While over 300,000 Filipinos now reside in Australia, the history of Filipinos in the continent dates back to the mid- to late 19th century when "Manilamen" were recruited as pearl divers for the pearling industry. These Manilamen settled and married Aboriginal women in the Torres Strait area where their descendants still live. Sydney-based academic Dr. Deborah Ruiz Wall, who did an extensive oral history project of the descendants of Manilamen, writes this interesting, little-known story on "The Link Between Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and the Philippines," a Positively Filipino exclusive.

Author/editor Cecilia Manguerra Brainard reviews The Betrayed, a recently published novel by Paris-based Filipino writer Reine Arcache Melvin and proclaims it as "one of the best Filipino novels I have read in a long time." ("Passion in the Time of Revolution")

For Filipinos in the US currently unsure about how to deal with the ICE during this government shutdown, here's some valuable advice from San Francisco immigration lawyer Lourdes Tancinco, who contributes our Partner Post this week. ("Effect of Shutdown on Immigration Related Programs and Applications")

As a young man in New York, PF Correspondent Myles Garcia bought a "Salvador Dali print." For the next 44 years, he wondered whether the artwork was authentic or if he was conned. Finally, he decided to take action and consulted an auctioneer. Read about the strange, amusing odyssey of a Salvador Dali sketch in "Hello Dali: Salvador, Venus and Me."

For the Happy Home Cook, here's a recipe for Mami, a popular cold-weather treat, from Le Cordon Bleu alumna G. B. Korten.

For this week’s In The Know links:

Philippine bid to jail nine-year-olds is 'a great child violation', Unicef says
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/13/philippine-bid-to-jail-nine-year-olds-is-a-great-child-violation-unicef-says?fbclid=IwAR2LhWe0cBxZ6ccF41mthU1wvB73Fk1u2x_PVQ-cRcUpGGNbeNWGC1OWCZc

On Global Filipinos: Sheila Marcelo is 1st FilAm woman CEO on Wall Street
https://thefilam.net/archives/29145?fbclid=IwAR0AC7eDON1uaBFGIuRSqPuoKTRZOKxf4lMR054nYiKfucBkGf8Ubi5le50

Rhapsody in C: Ryan Cayabyab
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/profiles/ryan-cayabyab-national-artist-profile-a1523-20190117-lfrm3?fbclid=IwAR28ZsAXFkv_dF02I4aOZIhAmXK31Svz3tZBOhCrXLLurbpCMgY9w0_YFGQ

Vincent Rodriguez III Is a Gay Actor Playing a Straight Heartthrob
https://www.advocate.com/television/2019/1/08/vincent-rodriguez-gay-actor-playing-straight-heartthrob?fbclid=IwAR2YYdgtvtdrXydc7ZIxbqHHwMkluOqUUYWV4avB1GhkdQ__X5sggCSVgg4

Pixar artist creates short film starring Filipino-American leads
http://cnnphilippines.com/entertainment/2019/01/14/Pixar-artist-short-film-Filipino-American-characters-Float.html#

For Video of the Week, we feature multi-award winning actor Darren Criss, singing “Proud of your Boy” from the Disney musical “Aladdin.”