August 07, 2024

Flexing Our Muscles

August 07, 2024/ Staff

It’s exhilarating to see Filipinos excel in Olympic sports be it via the homeland or the diaspora. We’re ecstatic over Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo’s historic two Olympic gold medals for the Philippines and the bronze medals of Filipina boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas. We’re kilig (thrilled) as well over half-Filipinos Lee Kiefer who bagged a gold in fencing for the US, and gymnast Jake Jarman who won a bronze for the UK.

It’s a good time as any to remember another international pathbreaker in sports, the late tiny but mighty tennis star Felicisimo H. Ampon. In Felicisimo ‘Mighty Mite’ H. Ampon: Tennis Giant, writer Rey E. de la Cruz recalls how the ace from the working class broke “social, racial, physical, and political barriers” to put the Philippines on the world map of tennis.

Greater Filipino presence is also rising on the international concert music stage. On July 7, 2024, the Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra (MSJO) made history by nabbing its third gold medal in the 16th Summa Cum Laude Youth International Music Festival in Vienna.

Just three days earlier the youth orchestra won the Grand Prize in the Bratislava International Music Festival in Slovakia. Talk about bravura performances. Writer Pablo A. Tariman reports on MSJO’s feats in Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra Conquers Europe.

Take a break from our extremely talented compatriots’ exciting European triumphs and do a side trip to France’s Charante-Maritime region. Go island-hopping and lighthouse-traipsing with writer Criselda Yabes. It will soothe muscles worn out from watching top Olympic athletes do the real straining.

Finally, be athletic or simply go about wearing 1587 Sneakers, a new brand created by sneaker industry veteran Adam King to celebrate the first arrival of Luzones Indios or ancestral Filipinos in America. Activist and award-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas explains his enthusiasm for the venture in Walk the Talk in 1587 Sneakers.

[Video of the Week] Puso sa Paris 2024: Carlos Edriel Yulo
[Bay Area Event] Building Communities: A Tribute to Our Manongs and Manangs

In The Know

The Philippines' first male athlete to win Olympic gold prompts outpouring of #PinoyPride
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/carlos-yulos-gold-medals-filipino-paris-olympics-rcna

Philippines at the Olympics: Villegas settles for bronze after losing to Cakiroglu
https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/40752383/aira-villegas-olympics-boxing-bronze

Nesthy Petecio bags Olympic bronze in loss to Polish boxer in semis
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/sports/boxing/916323/nesthy-petecio-semis-2024-paris-olympics/story/

National Artist Virgilio Almario writes poem for EJ Obiena, other Filipino athletes
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/artandculture/916103/national-artist-virgilio-almario-writes-poem-for-ej-obiena-other-filipino-athletes/story/#goog_rewarded

Filipina Am executive chef retiring from White House after 29 years
https://asamnews.com/2024/07/31/cristeta-comerford-from-manila-cooked-for-five-presidents-and-countless-world-leaders/

Purple Yam, a Filipino Institution of Brooklyn, Is Closing
https://ny.eater.com/2024/8/1/24211388/purple-yam-closing-restaurant?

Filipino students win at 65th International Mathematical Olympiad in UK
https://mb.com.ph/2024/7/20/filipino-students-win-at-65th-international-mathematical-olympiad-in-uk

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

Man sentenced in brutal 2022 killing of Manhattan woman in her Chinatown apartment
https://gothamist.com/news/man-sentenced-in-brutal-2022-killing-of-manhattan-woman-in-her-chinatown-apartment

Filipino-American man pelted with frozen eggs, ethnic slur near Mesa College
https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/filipino-american-man-pelted-with-frozen-eggs-ethnic-slur-near-mesa-college?

Racial slur used on sign at Grocery Outlet in Sacramento
https://asamnews.com/2024/08/02/racial-slur-in-store-signage-anti-japanese-anti-asian/

Funding provided by the State of California.

October 21, 2020

Life Lessons from Manongs

October 21, 2020/ Gemma Nemenzo

In last Monday's Positively Filipino webinar, our guest raconteurs Alex Fabros Jr. and Oscar Peñaranda regaled us with insider stories about life among the manongs on the farms of Salinas, California and in the salmon canneries of Anchorage, Alaska. Both knew whereof they speak -- Alex grew up and worked with them and Oscar spent 15 summers of his youth as an Alaskero (cannery worker). To that generation of Filipino culture bearers, the two attribute lessons in work ethics, joy, appreciation, cunning, survival, courtship and most importantly, building community. To listen to their stories (if you missed the webinar), here's the recording: Memories Of Fil-Am Life On The Farms And In The Canneries Of The West Coast

Our next webinar is the first of our forthcoming series on FilAm Trailblazers and it will feature two community heavyweights: California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye in a rare public appearance and Major General Antonio Taguba (Ret.). We hope you join us this coming Monday, October 26, 2020. Register here: http://bit.ly/filamtrailblazers

As this year's Filipino American History Month (FAHM) begins to wind down, here are two stories you have to read:

American-born Filipino/Japanese citizen Amadio Arboleda tells us his complicated and definitely unique life. ["My Audacious Filipino Journey"]

US citizen John Silva, writing from Manila where he now resides, relates how voting in a US election is worth going through hell and high water (or at least, an attempt at voter suppression) for him, a son of a war veteran. [A Ballot from Manila]

Here's another recommended book list for your FAHM reading from San Francisco Public Library's Abraham Ignacio Jr. [Book Recommendations For 2020 Filipino American History Month]

And another intro to notable Fil-Ams from our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco. [Fil-Ams Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 10]

Read Again:

Robert V. Ragsac Sr.'s "Forget Them Not"

Alex S. Fabros Jr.'s "Murder Most Foul"

For the Happy Home Cook, here's a repost of Chef Romy Dorotan's (Purple Yam in Brooklyn) Beef Shortribs Adobo, definitely a winner.

For Video of the Week, young Fil-Am comedian JR De Guzman makes an appearance on Harry Connick, Jr.’s show.

In The Know

I Went to a 'Filipinos for Trump' Rally. Here's What I Found
https://www.colorlines.com/articles/i-went-filipinos-trump-rally-heres-what-i-found?fbclid=IwAR3G9ywtAiOrqRFyO11IPw_woeqW6B0MHoAdPCPEMb1x067-TunCqdpveaA

‘Buried alive’: ‘The Celine Archive’ uncovers young Filipina’s horrific 1932 killing in Delta
https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/2020/10/11/buried-alive-the-celine-archive-documentary-uncovers-filipinas-1932-horrific-killing-delta/5918519002/?fbclid=IwAR3DiI-ahEP-vPE-4x6_5JfUSC398lFYaFCwsTLAs2jF8MHSa2NncmVyP_M

Exulting in a tribute to our National Hero
https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/arts-and-culture/2018/11/26/1871613/exulting-tribute-our-national-hero/amp

From 800, it’s now a 10,000 waitlist for Filipino flavor Kora doughnuts
https://thefilam.net/archives/32996?fbclid=IwAR2BiaxeMD0YevN0RXwkaJkYaacJjE-ivyg7CeBfYet53gFE6WriDXGktAE

September 02, 2020

Virtual Everything

September 02, 2020/ Gemma Nemenzo

Nine months since the coronavirus pandemic hit earth like the proverbial giant meteorite, a virtual world has opened up for us. Webinars, podcasts, streaming movies, tutorials, family reunions, exercise videos, Broadway shows, awards shows, online learning, virtual international travel -- they're all ours for the taking (or watching/listening). Zoom has even become a household word.

(Speaking of webinars, in case you missed Positively Filipino's very enlightening conversation with ace journalists Sheila Coronel and Ging Reyes, "Shutdown For a Shakedown? Behind the Attempts to Muzzle Press Freedom and ABS-CBN," you can watch it here.)

Unfortunately the online world also has its share of trolls and criminals, preying on the naive, the seniors (who are not as tech savvy) and the emotionally vulnerable. True these scammers have been around pre-covid but presumably they are more active now that people are staying home and relying only on their electronic devices to maintain their contact with the rest of the world. And then there's the loneliness factor.

Pre-pandemic, romance scams (the type with the highest recorded occurence) lost its victims in the US $143 million in 2018 alone, with an average per-victim loss of $2,600.

PF publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco writes about her friend's brush with a romance scammer, truly a cautionary tale for potential sweet-talk victims. If you or someone you know is being scammed, there are web sites (such as https://www.usa.gov/stop-scams-frauds) for reporting them. Just make sure you do a background check on the site you choose lest it might be another scam.

Stories this Week:

[Webinar] Shut Down For A Shakedown? Behind The Attempts To Muzzle Press Freedom And ABS-CBN

Looking For Love In All The Wrong URLs By Mona Lisa Yuchengco

Dishes You’d Like To Cook And Eat In Self-Quarantine By Jennifer Fergesen

Jason Tanamor And His Aswang By Walter Ang

Amba Girly: Spirit Of The Corps By Marisa S. Roque

The Happy Home Cook: Blond Biko By Chef Nouel Omamalin

Video of the Week: The Voice Kids UK winner Justine Afante

In The Know

WATCH: Why all Filipinos are considered indigenous
https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/life/10/27/16/watch-why-all-filipinos-are-considered-indigenous?fbclid=IwAR2jwrF9GGtzeG-sO2u6uuZZ0aNPZdsYLjfQC6RuDNNn0AdTBEjeT3LPJhI

Philippine human rights workers are being systematically killed in a growing war on dissent
https://news.yahoo.com/philippine-human-rights-workers-being-184122085.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=ma

25 years after: Amy Besa & Romy Dorotan on the pains and glory of being New York restaurateurs