The Worst of Times and the Best of Times

As an active journalist in the Philippines between 1983, the year Ninoy Aquino was assassinated, and 1986 when the Marcos regime was ousted by people power, I was right there when the almost daily protests were happening. Those were heady times, alternately exhilarating and scary, when yellow confetti rained daily from the usually staid buildings in Ayala Avenue, when intense political infighting and secret strategizing among rival factions within the administration were taking place, and anti-Marcos rallies were drawing bigger and bigger crowds. We felt the electricity in the air and the ground shifting; we knew that history was being made and we were not just witnesses but participants in its unfolding.

I realize now how different it is to watch events unfold from afar. Though I'm in constant touch with friends who are on the ground, it's not the same as being there and actually feeling, hearing, seeing the tension and the excitement. Worse, with the proliferation of online disinformation, I have to suspend reacting to news until I verify their veracity, which can be a damper to spontaneous enthusiasm.

This is why I'm so happy to have my friend and WOMEN (Women Writers in Media Now) colleague Rochit  Tañedo write about the nitty-gritty of the recent massive Leni Robredo-Kiko Pangilinan rallies in Nueva Ecija and Tarlac. Traveling by public bus from her home in Quezon City shortly after Covid restrictions were lifted, laden with donated campaign materials, Rochit embedded herself among the volunteer organizers and the masses who thronged to the rally sites, and wrote about the "Tears and Fears and Leni-Kiko's Abonados." Not quite the same as being actually there, but close. 

Other Stories This Week:

This Filipino American Life by Juanita Tamayo Lott

Conrad Ricamora: Niceville’s Nicest Actor by Anthony Maddela

Why ‘White is Beautiful’ Among Filipinos? by Rey E. de la Cruz, Penelope V. Flores and Deiia R. Barcelona


Read Again: Women Who Made and Wrote

She Broke My Heart and Made It Whole Again by Sylvia Mayuga

Marilou, 1955-2012 by Pablo A. Tariman

Gina Lopez: Rich Girl, Kind Heart, Woman Warrior by Paulynn Paredes Sicam

Dawn Bohulano Mabalon’s Short Life Burned Brightly by Mariel Toni Jimenez

Cook It Again: The Happy Home Cook: Vegan Arroz A La Cubana by Chef Richgail Enriquez

Video of the Week: Chefs Sandy Daza and Claude Tayag



In The Know

HISTORIC PUNK VENUE ‘MABUHAY GARDENS’ BECOMING UNDERGROUND COMEDY HOTSPOT

https://brokeassstuart.com/2022/03/28/historic-punk-venue-mabuhay-gardens-becoming-underground-comedy-hotspot/?fbclid=IwAR2180iCQudQZDef-U0iQIeyoT0dZc3Oudu6pDYlsb0VFh2OvXunANf_hDU

An Indigenous basket-weaving tradition keeps a Philippine forest alive

https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/an-indigenous-basket-weaving-tradition-keeps-a-philippine-forest-alive/?fbclid=IwAR2SB4RxFl14GjAKLu78L1KZLQxxxwQKrLip7WoSQDxB745XqifDxiKHCIE

Most Beautiful Cities and Towns in the Philippines

https://www.esquiremag.ph/life/travel/most-beautiful-cities-towns-philippines-a00204-20200528-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20220314-fbnp-life-most-beautiful-cities-towns-philippines-a00204-20200528-lfrm-fbold&fbclid=IwAR3S3kaBokVkdhItla4tLAQuYCzB8Vg9Zz9_KGtOkl2rHff6iWpocKX0xWo

‘A total Pinoy fantasy’: This 600-million amusement park is the new pride of Negros

https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/travel/destination/03/14/22/this-600-m-amusement-park-is-negros-latest-pride?fbclid=IwAR2T3K5mFjhYgHjAbLGvRrE3T-E8-2vop7lo5WkuTiTAG4W_AT8LCZhQAps

This classroom-on-a-trolley on the railways of Quezon has caught the eyes of the world

https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/03/17/22/classroom-on-a-trolley-in-quezon-gets-world-attention?fbclid=IwAR1jLiFtzefO5hrZzfNt3AWnoDcPC1EWdwaPBSFI2DbmwTXifhJHT6cALdQ

It’s not the house that art built but it’s art that keeps it standing

https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/art/03/19/22/avellana-artgallery-at-25-remains-a-home-for-artists


Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino

Journeys in Place

With a force of more than 1 million ethnic Chinese living in the Philippines and over 23 million Filipinos of Chinese ancestry, our homeland can harness "people-to-people exchanges and solidarity ties" to cool down the tensions in the South China Sea, aka West Philippine Sea. This interesting though largely untested proposal is presented by UP professor Eduardo C. Tadem, who honors his Chinese roots in "Blood Could Be Thicker than Water in the South China Sea."

The pandemic lockdown in the Philippines, reportedly one of the strictest in the world, didn't faze five friends with interesting backgrounds to set free their creativity without leaving their homes. Channeling their common love of photography, the five men have come out with Journeyers, an impressive coffeetable book that our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco, has been privileged to get. In "Journeyers: Five Men with Cameras Walk into the World," she give us a glimpse of the journeyers' journeys.

Speaking of journeys, now that the pandemic restrictions have been relaxed, how about visiting Romblon, a relatively untraveled province rich in natural resources and beauty, which has bred a National Artist, among other distinguished native sons. Retired Ambassador Virgilio A. Reyes, Jr. describes the province's many attractions.

There have been many stories about the Philippine Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon, but here's first-hand testimony about how good a tango dancer he was, from the famous Arthur Murray himself. History buff Erwin R. Tiongson of the Philippines on the Potomac project digs up this fascinating historical vignette in "MLQ Loved Tripping the Light Fantastic at Arthur Murray’s."

In Case You Missed These Stories:

Community leader and broadcast veteran Don Villar on how Filipinos and African Americans worked together in the Pullman Workers Union:

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/how-black-and-filipino-unity-was-forged-in-the-pullman-workers-union

PF Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino on her visit to the Kipping house in Tarlac where Leonor Rivera lived:
https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/leonor-rivera-a-heros-sweetheart

For the Happy Home Cook, here's a post-Valentine treat:

https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-happy-home-cook-chocolate-bark-crackers-with-salted-caramel

Our Video of the Week: popular movie star Angelica Panganiban's latest viral video on how to cancel a "mambubudol" from your life



In The Know

Nurses Who Faced Lawsuits for Quitting Are Fighting Back
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-02-02/underpaid-contract-nurses-who-faced-fines-lawsuits-for-quitting-fight-back?utm_campaign=news&utm_medium=bd&utm_source=applenews

MacArthur Given $500,000
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/01/29/macarthur-given-500000/3ad863a3-8caa-4792-b038-d91bb3f804b4/?fbclid=IwAR3b82A37BoZOIlUffZbNLQoG6Q8S3XKjSwMDjLaJzjDzXMTEzFti6v-AZo

Jose Rizal’s Girlfriends and His Naughty Amusements
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/jose-rizal-girlfriends-and-amusements-a00293-20200305?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20220214-fbnp-long-reads-jose-rizal-girlfriends-and-amusements-a00293-20200305-fbold&fbclid=IwAR0bqbvGM6qRVozSEXr74j-wvG4qw2q9LIhtlIjRVrpbSY9rATjF-t5svbY

Those Fabulous Filipino Brothers – the Bascos
https://www.goldenglobes.com/articles/those-fabulous-filipino-brothers-bascos?fbclid=iwar2o7l0kdgwzsh-etprfpohlooshqv3ylnbwl_uhsesfq0tavniw3hpnoni 

Sta. Ana Cabaret, Where Manila’s Rich and Famous Partied ‘Til They Dropped 
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/sta-ana-cabaret-history-a2386-20200602-lfrm2?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20220205-fbnp-long-reads-sta-ana-cabaret-history-a2386-20200602-lfrm2-fbold&fbclid=IwAR01BKOFtwk5C6BeG_fZx05OQ8VWHR9F3K5pvrLRAUKOuPY0aCRJi-DKTfs

Dolly Perez: The first lady of landscape architecture
https://philstarlife.com/news-and-views/456041-dolly-perez-the-first-lady-of-landscape-architecture

"I didn’t know that these girls were prostitutes. I just thought about them as my aunts."
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/notes-and-essays/-i-didn-t-know-that-these-girls-were-prostitutes-i-just-thought-about-them-as-my-aunts-a2020-20171017-lfrm2?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20220210-fbnp-long-reads--i-didn-t-know-that-these-girls-were-prostitutes-i-just-thought-about-them-as-my-aunts-a2020-20171017-lfrm2-fbold&fbclid=IwAR3UxBpf5JmHypmj3LDvVHHwd1rzPbnSE-FZlydD3irMMzQrCcFIe_uAakU


Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino