Celebration Time

Despite the political chaos and clashing of passions everywhere, there are always good reasons to celebrate in February. This week, our stories of celebration come from both good memories and good encounters.

We draw from historian/educator Ambeth R. Ocampo's book Looking Back for three romances that captured the imagination of Filipinos in specific periods in our history: in the last quarter of the 19th century, a visiting king fell in love with a Filipina lass and gifted her with extravagant jewels; in the middle part of the 20th century, a dashing mestizo who became our president transported a well-known Filipina entertainer to serenade his lady love; in the ‘30s the most beloved American general carried on a torrid  and secret love affair with a Filipina movie actress. Who says history is boring?

A personal story on how a Filipino American came to understand and appreciate her Filipino roots is told by Carlene Bonnivier in her heartwarming essay, "Adobo." 

Jumping forward to the present, Anthony Maddela features Filipino American David Lat, a lawyer/blogger/writer whose recently released first novel, Supreme Ambitions, has been getting raves in both legal and popular circles. The book integrates American justice issues with Filipino culture, and the combination is a heady brew that's both entertaining and eye-opening.

On the lighter side of the present, world traveler Rey de la Cruz introduces the Filipinos he met in Jamaica in our Pinoyspotting feature for this month. For those of you who meet kababayans in your journeys and who have documented your encounters in photos, email them to us with a short backgrounder at submissions@positivelyfilipino.com.

Our Video of the Week is a fascinating short documentary on the Wild Bird Photographers of the Philippines and their photos.