Cool and Competent
/There’s probably no business as tough as show business. So, it’s always good for the spirit to see Filipinos and Filipino Americans breaking through in U.S. entertainment. This week we feature rising talents who make us proud.
Stand-up comedians often chided TV medical dramas for not being realistic because the “hospitals” didn’t have any Filipino doctors, nurses, and technicians on their staff. They can chide no more. The hit series The Pitt on HBO Max has memorable Filipino American characters buzzing about the Emergency Department of the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Center.
Among them is Dr. Trinity Santos, played by Isa Briones who taps into a reservoir of heavy emotions that Filipinos are known to display in their everyday lives, writes our correspondent Anthony Maddela (Isa Briones, the Cool, Competent Filipina Doctor on ‘The Pitt’). The London-born star had already made a mark on Broadway stages before The Pitt. Read how she runs.
Meanwhile, BINI, a P-Pop girl group riding the candy-colored global K-Pop wave, made quite a splash at the famous Coachella music festival (BINI’s Coachella Breakthrough by Julienne Loreto). Their view count online was second only to festival headliner Justin Bieber’s.
Meanwhile, historian-soldier Alex Fabros shares another part of his memoirs, this time about coming of age amid America’s emerging counter-culture as the dark clouds of the Vietnam War loomed (Chess, Janis Joplin, and My Father’s Herbs).
We’re sharing with you another early access to Episode 2 of Ink and Identity. The Filipino Story team travels to meet Apo Whang-Od, the famous 109-year-old mambabatok (traditional tattooist) of Buscalan, Philippines. This episode begins to explore what Ginhawa means through the lens of a living legend.
[Read It Again]
A Certifiably Sustainable Way of Life by Chiara Cox
In Coron, Palawan: Earth-Friendly Farming with a Side of Eco Tours by Glenna Aquino
[Video of the Week] Filipino Americans Meet Whang Od: Legendary Tattoo Artist of Buscalan
In The Know
San Francisco ceremony honors WWII Asian American nurses
https://asamnews.com/2026/04/14/filipino-and-asian-american-wwii-nurses-honors/?
LOOK: A New Rebel Bakehouse Inside Historic, Picture-Perfect Baguio Landmark
https://www.spot.ph/eatdrink/the-latest-eat-drink/rebel-bakehouse-bell-house-baguio-a2962-20260330-bsc?utm_source=Facebook-
Why we’re excited about all-kundiman concert at MiraNila
https://www.thediarist.ph/why-were-excited-about-all-kundiman-concert-at-miranila/
Food’s Vital Role in the Country’s History by Felice Prudente Sta. Maria
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DXGq1PlAgwb/
Fact Sheet: U.S. and Philippines Plan the Launch of Historic 4,000 Acre Economic Security Zone to Shore Up Supply Chains
https://ph.usembassy.gov/fact-sheet-u-s-and-philippines-plan-the-launch-of-historic-4000-acre-economic-security-zone-to-shore-up-supply-chains/
The Truth About Sampaguita
https://www.facebook.com/reel/762015443407168
