When Mona Lisa Yuchengco started Filipinas magazine in 1992, it was quite a task to find prominent Fil-Ams to feature. There were just a few in entertainment, fewer still in media and politics.

What a difference 30 years make! Today, Fil-Ams have a strong presence in many fields -- entertainment, music, literature, the academe, media, government service and local politics. One of them is Rob Bonta, elected for multiple terms as the first Fil-Am in the California state legislature and recently appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom as the state Attorney General, taking the place of now Vice President Kamala Harris. The appointment has left Bonta's legislative seat vacant and one of those running to fill that seat is Malia Vella, a Filipino American who is currently the vice mayor of Alameda, CA. Read about her (and wish her luck) in Harvey I. Barkin's write-up.

Part of the world is opening up after the devastating pandemic so we're now posting travel stories to places you might consider visiting in the future. A regular PF contributing writer, former Ambassador Virgilio A. Reyes, Jr., writes about visiting Guam, a US territory with strong ties to our Motherland.

Fil-Am author Mia P. Manansala's Arsenic and Adobo, one of Buzzfeed's highly anticipated mystery novels of 2021, is given a review by PF Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino.

From our archives, here are some Read Agains that continue to be good reading:

Veteran journalist Philip M. Lustre Jr.'s recalls a time when politicians were competent and colorful, and the best of them all was Manila's mayor: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/arsenio-h-lacson-the-best-president-the-philippines-never-had

Famous artist/chef Claude Tayag remembers Anthony Bourdain's Philippine visit: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/bourdains-last-famous-badass-words

And we have a new contributor to our Happy Home Cook section: Maja Hu, based in Austin, TX, shares with us her recipe for waffles using the currently trendy Philippine root crop, ube.

For Video of the Week, Asia Society Philippines put together a music video with well-known Filipino performers in a campaign against the rising Anti-Asian Hate Crimes in the U.S.

In The Know

Filipino Americans reported highest Covid mental health issues of any Asian group
https://news.yahoo.com/filipino-americans-reported-highest-covid-163936139.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=ma

Viral images show people of color as anti-Asian perpetrators. That misses the big picture.
https://news.yahoo.com/viral-images-show-people-color-184732271.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=ma

Little Manila Perseveres: How Filipinx Leaders in Stockton Are Organizing for the Next Generation
https://www.kqed.org/news/11878030/little-manila-perseveres-how-filipinx-leaders-in-stockton-are-organizing-for-the-next-generation?fbclid=IwAR19sHskRRMr-YmgMZum9saxnsBiKdvidcvUebOXjXtLtjr3Cd1NYlFNhSI

Kakanin: As Pinoy as it gets
https://philstarlife.com/living/999106-kakanin-pinoy-food?page=6

Partner Posts

Kalayaan 2021: Celebrating Partnership And Humanity

13th Annual Our Family, Our Future: ALLICE Virtual Event Aims To Empower Older Adults By Cherie M. Querol Moreno

What an incredibly stressful and exhilarating week! Not one you want to happen often yet one you want to re-live, if only in your mind, every once in a while as a reminder that bad things (people, events, policies) have an expiration date.

For Filipinos who were in Manila pre- and post-EDSA People Power Revolt in 1986, the sense of deja vu was unmistakable. But, from that historic experience also comes a tale of caution. The reach and tenaciousness of the tentacles of authoritarianism can last for generations, as ace journalist and Columbia U journalism professor Sheila Coronel warns in her op-ed piece in the Washington Post yesterday.

Rocky days ahead notwithstanding, let's claim this moment to celebrate the Fil-Ams, both Democrats and Republicans, who won their races.

And a historical correction, as the city of Watsonville, California issues a long-delayed apology to the FilAm community for the 1930 anti-Filipino Watsonville race riot that resulted in the death of Fermin Tobera. The resolution states:

"The City Council, now after ninety years, formally apologize for the actions taken by the City's residents against the Filipinos in Watsonville, particularly in the 1920s and 1930s in Watsonville and commending these Filipino Nationals and their children, the Filipino Americans for their notable accomplishments and contributions to the Pájaro Valley."

Read Again the story of what happened then: https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/in-the-heat-of-the-night-the-exeter-and-watsonville-riots-1929-1930