Mother Courage

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What are these Filipino women made of?

True Grit: Risa Hontiveros, like Vice President Leni Robredo, was widowed early and had to raise her four children as a single parent. Yet, with courage and resolve, she went on to become a senator (running for a second term this May) who champions issues that directly elevate the lives of her kababayans. Veteran journalist Paulynn P. Sicam, who has seen Risa evolve through the years, sums up her accomplishments. 

Talent and Grace: The classically trained Minda Azarcon was a musical star in every sense -- singer, pianist, composer, conductor, teacher. She composed the musical score for such internationally acclaimed movies such as  Tinimbang Ka Nguni't Kulang, Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos and Insiang, among others. Until her recent death at 85, she was the epitome of grace and regality, as her student and close friend, the artist Janine Barrera-Castillo, writes.

Toughness and Resilience: Her marriage plucked her from her close-knit family in Cebu and brought her to Maine, probably the most weather-unfriendly state for Filipinos in the US. But like many Filipino women faced with similar challenges, Geraldine Chappe toughed it out and thrived, creating a small community of kababayans in the process. Her grateful husband, Durin Chappe, tells us their story. 

And then there's VP Leni, now causing sleepless nights of her opponents as her "kakampink" army of volunteers worldwide fuels her momentum as the most viable candidate against the survey-leading son of a deposed head of state. Will she manage the previously unthinkable and win? At this point in the campaign, it is important to keep in mind the wisdom of the ages: Never Ever Underestimate the Power of the Filipino Woman.

Read Again the Stories of Filipino Women in History: 

Kumander Liwayway, A Feminine Warrior by Ana Maria Nemenzo
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/kumander-liwayway-a-feminine-warrior 

Helena Benitez by Lyca Benitez-Brown
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/2013/5/travels-with-my-aunt

Clemencia Lopez, Independista by Lyca Benitez-Brown
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/2013/3/clemencia-lopez-independista

Sofia de Veyra by Titchie Carandang-Tiongson
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-thoroughly-modern-sofia-de-veyra 

Sor Martha de San Bernardo by Robby Tantingco
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/give-this-pampanguea-a-memorial-in-the-west-philippine-sea

Recipe of the Week: The Happy Home Cook: Manila Clams in Pinot Grigio

Video of the Week: The World’s Oldest Chinatown

In The Know

Duterte approves law amending FIA
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/03/04/duterte-approves-law-amending-fia/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sfpcg_newsletter_volume_1_issue_2_february_2022&utm_term=2022-03-04

The ‘Hiker’ statue is monumental miseducation about Filipinos in Cambridge and 51 other cities
https://www.cambridgeday.com/2022/03/07/the-hiker-statue-is-monumental-miseducation-about-filipinos-in-cambridge-and-51-other-cities/?fbclid=IwAR35AUyywPzxnboBRa3BHcwvLc3E1WF2AvRiUp1dZtfcPf6hMVIZIbvG1zc

‘One diamond could have bought two airports’ – the Filipino recreating Imelda Marcos’s gems stash
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/mar/01/pio-abad-imelda-marcos-jewellery-philippines-stash-gems-plundering-filipino?fbclid=IwAR0NI93OMuBNAJyip-AWdDDjFJHplGhe2ucyHAQlDcb_WpTn6hviZQuW9mg

Around the world in 80 Pinoy adobos
https://philstarlife.com/living/715309-pinoy-adobos?page=2

How this son of a Filipino fruit picker helped shape a trendsetting New York movement
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/art/02/27/22/filipino-artist-helped-shape-a-60s-new-york-movement

Filipina Actress Hailed As ‘Mega Star’ Cast In ‘Mango Bride’ Adaptation
https://www.latintimes.com/filipina-actress-hailed-mega-star-cast-mango-bride-adaptation-507086?fbclid=IwAR3u9D65qq3Mxu9g_5zTd61yL32Vg2Ou2mGBENqg1fo4PCHm_BqK0Rq4bTo

The East Bay is the Bay Area’s great unsung destination for Filipino food
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/filipino-food-restaurants-hayward-union-city-16969628.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headlines&utm_campaign=sfc_chroniclefood&sid=53bb0669fdd5ac0b52000049

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino

Unsettled and Unsettling

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We live in unsettled and unsettling times. In both the Philippines and the US, we can almost feel the ground shifting at our feet as we deal with the pandemic and await the coming of the political maelstrom.

For those who lived in the Philippines and were attuned to the national mood in 1972, there is a feeling of deja vu, because around this time 48 years ago, the ground beneath our feet was likewise unsteady. A week later, martial law was declared and the country's historical arc bent towards authoritarianism.

Lest we forget those years under the Marcos regime (14 more years of it, from 1972) and to add to the collection of narratives of that era, here are our stories: 

Ex-political detainee Ernesto M. Hilario writes of his prison experience in "Never Again to Martial Law"

In my column, I recall my personal stories of visiting prison in "Visiting YRC"

Read Again:
Martial Law Stories: House Arrest

Martial Law Stories: The “Torture” of Playing for Miss Universe 1974

For those who missed PF's webinar on the Anti-Terror Law, here's the recording:

[Webinar] The Anti-Terrorism Law And How It Will Affect You

Our Stories This Week

Martial Law Stories: Never Again To Martial Law By Ernesto M. Hilario

Nothing Fragile About Rocker Joanna Glass By Anthony Maddela

All The Presidents’ Man, Eddie Serrano By Dr. Floriño Francisco

Meeting Pierce Brosnan And The Dalai Lama By Mona Lisa Yuchengco

Martial Law Stories: Visiting YRC By Gemma Nemenzo

The Happy Home Cook: Sandy’s Fried Rice By Chef Sandy Daza

Video of the week: AAPI Vote’s Breadth of Community

In The Know

Asian Americans’ political preferences have flipped from red to blue
https://theconversation.com/asian-americans-political-preferences-have-flipped-from-red-to-blue-145577?fbclid=IwAR1HIk45p6ym7OUfEtr8qEs1-X7k03g6pJPgvsSeIkub8wW2UeBM_V2vUZ0

For Filipino migrant workers, coronavirus dashes their ticket to a better life
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/coronavirus-unemployment-philippines-migrant-workers/2020/09/09/37972290-e688-11ea-bf44-0d31c85838a5_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_virusphil-846pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans

WATCH: Hollywood’s Yellow Rose trailer speaks of Filipino immigrant spirit 
https://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/watch-hollywoods-yellow-rose-trailer-speaks-of-filipino-immigrant-spirit/?fbclid=IwAR1XVFGtNXB11fhHaArNlDr_YDuTFDvlVZ1HXPxmWIC5JQ1VJNCKNdsEqnw

Plant Thieves Scour Forests to Satisfy Foliage-Starved Filipinos
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/plant-thieves-scour-forests-satisfy-230000920.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=ma 

Healers grapple with mental health issues in Fil-Am community
https://usa.inquirer.net/58409/healers-grapple-with-mental-health-issues-in-fil-am-community?fbclid=IwAR1HIk45p6ym7OUfEtr8qEs1-X7k03g6pJPgvsSeIkub8wW2UeBM_V2vUZ0

Audacious Women

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A woman baker who's making it in New York with her silvanas and chocolate cake. A woman academic who authored a memoir in poetry. A group of  women journalists who didn't let dictatorship or harassment faze them. Stories about women by women marks our Women's Month celebration this week:

Agatha Verdadero profiles Ann Casimiro of New York, whose sweet delights has put a restaurant called Tsismis on the city's very competitive culinary map. ["Ann Casimiro's Sweet Success"] 

PF Correspondent Lisa Suguitan-Melnick focuses on recently retired academic Leny Mendoza Strobel who has come out with a poetic memoir entitled "Glimpses." ["The Scholar Unplugged”]

And from our Manila-based correspondent Criselda Yabes, her tribute to the Women Writers in Media Now (WOMEN), the group of journalists who never stopped fighting authoritarianism. Full disclosure: this is a self-serving feature. ["WOMEN, on the Verge of Another Breakdown"]

From a well-known woman foodie and PF Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino, our Happy Home Cook recipe for Tuna Pasta.

Our In The Know links this week:

How Has the Philippines Managed to Contain the COVID-19 Outbreak?https://www.esquiremag.ph/life/health-and-fitness/how-has-the-philippines-managed-to-contain-the-covid-19-outbreak-a2099-20200306-lfrm?fbclid=IwAR2qp_2Im3A_biihwFUl4TYxjmxrvaDJjy2Fcyw9DtLy10-oToxzCCxo4dQ

11 Empowering Female Scientists Who Paved the Way for Filipino Women in Science
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/women-scientists-in-the-philippines-a00304-20200308-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20200308-fbnp-long-reads-women-scientists-in-the-philippines-a00304-20200308-lfrm-fbfirst&fbclid=IwAR21zvzVKzePOgjqiplQwL3OFN1koK3u48CIZHqmVhcFQkB2xIPgcDJQgT0

No matter the weather: Life as a solo mother
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1238287/no-matter-the-weather-life-as-a-solo-mother?fbclid=IwAR2TwLb2Tb1Xm-6YgBAhIZEtWknWdVsLuza5WbxBzL0z9VjHvELCuFwhwTM#/

Why Doreen Fernandez’s Tikim is still THE book on Filipino food, 20 years after it was first published
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/books/03/03/20/why-doreen-fernandezs-tikim-is-still-the-book-on-filipino-food-20-years-after-its-publishing?fbclid=IwAR1SAP1uspssUPLu3TwTvhiAVmwG_3m_UUbOTQp8W7Ldht_Mn8e6pWKDMlc

Fried Chicken King of Asia Loses $2.9 Billion on U.S. Gamble
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/fried-chicken-king-asia-loses-210000270.html

This 'Tagalog Scrabble' May Help Improve Your Child's Filipino Vocabulary
https://www.smartparenting.com.ph/life/family-fun/salitaan-tagalog-scrabble-a00061-20200305?fbclid=IwAR1tL2HQi2I80zsYGBIViJexn1bNHVyR19iVUqiwBkdZDgG6DcRCJfZsrsw

For our Video of the Week, Youtube personality Mikey Bustos presents his latest cover “Stupid Cough,” a COVID-19 parody and safety reminder video set to Lady Gaga’s new song “Stupid Love.”

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Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino