Like our kababayans in countries where the community is still small, the Filipinos in Ireland make extra efforts to create a semblance of the homeland in a strange country. Researcher/academic Diane Sabenacio Nititham shares the results of her study of Filipinos in the land of breweries and the green shamrock, who draw on the strength of language, rituals, food and the Catholic church to establish community. [Read "A Filipino Community Grows in Ireland"]

Meanwhile in the San Francisco Bay Area where Filipinos abound, another academic Mariel Toni Jimenez hits upon a universal truth: Filipinos and dancing are psychically entwined, and our senior kababayans are all the healthier for this. [Read "Dances With Manangs"]

Musician/composer Florante Aguilar recently staged his latest concert, UTOM, which harnessed the unique sounds and beat of traditional instruments to tell the stories of the T'boli tribe of Lake Sebu in South Cotabato. PF Correspondent Lisa Suguitan Melnick was there to document the event. [Read "Utom Unfolds T'boli Myths Through Music"]

For the Happy Home Cook, here's a sweet recipe that harkens back to summers in the Philippines: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake from the late culinary great, Nora Daza.

Here are links to stories you may have missed:

How the Philippine drug war inspired novelist Randy Ribay's 'Patron Saints of Nothing'
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1018411?fbclid=IwAR0Oh3kiowIjJppyg10922jkrn3G0Ooc_3zjdJ4REtI2JzxEcMHxwIvvIxI

‘Just let us fish,’ says skipper of PH boat in Reed Bank incident
https://globalnation.inquirer.net/176637/just-let-us-fish-says-skipper-of-ph-boat-in-reed-bank-incident?fbclid=IwAR2tGwYCtsjlA6rnyzCO1Iy_MgyWdHoIHyT_pCR9z-f5H82ZcWnrCRVVHJk

Jamie Yancovitz & Kristen Cabildo Are Redefining The Practice Of Filipino Martial Arts For Women
https://www.bustle.com/p/jamie-yancovitz-kristen-cabildo-are-redefining-the-practice-of-filipino-martial-arts-for-women-17986133?fbclid=IwAR354wGhcf999njUbtPKIzPdH5b_gI2gyqEOi8LnKm5JrzkP5E-kggbImdI

Try it now: The rise and rise of Filipino food
https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2019/05/try-it-now-rise-and-rise-filipino-food?fbclid=IwAR3_mnodQuTiG_KaS853uY774Le4_99Dg0Tv7otfD_kPKQdUw0_wWm1DfMw

For video of the week, Balitang America featured Karenderya, a Filipino restaurant that’s being hailed by Esquire Magazine as one the nation’s 20 top restaurants

Some Filipino songs have been recognized internationally and one of them is the Visayan (Cebuano) song "Rosas Pandan," currently a staple among choirs in various countries, thanks to the intricate vocal arrangements of San Francisco-based musical arranger George Gemora Hernandez. PF Correspondent Myles A. Garcia gives us the story behind this popular song's unexpected success and lists 22 different renditions in "The Late, Surprising 21st Century Success of Rosas Pandan."

Ambassador (Ret.) Virgilio A. Reyes Jr. chronicles the story of the Tempongko family, originally of Pulong Mayaman, Malate, whose evolution spans over a century in "Portrait of History as a Filipino Family."

February may be the month of love but Philippine history also marks it as a month of bloodshed. On February 4, 1899, the bloody Philippine-American War began which resulted in over 20,000 Filipinos and over 4,000 Americans dead. Forty six years later, on February 3, 1945, the battle to liberate Manila from the Japanese began. Read Again our stories on these two monumental events in our motherland's history:

"A Valiant People's Army" by John L. Silva

"The Battle of Manila, WWII" by James M. Scott

Here are our links to stories you may have missed:

The Philippine War - A Conflict of Conscience for African Americans
https://www.nps.gov/prsf/learn/historyculture/the-philippine-insurrectiothe-philippine-war-a-conflict-of-consciencen-a-war-of-controversy.htm?fbclid=IwAR0DgXk4c2t2I4FvTp_dKFtQVQvCV0le4IYezQsn7Ei-JTwo-eZuLPMugs0

The Black Presence in The Philippines
https://atlantablackstar.com/2014/06/28/the-black-presence-in-the-philippines%e2%80%8f/?fbclid=IwAR3pyfW_4wTU7aGKg18fOK7PdiEYaTVI450OMS0GvgzK7qnMvwaYjkzukNY

A Son of Immigrants Contemplates What His Life Might Have Been
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/28/lens/manila-philippines-dead-to-rights.html?fbclid=IwAR116ER81c_Dx3Q5NkGLJNxBrDB41zh7FpaG7IYZorkYxNYiZf12YNV9YT4

Small Filipino restaurant in New York sees popularity skyrocket after Esquire names its among best
https://news.yahoo.com/small-filipino-restaurant-york-sees-110001290.html?soc_src=community&soc_trk=fb&fbclid=IwAR1P71G-IZt_59cJgJIgu8hrRlvpH5fQE5m6fvNDXV9CJHZfQ4wLji266xs

5 Filipino Marine Scientists Who Are Saving Our Seas
http://cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/2018/07/24/Filipino-marine-scientists.html?fbclid=IwAR0KvKqg41UkVjyIL8RhdxyuQjwNC9a_PFruebEcoQY_bysoJfE1cvAqhpQ

Our Happy Home Cook features another recipe from San Francisco-based foodie, Voltaire Gungab: Longganisa with Apples and Asian Pear.

For Video of the Week, South China Morning Post features how a family in Marawi was ripped apart by fighting between ISIS and the Philippine military.