Time To Swoon in June

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It's June and, like clockwork, summer weather (now commonly termed a heat wave) begins in the western hemisphere. In our motherland, June is expected to bring the monsoon rains so desperately needed for the parched earth of the long, extremely hot summer of 2024. 

Like the previous month, June is packed with celebrations: LGBTQ Pride Month and its string of parades and revelry happens this month. For Filipinos everywhere, the annual Independence Day festivities gather communities for parades, dances, competitions and food. And then there's Rizal Day, celebrated every year on June 19, and Fathers' Day on June 16. In the US, it's also Immigrant Heritage Month, a little-known commemoration that should interest us who have made the US our adopted country. 

June of course begins the travel cycle, and the travel industry is anticipating the full impact of what has become a post-pandemic byword: revenge travel. We have been posting stories about enticing places to visit since spring, and will continue to do so this summer. One of them, in this issue, is the journey of a daring couple, both septuagenarians, who completed the challenging Kumano Kodo, Japan's equivalent to the Camino de Santiago of Spain. Since they've done both pilgrimages, the two got their Dual Pilgrim Certificate, earned by just about 5,000 long-distance walkers.  

Last month, we posted a couple of articles from Canada and reached out to Filipino-Canadians to write more. So this issue, we're posting another two; from Toronto, our regular contributing writer gives us the story of the making of the first anthology of Fil-Can writing; and from Vancouver, a first-time contributor writes about a Filipino who was a high-ranking official in Metro Vancouver but, upon retirement, returned to her first love and is flourishing. 

A look back: One afternoon in 1999, Fil-Am mail carrier Jojo Ileto was doing his rounds when a man asked him to mail a letter. There was nothing unusual about the request and Ileto gladly acceded. As he turned, the man took out a gun and shot Ileto twice. He was a random choice, clearly a hate crime. So much has happened since, yet so much still remain the same. We're reposting the story from 25 years ago because we must not forget.

Read Agains

Exceptional Philippine Churches by John Silva

Death by Discrimination by Bert Eljera

[Partner] Helping AAPI Communities Heal From The Pain Of Racism

[Video of the Week] LGBTQ Couple Excited By Their Baby Boy

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

National organizations call out anti-Asian bigotry in Congress
https://asamnews.com/2024/06/03/organizations-sign-letter-against-anti-asian-bigotry-in-congress/

The Ongoing Fight Against Antisemitism and Anti-Asian Hate: Legislative Developments
https://nysba.org/the-ongoing-fight-against-antisemitism-and-anti-asian-hate-legislative-developments/

Chinese Americans still reeling in the wake of anti-Asian hate
https://goldengatexpress.org/107116/campus-original/chinese-americans-still-reeling-in-the-wake-of-anti-asian-hate/

Man who lived in Fontana is charged with hate crime for allegedly punching woman in the head
https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/news/man-who-lived-in-fontana-is-charged-with-hate-crime-for-allegedly-punching-woman-in/article_7519572a-1f7b-11ef-a22c-9ff3bfb428d0.html

Connecting to AANHPI seniors on mental wellness
https://www.kalw.org/2024-05-30/connecting-to-aanhpi-seniors-on-mental-wellness

Funding provided by the State of California.

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Staff

Daddies Dearest

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Time for another webinar and this time it's the dads' turn to be honored. Four famous fathers will be on the spotlight: National Artist Fernando Amorsolo, tech entrepreneur Dado Banatao, Major General (Ret.) Antonio Taguba and the late balladeer Bert Nievera. See the flyer below to get the details. Please join us and tell your friends too.

It was a proud day for Filipinos last Sunday as 19-year old golfer Yuka Saso won the US Women's Open, a major title no other Filipino golfer has achieved. (No Filipino male golfer has even come close.) Seeing the final scoreboard with the Philippine flag on top of its former colonizers, Japan and the US, was a brief shining moment but it punctuated the euphoria of the win. Coincidentally, Yuka's victory happened at the Olympic Golf Course, right next door to Daly City where more than 30,000 kababayans reside, providing her a loud, cheering audience waving Philippine flags. PF contributor and avid golfer I. Wilfredo Ver explains to us the gravitas of Yuka's win in "Yuka Saso's Golf Victory -- A Historic Filipino Triumph." [Full disclosure: the writer is my husband.]

Introduced obtrusively in the streets of San Francisco, TNT Traysikel, a brainchild of artist Paolo Asuncion and Mike Arcega, is both moveable sculpture and statement. Corin Ramos writes about the innovative concept behind "TNT Traysikel, a Social Sculpture of Protest and Solidarity."

It's Pride Month and Baguio City-based PF Correspondent Rene M. Astudillo profiles John Raspado, winner of the 2017 Mr. Gay World international competition, who has used his platform for activism in the social and environmental issues he cares most about. ["From Mr. Gay World to Community Activist"]

Belem is a city in Brazil that most of us have not heard of, but apparently it's a city of varied charms as well as being a choice starting point for cruising the Amazon river. PF contributing writer Chibu Lagman, a Latin American Studies professor and world adventurer, introduces us to the place in "Sampling La Vida Local Along the Amazon." 

For the Happy Home Cook, here's another "cook it again" recipe from our archives, perfect for summer: Ensaladang Talong (Eggplant Salad).

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino