Tastes of Nostalgia

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Remember Ma Mon Luk? Those delicious asado-filled white siopao the size of our clenched fist that we were told to peel before eating? Paired with the restaurant's steaming mami, they were perfect for keeping stomach and soul satiated because they were cheap and flavored just right.  

Ma Mon Luk, the restaurant (first in Quiapo and later a branch in Quezon Blvd. near Banawe, QC), was itself a draw. Humid and steamy because there was no air-conditioning, greasy and somewhat grubby, it nonetheless attracted not just budget eaters but bougie types as well. Quite a number of Filipino octogenarians associate Ma Mon Luk with their first dates or their marriage proposals. During martial law when many were hunted, the always bustling restaurant was a good place to meet in plain sight (thus unnoticed by the hunters) and to satisfy one's craving as well. 

Behind the restaurant and the siopao, there was Ma Mon Luk, the man, whose origin story is now the focus of a children's book. Read all about it in this issue and get a recipe for mami.

Here's another nostalgia trip: remember the pop songs that filled the Philippine airwaves decades ago, like "Ikaw Ang Lahat Sa Akin" by Martin Nievera, and "Lift Up Your Hands" by Basil Valdez?" The songs have proven staying power but the composer herself has kept a relatively low profile. Until this month that is. This weekend in Manila she celebrates her 45th year as a hotshot composer of many hits. This issue has her covered. 

And two doses of inspiration: first, from a veteran Fil-Am broadcast journalist who has a lot of say about pursuing a path that matters. And second, the continuing and never-ending list of Fil-Am achievers who are stamping their marks on the US melting pot. 

Finally, a front-and-center look at Lake Sebu in South Cotabato where the T'boli tribe of crafts people and tradition bearers live, work and fight for their right to their ancestral lands. 

For our Video of the Week, a new documentary on acclaimed soprano Evelyn Mandac by an appreciative student.

Read Again: How Filipinas Saved a Town in Japan

In The Know

Opinion: I’m Asian American. I see DEI as a bridge for communities
https://asamnews.com/2024/05/19/opinion-im-asian-american-i-see-dei-as-a-bridge-for-communities/

Family reaches settlement in police shooting of son
https://asamnews.com/2024/05/16/police-brutality-mental-health-angelo-quinto/

Sleepy far-flung towns in the Philippines will host US forces returning to counter China threats
https://apnews.com/article/us-forces-philippines-south-china-sea-taiwan-

Lino Brocka’s Cannes Classic ‘Bona,’ With Philippines’ Female Superstar Nora Aunor, Set for Release in U.S., France (EXCLUSIVE)
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/lino-brocka-nora-aunor-bona-philippines-restored-film-cannes-

20 Rare Photos of the Manila Carnival That You've Probably Never Seen Before
https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/lifestyle/rare-manila-carnival-photos-

Teatro Balagtas brings struggle for social justice on stage
https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/theater/teatro-balagtas-brings-struggle-social-justice-stage/

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Staff

Our Mothers, Our Heroes

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All of us have our own personal heroes and we celebrate their presence and their legacy at various times of the year. Mother's Day, birthdays, anniversaries, Father's Day -- these are dates we jot down in our memory banks that allow us to renew gratitude and reverence to those who have personally guided and inspired us.

And then there are the heroes of a nation -- admired from afar, accessible to a lucky few -- who nonetheless earn our esteem and appreciation because of their works, their deeds, and the principles on which they anchored their life work.

In this issue, we pay tribute to two exemplary Filipinos who recently passed on: ex-Senator and human rights lawyer Rene Saguisag (as remembered by current Senator Risa Hontiveros) and playwright/poet/theater VIP Floy Quintos (as honored by his acolyte, Charlette San Juan).

And as a belated Mother's Day feature, two strong-willed and unique women are given due appreciation by their daughters (actress/writer/director Bibeth Orteza and author/community organizer Rochit Tañedo) who grew up not exactly like them, but close. 

Speaking of, here's an important Mother's Day history: Mother's Day started in the 1870s as Mothers' Day (note the apostrophes). According to historian Heather Cox Richardson, a woman dynamo named Julia Ward Howe (she wrote the "Battle Hymn of the Republic") organized Mothers' Day festivals as a clarion call for peace and to empower women to have an equal say in changing society. The then-revolutionary intent of Mothers' Day stemmed from the shock of the carnage of wars that maimed and killed thousands of men. As Cox Richardson writes, Ward Howe believed that "women must take control of politics from the men who had permitted such carnage. Mothers’ Day was not designed to encourage people to be nice to their mothers. It was part of women’s effort to gain power to change society."

In The Know

Sleepy far-flung towns in the Philippines will host US forces returning to counter China threats
https://apnews.com/article/us-forces-philippines-south-china-sea-taiwan-

Filipino American labor icon Larry Itliong honored with park naming
https://asamnews.com/2024/05/13/union-icon-united-farmworkers-asian-american-history/

UPMin to open College of Medicine
https://mindanews.com/top-stories/2024/05/upmin-to-open-college-of-medicine/#gsc.tab=0

How a Filipino café in Barcelona went viral, thanks to ube
https://www.thediarist.ph/how-a-filipino-cafe-in-barcelona-went-viral-thanks-to-ube/

Filipino California: Art and the Filipino diaspora
https://asamnews.com/2024/04/22/filipino-american-artist-exhibition-influence-from-philippines/

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

New Study Warns of Rising Gun Violence Disinformation Targeting Chinese Community
https://asamnews.com/2024/05/11/ethnic-media-services-gun-misinformation-chinese-americans/

Diamond Bar Man Sentenced to One Year in Federal Prison for Driving His Car Through Demonstrators at ‘Stop Asian Hate’ Rally
https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/diamond-bar-man-sentenced-one-year-federal-prison-driving-his-car-through

Man assaults students on a bus in SF with slurs and a taser
https://asamnews.com/2024/05/10/anti-asian-hate-teenage-victims-mother-calls-for-more-policing/

One Man’s Quest for ‘Photographic Justice’
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/10/books/review/corky-lee-asian-america-fifty-years-photographic-justice.html

Did anti-Asian hate decline? Americans say yes, Asians in US disagree: Report
https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/did-anti-asian-hate-decline-americans-say-yes-asians-in-us-disagree-report/ar-BB1m5j85

Funding provided by the State of California.

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Staff

Hooray to Our Heritage

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We join the nation in celebrating Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) this whole month of May. This heritage month is a time to reflect on and acknowledge with gratitude the shared history and the contributions of AANHPIs in shaping this great experiment called the United States of America. 

AANHPIs have, through the years, birthed a wide variety of advocacies and social service organizations, one of which is the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association. As its name implies, this nonprofit focuses on the mental health concerns of its constituents, many of whom have been gobsmacked with anti-Asian hate incidents the past four years. Learn about what it does here. https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/act-against-hate/alliance-fights-hate-through-policy-advocacy-helps-victims-heal

What does it take to be a Philippine National Artist? The Order of National Artists is the highest national recognition that can be conferred on individuals whose body of work represents the best in Philippine  music, dance, theater, visual arts, literature, film, broadcast arts, and architecture and allied arts. First awarded in 1972 posthumously to the great Filipino painter, Fernando Amorsolo, the honor has been given to a total of 86 outstanding Filipinos. Only 12 of them are still alive. The search is on for the next batch and we hope the internationally acclaimed pianist Cecile Licad will be among them. 

Aside from the many town fiestas that take place yearly in our homeland this month, Mother's Day is also a May event. We'll be putting out mom stories in our issues this month because, well, mama love can't be limited to just a day.

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

The Federal Response to Anti-Asian Racism in the United States
https://www.usccr.gov/files/2023-10/fy-2023-se-report.pdf

Rising global tensions continue to fuel anti-Asian rhetoric across the US
https://headtopics.com/sg/rising-global-tensions-continue-to-fuel-anti-asian-rhetoric-52018241

Lowell High teens reported anti-Asian hate on Muni. Now, their parents demand action
https://sfstandard.com/2024/05/04/lowell-high-teens-reported-anti-asian-hate-on-muni-now-their-parents-demand-action/

Southeast Asian Americans face the brunt of racist attacks among Asians in U.S., new study finds
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/southeast-asian-americans-face-brunt-racist-attacks-asians-us-new-stud-rcna149890

When Hate Hits the Golf Course
https://ethnicmediaservices.org/news-exchange/when-hate-hits-the-golf-course/

Funding provided by the State of California.

In The Know

Philippines: Drought dries up dam to reveal centuries-old town
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68852451

Why American Billionaire Andrew Carnegie Offered To Buy The Philippines’ Freedom For $20 Million
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/andrew-carnegie-philippines-

Overlooked During Her Lifetime, Filipino American Artist Pacita Abad Has Suddenly Become a Global Star
https://www.vogue.com/article/pacita-abad-moma-ps1-retrospective?

The Bay Area’s Great American Diner Is a 24-Hour Filipino Casino Restaurant
https://www.kqed.org/arts/13956683/late-night-filipino-food-24-hour-cafe-colma-lucky-chances

How do you make 600 students from 80 countries feel at home? Ask Chef Abigail Serbins 
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/05/01/uc-berkeley-international-house-chef-abigail-serbins

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Staff