April 10, 2024

Lives Well-Lived

April 10, 2024/ Staff

Genetics, circumstances and choices - the three major factors that define a life well lived or a life wasted.

In our lineup this week:

* A scion of a showbiz/political family chose a different path where his background is "neither an asset nor a liability" and emerged as a CEO of a multinational company.

* A mixed-race writer/educator struggled with her duality and came to appreciate the unexpected gifts it bestowed on her.

* An accountant of humble means chose to immigrate with her family, founded her own successful CPA firm and has become a community and church leader in Southern California.

* An idealistic young officer turned his back on the government and joined the revolution, only to realize that the grass was darker on that side. When he chose to resume his interrupted military career, he rose to the top echelon but didn't stop there. He became an active environmentalist, an inventor and an author.

Read about these interesting Filipinos who chose to live their lives on their own terms.

And if you missed last week's webinar on how Filipino nurses, frontliners in the pandemic, survived the Covid-19 virus and the concomitant Anti-Asian Hate, you can watch the recording here.

[Partner] Bataan Death March 82nd Anniversary Commemoration On April 13 At SF National Cemetery

[Video of the Week] The Filipino Story

Celebrating Filipino Food Month

Origins Of Our Daily Breads by Felice Prudente Sta. Maria

Straightforward, Simple Batangas Cuisine by Micky Fenix

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

Asian Americans in Portland rally behind 73-year-old crime victim
https://asamnews.com/2024/04/08/senior-beaten-while-fishing-suspect-outstanding/

James Corden pressured to end ‘incredibly culturally offensive’ segment ‘Spill Your Guts’
https://www.aol.com/james-corden-pressured-end-incredibly-031500697.html?guccounter=1

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers cites rise in hate crimes before signing bill to require schools teach about Hmong Americans
https://www.yahoo.com/news/wisconsin-gov-tony-evers-cites-162304062.html

Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Hate Crime Against Asian American Man
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/massachusetts-man-pleads-guilty-hate-crime-against-asian-american-man

Funding provided by the State of California.

In The Know

Walk, eat, learn in Quiapo—Martin Lopez’s latest tour
https://www.thediarist.ph/walk-eat-learn-in-quiapo-martin-lopezs-latest-tour/

Rio Alma at 80 in Lemlunay—Who really is Rio Alma?
https://www.thediarist.ph/rio-alma-at-80-in-lemlunay-who-really-is-rio-alma/?

Brocka, Catalino “Lino” Ortiz
https://bantayogngmgabayani.org/bayani/lino-brocka/?fbclid=IwAR3nHGD_f9R2CV7l04mQzSJ6qsHFF_GZFMrpIAW3Ux0pJ5gTHxPbpse6sNw_aem_ASnwsHomeZEDlmC1Z9LOMOmSj8ZsjZoWfTzRLJpTlmFZ2vaAUWKH0hWV2sMP2oRHTFPzEKRc4NzN8s4TT8n-GeeZ

How my 10-year-old grandson brought me to Rome
https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/philippine-daily-inquirer-1109/20240407/282398404439715

Blasphemy or brilliance? Alfredo Yao’s RC Cola ‘Himala’ ad divides Filipinos online
https://bilyonaryo.com/2024/04/08/blasphemy-or-brilliance-alfredo-yaos-rc-cola-himala-ad-divides-filipinos-online/food-nature/?fbclid=IwAR0J-7KsvoJIOWjVb_3130oUQBJa_6gxa14-vTlmsjS65xDx5XzuHqmLQ7k_aem_Aeboi6AqpP1Xd_ajkoMFyvpy-nu7wxGxpMWGeRHRwEsn6eEkh35M03K8XmkKVxSIRVbjwKbuOnd5KiZFOqbRlA4Z

April 03, 2024

And Along Comes 'Larry the Musical'

April 03, 2024/ Staff

A shout-out to Northern Californians: if you haven't yet, hie over to the Brava Theater in San Francisco to watch the superhit "Larry the Musical." Night after night, it gets a standing ovation from the audience, and that's quite a major statement in the [jaded] culture mecca of the San Francisco Bay Area. PF contributor and FilAm history enthusiast Elena Buensalido Mangahas, herself a theater veteran, hails the show for both its historical and theatrical significance.

April is Filipino Food Month, a celebration which started in 2018 in the Philippines and has since expanded to encompass the global Filipino diaspora, thanks to the foodie culture bearers who have elevated Filipino food to international standards. Veteran Filipino food writer Micky Fenix, who is also the president of the Food Writers Association of the Philippines, gives us a backgrounder on how this officially sanctioned (by the Philippine government) 30-day celebration and offers a path forward for future activities.

Retired FilAm professor James Sobredo attended the recent global summit on nursing held in Iloilo City where the real state of nursing as a profession in the Philippines and other countries was discussed extensively. While the worldwide appetite for hiring Filipino nurses continues unabated, working conditions are not always ideal. Filipino nurses in the US were at the forefront of the Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in a disproportionate number of fatalities among them. The big income gap between nurses in Philippine hospitals vs. those employed abroad has resulted in a nurse shortage in Philippines. How to solve this conundrum is a question for the current and future generations of Filipino health workers and policy makers.

On an entirely different note, first-time PF contributing writer Yugel Losorata profiles Ted Reyes, the multi-talented former leader/composer and lead singer of the Filipino band The Freesouls. Reyes has since moved to the US to seek a wider stage for his considerable creative abilities.

Though Women's History Month is over, we continue to honor women who played important roles in our lives. Toronto-based poet/author Patria Cabatuando-Rivera pays tribute to her unforgettable elder sister in "My Ate Nene, With Flowers in Her Hair."

Around this time every year, we commemorate the Bataan Death March which happened on April 10, 1942. Some 75,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war were made to do the arduous trek of about 65 miles. Read Again the account of Filipino veterans advocate Jon Melegrito when we joined re-enactment of the march a few years ago in New Mexico. For him, it was personal. His father was one of the survivors of that WWII tragedy. https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/re-enacting-the-bataan-death-march-a-personal-journey

[Video of the Week] Tradisyon: Serving Accessible, Traditional Filipino Comfort Food At New York City

[Webinar] Nurse Unseen: The Role Of Filipino Nurses During The Pandemic And How They Became Victims Of Anti-Asian Hate

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

Vandalism at Chicago mosque investigated as possible hate crime
https://asamnews.com/2024/03/19/downtown-islamic-center-chicago-mosque-vandalism-hate-crime/

A man was arrested after he verbally assaulted, pepper-sprayed an Asian gas station owner because the suspect wanted to pay in all coins
https://ca.style.yahoo.com/man-arrested-verbally-assaulted-pepper-014758333.html

Anti-Asian hate attack unites community in Portland, OR
https://asamnews.com/2024/04/01/senior-citizen-concussion-attacked-with-log/

As Attacks on Asian Americans Regain Spotlight, SF Group Seeks to Soothe Community
https://www.sfpublicpress.org/as-attacks-on-asian-americans-regain-spotlight-sf-group-seeks-to-soothe-community/

Sinophobia unmasked: The racism pandemic
https://mronline.org/2024/03/25/sinophobia-unmasked-the-racism-pandemic/

Funding provided by the State of California.

In The Know

‘Tubaw-inspired’ provincial capitol building to rise in Maguindanao Norte
https://mindanews.com/top-stories/2023/08/tubaw-inspired-provincial-capitol-building-to-rise-in-maguindanao-norte/?

TIPS: What you'll need to apply for a US tourist visa
https://philstarlife.com/living/163945-tips-us-visa-application?page=2

Mall of memories: Greenbelt 1’s closure evokes fond memories
https://bilyonaryo.com/2024/04/01/mall-of-memories-greenbelt-1s-closure-evokes-fond-memories/property/?

BIZ BUZZ: PAL ready for takeoff to Seattle
https://business.inquirer.net/452746/biz-buzz-pal-ready-for-takeoff-to-seattle?

March 27, 2024

More Extraordinary Women

March 27, 2024/ Staff

One of our favorite places to converge at when we're in Metro Manila is Cibo (pronounced chee-bo), a restaurant in the Shangri-la Plaza mall in Mandaluyong. Not only is the mall a convenient meeting point when coming from various places in the traffic-choked metropolis, the restaurant itself is right smack in the middle of the second floor lobby, the better to eat, chat and people-watch at the same time. Its most important draw, of course, is the food. Cibo is an Italian restaurant, but it's not the checkered-tablecloth kind of Italian that leaves you burping and bloated the rest of your day. Cibo dishes are light and healthy and satisfying -- crafted undoubtedly by a gourmet chef. And that's Margarita Fores, a wiz in both the kitchen and business, an exemplary Filipina as profiled by PF Correspondent Criselda Yabes.

This is our last issue for March, Women's History Month 2024, and like our other issues this month, it's chock-full of stories about Filipinas who have made indelible marks not just in the Philippines but in other countries where they have settled. The last installment of "Filipina Movers and Shakers" shows the reach and expanse of the sisterhood of Pinay achievers while the second (and final) part of the National Historical Commission's "Women Workers of 19th Century Manila" provides a historical perspective of women's work in the Philippines.

In San Francisco, a recent gathering of Fil-Am women viewed a rough cut of a forthcoming documentary, "Manilatown Manang," which answers the oft-asked question, "But Where Are the Manangs?" The Manilatown Heritage Foundation film directed by Caroline Cabading honors two generations of Filipina women activists in San Francisco's Manilatown who worked side-by-side with their male comrades in defending the I-Hotel. PF contributor Lorna Lardizabal-Dietz reports on the event.

We couldn't resist adding a bit of spice and snark in this issue and Myles A. Garcia's "Gina, Imelda, Manda and the Tasadays" serves up just the right amount to close the curtain on PF's Women's History Month 2024 coverage.

For those whose submissions didn't make it this month, fret not. For us, every month is women's month. The celebration never ceases.

And if you haven't yet, register to join our webinar, Nurse Unseen, on Thursday, April 4. See flyer below for details and sign up here: https://bit.ly//nurseunseenzoom

[Video of the Week] Manila Visita Iglesia 2024