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