Immigrants, Racial Unrest, and the Pandemic

The US is a country of immigrants. People originally from other nations who have settled here have, through the centuries, powered this country, enabled it to soar to new heights in innovation and creativity, and continue to push it forward through inventions and new, progressive thinking.

Yet, when the going gets rough, when an economic downturn or a pandemic occurs, immigrants (in this particular time, Asian immigrants) bear the brunt of ignorant tirades brought about by anxiety and fear. And yes, by racism. 

Tomorrow, July 23, the third of Positively Filipino's webinar on Racism and the Filipino American (see flyer below) will feature immigration activist/Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas, in conversation with immigration lawyer Lourdes Tancinco about the very real issues of immigration under the immigrant-unfriendly Trump administration. 

It promises to be a stimulating and enlightening discussion so I hope you'll join us. To register, click on this link: bit.ly/ImmigrantsRacialUnrest

This Week’s Stories

ABS-CBN Shutdown: Shadier The Second Time Around By Ernesto M. Hilario

Cooking For The Cause By Jennifer Fergesen

A Childhood In Pila, Laguna By Maria Clarissa Palileo

Tell My Parents I’ll Be Late By Katherine Doctolero-Bandanwal

The Happy Home Cook: Vegan Ginataang Munggo Guisado By Chef Richgail Enriquez

Video of the Week: Al Jazeera features New York’s Filipino Nurses. 

In The Know Stories

As Philippines fights coronavirus, some fear involvement of the police
https://news.yahoo.com/philippines-fights-coronavirus-fear-involvement-101748878.html

Bongbong Marcos asked Cambridge Analytica to ‘rebrand’ family image
https://rappler.com/nation/bongbong-marcos-cambridge-analytica-rebrand-family-image?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=notification&utm_campaign=notificationFormer&fbclid=IwAR1K9vhDqWfU3bd3egwTP3Js-vZLPVkUKkx7rmQ8zFWJtPnHrb4emi1330o

Nicole Ponseca: We Need To Push The Value And Worth Of Ethnic Cuisine
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nicole-ponseca-voices-in-food_l_5f05cc2ec5b63a72c33b8e7e?ncid=newsltushpmgnews

The American Tour Guide Who Knows Manila Better Than Most Manileños
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/this-american-tour-guide-knows-manila-better-than-most-manilenos-a1729-20180302-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-EsquireMoney&utm_medium=Siteshare&utm_campaign=20200714-american&fbclid=IwAR1Rt7rXgsWvOKHejCad43psjZ1V3s1pZ671lnw11JM4-2R3YSYjV3uh16g

How Do You Tell Your Child He Is Undocumented?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/lysley-tenorio-the-son-of-good-fortune.html?campaign_id=69&emc=edit_bk_20200717&instance_id=20422&nl=books&regi_id=47563992&segment_id=33710&te=1&user_id=a6813a01d20d50942afadad6c6f1e549

The Writer, the Teacher, and the Chef

Acclaimed Filipino American author/playwright Jessica Hagedorn scores another literary accomplishment with the staging of her 1990 novel, The Gangster of Love, at Magic Theatre in San Francisco starting today. PF contributor Elaine Elinson did an exclusive interview with the author about her creative process and wrote "Jessica Hagedorn Brings The Gangster of Love from the Page to the Stage." The play, 20 years in the making, runs through May 6. Positively Filipino readers get a 20% discount so read the story to find out how to get tickets. 

Special education teacher Joey Cumagun was among 18 exceptional teachers chosen from hundreds nationwide to participate in a program sponsored by the American Battle Monuments Commission. He chose to research on the life of Sgt. Teofilo Yldefonzo, a Bataan Death March veteran who was the first Filipino to win an Olympic medal. Yldefonzo's life story and Cumagun's own converge in PF contributor Manzel Delacruz's  account entitled "Understanding Sacrifice," a fitting continuing tribute this month to Filipinos called to valor. 

If you're craving Filipino food in LA, there are many restaurants to choose from. A new one seems to be holding its own in West LA -- Big Boi Restaurant, run by Chef Barbara Batiste who eschews trendy fusion and sticks to traditional flavors. PF Correspondent Anthony Maddela reports.

Last week we featured Chicagoland's E + O Food and Drink Restaurant and Chef Angelo Lubiano's Pork Belly Adobo recipe for our Happy Home Cook. This week, we feature another of his creations, Chicken Sisig.

For Video of the Week, online comedian Jeppy Paraiso is back with “Tita's Rant on Daylight Savings Time.”

And here's our In The Know compilation this week for your reading pleasure:

Why We Need To Remember Stockton, California’s Filipino American Legacy
https://www.buzzfeed.com/paolamardo/stockton-california-little-manila-center-vandalism-history?utm_term=.wnV3b2D9Z#.yvO0ay56D

Cambridge Analytica boss Alexander Nix dined with two of Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign advisers in 2015
http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2140782/cambridge-analytica-boss-alexander-nix-dined-two-rodrigo

FALEO: Home on a mission of love
http://www.manilatimes.net/home-mission-love/380915/

36 of the Most Beautiful Words in The Philippine Language
https://www.buzzfeed.com/isabellelaureta/kilig-sa-harana?utm_term=.tgYW0VwrB#.ucmY0v4VX

Colonialism in a Can
https://www.tastecooking.com/colonialism-in-a-can/