Three Commemorations and a Headache

Our Vancouver-based contributor Sandie Gilles writes a fitting Veterans Day (Remembrance Day in Canada) tribute not just to our valiant fighting soldiers, but also to her mother, Dr. Alice Benitez, who is actively promoting the Filipino veterans' cause in speeches and during the recent awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal in Washington, DC.

A commemoration of a century-old miracle is bringing thousands of Catholic pilgrims to Fatima, among them our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco, who brings us her pictorial essay on her pilgrimage and the Filipinos she met along the way.

And another commemoration: on the 4th anniversary of the devastating super typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda, American film producer/director Nick Spark, who was there shortly after the disaster happened to shoot his award-winning documentary Right Footed, returns to Tacloban and finds a markedly different -- and inspiring -- scene.

Back to the present and immediate future: the proposed House Republican tax reform bill hits home for seniors like Evangeline Canonizado Buell, who has to contend with senior ailments, rising health care costs and, if the bill passes, possible penury. We're posting her testimony here that she delivered during a press conference in San Francisco on the real-life effects of the bill.

For those of you who wondered where you got your surname, here's a popular Read Again:
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/how-filipinos-got-their-surnames

And our In The Know links for this week:

Why should Trump care about thousands killed, when there are deals to be done?https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/14/trump-thousands-killed-us-philippine-presidents-duterte-drug-war?CMP=share_btn_fb

Thirty countries use 'armies of opinion shapers' to manipulate democracy – report
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/14/social-media-influence-election-countries-armies-of-opinion-shapers-manipulate-democracy-fake-news

Meet the Filipina supervising animator behind the upcoming Pixar film Coco
http://nolisoli.ph/27957/meet-filipina-supervising-animator-behind-upcoming-pixar-film-coco/?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#link_time=1510052894

Butterfly in the Spring's feature on Sunshine Puey
https://butterflyinthespring.com/2017/11/11/sunshine-puey/

Thanksgiving in the US is just a few sleeps away but before you indulge yourself in rich, fatty, cholesterol-laden dishes, how about enjoying a meal of Vegan Filipino Spaghetti? Vegan chef Richgail Enriquez lends us her recipe.

Our Video of the Week features a a little boy with a big achievement: Enzo Cox, a Filipino American, delivers a stirring TED talk.

It's Our Third Birthday!

This issue marks our third year of putting out Positively Filipino. We'd like to thank all of you -- our talented writers, our loyal readers and our advertisers -- for your unwavering support as we gather stories of Filipinos all over the world and share them with you. We hope this magazine has created a community of kindred spirits proud and happy to be Filipino wherever they may be,  whatever their circumstance and citizenship. Our staff of four is grateful for all the words of encouragement, the accolades and the prizes that have been sent our way. We are truly humbled and inspired. 

Have you ever wondered how you got your surname? If you go back several generations, chances are it was assigned to your ancestors through some random act or event when the Philippines was still under Spanish friar rule. Regular contributor Dr. Penelope V. Flores uses her obsession for onomastics (new word of the day - look it up!) to trace the origin of Filipino surnames and comes up with some pretty interesting insights. Read "How Filipinos Got Their Surnames" and learn.

Check out our delicious new masthead when you click on "Flour Power," the feature of Contributing Writer Rey E. de la Cruz on the Palasigue brothers of Morton Grove, Illinois. Jojo and Jing own and operate Cakes 'n Crumbs Gourmet Bakeshop, and graciously offered to come up with a cake with the Positively Filipino logo. It looked inviting and though we never tasted it, I'm sure it's as good as the brothers' reputation for gourmet cakes, pastries and other baked goods. Jing Palasigue's own Brazo de Mercedes recipe is our offering for the Happy Home Cook this week so even if you're not in Chicago, you can bake yourself one of their bestselling products. Let us know how it goes.

We've published almost 500 stories and we'd like to re-post some of them for you to Read Again. "The First Quarter Storm Was No Dinner Party," a two-parter by prominent Filipino writer Jose F. Lacaba, takes us back to Philippine history during the tumultuous early '70s.

"Love Baskets for Betty"  is a heartwarming backgrounder on some of the handmade collectible baskets created by Jose Formoso Reyes, and won for Contributing Writer Myles A. Garcia a Plaridel Award for feature writing.

Our Video of the Week: Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach shows that she's indeed worthy of the title in her first interview on ABC's Good Morning America.