From the Margins

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In the stand-up comedy world, Jo Koy is big. So big that he can fill up sports arenas and sell out shows. So big that even in a small community called Orillia in Ontario, Canada, he was able to draw a predominantly non-Filipino audience -- not his usual Filipino American constituency -- to his performance.

Behind Jo Koy’s comedy is a story familiar to many in the Filipino diaspora—the journey from the margins toward belonging. The things that once made him feel different—his Filipino mother, family stories, food, language, humor—became his greatest material. PF contributing writer Cesar Polvorosa Jr. calls this diasporic capital: the culture, memories, relationships and ability to move between worlds that immigrants carry with them, often without realizing their worth. Jo Koy turned that inheritance into a career, but his story also reminds us that no immigrant succeeds alone. Behind every achievement are families, communities and generations of stories carried across oceans.

Jo Koy's story is also a notable lesson in belonging. For years, immigrants were expected to soften their accents, hide their differences and blend in. Jo Koy defied this expectation and did the opposite. He made the Filipino mother louder, the family more familiar, the quirks more visible—and invited the wider world to laugh with us. What was once a source of marginalization became a source of connection, pride and possibility. ["Jo Koy: The Joke’s on Marginalization"]

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In another field of entertainment, British Filipina singer/songwriter Clarissa Mae is making waves after she became the youngest ever winner of Gigs, London's biggest busking competition. She has since opened for the sensational Filipino girl group BINI and produced an EP with her own compositions. Read Julienne Loreto's profile of this emerging star and listen to her compositions in "Clarissa Mae Ragrag: From Busking to the Concert Stage."

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Ten Filipinos in this month's lineup of Overseas Filipino Achievers are making their marks in eight countries: Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Qatar, Canada, Dubai, Australia and Italy, proving once again that Filipino talent can shine anywhere and everywhere.

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Both a lament and a declaration of enduring love, a Filipino American balik-scientist gives voice to the weight of loving a country that keeps breaking his heart. [Roderick dela Cruz's "The Heartbreaking Weight of Loving a Country"] 

Our Video of the Week is a podcast: "Kamusta Mars" by Henni Espinosa and Keesa Ocampo featuring our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco. 

From our archives, read our stories about two women who are newly minted National Artists: Imelda Cajipe-Endaya for Visual Arts and Patis Tesoro for Design.

[Read It Again]

Presents from the Past by Serina Aidasani

Patis Tesoro Turns Up the Heat by Gemma Nemenzo 

Patis On My Mind by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

[Video of the Week]
From Escaping Martial Law to Building Legacies with Mona Lisa Yuchengco

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Staff

Domestic Violence Isn't Always Physical

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October is not only Fil-Am History Month, it's also Domestic Violence Awareness Month. 

Domestic violence or abuse is a crime so common, so egalitarian (it can happen to anyone) and often so insidious that it may not always be obvious to people other than the abuser and abused. It need not involve physical violence but always involves control and manipulation. Take this heart-rending personal story by Giovannie Espiritu of the abuse she had to escape from. Be warned that it isn't an easy read.

The artist and cultural activist France Viana has taken on a new cause that is in tune with the current movement towards gender-neutral pronouns. She's starting a campaign to have the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) add the Filipino pronoun "siya" to its already existing list of Filipino words. In recent years, the OED officially added "bongga", "halo-halo", "kilig", "bagoong" and "sorbetes" to its lexicon. 

A bright star that emerged from the grimness of the Covid pandemic in the Philippines was the community pantries, an open food exchange where people gave and took what they needed, for free. The unique humanitarian project started by a young woman named Ana Patricia "Patreng" Non tapped into Filipinos' innate bayanihan spirit and spread like wildfire to other places in the country. Tokyo-based PF contributor Ian Layugan writes about Patreng. 

Hurricane Helene is long gone but its devastation in North Carolina continues. Here's a story about a Filipino food truck in Asheville. They would appreciate a donation (click on link to its GoFundMe page). 

Help rebuild a Filipino food truck

The owners of the Master BBQ truck, a Filipino food truck in Ashville, North Carolina, are raising money to help rebuild their truck as well as support their workers.  

“Cooking has always been my passion. For more than 20 years, both in the Philippines and here in the US, I have poured my heart into it,” Paul Pike, co-owner of the Master BBQ truck, wrote on the GoFundMe page. “I started Master BBQ with my wife, Julia, and together we turned our dream into reality through pop-ups at different breweries in Asheville. The support we received from these breweries, along with the incredible community, made this journey possible.”

“Our team, who depends on the truck for their livelihood, is now left without income, and our truck requires significant repairs. After only being in business for 7 months, this setback feels indescribable,” he added.

So, far the page has raised $10,000 of its $50,000 goal. You can donate here. 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-rebuild-master-bbq-after-hurricane-helene

Read Agains

We Stand On Their Shoulders, Part 1 by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

We Stand On Their Shoulders, Part 2 by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

We Stand On Their Shoulders, Part 3 by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

[Video of the Week] The Legacy of Larry Itliong

In The Know

Pampanga's Angeles City named Asia's Best Emerging Culinary City Destination
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/food/922753/pampanga-angeles-city-asia-s-best-emerging-culinary-city-destination/story 

A Reading List for Filipino American History Month 2024
https://www.clmp.org/news/a-reading-list-for-filipino-american-history-month-2024/

Artist works to restore vintage signs at San Francisco bars and restaurants
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/video/artist-works-to-restore-vintage-signs-at-san-francisco-bars-and-restaurants/

LIST: 6 Philippine hotels make it in the Michelin Guide
https://philstarlife.com/living/691506-list-6-philippine-hotels-make-michelin-guide?page=4

Mattel releases Barbie during Filipino American History Month
https://asamnews.com/2024/10/12/mattel-releases-barbie-during-filipino-american-history-month/

Jo Koy, on edge, reveals a family issue during S.F. tour stop
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/jo-koy-san-francisco-comedy

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Staff

We'll Always Remember

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Today marks the 50th anniversary of the official declaration of martial law in the Philippines. The public announcement came two days later, on September 23, 1972, to give time for the military to round up the oppositionists and the dissidents and put them in jail.

As you read this, please take a moment of silence to remember those who lost their lives or have been permanently scarred by martial law: the imprisoned, the tortured, the raped, the abused, the salvaged, the disappeared, the dispossessed, the harassed, the displaced, the impoverished, the war victims and those who suffered the brunt of plunder and bad policies (we particularly remember the children of Negros during the 1985 famine).

Let's also remember our allies, those who risked life and limb to help mitigate the harm of martial law: the Filipinos abroad who did their part in exposing and opposing the dictatorship, the nuns and priests, the activists, the journalists (particularly the women writers), the movie makers, the academics, the documentarists who kept records, the authors, the businessmen who secretly supported the anti-martial law forces, the international humanitarian groups, the young military officers who organized to oppose the regime. Most of all, let's remember the ordinary people who offered support to the hunted and oppressed, whether it was shelter for the night or sustenance for the days ahead.

We remember through our stories this week:

A general's recollection of opposing martial law in theory

A Mindanawan's recognition of his psychological scars

Two Tony's -- Hilario and Tagamolila -- the early martyrs

We remember through films: Vince Tañada's Katips, the recent blockbuster and awards sweeper, now showing internationally; and

Batas Militar, the 1997 documentary which you can watch through the link be;low until September 30.

Today and always, WE WILL NEVER FORGET. 

More This Week

[Cook It Again] The Happy Home Cook: Vegetable Lumpiang Shanghai by Chef Richgail Enriquez

[Video of the Week] Executive Class: The Henry Suites MiraNila

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Staff