao.com, twitter.com/johnoydanao, or facebook.com/johnoydanao
7. Because visiting acts may just be getting cooler
Remember those days when bands with bygone relevance visited Manila? Well, consider those days fewer. At Philippine Fashion Week next week, scenester spinners The Misshapes are churning beats amid the beauty, not to mention the Foo Fighters coming over soon. And since our digital democracy allows us to dictate cultural taste, a Facebook group with enough pledges can even get an act like The Radio Dept. to play for us. Imagine that: your “like” can be your favorite band’s command.
