July 10, 2024

Let the Games Begin

July 10, 2024/ Staff

The Olympic Games is about to begin in Paris from July 26-August 11; the Paralympics on August 28, also in Paris. For the first time, a bumper crop (28 in both competitions) of Filipino athletes are participating and some actually have a path to winning. Watch out for these names: EJ Obiena (pole-vaulting), Eumir Marcial (boxing), Carlos Yulo (gymnastics- men), and Kayla Noelle Sanchez (swimming).

2024 marks 100 years of Philippine participation in the Olympics and PF Correspondent Myles Garcia, a member of the International Society of Olympic Historians, gives us a brief history. The country's medal haul, however, is meager: 2 golds and a smattering of bronzes in the Olympics, and 1 medal in the Paralympics. Let's hope Paris will work its magic on our athletes in this year's games.

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Van Cliburn is arguably one of the greatest pianists that ever lived, a rock star in the classical music world with sold-out concerts worldwide, screaming fans and a ticker tape parade in New York City that dwarfed those of beauty queens and sports champions. In the 1970s, during the martial law years of Marcos the first, Van Cliburn was a mainstay in the multinational coterie of first lady Imelda. Read cultural writer Pablo Tariman's account of this great pianist's Philippine connections.

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There are more than 8,000 Filipinos living in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia in Canada and the community mounts one of the most colorful and collaborative celebrations for Victoria Day and Philippine Heritage Month (June, as declared by the Province of British Columbia). Fil-Can writer Megen Quigley reports.

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Continuing our recurrent feature on the Bridge Generation of the Fil-Am community, the generation's chronicler Peter Jamero features Joe Talaugon, born in 1930, raised and settled in California. Joe's mother was Chumash Indian and he is active in both the Fil-Am and Native American communities.

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We round up this issue with an op-ed piece by author/educator/activist Walden Bello on the high-stakes political divorce of the Marcos dynasty of the north and the Duterte dynasty of the south.

[Video of the Week] Stockton Museum Showcases Filipino American Heritage

In The Know

Why Asian Americans care about China’s maritime aggressions
https://asamnews.com/2024/07/04/indo-pacific-diasporas-in-america-against-chinese-expansion/

A trans immigrant living with HIV finds hope and sanctuary in San Francisco

https://www.sfaf.org/collections/status/a-trans-immigrant-living-with-hiv-finds-hope-and-sanctuary-in-san-francisco/

Leonardo DiCaprio supports call to protect Masungi Georeserve
https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/2024/7/3/leonardo-dicaprio-supports-call-to-protect-masungi-georeserve-632?

Online rumours of civil war in Philippines tied to China’s covert agenda
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3266870/online-rumours-civil-war-philippines-tied-chinas-covert-agenda?

Butaka chair, Baliwag mesa altar, and more: Here are things you must know about Filipino heritage furniture
https://www.tatlerasia.com/homes/architecture-design/filipino-heritage-furniture?

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

EXCLUSIVE: At least 13 Bay Area senior citizens robbed or attacked in neighborhood in 1 week
https://abc7news.com/post/exclusive-least-13-oakland-senior-citizens-attacked-robbed/15026452/?

Lost Kinjo: Anti-Japanese hate reached a fever pitch in Oakland
https://asamnews.com/2024/07/05/how-oaklands-two-japantowns-disappeared-in-the-face-of-racism/

‘Just the beginning:’ Las Vegas police establish AAPI Alliance
https://asamnews.com/2024/07/01/las-vegas-police-implemented-new-aapi-alliance/

Funding provided by the State of California.

December 01, 2021

Polls Expectations

December 01, 2021/ Gemma Nemenzo

Elections in the Philippines is blood sport, as many who have lived through several of them can attest. In hotly contested positions where money flows and the threat of violence from goons and guns is a real possibility, the common street belief is that the one who wins in the voting may not be the one who wins in the counting.

As the May 2022 nationwide elections loom large in the consciousness of Filipinos even at this early stage, we asked former Commission on Elections (COMELEC) chair Andy Bautista to give us the skinny on the electoral process and what citizens can do (if anything) to ensure a clean and fair election. The first of his series of articles begins this week with "Substituting Democracy."

The last of our Living Legends series drops this week with part 3 featuring some pretty impressive Fil-Ams as community leaders, military officials, media practitioners and medical doctors.

The highest ranking Fil-Am in the Los Angeles Police Department, Commander Donald Graham tells PF Correspondent Anthony Maddela that his policing style and principles draw from his Filipino upbringing by his mother, Amelia.

In the Philippines, you'll know that Christmas is coming soon when you start hearing Jose Mari Chan crooning his Christmas hits on the airwaves, in malls and other public places -- as early as September. The popular singer/songwriter has been associated with the spirit of the season for more than three decades. Read Again Manila-based writer Paulynn Sicam's story on "Jose Mari Chan's Enduring Heart Songs."

And during this season of giving, please consider donating to Philippine International Aid (PIA), which has been sending thousands of poor children to school for almost four decades now.

Here's one way of cooking a traditional favorite, Pasta Vongole, made easy by Chef Sandy Daza, from his series of cooking demos called Casa Daza.

If you've ever had any doubt about the plunder charges against the Marcoses, watch this riveting special report circa 1986 by ABS-CBN News hosted by the late broadcaster Angelo Castro Jr. With never-before-seen footages and extensive documentation, this historic video is both illuminating and alarming, in the context of the coming elections.

In The Know (Philippine Election Edition)

The problem with fake news: UP experts speak on the impact of disinformation on politics, society and democracy
https://up.edu.ph/the-problem-with-fake-news-up-experts-speak-on-the-impact-of-disinformation-on-politics-society-and-democracy/?fbclid=IwAR3qDGAoNvkIAI4dnPoiXPd-ysnBMtYGqxqUskCeI3lWOMQSUj8OCYzFjgQ

Clan politics reign but a family is divided in the race to rule the Philippines
https://www.npr.org/2021/11/28/1058884480/duterte-marcos-and-political-dynasties-in-the-philippine-presidential-election?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR0kiqyJ07iv2SkcUggCkJtIk6K0DACRNeTpb5OcRyVMVqSj2RC-G0OzbZk

Why Ka Leody and Walden are ‘winnable’
https://opinion.inquirer.net/146896/why-ka-leody-and-walden-are-winnable?fbclid=IwAR2x74pGncVuVx7zhJDx1CSKi-Lf5t2b8_z6SeEpi3uBRD_BL0dWXKLX4mE

Leni-Kiko murals in QC are a ‘labor of love’ for artists seeking change in 2022
https://www.rappler.com/nation/elections/robredo-pangilinan-murals-quezon-city-labor-of-love-artists-seeking-change-2022/

In The Know (Standard Edition)

5 Filipino American artists earn 22 Grammy nominations
https://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/5-filipino-american-artists-earn-22-grammy-nominations/?fbclid=IwAR3v7Fx-lqt79mUfStV1nW7gU3mQEQMl3Vgw5Cyhs5qj_6mNrraLzOzAxe4

Why do people of color join the ultraright?
https://socialism.com/fs-article/why-do-people-of-color-join-the-ultraright/

Kulintang Kultura: Filipino Musical Musings and American Meanings
https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/kulintang-kultura-filipino-musical-musings-american-meanings

The Stepdad: Disney releases 2nd Filipino-themed Christmas short
https://www.theilluminerdi.com/2021/11/10/the-stepdad-disney/?fbclid=IwAR0Kvl6I6sOYro3xfAzA-edlLpnryjuu_zxX_XdH64XdRFjfpZykwD5V3ow

'I Am Filipino': A Son Gives Us a Glimpse Into the Private Life of National Artist Federico Aguilar Alcuaz
https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/books-and-art/national-artist-federico-aguilar-alcuaz-a00203-20211110-lfrm2?ref=article_related%3Fref%3Darticle_related&fbclid=IwAR2Dnml8VCpA4tkjilg_Wy0bdKmXn87KeY-nHS9Uz83B_kMouHwQetllu9M

November 17, 2021

Quo Vadis, Philippine Democracy?

November 17, 2021/ Gemma Nemenzo

The election circus came early in our Motherland and the main event (aka the freak show) this week was the family feud of the Duterte father and daughter, with a sideshow starring Bongbong Marcos and ex-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. It's not easy to go above the fray in this sordid power gluttony drama, but PF contributor Ernesto M. Hilario did just that. See his sober take on what Filipino voters in the Philippines and overseas should not lose sight of in the next six months of guaranteed political chaos.

We begin this week our series on Living Legends, a compilation by our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco that honors pioneers and barrier breakers who were the first Fil-Ams to be distinguished in their respective fields. This initial list covers Legislators, Politicians and Government Officials; Authors; and Sports (including one who has been making waves in the NBA for years).