Covid Games

The Tokyo Olympics of 2021 begins this Friday, July 23 under dire Covid-shrouded circumstances. With no live spectators, the athletes unable to interact with one another beyond their countries' bubble, and the Delta variant hanging like an albatross on the entire event, it will be an Olympics like no other. There will be 19 Filipino athletes who will compete in the Games. Will they be able to surpass the historically mediocre showing of Filipino athletes of Olympics past? PF Correspondent and Olympics historian Myles A. Garcia gives us an overview of "Your Filipino Olympic Medalists Through the Years."

Here are more Olympic stories from Myles to Read Again:

Ten Best-Kept Secrets Of Olympic Ceremonies

A Tale Of Two Olympic Museums

Our long-running list of remarkable and/or famous Fil-Ams continues with part 23 featuring a transgender beauty queen, a start-up entrepreneur, a spoken word artist, authors and a nurse/chef, among others. 

Today (or yesterday in Manila), one of the most revered Filipino women was laid to rest. PF Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino offers a heartfelt tribute to her ninang, Nini Quezon Avancena, who was her mother's best friend. 

Let's take a break from the ongoing controversy over the plan of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry to standardize the process of cooking adobo and enjoy again a taste of Vegan Longganisa from vegan proponent, Richgail Enriquez: The Happy Home Cook: Vegan Longganisa

Have a safe and healthy summer week!

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40 Years Ago This Month

Two major events in the last week of April changed history, and we commemorate both in this week's issue.

April 24 is the 35th death anniversary of Macli-ing Dulag, the Kalinga tribal chief who led the opposition to the Chico River Dam project in the Cordilleras. His assassination by elements of the Philippine Army in 1980 unified the people against the dam and led to the eventual scuttling of the project by the Marcos dictatorship. Macli-ing Dulag's legacy is forever etched in Philippine history and April 24 is celebrated as Cordillera Peoples Day every year.  Ace journalist Ceres P. Doyo shares some excerpts from her new book on the charismatic chieftain in "The Unforgettable Macli-ing Dulag."

April 30 marks the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, which ended the catastrophic Vietnam War. Ken Kashiwahara witnessed the chaos and the tragedy of the withdrawal of the US and revisited Saigon for the first time a few months ago. He shares his recollections and observations in "Escape from Saigon."

Meanwhile, a confrontation that the whole world awaits with gusto happens on May 2 when Manny Pacquiao comes head-to-head with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Two boxing enthusiasts, Roilo Golez and Peter Bacho, share their predictions on the outcome. You can also share your pick on our new online poll.

In Seattle, pet owners are lucky to have in their midst Dr. Michael Mison, a topnotch veterinary surgeon, who comes from a family of educators and civil servants. Gia Mendoza profiles her pet's lifesaver in "A Pet's Best Friend."

As we celebrate Earth Day this month, read again two of our informative postings on the environmental impact of the aquarium fish trade ("Saving Nemo") and the holy guardians of Bud Bungao, the magical mountain in Tawi-tawi ("The Holy Mountain of Tawi-tawi"), both by Philippine environmental writer, Gregg Yan.

Our recipe for the week in The Happy Home Cook comes from food blogger and author, Marvin Gapultos, who shares his award-winning "Slow-braised Pork and Pineapple Adobo."

And for our Video of the Week, the Bisaya-speaking Americans of the Hey Joe Show are back in “Signs That You Are Filipino.”

I hope you also visit my blog, “Gemma Nemenzo on Life, Love, Writing, and Everything In Between” and let me know your thoughts on "Expat Realities."

New on Holy Week

As the Christian world takes a breather for Holy Week, we'd like to invite San Francisco Bay Area residents to watch "An Open Door: Jewish Rescue in the Philippines," an award-winning documentary by Noel Izon on how the Philippines opened its doors to more than a thousand Jews rescued from Europe in the early years of WWII. A touching affirmation of love and brotherhood featuring the children of the survivors, this film will be shown for the first time for free on April 15. Seats are limited so click on this link right now for details.

We don't usually do Q&As, but we couldn’t resist one with Walden Bello, who recently resigned as congressman because he could no longer support his party's (Akbayan) uncritical support for the Aquino administration, following President PNoy's skirting of responsibility for the Mamasapano tragedy. Walden is always worth reading, and this interview shines new light on some aspects of the controversy that has been glossed over by media.

And speaking of controversy, writer/professor Peter Bacho shares some pretty strong views about Filipino Americans and the issue of identity, in this profile by regular contributor Anthony Maddela. In "Peter Bacho, Pessimistic Sage," the author of Boxing In Black and White states that “Young Filipinos are not interested in the past; they are not intellectually curious, so I have no real desire to explain [the Filipino experience], to be honest.” Read the story to get the full context of this controversial statement.

Starting with this issue, we're posting a recipe a week to help you with your menu planning for your family. We start off with Elizabeth Ann Quirino's Filipino Fish Stew in Ginger Broth with Tomatoes and Spinach, a perfect Holy Week treat that I can personally attest to as delicious. If you have a recipe that you want to share, please send it in. Read the intro to The Happy Home Cook on how to do it.

And in observance of Holy Week, we've gathered some pictures of rituals and images from our contributing photographers, Marites Falcon, Brian Aguilar Agana and our art director, Raymond Virata.

More Holy Week traditions are featured in our Video of the Week.

In my blog, I focus on a trending topic in the Philippines: divorce, or the lack of it.