Most Challenging U.S. Election in a Lifetime

I think all of us agree that this 2020 US presidential election is the most chaotic, dangerous and ultimately impactful in our lifetime (and among us who have had a long lifetime, that statement is not an exaggeration). For the approximately four million-strong Filipino American community, the stakes are high.  Especially if in the next four years one has to deal with such fundamental issues as health care, employment, retirement and immigration. It is immensely important that the US citizens among us vote and vote wisely, to protect our interests, to make our voices heard and ensure a better future for our children.

For those who are still on the fence about voting, I hope you join us for Positively Filipino's next webinar this coming Monday, October 12 at 6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern (and in the Philippines, 9 am October 13). Like our past webinars, it will be exciting, lively and thought-provoking. To register, click here: http://bit.ly/filamvote

And speaking of past webinars, the last one we had on the Bridge Generation of Filipino Americans got a lot of raves for the insights and new knowledge that our three guests -- community treasures, as moderator Lloyd LaCuesta called them -- shared. If you missed it or want to listen to it again, here's the recording: The Bridge Generation of Filipino Americans

This Week’s Stories

Raising The Curtain On Filipino American Theater’s Past By Walter Ang

A Forgotten Fil-Am Activist Helped Shape Today’s Social Movements By Tim Salaver and Sherelle Johnson

A Sunny Side Up Kind Of Journey By Harvey I. Barkin

The Happy Home Cook: Dad’s Tortang Giniling By Chef Alvin Cailan

Video of the Week: Breaking the Tabo, the first episode of One Down’s documentary series on the glass ceiling for Filipinos in Hollywood.

[Partner] Happy Pilipinx American History Month! PAHM 2020

Read Again: The Boogie Woogie Boys By Alex S. Fabros, Jr.

Read Again: [Partner] A National Museum Of Filipino American History Opens In Stockton, California
By Richard Tenaza

In The Know

The Horrors Of The Philippine-American War You Weren’t Taught In School [PHOTOS]
https://allthatsinteresting.com/philippine-american-war?fbclid=IwAR0tDUaS5Gj02QonfgZgGibS52Dq4mzaFTXM6G7vNWvzLUEvZsEyiTPMagg

Tribesmen's Chief Gagaban, the First Filipino to Fly as a Passenger
https://www.facebook.com/groups/FAXRP/permalink/2848738425354074/

Top 50 Most Popular Filipino Dishes
https://www.tasteatlas.com/50-most-popular-dishes-in-philippines?fbclid=IwAR3p_qHufnkMTXLC0WipyCqRPJPLitNUu_21HHnDQ9xBtTcEIN8J04z4PzM

‘Let Men Die to Make Us Rich:’ How Mark Twain Used Poetry To Oppose the Philippine-American War
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/mark-twain-philippines-a00304-20200104?fbclid=IwAR2VoK8Ia_rIcc2brTF2ITS8ISGaecMjp_jWqYiHJwD4cndk3AB35PHRh-8

Past and Pastime

Often overlooked in the history of American student activism is 1968 Third World students' strike in San Francisco State (University), which led to the formation of the first ethnic studies college in the country. Read all about the Filipino American students' leading role in that upheaval in Juanita Tamayo Lott's "PACE, A Critical Link in Filipino American History." 

But history is not all Big Politics. Read Bibeth Orteza's hilarious recollection of her frustrated quest for romance on campus just when the Big Politics of Marcos' Martial Law was descending on the Philippines.

For a dose of nostalgia, join our raconteur Myles Garcia as he lays his hands on one of Manila's favorite pastimes,  "Oh, How I Miss Manila Mahjong." 

We would like to thank our writers who won in the recent 7th Annual Plaridel Awards of the Philippine American Press Club, USA:

Rene Astudillo, Plaridel Award for Best International Story, “Will the Philippine Jeepney Soon Be Extinct?” http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/will-the-philippine-jeepney-soon-be-extinct

Elizabeth Ann Quirino, Plaridel Award for Best Tourism Feature Story, “Savoring Hidden Flavors of the Philippine Kitchen”
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/savoring-hidden-flavors-of-the-philippine-kitchen

Titchie Carandang-Tiongson and Erwin Tiongson, Plaridel Award for Best Profile Writing, “The Untold Story of Nina Thomas: The American Woman Who Could Have Been First Lady of the Philippines” http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-untold-story-of-nina-thomas

France Viana, Plaridel Award for Best Entertainment Story, “Myth, Magic and Madonnas In Eye-Opening Philippine Art Exhibition” http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/myth-magic-and-madonnas-in-eye-opening-philippine-art-exhibition

Rey E. de la Cruz, Honorable Mention for Best Profile Writing, “Happy Beneath the Sea”
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/robert-suntay

Rey E. de la Cruz, Honorable Mention for Best Feature Story, “Dear Satu: Letters Tell the Story of Our Lives”
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/dear-satu-letters-tell-the-story-of-our-lives

Lisa Suguitan Melnick, Honorable Mention for Best Entertainment Story, “Incarcerated 6x9 Gets You on the Cell-ular Level”
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/dance-theater-review-incarcerated-6-x-9-gets-you-on-the-cell-ular-level

Elizabeth Ann Quirino, Honorable Mention for Best Food Story, “Tupig from Tarlac,”
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/tupig-from-tarlac

For Filipino American History Month, we recommend the following Read Again stories:
“An Ilongot Murder Mystery” by Michael Gonzalez: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/an-ilongot-murder-mystery

“Fil-Am Olympic Great Vicki Manalo-Draves” by Ed Diokno: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/fil-am-olympic-great-vicki-manalo-draves

For our [In The Know] Links:

Soldiers in Facebook’s War on Fake News Are Feeling Overrun
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/09/business/facebook-philippines-rappler-fake-news.html

Wanted: More Public Libraries
https://opinion.inquirer.net/116595/wanted-public-libraries

Gov. Brown rejects ethnic studies bill, saying high school students are overburdened
https://www.dailybulletin.com/2018/10/02/gov-brown-rejects-ethnic-studies-bill-saying-high-school-students-are-overburdened/

For Happy Home Cook, Chef Paolo Espanola dishes his take on a Filipino classic, Pansit Molo.

For Video of the Week, Center for Asian American Media remembers Professor Dawn Bohulano Mabalon, through her film collection on her family's history.