Latest news with #Philippines-born
Otago Daily Times
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Heavenly kicks and the names we give to teams we love
Forget the French. This season's great moment in rugby was seen by only a handful of spectators, and I was one of them. Underdogs Maniototo were playing Alexandra on a sun-filled ground at Ranfurly and with minutes on the clock they hammered away at the opposition line and finally fullback Daniel Adam crashed over for a try in the corner which put his team ahead 16-15. But wait. There's more. Ben Maxwell's sideline conversion added the extra couple of points. But what a kick that was. The ball hit the righthand upright, bounced back to connect with the other upright, then hit the crossbar before going over so the locals notched a win by 18-15. There's probably no video of that great moment, so it lives on only in Maniototo memory, although the scoreboard still shows the score two weeks later. Of course, I talked about the conversion all the next week but those who hadn't been there just shrugged it off with "aww, that happens all the time". It doesn't. Sometimes a kick comes close enough to such immortality and gets a headline. In April one kick almost surpassed that Ben Maxwell Ranfurly triumph. England international, Philippines-born Marcus Smith, playing for Harlequins, tried a sideline conversion. The ball clipped one post, bounced down, smacked the opposite upright, ricocheted back on to the first post again and had a fourth touch, this time on the crossbar, before dropping back into the field of play. No points. To match his kick, we go back to 2013 and a game between Newcastle and Bedford when New Zealander Jimmy Gopperth, playing for Newcastle, took a penalty kick which also hit the post, the crossbar and the other post before going over. Sadly, I wasn't there so the Maggots' kick is the one I cherish. The Maggots? In this sheep-farming country everyone knows maggots are pests which feed on sheep's flesh and cause severe tissue damage. Only the laid-back, dry humour of Maniototo could produce such a nickname for a rugby team. Nicknames for sports teams are nothing new, All Blacks, Wallabies and Springboks have been around for years and even Japan's moniker, the Brave Blossoms (once the Cherry Blossoms) is gaining traction as that country's rugby improves. Locally, I'm coming to grips with the nickname business. I didn't have too much trouble with a recent ODT item about Green Island being beaten by Harbour which told me that "the Hawks beat the Grizzlies" but it's the lively weekly column Club Rugby Chat by the irrepressible Paul Dwyer which often has me flummoxed. When Paul writes stuff like "Macca Palmer is set to play his 100th game this weekend for the Magpies against the Eels out at the Eelpit and the Prison Guards are back on the Prison Square facing off against West Taieri but I think Toko will have their hands full against the Pigs", I realise I'm out of touch with what's happening in other parts of the province. The same goes with sports names on a wider stage: in Australia there's a backlash against these artificial brands which proliferate in professional sport. There has been a move back to animal names after years of names like Glory, Power and Storm and now the likes of Perth Bears and Tasmanian Devils are finding favour. The T20 games polluting the cricket landscape have produced stuff like Brisbane Heat, Sydney Thunder, Hobart Hurricanes and Perth Scorchers but at least Cricket Australia insist the place name remains part of the nickname. And there lies the nub of the issue. Supporting a team is easier if you know where they come from. When players actually came from a province loyalty needs no public relations and fancy nicknames. Otago teams are almost always mainly locals and even the Highlanders are predominantly from Otago and Southland. The made-up names rarely have the same magic, although the Auckland Blues is probably a fair reflection of the mood of that benighted metropolis. If the Crusaders would kindly stop winning then the Lambs would suit their Canterbury base perfectly, reflecting the province's most famous export. There's history, too, in some English football team names. That Arsenal, founded by munitions workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, are called The Gunners makes sense and Sheffield Wednesday reminds us that the club grew out of a cricket team which was formed when Wednesday became a half-holiday to be filled in with recreation. As an aside, I always look forward to the St Kevin's College/Waitaki Boys' High School rugby game when over the hill from the college comes a band of supporters bearing the placard "up the Doolies!". Perhaps not a good nickname in these politically correct times but, in the meantime, the Maggots can remind us that the team, locals to a man, come from sheep country. ■ Jim Sullivan is a Patearoa writer.
Otago Daily Times
04-06-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Connected to their culture
LuissteambuNZ owners Luisito (left) and Mayrichel Jueves. PHOTOS: NINA TAPU A handful of Southland Filipinos are not waiting for Philippines Independence Day to celebrate their culture. They have led their whānau to practise daily values of hospitality, food and family in the home to stay connected to their culture. Married couple and SteambuNZ owners Luisito and Mayrichel Jueves said being hospitable was an important tradition they were determined to keep. "We never forget our culture . . . especially traditions [like] hospitality," Mr and Mrs Jueves said. "Serving people . . . that's number one [for] Filipinos." Bay Audiology Invercargill provisional audiologist Soleil Grace Dela Pena. Making food that reminded her of her homeland was how provisional audiologist Soleil Grace De la Pena stuck to her Filipino roots. Ms De La Pena said cooking favourite traditional dishes adobo (stewed meat cooked in vinegar) and pork sinigang (pork sour soup), kept her connected to the Philippines. Serving food was a practice she wanted to pass on to her children. "When you go to a Filipino house, expect that there will always be food for you," she said. "That is a very nice way to pass my culture on to my kids . . . it is priceless." EH Ball ITM administrator Sheryl Zoreno drops by the workshop at her workplace. Raising her children to respect others was a cultural value that administrator Sheryl Zoreno did not want her Philippines-born children to forget. Mrs Zoreno said looking after their family and honouring the older generation was a special part of their culture. "Although my kids came here [to New Zealand] when they were little, they have adopted the Kiwi way ... I still want them to show respect to the older generation," she said. "When we meet older [people] we show them respect. Hopefully they [children] will carry this on for the rest of their lives." Philippines Independence Day is observed on June 12. Southlanders are invited to mark the occasion at the Philippines Independence Day celebrations held at Hansen Hall, Invercargill, this Saturday from 6pm-10pm.
Irish Examiner
18-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Irish Examiner
Verdant terrace takes Tivoli Cork apartment to a whole new level
A LOVE of travel, appreciation for fine boutique hotels and interior elan, green fingers, and the chance to work on a broader canvas bring 15 Glenmont, a duplex apartment with a verdant terrace to the open market for the first time in Cork's Tivoli. Bought in 2004 as an investment, moved into as a private bachelor pad in 2008 and home to a now married couple, No 15 is an uber stylish two-bed, two-bath 80 sq m home with a 40 sq m 'room outside' terrace packed with greenery, flowering plants in pots of all sizes, and a place to picnic or party al fresco in Glenmont, above the Silversprings Hotel and District Health & Leisure centre, just east of the city — but, when inside, you could be almost anywhere at all. 'For us the terrace is the pièce de résistance, it is literally an extension of our living space, and we've enjoyed many days/nights barbecuing and entertaining friends,' say Philippines-born and now Irish citizen Gilbert Onate and his husband, Cork man Paul; they married in 2017 and have been making this their chic Cork home and elevated garden room ever since. Looking due south from the two-storey apartment, and from the inviting huge sunny terrace, they say 'it has a 180-degree panorama over to the hills surrounding Rochestown and all the way over to Cork Airport. You can really see why they named the place Tivoli way back when,' accepting that 'if it weren't for the Port of Cork crane in the foreground, the view of the river, the rolling hills and the big sky would definitely lead you to believe you were in Italy.' Tivoli, Cork style A move to a place in the country, and a big garden project, now beckon, and No 15 is fresh to market with Paul Fenton of Sherry FitzGerald, who guides at €350,000. It's so smart, it's likely many viewers may want to have much of the interior items making part of their purchase, with next owners already invited to take over the myriad plants; 'most are to heavy and happily at home now to move, and there's probably 50 pots now,' says vendor Paul. 'Don't be scared by that, though, it's all actually pretty easy to look after. We've chosen most of them because they can handle the sun and are relatively drought tolerant,' explains Paul. 'Give them some water in the summer, feed them maybe twice a year and the odd trim when they get boisterous … it's surprisingly easy, even for a novice,' admits fledgling gardener and influencer Gilbert Onate (on Instagram — @imbetchos). Among the longer settled mature 'specimens' is the miniature Mugo pine, which looks a bit like a bonsai, a large Scots pine has been there for nearly 20 years and 'although it's a substantial tree, because it's in a pot it's topped out at about four metres'. Other veteran survivors include pittosporum globes (again nearly 20 years old), bottlebrush, acer, silver birch, bamboo and olive trees (two in pots are at the door to No 15) while other pots have easy maintenance perennials like the fiery red Crocosmia Lucifer and Verbena bonariensis, as well as a few wild ferns 'which blew in on the wind many years ago and thrived', they quip, a bit like their own relationship...?! 'We've been really happy here for years and we're kind of sad to be leaving, however we're excited about the next chapter and looking forward to getting stuck into our Grand-ish Design and particularly designing our new gardens,' say the couple, stating the interior look comes from travelling and stays in styled hotels around Europe and further afield, including Hotel Rum in Budapest, The Noblemen Hotel in Amsterdam, and Hotel Lobby Room in Seville 'to name but a few'. The view With its pure Leeside views, Cork's Glenmont itself has 36 units, in two unusually laid-out blocks of 'split level duplexes', under curved copper-style membrane roofs, which launched back in 2004 for developers O'Brien & O'Flynn with design by Jack Coughlan Associates. Back in 2004 we noted in these pages 'there's a touch of terraced townhouse, there's a touch of apartment, there's a strong flavour of maisonette — but what they are is certainly a departure from the norm'. We added that, given the stepped-down nature of the building adapting to the site's sloped incline, in the lines of the Simon and Garfunkel song, it is a place where 'one man's ceiling is another man's floor' — or roof-top terrace. Glenmont was the first section of what was to be a 200-home scheme by OBOF who paid €6.5m to the then Moran's Silversprings Hotel for 24 acres, later assembling a larger site, of 56 acres including the former golf course on the south-aspected Tivoli hillside above the convention centre and now Clayton Silversprings Hotel, with a Limerick firm developing new housing on a section here up the internal, cul de sac roadway. The layout of the c 850sq ft No 15 Glenmont is naturally enough quite standard to the original design, with entry point into the chi-chi home opening to two double bedrooms (one is en suite) and main bathroom with shower over bath. Meanwhile, a luxe yellow carpet leads down a dark horse stairwell (because the deep colour is Dressage, by Colourtrend, also in the bathrooms) to a large living/ dining/ kitchen room, full width and depth, with the downstairs walls, ceiling and skirtings painted in Mouse's Back by Farrow & Ball (the bedrooms are Standing Tall and Scullery Green by Colourtrend). Sherry FitzGerald auctioneer Paul Fenton says 15 Glenmont is 'immaculately presented; it's sophisticated, with a restful atmosphere that enhances the feeling of space and light throughout. It's perfectly positioned to capture breathtaking, uninterrupted views over the River Lee, Marina, and Blackrock.' He adds that as it's been an owner-occupied home 'it's free from RPZ rental restrictions, making it a versatile choice for first-time buyers, downsizers and returnees to Cork, or to discerning investors'. Looking over the Tivoli lands where future residential development is anticipated to replace port activities, 15 Glenmont has gas central heating, parking, a C1 BER, a setting close to the North Ring Road, Jack Lynch Tunnel, and Dunkettle Interchange, and has the adjacent hotel's leisure centre and tennis court on its doorstep. The Property Price Register shows No 24 Glenmont selling in 2024 for €340,000, above its €315k launch guide, so sort of back to 2006 levels in price terms.
Business Times
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Business Times
Vatican's secretive conclave to pick next Pope starts May 7
[VATICAN CITY] The Vatican's cardinals' assembly, known as the General Congregation, has chosen May 7 as the starting date for the highly secretive election that will choose the next pope, the Holy See said on Monday (Apr 28). More than 100 senior clergy members will take part in a conclave to cast ballots for the pontiff to succeed Pope Francis, who died on April 21. They'll meet in the Sistine Chapel for a closely watched election whose outcome is highly unpredictable. The participants won't be allowed to leave or communicate with the outside world until they've reached an agreement. The process could take days. Under canon law, only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote. Discussions and four rounds of balloting will take place each day until a candidate receives two-thirds of the votes. Meanwhile, millions of Roman Catholics will be left guessing until the traditional white smoke – signalling the choice of a new pope – is seen over the Vatican. High-profile cardinals considered as possible candidates include Pietro Parolin, an Italian who serves as the Vatican's secretary of state and is known for his diplomatic skills. Speculation has also surrounded the possibility of the first ever US-born pope, with Raymond Leo Burke, a one-time archbishop of St Louis and an ardent critic of Francis, seen as a possible contender. Peter Turkson, a Ghanaian known for relatively liberal views on social justice and human rights, could also be considered, as could Philippines-born Luis Tagle, an advocate for enhanced inclusivity. Still, based on historical precedents, the process is likely to be highly unpredictable. BLOOMBERG
Newsweek
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
'RuPaul' Star Jiggly Caliente's Cause of Death: What We Know So Far
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The family of Bianca Castro-Arabejo, known professionally as Jiggly Caliente who appeared in RuPaul's Drag Race, has shed light on the drag queen's possible cause of death, revealing that she was hospitalized with an infection just days prior. The Philippines-born performer died on Sunday at the age of 44. The Context Castro-Arabejo rose to fame on Season 4 of the hit reality television show RuPaul's Drag Race. She later appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars in 2021 and was a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race Philippines. The reality television star made a name for herself on various television series too, with roles in Broad City, Pose, Wigs in a Blanket and more. Castro-Arabejo publicly came out as a transgender woman in 2016. "I wanted to make sure that if I was going to come out as a trans woman, I wanted to do it right, and I didn't want it to be about Drag Race," she said in a 2018 interview with Billboard. She continued: "I wanted to come out because I was ready to come out. I have been living as a trans woman for so long, but I just never told the audience and the fans that. I was actually transitioning while I was on the show, I just never talked about it. I didn't want it to be my storyline, because being a trans woman is not what defines me, and I didn't want me being a trans woman have anything to do with the show. I always wanted to keep my personal life and my work life separate." Jiggly Caliente attends RuPaul's DragCon NYC 2017 on September 9, 2017, in New York City. Jiggly Caliente attends RuPaul's DragCon NYC 2017 on September 9, 2017, in New York To Know On Sunday, Castro-Arabejo's family announced her death in a statement shared on her official Instagram account, after previously revealing she had "experienced a serious health setback." "It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of Bianca Castro-Arabejo, known to the world and cherished by many as Jiggly Caliente. Bianca passed away peacefully on April 27, 2025, at 4:42 am, surrounded by her loving family and close friends," the statement read. "A luminous presence in the worlds of entertainment and advocacy, Jiggly Caliente was celebrated for her infectious energy, fierce wit, and unwavering authenticity. She touched countless lives through her artistry, activism, and the genuine connection she fostered with fans around the world." The note concluded: "Her legacy is one of love, courage, and light. Though her physical presence is gone, the joy she shared and the space she helped create for so many will remain forever. She will be deeply missed, always loved, and eternally remembered." On April 24, Castro-Arabejo's family shared with fans via Instagram that she was "hospitalized" with a "severe infection" and lost "most of her right leg" as a result. "Because of these circumstances, Bianca will not be appearing in the upcoming season of RuPaul's Drag Race Philippines, nor will she be participating in any public engagements for the foreseeable future. Her recovery will be extensive." "At this time, we kindly ask for privacy for Bianca and her family as they navigate this difficult journey together. While Jiggly concentrates on healing, we invite her friends, fans, and community to uplift her with messages of hope and love on her social media channels." What People Are Saying Following Castro-Arabejo's death, RuPaul's Drag Race wrote on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram: "We are devastated by the passing of Jiggly Caliente, a cherished member of the Drag Race family. Her talent, truth, and impact will never be forgotten, and her legacy will continue to slay—always. We're holding her family, friends, and fans close in our hearts during this difficult time." Drag Race Season 14 contestant June Jambalaya posted several photos via Instagram: "I've tried to find the right words so many times, but nothing ever felt enough. So I decided to just be honest. Jiggly wasn't just my drag mother she was my safe place, my human diary, my compass when I was lost. There were so many moments I came to her broken, defeated by the business I love so much, a business that I felt didn't always love me back. And every time, she reminded me of my worth: how beautiful, how talented I was, how my gift could never be measured by a placement on a show. She showed me that beating the odds was possible because she had, and she believed I could too, even when I couldn't see it for myself." RuPaul's Drag Race judge Michelle Visage shared a sweet tribute on Instagram: "My jiggles.... The laughter was endless, our talks were special, your energy was contagious. You were and remain so very loved. This world has lost an angel and we want you to soar high.....I love you so much honey @jigglycalienteofficial." Drag Race France host Nicky Doll said on Instagram: "I will miss our rotted, rotted, phone conversations cackling like hyenas about random stuff. Thank you for being one of the first ones to call when you heard the news about Drag Race France and to always have the biggest smile on your face when we saw each other. Waking up to this isn't easy but it shows how much you've touched so many people. You were a girl's girl. We love you Bianca." Drag Race Season 10 star Kameron Michaels posted via Instagram: "I'm not the easiest egg to crack, but some of the girls were determined to get to know the real me and @jigglycalienteofficial was one of them. We only worked together for one tour, but she has been in my DMs since day one cheering me on."
