Afternoon Delight

What's your idea of an afternoon well spent, one that elevates your spirit and shakes or stirs you to take, if not outright action, at least to take the next step towards greater enlightenment?

Would it be watching a controversial movie that presents an alternate reality of a well-documented historical event, like "Maid in Malacanang"?

Would it be taking time off to pursue a passion that saved you from pursuing a wrong path, like chef/photographer Jomel Bartolome in New Zealand? 

Certainly, it will not be what author/professor/human rights activist/occasional politician Walden Bello endured recently when he had to spend jail time for displeasing the powerful. 

For many of us, an afternoon of Filipino music and an intimate conversation about our musical culture with Maestro Michael Dadap wins hands down as the activity of choice, more so if it's in the company of kindred spirits, as PF contributor Lorna Lardizabal-Dietz writes about.

These stories and another of our popular recurring list of Fil-Ams who are making this world a better place are our offerings this week. 

We are also re-sharing some stories that we hope will make your day better.

In 2013, during the search for a new Pope, then newly named Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle was talked about as a possible candidate. Here's the late ace reporter Aries Rufo's take on the issue: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/2013/3/the-man-who-could-be-pope

And a good read, at any time of day from Lotis Key-Kabigting: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/white-men-cant-jump-start

[Cook It Again] The Happy Home Cook: Rellenong Talong (Stuffed Eggplant)

[Video of the Week] "Gintong Kasaysayan, Gintong Pamana" LA's Historic Filipinotown Mural

---

In The Know

Philippine media under pressure as Marcos Jr courts influencers
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/20/philippine-media-under-pressure-as-marcos-jr-courts-influencers

When Filipinos Fight with Filipino-Americans, No One Wins
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/filipinos-filipino-americans-filams-filipinx-diaspora-a2819-20220813-lfrm2
Philippine classrooms reopen after more than two years
https://ph.news.yahoo.com/philippine-classrooms-reopen-more-two-032342193.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9sLmZhY2Vib29rLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFiv7B7QwjQj_86QCR-k3x8XaEvIhOp4chOIPrES_OphaH_UXSvyFNBN09_mP_sSgnSpzJRzbSTUG-SaPyFRCv3_S2XFNI5fPK7gB3c0fgoyEMqxmc8tBJ0dhjtPyzRN5sAVwDN1U_KjS02HBZQhj9gMw-29ARYLodRIbcRESufw

Why American Billionaire Andrew Carnegie Offered To Buy The Philippines’ Freedom For $20 Million
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/andrew-carnegie-philippines-a00304-20200105?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20220815-fbnp-long-reads-andrew-carnegie-philippines-a00304-20200105-fbold&fbclid=IwAR2dzkEZ8Zkzr4MZoKKPzMGtLOO_5O8aAhHYLmFhc6VGFscV8zz54fzBrnY

Why Niagara Falls has become home to many Filipinos
https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/08/16/22/why-niagara-falls-has-become-home-to-many-filipinos

The story of esteemed 19th-century Spanish painter’s ‘lonely tomb’ at the La Loma Cemetery
https://pop.inquirer.net/331379/the-story-of-esteemed-19th-century-spanish-painters-lonely-tomb-at-the-la-loma-cemetery

What Ever Happened to the Legendary Salinas Salt Springs?
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/salinas-salt-springs-a00293-20201201?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare-Photo&utm_campaign=20220822-fbnp-long-reads-salinas-salt-springs-a00293-20201201-fbold&fbclid=IwAR1slU5yvifhDoHV6amCmF_ZZXply4tS4idc05GNrTtELjeacn2jenyaowo

---

The Story of a Life

Fifty years ago this month, thousands of Filipino youth gathered in various places in Metro Manila at various times to protest a variety of issues such as the emerging Marcos dictatorship and American imperialism. That period in our homeland's history has been immortalized as the First Quarter Storm, an apt description of the political upheavals yet to come.

One of the prominent leaders of that era was Edgar Jopson, the chair of the moderate student group, the National Union of Students. As authoritarian rule became inevitable, EdJop was quickly radicalized and he became a leading figure in the leftist National Democratic Front until his death by military bullets. His awe-inspiring life story has also been immortalized in veteran journalist Benjamin Pimentel's book U.G. An Underground Tale: The Life and Struggle of Edgar Jopson. Author/journalist Criselda Yabes reviews this third iteration of Pimentel's bio of EdJop in "The Story of a Life."

Filipinx poet Eileen Tabios shares with us her memories in poetic prose of growing up in Baguio City in "My City of Baguio, A Meditation." 

From PF Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino comes a review of the new cookbook of Missouri-based chef Malou Perez-Nievera ("Connecting the Pots, Food from the Philippines to America"). And for those eager to know more about the First Quarter Storm of 1970, Read Again an excerpt from poet/journalist Jose "Pete" Lacaba's immortal Days of Disquiet, Nights of Rage:  

https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-first-quarter-storm-was-no-dinner-party-part-1

https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-first-quarter-storm-was-no-dinner-party-part-2

For our recipe of the week, we feature Perez-Nievera’s Lomo Lomo A La Papa Diddi (pork loin in anchovy and ginger reduction).

Here are our In The Know links this week:

‘Like a Scene From a Movie.’ What I Saw Photographing the Taal Volcano Eruption in the Philippines https://time.com/longform/taal-volcano-philippines-eruption/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-article&utm_content=20200116&fbclid=IwAR0j29elLA8tKDluJlxnC7pOjVjtL_9sjC1HZRrrlxJZYiglKMG0D7wQoi4

What Cardinal Tagle's Appointment as "The Red Pope" Means For Him and the Catholic Church
https://esquiremag.ph/long-reads/cardinal-tagle-red-pope-a00293-20191212-lfrm?fbclid=IwAR3UwOfVVm-ljhafTINycelYx0vE2QAJel5L-ifWo_B10X9Oh70XQhQ6I9w

This Scenic Spot in Rizal Sits Above a Sea of Clouds
https://www.spot.ph/things-to-do/the-latest-things-to-do/80443/treasure-mountain-tanay-sa1177-20200104-src-sp?utm_source=Facebook-Spot&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20200104-fbnp-things-to-do-treasure-mountain-tanay-sa1177-20200104-src-sp-fbfirst&fbclid=IwAR34yrWCvohkH4IS8vclbRZiQiquheBGT94H7tnK1q405oP8DwSnNxFlMMM

The Story of the Exhibit: Manila Shawl
https://www.fashionmuseumriga.lv/eng/kaleidoscope/manila/?fbclid=IwAR1MJJaFt21mX1sFULVRINhEBO83ON0TWN_BE7N3JozZzODYDozovi6JpBk

Dr. Joven Cuanang: Forever young at 80 (or how art made him a better doctor)
https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/354858/dr-joven-cuanang-forever-young-at-80-or-how-art-made-him-a-better-doctor/?fbclid=IwAR3ojC3vBnR6WVkvAkbXy5jskRqnDX7VorXwqtl94TpQRvVr5g3Kn7mXu4k

For Video of the Week, Youtube’s The Endless Adventure features this year’s Sinulog Festival.

To Sing in Barcelona

Take a breather from your Christmas preparations and enjoy our stories this week.

In Spain, 34 kids aged eight to 18, all born and raised there of Filipino parents, comprise Coro Kudyapi, a choir whose repertoire is deeply rooted in the culture of the Philippines. In PF contributor Agatha Verdadero's telling, the choir has sang alongside the world-famous UP Madrigal Singers and is already a fixture in Barcelona's annual  Raval Stolstada Fiesta de Carnaval. ("In Spain, Coro Kudyapi Finds Roots and Home in Music")

If you've watched any of the Cirque du Soleil's acrobatic shows, know that behind those death-defying acts is a crew of riggers that control the wires and cables that enable performers' movements in the air. In "Amaluna," the chief rigger is FilAm Emille Morales who has been with Cirque du Soleil for eight years. Morales gives us an idea of what it takes to make circus acts safe in PF contributor Harvey I. Barkin's story. ("Pinoy Rigger Keeps Acrobats, Trapeze Artists Safe at Cirque du Soleil's 'Amaluna'')

And here are some unique gift suggestions to please yourself and/or your love ones this Christmas or any time of the year ("10 Unique Gifts for All Seasons"). Our Happy Home Cook recipe is for a traditional Caviteño soup dish for either your Christmas or New Year media noche from Chef Ige Ramos: Calandracas soup. 

Catch up with some important news (like a possible Filipino pope?) through our In The Know links:

In Tagle, Pope strengthens his Vatican hand and sets up possible successor
https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2019/12/in-tagle-pope-strengthens-his-vatican-hand-and-sets-up-possible-successor/?fbclid=IwAR1pihiZ-vw7eV9t15EiGH6MJNFiYgr5zCCVnBfV0HBC2_Os2zcCBYlM-I0

Vico Sotto's politics: Open to compromise but never to corruption
https://www.rappler.com/nation/246856-vico-sotto-politics-open-compromise-never-corruption?fbclid=IwAR05oqGWOzMPqQOqSuiglLyWbJdOjXcDTlFNezdezL3J21WdBl6qub6Rgk0

Why Many OFWs Remain Poor Despite Working Abroad For Years
https://www.pinoy-ofw.com/news/36198-why-many-ofws-remain-poor-despite-working-abroad-for-years.html?fbclid=IwAR3iPQFKVbILHi4h1ibafNjvPytbhIjR6RQ7MrP1H3L1UqT43fPZiXk6kj4

Kulelat!
https://medium.com/@lenystrobel/kulelat-15e4e1a60b53

In Video of the Week, Seattle chef Marcus Samuelsson visits Filipino restaurant Archipelago and infuses Filipino flavors into dry-aged steak.