We're Proud and Inspired

We stand proudly with the Positively Filipino writers who won seven   out of the 10 "best writing" awards in the 2020 Plaridel Awards held recently. See the links to their award-winning stories. 

Best International Story: Jennifer Fergesen, "Filipino Restaurateurs in Europe Grapple with Pandemic" http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/filipino-restaurateurs-in-europe-grapple-with-pandemic

Best Profile Writing: Lisa Suguitan Melnick, "The Scholar Unplugged" http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-scholar-unplugged

Best Personal Essay: Elizabeth Ann Quirino, "Last Christmas" http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/last-christmas  

Best Feature Story: Lisa Suguitan Melnick, "Utom Unfolds T’boli Myths Through Music”
 http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/utom-unfolds-tboli-myths-through-music

Best Food Story: Jennifer Fergesen, "Surprise! A Filipino Table in Tblisi" http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/surprise-a-filipino-table-in-tbilisi

Best Tourism Feature: Elizabeth Ann Quirino, "Food Historian Ige Ramos Serves Cavite's Unsung Cuisine"   http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/food-historian-ige-ramos-serves-cavites-unsung-cuisine

Best Investigative Story: Myles Garcia, "Discovering a Long Lost 19th Century Filipino Master Painter" http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/discovering-a-long-lost-19th-century-filipino-master-painter 

Merit Awards

Lisa Suguitan Melnick, Merit Award in Best News Story, "The Al Robles Express is on the Right Track" http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-al-robles-express-is-on-the-right-track

Elizabeth Ann Quirino, Merit Award in Best Food Story, "Stop and Smell the Power of Filipino Cooking" http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/stop-and-smell-the-power-of-filipino-cooking

Another feather in our proverbial cap: our webinar last Monday on Filipino Trailblazers featuring California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Major General Antonio Taguba (Ret.) was without doubt one of the most interesting, inspiring and pride-stirring hour-and-a-half that one can spend. If you missed it or want to listen to it again (suggestion: get your children to listen with you), here's the link to the recording. [Filipino American Trailblazers]

Our stories for this week are not too shabby either, both in terms of topic coverage and the hopefulness they engender:

‘Filgrimage’: From San Diego To Manila Bay By Miguel Carrion

The Manilatown Heritage Foundation Rises By Manzel Delacruz

Is Texas Finally Turning Blue In 2020? By Gus Mercado

10 Things The 1940 Census Reveals About Carlos Bulosan By M.T. Ojeda 

Recipe of the Week [Read It Again] The Happy Home Cook: Instant Pot Beef Caldereta By Elizabeth Ann Quirino

Video of the Week - Bill de Blasio tribute to the Fil-Am Community

In The Know

Why It Is Important to Know the Story of Filipino-American Larry Itliong
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/why-it-is-important-know-story-filipino-american-larry-itliong-180972696/?fbclid=IwAR2hQz-Zs1ABojxLMAiaML2K8pLr6_Q0TP3YYbyZpv9aDuTgcX-8Y6MTN2Y

The Philippines Has A Policy Against Home Births. It's Not Playing Well In A Pandemic
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/10/25/925442135/the-philippines-has-a-policy-against-home-births-its-not-playing-well-in-a-pande?fbclid=IwAR1tZ2zWchCcJDbFoH5fvc7ydDv6oBAGkMVnbKvj4GsxzNzutMdC_siJGa0

On a Philippine island, Indigenous women get their say on marine conservation
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/on-a-philippine-island-indigenous-women-get-their-say-on-marine-conservation/?fbclid=IwAR1hEI_u0ZQFgPFYGEJ_aRcTFm055dRCV7LKfzCsCJnVMIau7VGrTlt6Wj0

Outcry in Philippines Over General’s ‘Warning’ to Female Celebrities
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/23/world/asia/philippines-liza-soberano-parlade.html

ICYMI: You Can Watch More than 60 Classic Films on Mike De Leon’s Vimeo Account
https://cinemacentenario.com/features/news-and-features/icymi-you-can-watch-more-than-60-classic-films-on-mike-de-leons-vimeo-account/?fbclid=IwAR0YHKOtT91gGkPv-1NkIkevuG7458_39E0QRFGD-tGoVpYxd2l4bn4IPoM 

1763: A historical fiction: Revisiting Early Filipino presence in Louisiana and Examining the Sources
https://filipinoamericancenter.blogspot.com/2014/11/1763-historical-fiction-revisiting.html?fbclid=IwAR169yeXlbU31SPGzY9BihvmYJE3JD_TVrH7oaxPbt46Yf2Rd1on0v7px-0

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Life Lessons from Manongs

In last Monday's Positively Filipino webinar, our guest raconteurs Alex Fabros Jr. and Oscar Peñaranda regaled us with insider stories about life among the manongs on the farms of Salinas, California and in the salmon canneries of Anchorage, Alaska. Both knew whereof they speak -- Alex grew up and worked with them and Oscar spent 15 summers of his youth as an Alaskero (cannery worker). To that generation of Filipino culture bearers, the two attribute lessons in work ethics, joy, appreciation, cunning, survival, courtship and most importantly, building community. To listen to their stories (if you missed the webinar), here's the recording: Memories Of Fil-Am Life On The Farms And In The Canneries Of The West Coast

Our next webinar is the first of our forthcoming series on FilAm Trailblazers and it will feature two community heavyweights: California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye in a rare public appearance and Major General Antonio Taguba (Ret.). We hope you join us this coming Monday, October 26, 2020. Register here: http://bit.ly/filamtrailblazers

As this year's Filipino American History Month (FAHM) begins to wind down, here are two stories you have to read:

American-born Filipino/Japanese citizen Amadio Arboleda tells us his complicated and definitely unique life. ["My Audacious Filipino Journey"]

US citizen John Silva, writing from Manila where he now resides, relates how voting in a US election is worth going through hell and high water (or at least, an attempt at voter suppression) for him, a son of a war veteran. [A Ballot from Manila]

Here's another recommended book list for your FAHM reading from San Francisco Public Library's Abraham Ignacio Jr. [Book Recommendations For 2020 Filipino American History Month]

And another intro to notable Fil-Ams from our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco. [Fil-Ams Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 10] 

Read Again: 

Robert V. Ragsac Sr.'s "Forget Them Not" 

Alex S. Fabros Jr.'s "Murder Most Foul" 

For the Happy Home Cook, here's a repost of Chef Romy Dorotan's  (Purple Yam in Brooklyn) Beef Shortribs Adobo, definitely a winner. 

For Video of the Week, young Fil-Am comedian JR De Guzman makes an appearance on Harry Connick, Jr.’s show.

In The Know

I Went to a 'Filipinos for Trump' Rally. Here's What I Found
https://www.colorlines.com/articles/i-went-filipinos-trump-rally-heres-what-i-found?fbclid=IwAR3G9ywtAiOrqRFyO11IPw_woeqW6B0MHoAdPCPEMb1x067-TunCqdpveaA 

‘Buried alive’: ‘The Celine Archive’ uncovers young Filipina’s horrific 1932 killing in Delta
https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/2020/10/11/buried-alive-the-celine-archive-documentary-uncovers-filipinas-1932-horrific-killing-delta/5918519002/?fbclid=IwAR3DiI-ahEP-vPE-4x6_5JfUSC398lFYaFCwsTLAs2jF8MHSa2NncmVyP_M

Exulting in a tribute to our National Hero
https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/arts-and-culture/2018/11/26/1871613/exulting-tribute-our-national-hero/amp

From 800, it’s now a 10,000 waitlist for Filipino flavor Kora doughnuts
https://thefilam.net/archives/32996?fbclid=IwAR2BiaxeMD0YevN0RXwkaJkYaacJjE-ivyg7CeBfYet53gFE6WriDXGktAE