So much has been written about Filipino food lately even in mainstream US publications. Filipino restaurants are also sprouting up in various countries as more overseas Filipinos with culinary creds recreate and/or improve on the dishes that they grew up with.

But if one were to ask where to find the best Filipino cooking, the arrow will definitely point to Pampanga which rightfully claims to be the culinary capital of the country. How did "Kapampangan" and "good food" become natural correlates in the taste buds of food connoisseurs? Robby Tantingco, a Kapampangan cultural historian, gives 10 reasons.

Meanwhile, here's a new reason to smile: trendy sneakers that's 100% Filipino sourced and crafted. And better yet, they're made using a sustainable process that meets international standards. Lakat certainly puts pride in footwear.

And a reason to laugh: Pinoy street humor in Funny Signs #17.

Just this week came the news that the new Philippine ambassador to China is Jaime FlorCruz, a retired international journalist (Time magazine and CNN) whose intimate knowledge of China was borne out of imposed 15-year exile in that country due to his being in the wanted list of the first Ferdinand Marcos. Jimi succeeds his co-exile and close friend Santiago "Chito" Sta. Romana who was Duterte's ambassador to China and who died in office earlier this year. Read Again Jimi's story:

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/2013/4/40-years-in-china-from-stranded-activist-to-international-journalist

Here's an inspiring story about the T'Boli weavers, they who craft such beautiful indigenous fabrics. Read Again Patricia Araneta's report:

T’Boli: It’s Better to Weave Than to Leave — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

More This Week

[Video of the Week] Filipinos in The U.S. Navy

[Cook It Again] The Happy Home Cook: Suman sa Ibus - Sticky Rice Logs

In The Know

US Homeland Security breaks up N. Carolina-PH child sex ring

https://usa.inquirer.net/115515/us-homeland-security-breaks-up-n-carolina-ph-child-sex-ring?utm_source=gallery&utm_medium=direct

Filipino contributions to state history honored in new California Museum exhibit

https://www.capradio.org/articles/2022/10/28/filipino-contributions-to-state-history-honored-in-new-california-museum-exhibit/

Education in the Philippines: What's Being Done and What Lies Ahead

https://www.tatlerasia.com/power-purpose/ideas-education/education-in-the-philippines-how-shall-we-face-it?utm_campaign=PH_DIG_FULL20221020&utm_medium=email&utm_source=tatlerasia.com

This delicious dish has been named the best street food in the world

https://www.timeout.com/news/this-delicious-dish-has-been-named-the-best-street-food-in-the-world-110422

Danny Javier: Conjurer of Everyday Tales and Good Vibes

https://www.ourbrew.ph/danny-javier-conjurer-of-everyday-tales-and-good-vibes/?fbclid=IwAR2XH8uEhCVatpJ3zSQ1H51FbnImCO9sJtNxh9K3kR3N1Wa_elShPo4lc0U

Boy band SB19 ready to spread Filipino music around the world through their first-ever global tour

https://news.yahoo.com/boy-band-sb19-ready-spread-012553267.html

At Masarap Cafe, West African and Filipino Cuisines Find Their Pairing

https://laist.com/news/food/masarap-cafe-west-african-and-filipino-cuisine-find-their-pairing?fbclid=IwAR2M7mV1eOuRTLjrN6LWvrasgdKbogedKybgidHRUAYPr2KuWupe45sl0MI

We've been doing a lot of remembering these past months: September was martial law stories, October the history of Filipinos in the US. This month, we begin with undas (All Saints Day) when we honor our beloveds and our heroes who have passed on. It has been almost three years since the pandemic started and most of us have known one or two or three deaths that were arrows in our hearts.

Literary titan Linda Ty-Casper, she who has written 10 acclaimed historical novels and four short story collections and has won some of the most prestigious literary prizes, lost her husband, the renowned literary critic Leonard (Len) Casper, in 2018. How does a writer deal with grief, when her partner of more than 60 years, passes? She collects everything that has been written -- by, to and about Len -- and puts them in a book that is as much a chronicle of a life as it is of Philippine literature. Will You Happen, Past the Silence, Through the Dark: Remembering Leonard Ralph Casper by Linda Ty-Casper is a weighty book in heft and significance. The book's publisher, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, herself a literary star, gives us a preview.

Another book, this one a good gift for a child is Peeled Fruit, by Filipino Canadian actor Xavi De Guzman who is one of the founders of Let's Play On Foundation, dedicated to raising awareness about brain aneurysm. If you watched the Jo Koy movie, "Easter Sunday," you'll remember Xavi as the hoodlum. But there's nothing hoodlum-y about his dedication to honoring his friend who died early of the ailment, and this book is not only a tribute to him and to Filipino culture, but is a way to raise funds for the cause.

Ten FilAms Among the Remarkable and Famous made it to our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco's 40th list this week, each of them with wow-inducing creds.

Last week, we published the article by M.T. Ojeda, "Fact-Checking the History of San Francisco's Manilatown," and it elicited some interesting responses from FilAm activists and historians. One of them came from Estella Habal and Jeanette Lazam, both stalwarts of the Bay Area community, which we are publishing in full here, along with the response of M.T. Ojeda.

Those who grew up with OPM (Original Pilipino Music) are mourning the death this week of one of OPM's most beloved icons, Danny Javier of the APO Hiking Society. Danny is credited for coining the term OPM and for composing and performing some of the best songs of the genre. Fittingly, Danny signed off from this world with a witty original composition which he first sang a cappella on Facebook and, in his last few days, was enhanced with an apt arrangement by musical director Lorrie Ilustre. Here's our Video of the Week: Danny Javier's "Lahat Tayo".