GOODBYE AND THANK YOU!

It's been a busy month over at The Living Room. Although no artist talks/exhibitions were held, the place was still abuzz with guests who share my objective of changing the way we look at the misunderstood City of Manila. First to check in at the end of June were Barcelona residents, Gabriel Diaz (above) and Miguel Trillo (below). Gabriel Diaz is an affable journalist of Uruguayan descent whose last assignment was in Sierra Leone. Miguel Trillo, the more serious one of the duo, is a photographer obsessed with documenting the urban avant-garde and the characters that dwell within. They were both sent over by Casa Asia to create a visitor's guide to Manila's alternative scene. They visited places as diverse as Imelda Marcos' Shoe Museum in Marikina, the I Love You Store, Cubao X, Club Mwah, and seedy little strip joints below the LRT Monumento station in Caloocan. We anxiously await it's publication. Some of Miguel's portrait work are posted below; some more are posted over here.

And bringing up the end of the month was Christian Razukas, the bespectacled fellow featured below. As the film programmer of the Louis Vuitton Honolulu International Film Festival, he flew into town for a few days just to check out the goodies on display over at Cinemalaya Film Festival held the CCP. And apparently, he was very pleased. A very charming fellow, he claims to have fallen in love with the city and hopes to be back in town again to check out other film festivals. Check out more about the scene surrounding the HIFF by clicking onto their blog here.

We hope this isn't the last time we see these guys over here in the town everyone loves to hate. The Living Room wishes you three a fond farewell for now and "Mabuhay!"

Oh. And thanks a million Doug for the fantastic post. Wish my tummy didn't look so big though...