What music did you have growing up?
I didn’t really have a specific taste in music until High School but I remember falling in love with (Studio Ghibli) Spirited Away’s OST and the Sims game’s build mode soundtrack too. Basically calm and charming tracks for my childhood. Then it became chaotic in HS (a mix of anime and pop songs!). But I truly found genres I love during College and up until now which is alternative and indie pop + rock + folk. But I still have my guilty pleasures which are throwback tracks ranging as far as Teenage Dream to ABBA (my absolute fave!).
What work of art last caught your eye?
Alabaster Pizzo’s short autobio comics on Instagram! As a comic artist myself, I really admire how simple yet vulnerable her comic strips are. I aspire to create honest work like hers someday! Here’s a link to one of her comic strips online and some of my fave panels below.
Can you let us in on a current or upcoming project that excites you?
Right now I’m trying to finish my ongoing comic series, Nagmamahal, Maria Clara which is on it’s 4th issue! Then honest mini comics in between. But aside from that, I’m about to start on making a new romance book set in High School. I’m excited about that because the material is basically puppy love and it gives me a break from handling heavy issues from NMC and personal ones in my autobio shorts.
We’re playing charades. What is the hardest thing you could have someone guess?
I suck at charades so there’s so many topics that I think are difficult (but are probably not for others haha!). A guess from off the top of my head is Pangea, the supercontinent! I mean, any way you would draw or describe it can come out gibberish since it’s so random and we probably only discussed it during history class!
What do you think deserves more attention?
This is a very general question so I’ll just answer with something that’s been bugging me. I think our obsession with Resilience deserves more attention. Rather, our resistance to it. We glorify it too much when actually, these are efforts that are painstakingly unnecessary. Some of the things we strive for are basic rights we actually deserve. And we tend to overlook that because this is the system and we just want to survive. Even if we have to take the long and hard way out. Especially for young breadwinners who get cheated or taken advantage of.
What would be your last meal?
I’d like my last meal to be baked oysters, kimchi rice, grilled meat, and a cold bottle of beer (two or more even!). This is a combo I usually get at my favorite restaurants, Tambai and Wantusawa (for oysters), in Poblacion. So yeah, if I’m going out, might as well get good food and buzzed!
