16 Years of Young STAR: We'll be young forever

MANILA, Philippines - On our sixteenth anniversary, Young STAR finds the medium good and the word better. “Youth plus their passions minus the bull,” we trumpeted two years ago. And in a special issue that takes you from the most promising Fresh Produce to 16 people who are rocking Manila, we’re living proof that age ain’t nothing but a number.

If you’re wondering how Young STAR has managed to stick around for 16 years, we’re wondering the same thing ourselves. The young are constantly evolving (from do-gooders to forward-thinkers); trends always shifting (from boy bands to indie music festivals); youth culture obsessed with “what’s next?” and then throwing it aside almost immediately (use “hipster” in a sentence). 

How did Young STAR keep up with Generations X-Z without being typecast as the uncool older sibling? From those of the typewriter to the Twitter generation, the people behind Young STAR past and present tell all. After all, what is age but a number? 

What’s In A Name?

MILLET MANANQUIL (Lifestyle editor, The Philippine STAR): One day, I asked my kids, who were then in their early teens, why they weren’t regularly reading newspapers. One answered, “There’s nothing in newspapers for us.” I also noticed that they and other young people were talking in a language of their own. So I thought that if STAR came out with a section for the young, they would start reading the papers — where young people would write about their thoughts — rather than old people writing about young people.

MIKEE COJUANGCO-JAWORSKI (“Sisters Act and Mom Reacts,” 1996): (Young STAR) was aimed to be of interest to the younger generation, meant to encourage the youth to read the newspaper. It gave importance to the (youth) of society by devoting a section of The Philippine STAR to them.

YASON BANAL (“Sleepwalking,” 2005): A smart wish to write/against trash.

CELINE LOPEZ (“From Coffee to Cocktails,” 2000): It gave young people a voice.

SAMANTHA KING (“In A Nutshell,” 2008): A haven for every kind of subculture we young ‘uns could come up with.

Young STAR Hall of Fame: Current Esquire Philippines editor Erwin Romulo, the iconic Celine Lopez, and the much-celebrated Jessica Zafra

TOFF DE VENECIA (“Chasing Toff,” 2005): It was a sounding board for our thoughts and interests that reflected that of our generation’s.

RAYMOND GUTIERREZ (“The Dialogue,” 2010): It serves as a training ground for new writers. It opens doors and creates opportunities. 

REGINA BELMONTE (“Ashtray Girl,” 2004): Young STAR was (and still is) the Friday lifestyle section. The pulse of today, as told by the young and the young at heart.

PUTTING THE “YOUNG” IN YOUNG STAR

TIM YAP (Editor, Supreme, The Philippine Star): Supreme is pop culture. YS used to be about school life, when youth was limited to being within the confines of the campus. Of course, all that has changed.

PAOLO LORENZANA (“Hot Fuss Sundae,” 2010; former editor of Young STAR 2.0): YS’s objective is all-out representation. “Youth” is an all-embracing word. We look out for real people, interesting perspectives, new approaches or experiences that’ll rouse, give relation to, or open the minds of YS’s readership — as are the inclinations of youth.

Oh, To Be A Yoppie: Young And Published

AUDREY CARPIO (“Bent Antenna,” 1999): The youth here have a surprisingly big presence in traditional media. You won’t see a youth section in The New York Times. 

GINGGAY JOVEN-DELA MERCED (“Gimmick!”, 1996): It’s the proverbial story of being a kid in an adult world. At 16, I had already interviewed local icons like Cardinal Sin and President Joseph Estrada; and international stars like Beyonce, Ricky Martin, Claudia Schiffer, and more.

MARIELLE SANTOS-PO (“In Your Face,” 1996): There’s nothing more exciting than waking up on a Friday morning going to the school library and seeing your column, imagining that what you wrote actually made sense to someone other than yourself. 

TOFF DE VENECIA: There’s nothing more exciting than being out on a Thursday night, and checking philstar.com on your iPhone past midnight to see if your article came out.

LUIS KATIGBAK (“Senses Working Overtime,” 2010): It means that you have the privilege of reaching a mass audience, and the prerogative to use that power to write about silly things (if you wish). 

The Junket List

MONIQUE BUENSALIDO (“Youthspeak,” 1996): My first press conference was I think (when) I was about 12 or 13 years old. My mother had to accompany me because it was at night! All the activity overwhelmed me a bit.

ENRICO SUBIDO (“Still Talking,” 2000): One of my earliest out of town assignments for YS was a 14-day tour around New Zealand. I was 15 years old then. Being alone, in another country, with no parents, was the coolest. 

JORICA PAMINTUAN, (“Unwritten,” 2009): My first out-of-town event was on an island just off Bataan and I was the only person there below the age of 18. The organizer tried to guess my age. She went from 20 to 24, 27, 28, 29, then 30 before I finally laughingly told her I was only 17.

CARL RAMIREZ (“Definitely Maybe,” 2005): In 2006, I was sent to the NBA All-Star game in Houston. After that, I got sent to the Malaysian Grand Prix and Kuala Lumpur. Those were both professional and personal highlights.

Swag Section: YS Personal Milestones

REGINA BELMONTE: Apart from getting over 60 e-mails about that sad music piece I wrote (andami palang emo sa Pilipinas noh?), it was that a reader actually sent me a graphic novel. Kingdom Come. I just never expected that people would actually send you cool stuff.

SAMANTHA KING (“In a Nutshell,” 2008): Discovering that I was read by the great F. Sionil Jose himself and being invited to the 150th Rizal Anniversary Conference because of him (is a career milestone). And actually getting to meet him and shake his great hand. *swoon*

MARIEL SANTOS-PO: When my high school principal called me into her office and told me that she had read my articles. After that, she would introduce me to people as a Young STAR writer to important campus guests.

YASMIN ORTIGA (“Atsi-Batsi,” 2005): While standing in line in National Bookstore, I thought of drawing this crazy scene of back-to-school shopping. Later, I found out that the owners of National Bookstore had seen the cartoon and actually thought it was funny!

YASON BANAL: Including a gay porn image in the column. Theorizing about Stella Strada’s suicide note. Associating Kuya Germs with the Santo Nino and the Devil. Reviewing an art show in the vein of Maurice Arcache. Inviting artists, thinkers and curators to use the column/page as an exhibition/critical space. Giving hot golden showers.

GINGGAY JOVEN-DELA MERCED (“Gimmick,” 1996): When I went undercover as a GRO.

MARIELLE SANTOS-PO: I looked forward to Ginggay’s articles all the time! She would always have these super groundbreaking topics — I remember one time she did an undercover job and wrote about dancers in girly bars. Wow, that really made an impact on me!

ERWIN ROMULO (“The Outsider,” 1996): Ginggay Joven was the first star of YS. I used to “fight” to get my story on the front page of the section with Ginggay all the time. She won most of the time. But she’s certainly achieved a lot more since then. Amazing, really.

Finding Your Niche...

MONIQUE BUENSALIDO: The original concept of my column was a poll type, where I asked several young people a single question and published their answer along with their pictures.

JIGGY and JONTY AQUINO CRUZ (“These Aren’t the Droids You’re Looking For,” 2011): Our column is really about helping keep comics in the zeitgeist and invite readers into the wonderful world of geek culture.

YASMIN ORTIGA: “Atsi-batsi” was a one-panel comic. My assignment was to draw scenes from the everyday lives of Filipino youth. I took the “everyday” part of the assignment very seriously. I waited for the day when STAR would finally call and say, “No, Yasmin. We cannot print a cartoon of people looking for parking.”  

RAYMOND GUTIERREZ: I wanted to do a questionnaire format because I myself enjoy reading them. It’s easy and straight to the point. 

JANELLE SO (“So Goes,” 2002): I volunteered to write about life in the US. There weren’t too many blog sites and other social media sites where people could readily get information about life in the States. I enjoyed talking about getting culture-shocked.

… And Finding Your Voice

MONIQUE BUENSALIDO: Most of my articles were spurred by something that happened to me, which would lead me to ponder about a lot of different things — relationships, values, life, society and even family. 

NICOLE TANTOCO (“Double Take,” 2007): (My column with my twin sister Camille) was very personal and reflective. I was still finding out what my voice was. I still thought like a little kid, and everything was so new and weird to me.

REGINA BELMONTE: I was in high school, so everything was angst and everything hurt. Just kidding. Sort of. Well, the world was still a pretty limited place back then, or maybe that was just the case for me. 

CELINE LOPEZ: Delilah.

The One Called “Delilah”

PAOLO LORENZANA: Whether she’s your goddess, guilty pleasure, or a cheap Carrie Bradshaw knockoff you verbally lynched with your friends, she sure got readers to react — which is what effective journalism does, doesn’t it? I remember she told me that the biggest compliment she ever got was from a cabbie. They were in traffic and the cabbie goes, ‘Nakaka-delilah naman ‘to!’ She could get the working class to read more, so that really did warrant a Pepsi billboard over EDSA. 

ERWIN ROMULO: That woman’s an icon actually. To be honest, we didn’t get along at first. I don’t know. I guess I was young and territorial. But then we managed to have a conversation and that’s where it began. I consider her a really, really good friend. Celine’s a brilliant writer. 

TIM YAP: I was there with Celine when she first thought of her column title. And I have to say this. Celine is one of the most unique voices of her generation. She makes us laugh, cry, fall in and out of love and we learn through her real life happenings. At the end of the day, Celine Lopez is Celine Lopez.

REGINA BELMONTE: Celine Lopez was from a different world altogether, one that, when I was younger, I couldn’t ever imagine being part of. But her life being vastly different from mine made it even more fun to read her writing. There will never be another Celine Lopez. (Where the hell is she, anyway? She’s like some mythical creature.)

“Tita”

CELINE LOPEZ: It was in Stars and I talked her ear off for two hours. I wrote my first article in an Internet cafe.

ANNA ANGARA (“HeART & Soul,” 1996): I must have been the most delinquent writer she had at the time but she was always so encouraging and supportive.

MICHELLE KATIGBAK-ALEJANDRO (“Meanwhile,” 1999 or 2000): I think the best thing she taught me was to write what I know. That way, it always comes off as real. 

CARL RAMIREZ (“Definitely Maybe,” 2005): The most valuable thing she told me was to develop my niche.

REGINA BELMONTE: She just said, “Would you like to keep writing? Sige na.” And you never say no to her...

KARA ORTIGA (“Existential Blabber,” 2010): Initially, when I was shy and unsure about having my own column, I asked for a pen name. Tita Millet asked bewildered, maybe a little disgusted. “Why?” She knocks sense into people.

ERWIN ROMULO: I took a lot of instruction from Tita Millet. She was the one who was gracious and kind enough to give me the opportunity to write for The Philippine STAR. I owe her my entire career, actually. Contrary to what people think, I was quite the good boy.

The Outsider

KATHY MORAN: I knew Erwin (Romulo) when he was a writer in high school. Back then, he was already among my favorite writers because he is such a genius.

PAOLO LORENZANA: I thought of Erwin Romulo as the Vito Corleone of young Pinoy intelligentsia.

MONIQUE BUENSALIDO: Erwin’s big words and brooding eyes seemed so intimidating to 11-year-old me. 

REGINA BELMONTE: I was 16 or 17 then. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw that Erwin sent me an e-mail. We shot a few e-mails back and forth, and he said he’d send me a list of songs I should download, but he never did. Still waiting, Erwin! 

TIM YAP: I’m fascinated by his evolution from T-shirts to suits. I see he is equally comfortable in both. Now that is flexibility.

AUDREY CARPIO: Erwin Romulo has longevity. He is Young STAR legend.

LUIS KATIGBAK: Erwin is like all the members of Marvel Comics’ Fantastic Four rolled into one.

Technological Warp

ANNA ANGARA: The first few articles that I did write were produced on an electric typewriter. I don’t think the lack of technology affected the quality of my writing, just the speed of production. 

MARIELLE SANTOS-PO: I think Tita Millet’s team had a hard time with my articles. For some reason, I wanted to handwrite them on intermediate pads and use different colored pens! I think after a few months she couldn’t help it & asked me if I could type it up.

GINGGAY JOVEN: E-mail came much later. I had to deliver all my hard copy articles and captioned photos to Tita Millet. 

KATHY MORAN: All photos had to be scanned, and more often than not, it was our job to look for visuals for the articles at the time. Articles had to be submitted at least two days before closing.

MONIQUE BUENSALIDO: For other articles, I would send in magazine pictures, brochures, postcards, and anything that they could use. Eventually, STAR helped out by having people like Igan D’Bayan create accompanying illustrations.

Emotional Weather Report

ERWIN ROMULO: Jessica was already a star way before she joined the STAR. It was an honor to share space with her and Danton Remoto during their tenure in Young Star. They lent it their authority.

CARL RAMIREZ: It was important in the sense that it showed readers that YS wasn’t your typical youth journalism. This wasn’t (and still isn’t) that typical section filled with stuff your English teacher would ask you to write about.

KATHY MORAN: Jessica Zafra is Jessica Zafra.

Millenials And The Slasher Movement Paradigm Shift

MILLET MANANQUIL: Obviously, many of our young writers had grown “old” or had focused on other pursuits, so it was only natural for us to inject the section with new blood, with Paolo at the helm. When he decided to study in New York, we were fortunate to find a new dynamo, Raymond Ang, who I must say, is doing an excellent job. Raymond is one of the most brilliant of today’s new generation of writers who are redefining magazine journalism. He is a creator, a provocateur, a leader, and a mentor to aspiring writers.

PAOLO LORENZANA: (Tita Millet) wanted to resuscitate YS, which had been this moldy, ambiguous section for a while. It still had its ‘90s following but millennials didn’t seem to give a crap about it. Tita Millet wanted something that would get the kids talking again. All I wanted was for it to be as real and irreverent as possible. 

Progenitors of cool: Snapshots of Young STAR’s founding batch

ERWIN ROMULO: When Paolo Lorenzana came in, he updated it. Along came new columnists, like the ever-brilliant Luis Katigbak. Raymond Ang has done a great job and under his editorship I think the section is the best its ever been. It matters.

TIM YAP: Paolo has this relentless pursuit for higher learning. It was inevitable that he would proceed to being editor when YS had to evolve. It wasn’t easy because I felt Supreme lost a tire... It was harder to let Raymond go. It was too early and he was already getting the soul of what Supreme was all about. Raymond makes me proud. He will go even further.

KATHY MORAN: YS today is different from the YS back then. Before, we were oldies working with young folks. Now the young folks run the show and both Paolo and Raymond are great editors and they continue to come up with a section that the young and the not so young like me, enjoy and learn from.

REGINA BELMONTE: I think Young STAR is even more hip now than it was back then. It’s so spot-on every week, it’s ridiculous.

Young Star 2.0 = Youth + Their Passions - The Bull

PAOLO LORENZANA: I was reading Spin magazine and came across this clever way to write an album review, which was through a mathematic equation. It struck me as this fun way we could speak to a generation that supposedly didn’t read anymore. Two ideas arose: young people are burdened by too much information and too much choice — and amid all that, what is substantial? We just wanted to convey something as simple as, “Kids, follow your passions over any hype or trends.” That allowed us to check ourselves: our passion is youth culture, so don’t expect us to water it down or misrepresent it — thus, the formula. 

KAREN BOLILIA (Young STAR assistant editor): I’ve always admired how Paolo can say so much in such small quantities — I mean, “buzz minus bull”! That’s a pretty great line to appendage to your Twitter description. Some features are more triumphant than others, but this is always the end goal.

PAOLO LORENZANA: What we had to rebuild was cred and relationships. (We had) to get cozy with the young artists, bloggers, and general cool kids out there. As soon as we got them to acknowledge us, their armies would follow. 

“Fresh Produce”

PAOLO LORENZANA: In Manila, your last name is an accomplishment. I was so used to seeing media attention given to the kids of so-and-so celebrity or politician. Amid all the kids making statements online through their status messages, where were the kids doing something significant in the real world? That was how the idea of “Fresh Produce” was born. You could be the son of a governor or a photographer-slash-fashion blogger but what were you doing that was new and that was all you? 

KAREN BOLILA: When March is about to roll in, I know that we’re about to start the “Fresh Produce” scavenger hunt. The people who make it on our list don’t have to be emerging it girls or boys, they just have to be a) young, and b) good at what they do. A lot of them aren’t famous nor do they intend to be, and that’s what we love about it. “Fresh Produce” is the positive reinforcement they don’t need but deserve. 

RAYMOND ANG (Young STAR editor; columnist, “Sound and the Fury,” 2011): I wrote the first two “Fresh Produce” articles as a contributor. I was already with Supreme at that time. I remember really gravitating towards the concept — kids who’d be featured because of actual talents and accomplishments? It was such a novelty. Reading a lot of the local publications growing up, I had been conditioned to seeing kids peddling daddy’s last name and nothing else labeled “eligible” or “promising.” Paolo, (co-editor) Ana Kalaw, and the rest of Young Star 2.0 had the audacity to raise a middle finger to that way of thinking. As a fresh grad looking for some sort of meaning in his first job, I thought it was really special.

True Grit and Staying Power

PAOLO LORENZANA: There will always be young people. And young people, self-absorbed as we — fine, they — are, will always want to read about themselves. Young STAR’s job is to make sure what they’re reading will be influential, substantial, and will tell ‘em like it is. 

MONIQUE BUENSALIDO: I think everyone — at whatever age they are — is still learning about life. We all still have a million questions and what-ifs in our minds, and we’re looking for answers. Sometimes, we just want to know there’s someone else who feels the same way.

AUDREY CARPIO: What young is, these days, is getting older. I’m 32 now. I still feel connected to “youth culture,” or maybe I’m just being nostalgic about it because my generation has already been recycling trends three or four times over. 

RAYMOND GUTIERREZ: I think (the idea of “young”) is a frame of mind. You can be young for as long as you offer something new and fresh. You can be as old as someone like Steven Meisel, yet still come up with the newest, most mind-blowing concepts.

GINGGAY JOVEN-DELA MERCED: There are intrinsic values to YS I see evident until today which is part of the section’s DNA that will never go away. It’s the gate-keeping and mirroring of the inner workings of the young people’s mindsets. 

It Takes 2.0: YS Then And Now

SAMANTHA KING: (YS has become) more dynamic, that’s for sure. More steeped in the youth culture, more on-trend. I like how YS today is like a reflection of its readers, forcing them to take notice of all that jazz and think. 

MONIQUE BUENSALIDO: It’s edgier, more open and diverse. The teenagers from my day are different from the ones now; they seem worldlier, more hungry for information, and responsive. 

NICOLE TANTOCO: You can tell how everyone’s worldview changed when the Internet came along. There’s less introspection going on. It’s not just focused on the writing anymore but on creating lifestyles. 

GINGGAY JOVEN-DELA MERCED: YS is a medium. It evolves as its readers change and the profile of the youth changes.

Champagne Supernova: Young Stars And Beyond

RAYMOND ANG: In 10 years, Young STAR will probably have had three to five editors after me. I think it’s really a section that should be continually turned over — and to very young people. Young STAR will still find a way to be fresh and relevant. Probably as a hologram newspaper or something. Or a brain transmission?

KAREN BOLILIA: Still here, still relevant and available in a medium more palatable to the young ones — whether that’s online, in an app, as a Flipboard read...or whatever technology succeeds those.

GINGGAY JOVEN-DELA MERCED: (YS will) find a brilliant way to bridge its online and offline readers.

CARL RAMIREZ: Hopefully YS continues to be both relevant and cutting edge, while never losing the spirit of what it is to be young and reckless.

REGINA BELMONTE: Buhay pa ba tayo nun? Akala ko ba end of the world na? Still the best Friday read you’ll pick up, I bet.

KATHY MORAN: In ten years I will be 60... perhaps YS can invite me to help them out. 

PAOLO LORENZANA: YS in 2020 will be covering the hopes and dreams of young people — literally, since there’ll be technology that records thoughts and dreams by then. Also, Suri Cruise will be in her teens, there’ll be a way to unfollow people on Twitter without them knowing, and it’ll be the 10th death anniversary of the word “hipster.” There can only be good things for YS in the next decade.