A Love Song's Sad Story

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Next to the Philippine National Anthem, the song "Dahil Sa Iyo" is probably the most familiar song among Filipinos of a certain age who have lived through the kundiman era, the Imelda Marcos era, and even the Nat King Cole/Lettermen (among others) times when they sang the song to please local audiences. Composed by Miguel Velarde Sr. with lyrics by Dominador Santiago, "Dahil Sa Iyo" got its first public airing in the 1937 movie, "Bituing Marikit."

In 1940, the song "Because of You" was introduced in the US and garnered a lot of traction for years in movies and recordings. PF Correspondent Myles Garcia did a deep dive into the provenance and the chords of both songs and, in consultation with a Filipino composer/musician, confirmed that both songs shared the same chord progression 75% of the time. Read all about this "appropriation" issue and the sad tale behind it. Hearing and singing the song will not be the same again.

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A memoir in poetry. That's what community leader and LGBTQIA+ activist Therese Rodriguez did in her newly launched book, Paranaque to New York City: 50 Poems. PF contributor Elaine Elinson gives us a taste of this "poetry of witness" which hopefully will lead you to savor the rest and help the Rodriguez-led Asian and Pacific Island Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA) in the process. (There's a QR code at the end of the review you can scan to buy the book.)

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Project Phil is a US-based nonprofit whose vision is to help Filipinos obtain education which it views as the way out of poverty. Founded in 2017, the 501(c)3 organization has already given out about 500 scholarships in the Philippines. For the schoolyear 2023-24, over 108 scholarships for high school and college students have been supported. Educator/writer Elaine Joy Degale reports.

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There's nothing hoodlum-y about Bugoy Drilon. In fact, the singer/performer is a standout when it comes to connecting emotionally with his audience, according to PF contributing writer Gary Ferrington. 

Read Again:

Racism: Reflections of a Bridge Generation Filipino American

Fortune’s Call: Albert Samaha’s Family Saga

[Video of the Week] What Is Filipino Food?

In The Know

Hackers steal data of at least 11 million Jollibee customers
https://asamnews.com/2024/06/24/cybercrime-privacy-breach-jollibee-filipino-food-chain-hacked/

Filipino man jumps into ocean to save drowning boy in Japan, gives too-cool statement after
https://soranews24.com/2024/06/19/filipino-man-jumps-into-ocean-to-save-drowning-boy-in-japan-gives-too-cool-statement-after/

Politician who pushed Philippines natural gas boom is behind firm that planned to profit
https://apnews.com/article/liquefied-natural-gas-lng-methane-philippines-batangas

Melting Spots
https://meltingspots.calmigration.org/map?

Healthier harvests: Organic farming initiative flourishes in Benguet
https://www.rappler.com/philippines/luzon/organic-farming-initiative-flourishes-benguet

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

Texas woman accused of attempting to drown young Palestinian American girl
https://asamnews.com/2024/06/23/texas-woman-accused-of-attempting-to-drown-young-palestinian-american-girl/

Seattle cop put on leave after hurling anti-Asian, sexist slurs at neighbor
https://nextshark.com/seattle-cop-audio-asian-slurs-neighbor

Columbia Univ spokesperson beaten in suspected hate crime
https://asamnews.com/2024/06/26/anti-asian-hate-assault-new-york-washington-diplomat-beaten/

Funding provided by the State of California.

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Staff

Listen to Mother Nature

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Before anything else, we join the Filipino nation in paying tribute to an exemplary public servant, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario who passed away Monday aboard a flight from Manila to San Francisco.

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Snow and tornadoes in California. Unrelenting rains and flooding in the south. Unseasonal typhoons and more frequent earthquakes in the Philippines. Drought, melting glaciers, warmer oceans, heat waves -- the list goes on. If there's ever any doubt that Mother Nature is sending an unmistakable message to humankind to shape up, banish that thought. This year's Earth Day (on Saturday, April 22) is both a reminder and a call to action.

Climate change, environmental degradation, global warming -- however it's called -- requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. And that means each one of us can do our part. Every little action helps. If volunteering for a seashore cleanup or planting saplings in denuded areas is not your thing, your throwing your soda cans and/or bottles in the recycle bin, or setting aside your food scraps for composting are just as consequential. 

While Earth Day is a proclaimed annual celebration, Saving the Earth is a commitment and a lifestyle. No public announcements necessary. 

Our lead story this week is about how one family parlayed its ecological way of life into certifiably sustainable housing developments. PF contributing writer Chiara Cox begins by telling us about how it is to grow up in a green household.

Chocs N' Boxes, a Filipino-owned gourmet chocolate shop in a Chicago suburb, is the only chocolate maker and seller in the U.S. that sources its chocolate from cacao beans grown by farmers in the Philippines. PF Correspondent Rey de la Cruz reports.

And if you're still wondering if Filipinos have established their place in the American tapestry, check out our ongoing list of  FilAms Among the Remarkable and Famous, already on part 46. Our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco, who does the compiling, sees no end in sight.

[Video of the Week] Claude Tayag

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Staff

Glory Day on Ice

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A 24-year-old Fil-Am ice skater Isabella Gamez and her partner Aleksander Korovin achieved a feat that has never been done before: be the first Pairs figure skaters representing the Philippines to quality for the International Skating Union World Figure Skating Championships that starts today in Saitama, Japan. PF Correspondent Myles A. Garcia provides us a primer on Pairs vs. Ice Dancing, explains how a Russian skater came to represent our homeland, and introduces Gamez who has illustrious athletic creds: she's the granddaughter of basketball legend (and former senator) Freddie Webb.

Sure to make your mouth water and get you in the kitchen is Chef Claude Tayag's The Ultimate Filipino Adobo: Stories Through the Ages, a cookbook and culinary history book that serves up luscious stories about our national dish. PF Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino, herself a cookbook author, stirs up our palates with her review of this must-have foodie treasure. 

Sidney Sheldon? Literature? You would think the name and classroom subject couldn't be used in the same sentence but popular PF contributor Ian Layugan did just that in his recall of his high school reading choice, "How Sidney Sheldon Taught Me How to Read."

More women stories and writing for Women's History Month:

A woman shines in Spain:

The Stunning Isabel Preysler — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

Women Reign in Pampanga:

Why Women Rule Pampanga — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

A famous Filipina artist writes about her adopted hometown in France:

Limeuil — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

It may not be adobo but only a Kapampangan chef can do a genuine Sisig:

The Happy Home Cook: Sizzling Sisig — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

[Video of the Week] 'Lihim ng Casa Sulipeña,' dokumentaryo ni Kara David | I-Witness

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Staff