Enjoy June 12!

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Enjoy a momentous Philippine Independence Day tomorrow. If you want to experience a celebration vicariously, read all about the Kalayaan 2025 festival in North Texas. Jocelyn Alvarez Allgood was there and shares the story with us.

Here's a bit of Philippine theater history: in 1975, an organization called Samaskom at the University of the Philippines Institute of Mass Communication staged a risky (the country was then under martial law) stage production called Programang Putol-Putol, a stinging critique on the state of television at the time. Written and directed by a broadcast communication student, Rey de la Cruz (now one of our PF Correspondents), the play was a big hit and was given glowing reviews in mainstream media. Programang Putol-Putol has since been recognized as the first LGBTQ+ play in the Philippines. PF contributing writer Ivan Kevin Castro brings us 50 years back and also tells us about the recent restaging of this monumental theater experience.

Another cookbook, but not just another cookbook. Chef Jam Melchor's Kayumanggi: A Kaleidoscope of Filipino Flavors and Food Traditions is not the usual compilation of the chef-author's food creations. It's actually a treasury of  at least 150 classic and timeless recipes of the dishes Filipinos grew up with. PF Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino, herself an author of cookbooks and biography, describes Kayumanggi: "This is a workhorse type of cookbook, the kind you’d bring with you into the kitchen, bookmark, set sticky notes on, write on the margins, and plop on the counter, as you follow directions while cooking from its glossy, thick, spiral-bound pages."

The tragic fires in Lahaina, HI of 2023 continues to bring heartbreak to its survivors. How did it affect the lives of the Filipino women in Maui? What did it take for them to survive the aftermath? A study by a nonprofit in Maiu-Oahu paints a disturbing picture. We are reposting with permission the report by Yiming Fu of AsAm News.

Tell us about your hometown. In 1,000 words or less,  share your story about the place your mind returns to when it needs to retreat from the noise and din of the present. We define "hometown" broadly. It can be right smack in the grit of the city, an idyllic rural area, a middle-class subdivision or even a university campus. It can evoke memories of peace or traumas of violence. What they have in common is the feeling of home, however one defines home. We'd appreciate accompanying pictures (ideally both old and current). You can email the Word doc at submissions@positivelyfilipino.com.

A Happy Father's Day to all the dads and those who function as dads (especially moms) to children of all ages. Read some of our published stories below. 

Read Again:

Why June 12 Is Different from Other Days by John L. Silva

Untold Lessons from My Father by Ed Diokno

How I Knew My Father’s Love by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

[Video of the Week] Brown, Like Me  - June and Jean Millington

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Staff

Celebration Time!

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And just like that we're already midway through 2025!

While May was a month of fiestas and celebrations, June is a month of parades and commemorations. Look at the big events we can look forward to: June 12 Philippine Independence Day, June 19 Rizal Day and Juneteenth (in the US), June 15 Father's Day, and June 20 the Summer Solstice in the western hemisphere. All throughout the 30 days of June, we celebrate Pride Month and, according to Google, African-American Music Appreciation Month. There are of course the daily commemorations that border on the ridiculous, like National Go Barefoot Day, National Hug Your Cat Day and Love Conquers All Day, among others.  

Positively Filipino considers these important dates as landmarks that guide, but not limit, our coverage. June or not, we stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ community. We also wish Filipinos all over the world festive Independence Day and Rizal Day celebrations, and fathers, as always, reasons to be loved.

Our lineup this week:

A new book from the celebrated Filipino nonagenarian author, Linda Ty-Casper, titled Lives Remembered, is reviewed by literature professor Lynn Grow;

Our Toronto-based contributor Odette Foronda walked the Camino de Santiago the first time to pray for a child for her daughter, and the second time in gratitude for her twin grandsons. 

Another Angono, Rizal artist, Cecille Artillaga, emerges in the Philippine art scene.

And in women's soccer, an eyewitness account of Angel City FC's recent game. 

Read It Again:

In the End, Love Wins by Manzel Delacruz

My Father and Gay Pride by John L. Silva

Filipino Sports History: It’s In the Cards by Mark John Sanchez

[Video of the Week] SOMA Pilipinas: San Francisco's cultural district revitalized with art 

In The Know

OFW in Canada gifted with million-dollar house by employer
https://www.pep.ph/lifestyle/lifestyle/186893/ofw-canada-gift-million-dollar-house-a717-20250523?

More than buko pie: Sweet treats to eat in Los Baños as recommended by a local
https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/507002/los-banos-eats/

When “Honest Review Lang” Becomes Harmful: The Real Cost of Viral Food Criticism
https://www.simpol.ph/when-honest-review-lang-becomes-harmful-the-real-cost-of-viral-food-criticism/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKsAPtleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFhR0dQaGczSHB4NFlxZm5lAR4rXko6XVPng_sy6ZxPzlkLMFvV37ae6LWk7OlbfArJJHvXuFSEbpBivVJz9A_aem_6ftimwXs3_AYo3dhmvRojA

Lilo & Stitch star Tia Carrere gushes over her trans teen son
https://www.out.com/celebs/lilo-stitch-tia-carrere-trans-son-jude?

San Francisco scooter fanatic gets back in the saddle to open new cafe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1BroN4hJgw

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Staff

Take Us to Your Hometown

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We're almost halfway through this roller coaster year and it's time to calm ourselves with some nostalgia.

A few years back we asked you, our readers, to share your story of your hometown -- the place your mind returns to when it needs to retreat from the noise and din of the present. We did get quite a number of lovely submissions about places in the archipelago that we wouldn't have known about. We define "hometown" broadly. It can be right smack in the grit of the city, an idyllic rural area, a middle-class subdivision or even a university campus. It can evoke memories of peace or traumas of violence. What they have in common is the feeling of home, however one defines home. 

We'd like to revive the series, so how about sending us your hometown story in 1,000 words or less. We'd appreciate accompanying pictures (ideally both old and current). You can email the Word doc at submissions@positivelyfilipino.com. And check out some Hometown stories that we are reposting below. 

Meantime, we hope you enjoy this week's stories:

Notes on Our Life in Today’s China by Cristina DC Pastor and Rene Pastor gives a rare insider glimpse of day-to-day life in Beijing during the pandemic.

Our Kitchens, Ourselves by Lorna Lardizabal Dietz introduces a new book of recipes and stories by alumnae of St. Theresa's College in Cebu and Manila. 

Alan Ariano’s Calling by Anthony Maddela profiles a veteran theater actor whose resume includes Miss Saigon, The King and I, Flower Drum Song and the current Life of Pi. 

FilAms Among the Remarkable and Famous, part 67 compiled by our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco recognizes another batch of notable FilAms in various fields.

Read Agains: 

The Hometowns of My Boyhood by Oscar Peñaranda

A Childhood in Pila, Laguna by Maria Clarissa Palileo 

Island in the Stream by Victor Peñaranda

My Bacolod of Sights, Sounds, Smells by Lilia V. Villanueva

[Video of the Week] Why America Ignored Filipino Music for 100 Years

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Staff