Articles by Carl Kuntze

Colorful paper lanterns herald the Yuletide season in the Philippines, retrieving memories of Colonial Spain. They are called “Parols” and they come in different sizes and shapes. When lit, they have a shimmering effect of a Kaleidoscope. The materials used in their construction such as rice paper and split bamboo reeds suggest a Chinese origin, but the designs are strongly Aztec, hints of which could only have been transported to the Philippines by the Conquistadors.

Jesca Prudencio navigates easily through the multi-ethnic culture of the United States. Coming from a medical family, her ambitions drew her into a different direction: visual arts. She’s a Philippine American. Her father is a well regarded urologist,and her mother, an equally respected pediatrician in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Her paternal grandfather was a general practice physician, who owned a small hospital in Binalongan, Philippines. Her grandmother is a phramacist. All her uncles and aunts are doctors. Her sisters are nurses.

They can be found creeping along streams and drainage ditches in temperate regions of the world. Often mistaken for weeds, they have been cultivated in western gardens to border flower beds because they attract butterflies, hence, increasing pollination of more valuable blossoms. Its pungent odor also repels predatory insects. Fertilizing it more than normal proliferates leaves, which is fortuitous since they are the most edible portions. These leaves are shaped like miniature (3 to 5 Cm. in diameter) jousting shields with a peduncled face showing many fine veins.