A Filmmaking Legend

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There's no doubt about it -- Mike de Leon is up there in the pantheon of all-time great Filipino movie directors. The scion of movie industry royalty -- his grandmother was Dona Narcisa de Leon, the head honcho of LVN Pictures, his father Manuel de Leon was another directorial icon; Mike grew up watching movies made, surrounded by stars and crew alike -- his movies are classics. Think "Kisapmata," "Itim," "Sister Stella L," "Kakabakaba Ka Ba," "Batch '81," the unforgettable "Kung Mangarap Ka't Magising." It's but fitting that De Leon has become the first Filipino director to have a retrospective at the MoMA (otherwise known as New York's Museum of Modern Art). PF contributing writer Claire Mercado-Obias was there and filed this report.

Are septuagenarians still able to walk the Camino pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela? If you're healthy and practiced and determined, you definitely can, as PF contributing writer Michael Gonzalez and his wife Patricia proved. Read about their adventures in Portugal and Spain as they walked the 170 miles for their hard-earned compostela (official certificate of completion). 

A proposal in the fascinating city of Istanbul? Dreams of romance swirled in PF Correspondent Criselda Yabes' mind as she roamed this Turkish city of glorious history and a tortured present. 

An art-inclined mother and her neurodivergent son bond through art, an inspiring story for parents of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

One of the FilAms who won in the recent US elections is Justin Jones (D), a civil rights activist with a string of political arrests to his name. Jones, 26, was elected as State Representative for District 52 of Tennessee, the youngest lawmaker of the current General Assembly. Read Again his story about his Filipino roots:

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/justin-jones-black-filipino-civil-rights-activist

And what does a freshman legislator do on his first day on the job? Watch Rep. Justin Jones as he introduces himself to his (much older) colleagues.

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Staff

We're Proud and Inspired

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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

Name That Dish

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Before taking a bite of a cheese-laden ensaimada or savoring a scoop of tasty mechado, have you ever stopped and wondered where their names come from? Not likely, but it's always good to know how the names of those rich, delicious Spanish dishes came to be. PF Correspondent Cherie M. Querol Moreno satisfies our craving for culinary knowledge with an etymological feast, "Behind the Names of Those Spanish Recipes."

Another valuable history lesson can be had with Sydney-based historian Deborah Ruiz Wall's research on "The 'Indio Hacenderos' of Angono," which includes her forebears. 

History of more recent vintage is the subject of author/journalist Benjamin Pimentel's opinion piece, "Never Mind EDSA: Remember the mini-EDSAs, the Battles Before the Uprising" which contends that the 1986 People Power Revolution was the culmination of a series of citizens' actions that chipped away at the Marcos dictatorship's hold on power.

And February being Black History Month, here are some Read Agains that illustrate the close kinship of African Americans and Filipinos:

Rene G. Ontal's "A Black Man's Burden" 

Benjamin Pimentel's “The Untold Story of Sugar Pie DeSanto” 

For the Happy Home Cook, here's another one from San Francisco-based foodie, Voltaire Gungab: Double-Decker Chocolate and Coconut Pudding.

Here are the links for stories you may have missed: 

Central Luzon: New killing fields in Duterte's drug war
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/224159-central-luzon-new-killing-fields-duterte-drug-war?fbclid=IwAR1U-7ENDlJdgnEWjoehOaNPR1ip1Ok1y7KKkdpHagBXQwhCppw7oZyDGo8

The Bobby Mañosa I knew–a Filipino architect like no other
https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/325359/the-bobby-manosa-i-knew-a-filipino-architect-like-no-other/

Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur reveals who's behind his success
https://pia.gov.ph/features/articles/1018315?fbclid=IwAR0rG1CkcFX6-zxuzU0hGxoEqO7OBt8Us-VRRKqnQ7Jk3knm0NhXmyiF63k

Ana Valdes-Lim: The Reward is in the Process
http://www.dailygood.org/story/2233/ana-valdes-lim-the-reward-is-in-the-process-richard-whittaker/

For Video of the Week, we feature “Kangkungan,” a new video short by acclaimed filmmaker Mike De Leon, who presents a critique of the current administration of President Rodrigo Duterte and urges Filipinos to vote in the upcoming election.

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino