American Tapestry

Fermin Tobera, a 22-year-old Filipino farmworker,  was asleep for the night when a mob of white men fired shots at the bunkhouse where he and other Filipino laborers were billeted. The lone bullet that pierced his heart inflamed what was already a powder keg between whites vs Filipino workers, and led to the infamous Watsonville riot of 1930.

[Here's more about the anti-Filipino riots in Central California: In the Heat of the Night: The Exeter and Watsonville Riots 1929-1930]

Ninety two years later, Tobera, largely unacknowledged in the annals of Fil-Am history, is being honored with a mural in the California town (now a city) where he lost his life. The Tobera Project, steered by Roy Recio Jr. and other community leaders, got a boost in 2020 when the Watsonville City Council issued an apology to the Filipino community for the 1930 race riots. Since then, an exhibit titled "Watsonville is in the Heart" has been set up to show Filipinos' pivotal role in shaping the history of the city. 

It's never too late to correct historical omissions and mistakes. PF contributing writer Harvey I. Barkin reports on "Fermin Tobera: From Historical Footnote to the Big Picture."

Two Filipino Americans are staking their claim in the American tapestry. Averie Danielle Bishop wowed judges with her articulateness and her community-oriented vision to win the Miss Texas title, the first Asian American to hold the title. Next stop: the Miss America contest in December. Texas resident Gus Mercado reports.

Recent Yale grad Reina Bonta completed her first film, LAHI, which pays homage to her Filipino and Hawaiian ancestries, and dedicates the film to her grandmother, Cynthia, a long-time community activist. PF Correspondent Cherie Querol Moreno tells us more.

From across the pond, the future of the West Philippine Sea, specifically the Ayungin Shoal, is at stake as a new Philippine administration takes over.  Retired editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer Rosario A. Garcellano shares with us her piece on this issue.

Florentino Peñaranda was a revolutionary leader in Leyte during the Philippine-American War at the turn of the 20th century. More than a century later, his grandson, the writer/professor Oscar Peñaranda, by a lucky stroke of serendipity found the actual revolutionary flag of his lolo. Here's how it happened: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/a-reunion-of-strangers

Fifty six years ago this month, the Beatles performed in Manila. Marra PL. Lanot was there and here is her story: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-beatles-in-the-philippines

[Cook It Again] http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-happy-home-cook-nora-dazas-humba

[Video of the Week] Igorot Stone Kingdom

---

In The Know

Drug killings leave agony, savage facet to Duterte’s legacy
https://apnews.com/article/religion-philippines-manila-rodrigo-duterte-government-and-politics-9bf4c87a395f6f0d90ebd4637e74c1ea?fbclid=IwAR26u4LW7WF1_TjtP8Rkea2_A9SNlclYiyxUmIr6uoF3fO0CB8y2PadxGu0#l533g1wla7upnglq9b8

Manila bakeshop says it’s anticipating ‘long fight ahead’ after advisory goes viral
https://interaksyon.philstar.com/trends-spotlights/2022/07/01/221086/manila-bakeshop-anticipating-long-fight-ahead-after-viral-advisory/?fbclid=IwAR24AzNdhxUG9BEQzxgoQgT2cAIDQJYTK1catTG4HS613lV3Q3ZBL2kkz20

A New Generation of Filipino American Chefs Is Finding Joy and Community in Cooking Their Heritage
https://www.foodandwine.com/chefs/new-generation-filipino-american-chefs

'Kayo ang himala': Nora Aunor dedicates National Artist honor to fans
https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2022/06/30/2192050/kayo-ang-himala-nora-aunor-dedicates-national-artist-honor-fans?fbclid=IwAR0bD11TxuomfW_Bf8Lnm9uEbOF4ex7mDnL1YfUPiL-Jqr25Gms2SFcgwA4

This Filipino sneaker brand is leaving footprints of positive change and growing a fandom of creatives
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/style/necessary-style/06/21/22/pinoy-sneakers-proudly-made-with-sustainable-practices?fbclid=IwAR38bhSM3I9PU0P5zQB9u2XwhyM2UeVyH3r6nGd8bbVNsTxvnl9HW1_C9kA

"See and Missed": New York artist brings attention to Filipino history of Morro Bay
https://www.kcbx.org/arts-and-life/2022-06-28/see-and-missed-new-york-artist-brings-attention-to-filipino-history-of-morro-bay 

‘Whether It’s Charice or Jake Zyrus, I’m a Singer’
https://www.gq.com/story/jake-zyrus-profile?utm_source=facebook&utm_brand=gq&utm_social-type=owned&mbid=social_facebook&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR0B_J8_4V0pgEjgHTh8aCzTmMjuNSF47s4ZucWp9abalDaBuVlV0splXM0

---

Celebrating Icons

As we've been regularly doing for our last issue of the year, we have a story on Jose Rizal, our National Hero, whose execution day was December 30, 1896. This year we have a review of the latest book on everyone's favorite Filipino, titled Rizal +, an anthology edited by Alfred "Krip" Yuson which reviewer Francis Layf Custodio describes as "a one-stop shop for everything Rizal."

And for a touch of levity during the waning days of this eventful/awful 2018, PF Correspondent Cherie Querol Moreno tells us about her recent visit to Liverpool, England, where she re-lived her adolescence as a Beatles fan. Enjoy "'Just 17' Again in the Birthplace of the Beatles."

For your New Year celebration, here are some recipes from Elizabeth Ann Quirino for the Happy Home Cook.

And if you're craving more Rizal, Read Again John Silva's "Rizal's Cook Remembers a Good Man."

Here are links to significant stories from other publications that you may have missed:

Duterte Opens Up The Philippines To Chinese Workers, As Filipinos Seek Jobs Overseas
https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2018/12/23/duterte-opens-up-the-philippines-to-chinese-workers-as-filipinos-seek-jobs-overseas/?fbclid=IwAR1cSz2aGgC1pQvSjC6Bb9BAVCHGDMTeq5bCAy21xkwdgJuBSTDUPOFp9MU#30d4e4a24b28

How I Learned To Talk To My Filipino Mom About My Mental Health
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/11/22/669960524/how-i-learned-to-talk-to-my-filipino-mom-about-my-mental-health?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR05GIQQ7caK134gOehjD5lqvyCTE9Dk3uIq1BAMN_32bkDkSdkhJkGkuIU 

Cebuana Santa: the heiress who made her students' Christmas wishes come true
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/12/25/18/cebuana-santa?fbclid=IwAR2Wvy6a51ECImKsuuj6D_zvvPVNwyUyqPyggP1csPPpTJVch68ED6ZyHYY

There’s a Room in the Inn for Scavengers and Pushcart Families
https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/318775/theres-a-room-in-the-inn-for-scavengers-and-pushcart-families/?fbclid=IwAR324KG74uflCAQP3DL4NfBhnx1Yr6ZFjemOlYhdzZBvLVOMgX_Oc3QfaM0

For our Video of the Week, we feature the trailer of Eric Liner and Neil Rettig’s film “Bird of Prey,” a documentary on the plight of the Philippine Eagle.

We wish all of you a happy and abundant Year of the Pig. 

Icons

How many of you saw the Beatles perform live in concert?

Author/poet Marra PL. Lanot did and she has the original ticket stub to show for it. Marra, sharing her thrilling memory of "The Beatles in Manila," considers that stub one of her guarded treasures, something she will not part with despite the persuasiveness of souvenir hunters who have offered her substantial amounts of money in exchange. I completely understand her stubborn refusal. Indeed, why part with proof of a slice of teenage heaven?

Speaking of persuasion, do you know what it takes for foreign media to publish stories about the Philippines, no matter how compelling or important they are? Our regular contributor Aurora Almendral, who had flown in a C-130 cargo plane with fully armed soldiers on their way to fight in Zamboanga and waded through debris and rotting bodies in Tacloban after Typhoon Yolanda, reveals the travails of a freelance journalist trying to get the Philippines covered in "'Selling' My Story."

It doesn't take much persuasion for us to feature two Filipinos who have made their marks in two different spheres: Grace Nono, compleat performer and cultural icon, is the subject of "She's On A Mission From the Ancestors" by first-time contributor Dusty Cooper; and the late Jose Formoso Reyes, the Harvard-educated craftsman whose handmade Nantucket baskets have become widely sought collectors' items that command thousands of dollars each, is the subject of Myles A. Garcia's "Love Baskets for Betty." 

In this issue, award-winning writer Lotis Key regales us again with her delightful take on our cultural quirks. In "Feeding My Filipino," our favorite ex-movie star talks about learning some valuable life lessons from their family cook.

We also urge you to read again "When Lolo's Debating Team Vanquished America" by Liana Romulo whose esteemed grandfather Carlos P. Romulo led the Filipino debaters who made mincemeat of their American counterparts in the 1930s.