The Fading Beauty of San Nicolas

There was a period in my life when I spent a considerable amount of time hanging around bars in Manila. I had friends who were musicians, and I'd go watch their gigs. After they wrapped up, our usual move was to head over to Marcy's house in San Nicolas to just chill.

What makes San Nicolas special is that it’s considered a heritage district of the city. Even now, you can still see these 19th-century ancestral houses, which were home to wealthy businessmen, artisans, and craftsmen. I have such vivid memories of wandering through those narrow alleys. You’d hear the neighbors chatting away, and you could see this amazing mix of history and everyday life happening all at once.

Honestly, it makes me a little sad to see how much time and modernization have changed San Nicolas. Those gorgeous wooden houses with all their intricate carvings are slowly disappearing. What used to feel like a living museum of Manila’s heritage is really struggling to hold onto its unique identity now.

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Hand-Painted Movie Posters by Tony Stella

In the 70s and 80s movie theaters in Manila were usually standalone buildings with nice seats and red curtains. To sell tickets, cinemas needed to advertise their offerings. But they did not have the original posters, or the means to print alternatives. So they made their own, commissioning local artists to hand-paint them. I really miss those hand-painted posters and billboards, which conveyed an artistry that was a form of visual hyperbole. But hand-made objects always have a way of returning. In this digital age, people will always look for things made by hand. I recently stumbled across the work of Tony Stella, whose genuinely cool movie posters have caught the eye of film enthusiasts and art lovers worldwide. He likes to work in watercolor and ink wash but sometimes he will make an oil painting, depending on the film. Tony's very active on social media, and his Tumblr blog contains a massive collection of illustrated movie posters that are often better than the original. ...

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Emanuele Taglietti is an Italian designer, illustrator and painter known for his erotic and sometimes outrageous comic book covers during the the '70s and '80s. Inspired by the art of Frank Frazetta and Averardo Ciriello, he painted hundreds of covers for books such as Zora the Vampire , Sukia , Mafia , and 44 Magnum . Taglietti also restored old paintings and occasionally collaborated as an illustrator for magazine publishers such as Mondadori and Rizzoli. Just this year, Sex and Horror: The Art of Emanuele Taglietti , a book by Mark Alfrey was published celebrating Taglietti's work. The "highly visual biography displays dozens of his amazing full-color paintings, explores his fascinating life and career, and takes a look behind the scenes at his exacting technique." Check it out on Amazon .

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