Tastes of Nostalgia

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Remember Ma Mon Luk? Those delicious asado-filled white siopao the size of our clenched fist that we were told to peel before eating? Paired with the restaurant's steaming mami, they were perfect for keeping stomach and soul satiated because they were cheap and flavored just right.  

Ma Mon Luk, the restaurant (first in Quiapo and later a branch in Quezon Blvd. near Banawe, QC), was itself a draw. Humid and steamy because there was no air-conditioning, greasy and somewhat grubby, it nonetheless attracted not just budget eaters but bougie types as well. Quite a number of Filipino octogenarians associate Ma Mon Luk with their first dates or their marriage proposals. During martial law when many were hunted, the always bustling restaurant was a good place to meet in plain sight (thus unnoticed by the hunters) and to satisfy one's craving as well. 

Behind the restaurant and the siopao, there was Ma Mon Luk, the man, whose origin story is now the focus of a children's book. Read all about it in this issue and get a recipe for mami.

Here's another nostalgia trip: remember the pop songs that filled the Philippine airwaves decades ago, like "Ikaw Ang Lahat Sa Akin" by Martin Nievera, and "Lift Up Your Hands" by Basil Valdez?" The songs have proven staying power but the composer herself has kept a relatively low profile. Until this month that is. This weekend in Manila she celebrates her 45th year as a hotshot composer of many hits. This issue has her covered. 

And two doses of inspiration: first, from a veteran Fil-Am broadcast journalist who has a lot of say about pursuing a path that matters. And second, the continuing and never-ending list of Fil-Am achievers who are stamping their marks on the US melting pot. 

Finally, a front-and-center look at Lake Sebu in South Cotabato where the T'boli tribe of crafts people and tradition bearers live, work and fight for their right to their ancestral lands. 

For our Video of the Week, a new documentary on acclaimed soprano Evelyn Mandac by an appreciative student.

Read Again: How Filipinas Saved a Town in Japan

In The Know

Opinion: I’m Asian American. I see DEI as a bridge for communities
https://asamnews.com/2024/05/19/opinion-im-asian-american-i-see-dei-as-a-bridge-for-communities/

Family reaches settlement in police shooting of son
https://asamnews.com/2024/05/16/police-brutality-mental-health-angelo-quinto/

Sleepy far-flung towns in the Philippines will host US forces returning to counter China threats
https://apnews.com/article/us-forces-philippines-south-china-sea-taiwan-

Lino Brocka’s Cannes Classic ‘Bona,’ With Philippines’ Female Superstar Nora Aunor, Set for Release in U.S., France (EXCLUSIVE)
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/lino-brocka-nora-aunor-bona-philippines-restored-film-cannes-

20 Rare Photos of the Manila Carnival That You've Probably Never Seen Before
https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/lifestyle/rare-manila-carnival-photos-

Teatro Balagtas brings struggle for social justice on stage
https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/theater/teatro-balagtas-brings-struggle-social-justice-stage/

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Staff

DREAMers

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The Trump administration's cancellation of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), the Obama administration's immigration program that protected young people without legal status who were brought to the country as children, triggered a firestorm of resistance and protests not only by the DREAMers (as DACA recipients are called) but also from civil society groups and immigration lawyers like Lourdes Santos Tancinco, Esq. Her exclusive piece for Positively Filipino, "What DACA Recipients Should Know Now and the Rights They Have," reassures and encourages those negatively impacted by this cruel and inhuman act of the current government. Attorney Tancinco also lists five tips on what NOT to do, now that DACA is under assault.

We are also posting, with permission, the opinion piece of Jose Antonio Vargas in the New York Times' Sunday Review entitled "'Dreamers' Put Their Trust in DACA. What Now?"

Returning to the national trauma of 16 years ago, Major General (Ret.) Antonio Taguba goes public for the first time about his extremely close call on September 11, 2001, when he was just about 75 feet away from the American Airlines Flight 77 that plowed into the Pentagon. Read his heart-stopping account of the tragedy and its aftermath.

On a lighter note, we have another Hometown story, this time about Isla de Convalescensia on the Pasig River and Parañaque. "Island in the Stream" is poet/writer Victor Peñaranda's memories of his boyhood. 

For our Happy Home Cook, we are sharing PF Correspondent John Silva's personal recipe for Adobong Antigo, which includes an ingredient that could make any cook happy.

In our In the Know links this week, we try to balance serious with levity:

War Machine: Will Goyo be the Biggest Filipino Film of All Time?
http://rogue.ph/war-goyo/

The Legend of Ma Mon Luk
http://rogue.ph/the-legend-of- mamonluk/

“Hiding and Hiding”: Undocumented Filipinx Americans Living in the Shadows
https://catapult.co/stories/ migrations-undocumented- filipinx-americans-hiding-and- hiding

Bayanihan Project gives contemporary Filipino art chance to shine http://www.abc.net.au/news/ 2017-09-09/bayanihan-project- filipino-art-gets-chance-to- shine/8843982

Our Video of the Week Miss Saigon US stars Eva Noblezada and Rachelle Ann Go perform this exclusive, reimagined version of "The Movie in My Mind."

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino