March 13, 2024

Empowered Filipinas

March 13, 2024/ Staff

In many countries, across a wide expanse of professions and vocations, Filipina women are smashing barriers and blazing trails, a phenomenon that has been assiduously documented by the Filipina Women's Network (FWN) with its annual Most Influential awards. This week, Positively Filipino is featuring the first batch of 12 awardees representing six countries who are elevating Filipino womanhood to new levels of excellence. [Read part 1 of "Filipina Movers and Shakers" as compiled by our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco, from FWN's roster. Parts 2 and 3 will be in the next issues of PF.]

It's not an easy book to read. It will shock you, anger you. A nightmare or two is not far-fetched. But if there's one book that a Filipino should read today, if only to be aware of what our Motherland just went through and might go through again, it's Some People Need Killing by Filipino ace journalist Patricia Evangelista. The book lists in both the New York Times' and President Obama's rankings as one of the best published in 2023, which is a first for a Filipino author. PF book reviewer Patricio Abinales provides a guide to ease one's way into the book's 429 pages without getting drained by the sadness and your rage.

What does it take to raise a future Attorney General of California? Ten years ago, Cynthia Bonta, mother of Rob (Robbie for her), talked to PF Correspondent Cherie M. Querol Moreno about her family's journey that shaped the trajectory of her children's careers. Read Again https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/model-mom for a parenting guide.

Africa-based PF writer Agatha Verdadero found out the hard way the secret to making friends with Africans, specifically the proud Somali people, with whom she spent years as an international aide worker. "It was from them that I learned one of the most important truths about working in Africa: Never go to the continent with the romantic notion of being a messiah, of helping its people. You are not needed and wanted that way. Instead, be a trustworthy friend. Everything else flows from that fundamental relationship." Read Again her article https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/friendship-worth-ones-life for some illumination.

[Video of the Week] Asian Pacific America: Larry the Musical Premieres at Brava Theatre

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

'You brought the 'kung flu' here': Man pleads guilty to hate crime, assault at UC
https://www.wcpo.com/news/crime/you-brought-the-kung-flu-here-man-pleads-guilty-to-hate-crime-assault-at-uc

Racist note left on receipt at Asian restaurant in North Carolina sparks outrage
https://news.yahoo.com/news/racist-note-left-receipt-asian-174213584.html

Suspect in Manhattan subway hammer attack charged with hate crimes, threatened to kill police: court docs
https://www.aol.com/suspect-manhattan-subway-hammer-attack-232400157.html?guccounter=1

Fear of Anti-Asian Hate as an International Medical Graduate
https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/fulltext/2023/04000/fear_of_anti_asian_hate_as_an_international.5.aspx

Funding provided by the State of California.

In The Know

What we the Filipino audience lost when Jaclyn Jose died
https://www.thediarist.ph/what-we-the-filipino-audience-lost-when-jaclyn-jose-died/

In Pictures: 15 Manila Spots That Signal Beginnings of a Larger Walkable Heritage Zone
https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/culture/108008/manila-best-history-and-heritage-spots-a6883-20240210-lfrm?

Financial Adviser: 5 Business Lessons Everyone Can Learn from 'The Pretzel King' Mikkel Paris, CEO of Auntie Anne's Philippines
https://www.esquiremag.ph/money/industry/auntie-annes-philippines-mikkel-paris-ceo-business-lessons-a2334-20230725

Here's How Much It Costs to Live in Manila's Most Exclusive Villages
https://www.esquiremag.ph/the-good-life/pursuits/manila-exclusive-villages-price-and-perks-a1868-a1910-20190625-lfrm10?

Spot Stays: This Palawan Resort's Water Villas Are Worth the Splurge
https://www.spot.ph/things-to-do/the-latest-things-to-do/107767/palawan-resort-setir-new-salepan-villas-a5138-20240117?

March 05, 2024

Wonder Women

March 05, 2024/ Staff

It's always a pleasure to celebrate with the rest of the world Women's History Month because we take pride in Filipino women everywhere who are coming into their fullness as achievers, leaders, advocates, activists, mentors, and role models in their chosen fields.

This week, to start off this year's month-long celebration, we spotlight two women, one a long-time literary giant and the other, the first Filipina to compete in the toughest horse race on earth.

Author/publisher Cecilia Brainard regards Linda Ty-Casper as one of the greatest Filipino novelists. Her critically acclaimed 1974 novel, Three-Cornered Sun has been given new life by a woman-owned publishing house called Exploding Galaxies, whose avowed mission is, according to Brainard, "to rediscover lost Filipino classics."

Solana Lim Perez is a young Filipina horsewoman who dared compete with veterans in the ten-day extreme endurance race in the grueling Mongolian Steppes. Though she didn't win, she completed the 1,000-kilometer Mongol Derby, a singular achievement in itself. Read all about this brutal contest from contributing writer Mikeli Mapua.

Filipino and Fil-Am thespians are having their time in Broadway as ANC reporter Don Tagala reports.

Here's a book that's one-of-a-kind: San Francisco Bay Area-based author and artist Michael Magnaye's La Vie en Pose, a collection of hilarious and satirical photos of the author in cross-dressing poses. You have to see it for yourself to appreciate the daring, the imagination and the acts of subversion. Guaranteed to be a hit on your coffee table because you ain't seen anything like it.

[Partner] Discount Tix To Larry The Musical, Meet Our Larrys, And More!

[Video Of The Week] The Domestic Slaves Rescued From London’s Richest Streets

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

Anti-Asian Hate Incidents
https://laist.com/brief/news/anti-asian-hate-aapi-resource-hub

UCLA, AAPI Data Report Urges Culturally Informed Mental Health Care for Asian American, NHPI Communities
https://bnnbreaking.com/breaking-news/health/ucla-aapi-data-report-urges-culturally-informed-mental-health-care-for-asian-american-nhpi-communities

Anti-Asian Bias Sometimes Is Disguised in ‘Microaggressions’
https://sampan.org/2024/frontpage/anti-asian-bias-sometimes-is-disguised-in-microaggressions/

Fight Anti-Asian Racism with Data and Community Help
https://asianresourcehub.org/

WA lawmakers pass bill to create hotline for hate crimes and bias incidents
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/wa-to-establish-hotline-for-hate-crimes-and-bias-incidents/

Hate crime charges added for home-invasion suspects accused of targeting Asian people
https://midmichigannow.com/news/nation-world/-hate-crime-asian-families-home-invasion-robbery-break-in-crime-crisis-seattle-washington-king-county-renton-son-english-cash-jewelry-arrest-charges-jail-bail-charged-june-assault-suspects-criminal-violence

Funding provided by the State of California.

In The Know

Andi Eigenmann reveals cause of Jaclyn Jose's death
https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/4/andi-eigenmann-reveals-cause-of-her-mother-s-death#google_vignette

This Filipino E-Learning Platform Has Created A Library of Free Online Courses That Everyone Can Contribute To
https://www.tatlerasia.com/gen-t/innovation/ask-lex-ph-library-free-online-courses?utm_source=tatlerasia.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PH_DIG_FORDIPLOMACYANDFRIENDSHIP_FULL20240301

In Pictures: 15 Manila Spots That Signal Beginnings of a Larger Walkable Heritage Zone
https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/culture/108008/manila-best-history-and-heritage-spots-a6883-20240210-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-Spot&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20240301-fbnp-newsfeatures-manila-best-history-and-heritage-spots-a6883-20240210-lfrm-fbold&fbclid=IwAR00ngha9N2gi78GZO_tHj5DmmishGMFKtWxcsJMYlJuhBXxA2zt4PmAV7Y

Spot Stays: This Palawan Resort's Water Villas Are Worth the Splurge
https://www.spot.ph/things-to-do/the-latest-things-to-do/107767/palawan-resort-setir-new-salepan-villas-a5138-20240117?utm_source=Facebook-Spot&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20240303-fbnp-things-to-do-palawan-resort-setir-new-salepan-villas-a5138-20240117-fbold&fbclid=IwAR1QFhEKpoCoCpXj9hAv0yy0g-moP2f3BMBnQ7A5pAHI-V-dfoDRChLhfJE

Navy sailor’s filmmaking son brings Filipino enlisted stories to the small screen
https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2024-02-23/master-chief-filipino-navy-film-13091538.html?utm_campaign=dfn-ebb&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sailthru&SToverlay=2002c2d9-c344-4bbb-8610-e5794efcfa7d&fbclid=IwAR3DvC51WEVVDT8DworW4827eYrLeng5PkmhrHoa1IL2iS2TalKU4ZZfxfA

February 28, 2024

Springtime and Justice

February 28, 2024/ Staff

Now that we're inching to spring, it's time to make travel plans. How about visiting Amsterdam, whose fascinating windows, artistic displays, cobbled streets, environmentally sound transport (bicycles) and intoxicating whiffs of legal substances guarantee a wondrous vacation for anyone. PF correspondent Criselda Yabes, now France-based, writes about this tourist friendly city that beckons and lures.

The fight against anti-Asian hate requires special efforts by various states to stem the insidious crime. In New York recently, as assault victim Vilma Kari, a Filipino American senior, was accorded justice with the sentencing of her attacker to 15 years in prison, NY Governor Kate Hochul pledged $30 million in support of the AAPI communities' (including the Fil-Am community) efforts to protect its constituents from hate crimes. The Filam.net founding editor Cristina DC Pastor reports.

It's never too early to teach children the principles of justice, and books such as Ang Hukuman ni Sinukuan are on hand to provide parents and educators the tools to explain the complicated concept via mundane and familiar stories. Contributing writer Ian Layugan elucidates.

We close Black History Month with two stories that solidify the solidarity between Fil-Ams and Blacks.

Justin Jones, an elected member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, made headlines in 2023 when he joined two other representatives in breaking decorum on the House floor in a gun control protest. Long before that incident, PF featured him as a community activist actively embracing his Filipino roots in https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/justin-jones-black-filipino-civil-rights-activist

A little-known but significant history: in 1925, the Pullman Company hired Filipinos as scabs when Black porters were trying to form a union. The train company didn't anticipate that the Filipinos would eventually join the Black porters in forming the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Read all about it in https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/how-black-and-filipino-unity-was-forged-in-the-pullman-workers-union

[Video of The Week] EDSA On My Mind