We're Proud and Inspired

We stand proudly with the Positively Filipino writers who won seven   out of the 10 "best writing" awards in the 2020 Plaridel Awards held recently. See the links to their award-winning stories. 

Best International Story: Jennifer Fergesen, "Filipino Restaurateurs in Europe Grapple with Pandemic" http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/filipino-restaurateurs-in-europe-grapple-with-pandemic

Best Profile Writing: Lisa Suguitan Melnick, "The Scholar Unplugged" http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-scholar-unplugged

Best Personal Essay: Elizabeth Ann Quirino, "Last Christmas" http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/last-christmas  

Best Feature Story: Lisa Suguitan Melnick, "Utom Unfolds T’boli Myths Through Music”
 http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/utom-unfolds-tboli-myths-through-music

Best Food Story: Jennifer Fergesen, "Surprise! A Filipino Table in Tblisi" http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/surprise-a-filipino-table-in-tbilisi

Best Tourism Feature: Elizabeth Ann Quirino, "Food Historian Ige Ramos Serves Cavite's Unsung Cuisine"   http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/food-historian-ige-ramos-serves-cavites-unsung-cuisine

Best Investigative Story: Myles Garcia, "Discovering a Long Lost 19th Century Filipino Master Painter" http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/discovering-a-long-lost-19th-century-filipino-master-painter 

Merit Awards

Lisa Suguitan Melnick, Merit Award in Best News Story, "The Al Robles Express is on the Right Track" http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-al-robles-express-is-on-the-right-track

Elizabeth Ann Quirino, Merit Award in Best Food Story, "Stop and Smell the Power of Filipino Cooking" http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/stop-and-smell-the-power-of-filipino-cooking

Another feather in our proverbial cap: our webinar last Monday on Filipino Trailblazers featuring California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Major General Antonio Taguba (Ret.) was without doubt one of the most interesting, inspiring and pride-stirring hour-and-a-half that one can spend. If you missed it or want to listen to it again (suggestion: get your children to listen with you), here's the link to the recording. [Filipino American Trailblazers]

Our stories for this week are not too shabby either, both in terms of topic coverage and the hopefulness they engender:

‘Filgrimage’: From San Diego To Manila Bay By Miguel Carrion

The Manilatown Heritage Foundation Rises By Manzel Delacruz

Is Texas Finally Turning Blue In 2020? By Gus Mercado

10 Things The 1940 Census Reveals About Carlos Bulosan By M.T. Ojeda 

Recipe of the Week [Read It Again] The Happy Home Cook: Instant Pot Beef Caldereta By Elizabeth Ann Quirino

Video of the Week - Bill de Blasio tribute to the Fil-Am Community

In The Know

Why It Is Important to Know the Story of Filipino-American Larry Itliong
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/why-it-is-important-know-story-filipino-american-larry-itliong-180972696/?fbclid=IwAR2hQz-Zs1ABojxLMAiaML2K8pLr6_Q0TP3YYbyZpv9aDuTgcX-8Y6MTN2Y

The Philippines Has A Policy Against Home Births. It's Not Playing Well In A Pandemic
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/10/25/925442135/the-philippines-has-a-policy-against-home-births-its-not-playing-well-in-a-pande?fbclid=IwAR1tZ2zWchCcJDbFoH5fvc7ydDv6oBAGkMVnbKvj4GsxzNzutMdC_siJGa0

On a Philippine island, Indigenous women get their say on marine conservation
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/on-a-philippine-island-indigenous-women-get-their-say-on-marine-conservation/?fbclid=IwAR1hEI_u0ZQFgPFYGEJ_aRcTFm055dRCV7LKfzCsCJnVMIau7VGrTlt6Wj0

Outcry in Philippines Over General’s ‘Warning’ to Female Celebrities
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/23/world/asia/philippines-liza-soberano-parlade.html

ICYMI: You Can Watch More than 60 Classic Films on Mike De Leon’s Vimeo Account
https://cinemacentenario.com/features/news-and-features/icymi-you-can-watch-more-than-60-classic-films-on-mike-de-leons-vimeo-account/?fbclid=IwAR0YHKOtT91gGkPv-1NkIkevuG7458_39E0QRFGD-tGoVpYxd2l4bn4IPoM 

1763: A historical fiction: Revisiting Early Filipino presence in Louisiana and Examining the Sources
https://filipinoamericancenter.blogspot.com/2014/11/1763-historical-fiction-revisiting.html?fbclid=IwAR169yeXlbU31SPGzY9BihvmYJE3JD_TVrH7oaxPbt46Yf2Rd1on0v7px-0

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Don't Know Much About (Fil-Am) History?

October is when Filipino American organizations stage some high profile events to celebrate Filipino American History Month. In San Francisco alone, two international events, involving participants from the Philippines, the US and Filipinos based in countries other than the two, are happening: the 5th Filipino American International Book Festival (Filbookfest) on October 12-13 and the 26th annual Filipino International Cine Festival (FACINE) on October 18-20. These in addition to several other happenings in other places where a substantial number of Filipino Americans are based.

So mark your calendars or set up your own celebration of Filipino presence in the US. When we started Filipinas magazine in the early '90s, we were faced with the problem of a very quiet community. Now we can't keep up!

Have a meaningful Filipino American History Month, everyone.

In keeping with the focus on art and literature this month, we feature two authors and a relatively unknown but definitely significant Filipino artist. 

Veteran journalist/columnist Benjamin Pimentel writes about journalist/author Criselda Yabes, a PF Correspondent herself, who has very impressively melded the skills of a journalist and a fictionist in her books. She will be one of the featured authors in Filbookfest. ("Criselda Yabes, Master Storyteller")

PF Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino focuses on Cinelle Barnes, a Filipino American author who is coming out with a book of essays this month, following her acclaimed first novel. ("Watch Out World: Cinelle Barnes, Essayist Empowered by Endurance")

From the 19th century, PF Correspondent Myles A. Garcia digs up info on the life and works of Filipino master watercolorist whose recently discovered works have fetched high prices in the art world. ("Discovering a Long-Lost 19th Century Filipino Master Painter")

And to inspire you to reflect on the significance of this month, Read Again Abraham Ignacio Jr.'s historical piece on "Where Exactly Did 'Filipinos' First Land in California?" 

Our Happy Home Cook recipe this week is Gluten-Free Vegan Palabok from vegan chef Richgail Enriquez.

Here are our In The Know links to stories you may have missed:

Retiring in the Philippines: Pros and Cons
https://finance.yahoo.com/m/29c07c8f-d30a-38d3-acec-8ea2ef9097b2/retiring-in-the-philippines%3A.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=1_04

7 Filipino dishes you've probably never heard of (and where to find them in Manila)
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/little-known-filipino-dishes-manila/index.html

Magellan was first to sail around the world, right? Think again.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/09/magellan-first-sail-around-world-think-again/

7 Breathtaking Secret Airbnbs in the Philippines That Feel Like Paradise
https://www.townandcountry.ph/travel/hotels/secret-airbnbs-in-the-philippines-src-esquireph-a00204-20180329-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-TC&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20190921-fbnp-travel-secret-airbnbs-in-the-philippines-src-esquireph-a00204-20180329-lfrm-fbold&fbclid=IwAR3D6sYB9KaJuKXmS8Ig9ggdqFjhdfRQGcRhAGbpE-W2QqzlIYIn_K6MvSw

How Building Churches Out of Egg Whites Transformed Filipino Desserts
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/filipino-desserts?fbclid=IwAR0zKZrMjur-TgXyGpgO4w9kmozpFI8AZei46GJxCbCbniPXgvdJd9ixYtY

Our Video of the Week is about a little-known yet very significant fighting unit during World War II -- the Aeta Squadron 30, a historical documentary from GMA Public Affairs.