What Makes Us Smile?

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What makes us smile?

Acts of kindness, heartwarming stories, lost loves found, music and food and the sweet memories that they bring forth, old photographs, family gatherings, heroes in our midst, remembrances of pets and experiences, etc. etc. Each of us have our own smile triggers. What's yours?

This week we start a new series that we hope will inspire you to share your happy space. Send us a story that makes you smile, be it a vignette or an anecdote, a picture with an extended caption, even a screenshot. 

PF Correspondent John Silva's brief Facebook post for Father's Day that celebrates his dad and Pride Month is one such story.

Another post that went viral (so widely shared that we can no longer identify the original author) is that of a local hero, Delfin Angeles, a retired teacher who has started an informal school in his barangay in Laguna. 

PF will of course continue to introduce you to people of Filipino heritage who are worth knowing, like a Bridge Generation Fil-Am jazz musician Michael Montano who is profiled by another Bridge Generation stalwart Peter Jamero, and our ongoing list of Fil-Ams among the Notable and Famous. 

We likewise celebrate Pride Month with stories from our archives:

Read Again:

A Love Letter To My Dad And “Mom” by Nikki Villas
Listen To Your ‘Tita Aida’ by Rafaelito Sy

Now that summer is officially here in the western hemisphere and temperatures are breaking records, here's a treat for the Happy Home Cook's family http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-happy-home-cook-mango-refrigerator-cake

Our Video of the Week: Pre-Colonial Adobo

Characters

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When Positively Filipino was just two months old in 2013, we asked our friends and readers to name the most awesome Filipino woman they would like or would have liked (if she is already dead) to have a long conversation with. I chose two, both famous writers and colorful characters -- Carmen Guerrero Nakpil, whom I never met in person, and Gilda Cordero Fernando whom I've met but never had the chance to be close to. Here's what I wrote: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/2013/3/awesome-women-carmen-guerrero-nakpil-and-gilda-cordero-fernando

I was reminded of this post because in this week's issue, we feature two colorful characters: Tita Aida (real name Nicky Calma), a popular transgender trailblazer/activist in the San Francisco Bay Area (profiled by Rafaelito V. Sy in "Listen to Your 'Tita Aida'") and Jaime Picornell, writer/raconteur/bon vivant whose recent death left many among Cebu City's alta sociedad bereft (Cecilia Manguerra Brainard writes about him fondly in "The Jolly Spaniard of Cebu."

Of course our ongoing series on Fil-Ams Among the Remarkable and Famous have a whole list of them, with part 26 featuring 13 Fil-Ams in a variety of professions who have made their mark in their respective fields.

Our Baguio-based correspondent Rene Astudillo sent a recipe for the Happy Home Cook who wants to cut down on rice: Thai-style Basil Pork with Chinese Pearl Barley.

And here's another Read Again: my fascination with backyards was renewed during our road trip across America. http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/gemma/backyards

For Video of the Week, we feature the six Filipinos who were honored in Ontario for their manufacture and distribution of face masks during the pandemic.

Be safe and get vaccinated.