August 28, 2024

We Stand on Their Shoulders

August 28, 2024/ Staff

"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself."

- Joseph Campbell

This weekend, Positively Filipino is hosting an event honoring 12 Filipino American pioneers (our manongs and manangs) whose lifework and achievements have paved the way for succeeding generations to find their own paths in US society. Their personal journeys have not been easy. They grew up at a time of discrimination and silencing. They didn't have the advantage of our current numbers or social media to make their voices heard. They had to claw their way out and up before they were able to shine in their respective niches.

They are, by any measure, our community heroes.

In paying tribute to them this week, Positively Filipino aptly joins the celebration of National Heroes Day (a yearly celebration on the last Monday of August) in the Philippines and Labor Day (September 1) in the US.

Stories This Week

Fil-Ams Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 60 by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

20th Cinemalaya Pays Tribute to Pathbreaking Films by Pablo A. Tariman

[Partner] On Peace and Freedom Week: Awakening Heroism United for Peace and Climate Action by Cecilia Guidote-Alvarez

Read Agains:

From Spain to Delano—The Radical Roots of Farm Workers Unions

Jose Abad Santos: Hero And Front-liner

In The Know

She Survived the Maui Wildfires. She Couldn’t Survive the Year After.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/21/business/maui-wildfires-survivors-deaths

Young math whiz in Cebu uses amazing talent to find dad
https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/590157/young-math-whiz-in-cebu-uses-amazing-talent-to-find-dad

Bini is not just P-pop — they’re a new vision of Filipino womanhood [interview]
https://nextshark.com/bini-ppop-filipino-womanhood-interview?

50 years of friendship: Celebrating the top 10 Filipino restaurants in Abu Dhabi
https://yallaabudhabi.ae/food-drink/top-10-filipino-restaurants-in-abu-dhabi/

Filipinos in Las Vegas
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1656996828418534

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

As the election nears, anti-AAPI rhetoric is increasing. Here’s how leaders can offer support
https://www.fastcompany.com/91176794/as-the-election-nears-anti-aapi-rhetoric-is-increasing-heres-how-leaders-can-offer-support

Harris campaign ads target anti-Asian hate and protecting Obamacare
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/8/21/2264776/-Harris-campaign-ads-target-anti-Asian-hate-and-protecting-Obamacare

Bachelorette contestant Thomas Nguyen reveals he received racist online hate during show
https://asamnews.com/2024/08/10/vietnamese-american-bachelorette-contestant-racist-hate-slur/

Hate crime charges handed down in beatdown of Muslim man
https://asamnews.com/2024/08/27/anti-muslim-hate-crime-new-york/

Funding provided by the State of California.

August 21, 2024

Anniversary of a Death Foretold

August 21, 2024/ Staff

Today marks the 41st anniversary of the assassination of Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. -- a crime so consequential to Philippine contemporary history that there has not been a dearth of stories recalling, analyzing, commenting on the historical moment and its earthshaking consequences.

Here's one of them: https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/ninoy-aquino-was-not-alone

The main protagonists of this tragedy -- Ninoy and Ferdinand Marcos -- remain subjects of speculation and scrutiny, with Ninoy of course emerging as the tragic hero and Marcos the despicable villain. But as journalists the world over know, every big story has a more interesting backstory, just like this one. Toronto-based Rogie Concepcion, a fraternity brod of both Ninoy and Marcos, writes about his encounters with Ninoy and some of the [many] stories the latter told.

*****

In this issue, we are reviving a series we started some years back, Pinoyspotting which highlights random encounters of Filipino travelers with kababayans in various places and situations. Here's a group of them, crew members of Viking's Mani longship which plies the Rhine River in Europe. With almost half a million Filipinos working in the merchant marine industry, it's a given that you'll meet some in any cruise you're taking.

*****

A young woman who chose to be a farmer, an environmentalist, a non-profit leader and an advocate for staying put in the homeland. Cherrie Atilano, as profiled here by constant PF contributor Ian Layugan, is a worthy role model for Filipino youths who seek a meaningful, sustainable path in the service of Mother Earth.

*****

Our Video of the Week again comes from the creators of The Filipino Story, an online series that celebrates being Filipino. Historian Prof. Xiao Chua answers questions from FilAms posted on Instagram.

In The Know

An Aggressive China Is Pushing the Philippines and Vietnam Closer Than Ever
https://thediplomat.com/2024/08/an-aggressive-china-is-pushing-the-philippines-and-vietnam-closer-than-ever/

Fiesta in America bridges the gap for Filipino Americans in New Jersey
https://asamnews.com/2024/08/16/filipino-cultural-showcase-this-weekend-in-east-rutherford-new-jersey/

In ‘And So It Begins,’ Ramona Diaz asserts moving past nostalgia
https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/movies/interview-and-so-it-begins-ramona-diaz-asserts-moving-past-nostalgia/

PH seen struggling with shortage of accountants
https://business.inquirer.net/475199/ph-seen-struggling-with-shortage-of-accountants

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

Study highlights challenges in detecting violent speech aimed at Asian communities
https://techxplore.com/news/2024-08-highlights-violent-speech-aimed-asian.html

‘Unity is strength:’ Oakland Chinatown elders tackle public safety
https://asamnews.com/2024/08/06/oakland-chinatown-elders-community-safety-asian-black-documentary-violence-theft/

Upstate NY’s Karen community seeks justice after fatal shooting
https://asamnews.com/2024/08/19/karen-refugee-killed-in-us-after-fleeing-military-junta-in-myanmar/

Funding provided by the State of California.

August 23, 2023

Fateful August

August 23, 2023/ Staff

August, particularly its third week, can trigger some somber memories among Filipinos of a certain age who were living in the Philippines during the administration of the first Ferdinand Marcos.

Fifty-two years ago, on August 21, 1971, the bombing of the miting de avance of the Liberal Party at Plaza Miranda happened. This heinous crime, which permanently injured some of the LP's leading lights, led to the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, a precursor to martial law.

Forty years ago, on August 21, 1983, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino was assassinated a few minutes after his plane landed at the Manila International Airport, another heinous crime that eventually resulted in the downfall of the Marcos dictatorship. [See our stories below on Ninoy Aquino.]

The killings have not stopped. Our lead story this week is about a concert tribute that poet/journalist/arts and culture impresario Pablo A. Tariman mounted last week to honor the memory of his daughter Kerima and her husband, Ericson Acosta. Both were felled by government bullets on August 20, 2021 and November 30, 2022, respectively.

A sad/horrific story but with a new twist: AsAm News reports that the Smithsonian Institute has arranged to return the remains of 64 Filipinos from the early 1900s that were unethically collected by an American anthropologist for his research (unsubstantiated) to prove that White people are genetically superior to other races. Take a deep breath before reading this story.

This issue is not all grim, however.

We have a delightful story about a 72-year-old who went paragliding and sky jumping. And lived to tell the tale.

Then there's this young Filipino artist who paints raindrops.

This week, we are also posting a new section called Anti-Asian Health Watch that provides links to stories on Asian hate incidents. With our Act Against Hate section, Positively Filipino continues to be an information resource for California's anti-Asian hate campaign.