I know we’re almost halfway through May already, but it’s never too late for me to share with you two of the magazines I enjoyed reading this month. Of course, since I work for Metro, one of them has to be Metro. I’m not biased, but I just have to say our May issue is one of the best we’ve had so far. I’m really happy that for the past two months, we’ve been able to achieve a good balance between compelling visuals and well-written, meaty stories.

For our anniversary issue, we pored through 22 years worth of Metro for inspiration. Our staff writer Ria, associate ed Bianca, and I, worked on a list of 100 things you must know about Metro. The experience was crazy, but it was fun to discover all these tidbits about a magazine who is actually older than me by a few months. Our “Now and Then” feature put together industry experts to talk about what transpired in their respective fields over the past two decades. We also have a “22 Years of Beauty” story, which was so much fun to read because it makes you realize how sophisticated makeup tricks and beauty treatments have become. Our fashion team also reinterpreted fashion editorials from issues past. I was able to help out during one of these shoots (“Cyber Tina 2011”), something which I haven’t done for so long because the office is my home base.

So many people helped us make this issue possible: photographers, stylists, makeup artists, models, hairstylists. We are honored to have been given the chance to bring together up and coming and re-emerging stars from various fields, such as models Pauline Prieto and Sam Lewis, photographer Ria Regino, actor Jake Roxas, and graphic designer Christian San Jose, in our feature entitled “The Next Wave.” This is also young actor AJ Perez’s last shoot for a magazine before he passed away in a car accident. All of us at Metro agree that he was a very nice, well-mannered guy, who had such a bright future ahead of him. But we also know that he is now in a better place.

Metro’s Little Sister

May also marks the birth of a new title under ABS CBN Publishing: MAVEN! This new glossy aims to cater to the market between Metro and college magazine Chalk. I’ve been looking forward to reading Maven even when it was still in its experimental stages. I love the magazine’s “Life Matters” section. I just love magazines that offer friendly advice not just about fashion and beauty, but also about other issues like career, friendship, love life, etc. I can’t wait to see what else Maven has in store for us in its upcoming issues!

Check out Metro’s anniversary issue and Maven’s maiden issue, available at bookstores and newsstands nationwide. Metro is also on Facebook and Twitter, and so is Maven. Happy reading! :)