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

There's no doubt about it -- Mike de Leon is up there in the pantheon of all-time great Filipino movie directors. The scion of movie industry royalty -- his grandmother was Dona Narcisa de Leon, the head honcho of LVN Pictures, his father Manuel de Leon was another directorial icon; Mike grew up watching movies made, surrounded by stars and crew alike -- his movies are classics. Think "Kisapmata," "Itim," "Sister Stella L," "Kakabakaba Ka Ba," "Batch '81," the unforgettable "Kung Mangarap Ka't Magising." It's but fitting that De Leon has become the first Filipino director to have a retrospective at the MoMA (otherwise known as New York's Museum of Modern Art). PF contributing writer Claire Mercado-Obias was there and filed this report.

Are septuagenarians still able to walk the Camino pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela? If you're healthy and practiced and determined, you definitely can, as PF contributing writer Michael Gonzalez and his wife Patricia proved. Read about their adventures in Portugal and Spain as they walked the 170 miles for their hard-earned compostela (official certificate of completion).

A proposal in the fascinating city of Istanbul? Dreams of romance swirled in PF Correspondent Criselda Yabes' mind as she roamed this Turkish city of glorious history and a tortured present.

An art-inclined mother and her neurodivergent son bond through art, an inspiring story for parents of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

One of the FilAms who won in the recent US elections is Justin Jones (D), a civil rights activist with a string of political arrests to his name. Jones, 26, was elected as State Representative for District 52 of Tennessee, the youngest lawmaker of the current General Assembly. Read Again his story about his Filipino roots:

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/justin-jones-black-filipino-civil-rights-activist

And what does a freshman legislator do on his first day on the job? Watch Rep. Justin Jones as he introduces himself to his (much older) colleagues.