Among the many articles we publish at Positively Filipino, hometown stories remain some of the most meaningful. They carry a special kind of joy—rich with memory, community, and the small details that stay with us long after we’ve left. Over the years, we’ve gathered quite a collection, and we would love to keep them coming.

Take, for instance, today’s story from first-time contributor Connie Cagahastian Triggiano. She brings us to Paete, Laguna, known for its woodcarvings, and recalls the charm of the Tayangtang—a simple public bench at the heart of town. It was a daily gathering place for men, a space for camaraderie where conversations flowed freely—from lighthearted gossip to musings about life—often accompanied by hearty laughter.

The original bench, fondly called “Tayangtang ni Karyong Bado,” stood near the provincial bus stop, making it an ideal spot to observe the rhythm of town life. People came and went, stories were exchanged, and in many ways, it became Paete’s informal news center. As time passed, other tayangtangs appeared around town. In 1997, the tradition even found its way online, when a Paete native in Canada created the town’s first website, complete with a chat group that connected kababayans across distances.

Today, the physical Tayangtang may no longer exist, the town reshaped by changing times, migration, and the rise of social media. Yet its spirit endures. As Connie reflects, every message, call, shared photo, or online gathering among Paetenians carries echoes of that same longing—for home, for connection, for the familiar warmth of a place that shaped us.

This is why hometown stories matter, especially for those of us in the diaspora. They help us remember where we came from and keep us connected to the communities that formed us. They preserve traditions, voices, and memories that might otherwise fade with time. And they offer a way to share our heritage with younger generations, ensuring that these stories continue to live on.

We invite you to share your own memories of the places that cradled and molded you.

Write to us at submissions@positivelyfilipino.com.

This Week’s Stories:

Where Talk of the Town Got Done in Paete, Laguna by Connie Cagahastian Triggiano

Overseas Filipinos Achievers, Part 3 by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

Snack-Around-the-Clock with ‘Kakanin’ by Manuel Hizon

Eduard Bañez: From PH Media Host to PE Teacher in Hollywood by Rogelio Constantino Medina

[Read It Again]

The Hometowns of My Boyhood by Oscar Peñaranda

What Happened on Hacienda Street by George Deoso

Island in the Stream by Victor Peñaranda

[Video of the Week] 6 Delicious Pancit Recipes from the Philippines

In The Know

California library to be named after Filipino writer Carlos Bulosan
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2210783/california-library-to-be-named-after-filipino-writer-carlos-bulosan?

‘Because you are Filipino’
https://verafiles.org/articles/because-you-are-filipino

At QC's Carinderia Sefali, A Filipina Cooks Palestinian Dishes The Way Her MIL Taught Her
https://www.spot.ph/eatdrink/the-latest-eat-drink/carinderia-sefali-quezon-city-a3284-20260408-bsc?

How budots broke the gates of Berghain
https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/567926/how-budots-broke-the-gates-of-berghain/?

Larry Itliong and the Great Delano Grape Strike

https://asamnews.com/2026/04/11/larry-itliong-delano-grape-strike-cesar-chavez/

When Mona Lisa Yuchengco started Filipinas magazine in 1992, it was quite a task to find prominent Fil-Ams to feature. There were just a few in entertainment, fewer still in media and politics.

What a difference 30 years make! Today, Fil-Ams have a strong presence in many fields -- entertainment, music, literature, the academe, media, government service and local politics. One of them is Rob Bonta, elected for multiple terms as the first Fil-Am in the California state legislature and recently appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom as the state Attorney General, taking the place of now Vice President Kamala Harris. The appointment has left Bonta's legislative seat vacant and one of those running to fill that seat is Malia Vella, a Filipino American who is currently the vice mayor of Alameda, CA. Read about her (and wish her luck) in Harvey I. Barkin's write-up.

Part of the world is opening up after the devastating pandemic so we're now posting travel stories to places you might consider visiting in the future. A regular PF contributing writer, former Ambassador Virgilio A. Reyes, Jr., writes about visiting Guam, a US territory with strong ties to our Motherland.

Fil-Am author Mia P. Manansala's Arsenic and Adobo, one of Buzzfeed's highly anticipated mystery novels of 2021, is given a review by PF Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino.

From our archives, here are some Read Agains that continue to be good reading:

Veteran journalist Philip M. Lustre Jr.'s recalls a time when politicians were competent and colorful, and the best of them all was Manila's mayor: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/arsenio-h-lacson-the-best-president-the-philippines-never-had

Famous artist/chef Claude Tayag remembers Anthony Bourdain's Philippine visit: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/bourdains-last-famous-badass-words

And we have a new contributor to our Happy Home Cook section: Maja Hu, based in Austin, TX, shares with us her recipe for waffles using the currently trendy Philippine root crop, ube.

For Video of the Week, Asia Society Philippines put together a music video with well-known Filipino performers in a campaign against the rising Anti-Asian Hate Crimes in the U.S.