Quarrel Over Quezon, Fracas Over Frankfurt Book Fair

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With the hubbub of praise and condemnation that has surrounded the showing of the movie "Quezon," starring Jericho Rosales in the title role, it's good timing to come out with "Embassy of Exile" by our resident Fil-Am historian Alex S. Fabros, Jr. It tells the story of how a group of distinguished Filipino statesmen, led by the ailing Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon, set up a Philippine government in exile during WWII. The headquarters was in a brownstone at 1617 Massachusetts Ave. in Washington D.C. where, to this day, the consular services of the Philippine Embassy in the US is based. 

Though Quezon did not live to see the end of the war, his stalwart team did valiant work, including a call to arms that inspired Filipino farmworkers in America to volunteer to fight. Despite the demands of war, the team of Filipinos never lost sight of its main task - to ensure the granting of independence from the US which came to fruition on July 4, 1946. 

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Last month, about 400 Filipino writers and publishers gathered in Frankfurt for the 76th annual Frankfurter Buchmesse, reputedly the world's largest book fair. As the 2025 Guest of Honor, Philippine books were front and center of the trade exhibition that allowed international literary agents, translators, and book distributors to negotiate deals. Was the Philippine participation (reportedly at a cost of hundreds of thousands of euros) worth it? Author/publisher Cecilia Brainard who was there gives us a participant's report.

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Making waves on Netflix nowadays is the Filipino film "Only We Know," a story with a "kilig" factor starring Charo Santos and Dingdong Dantes. If you're on the fence about watching it, read Elizabeth Ann Quirino's review here.

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A Filipina-British, Viva Andrada O'Flynn, was proclaimed the Mock Mayor of Barton, England on the historic Gloucester Day last September, the first Filipino to hold the title. She leads the festivities at the traditional FUNtastic Fair on November 15, so if you're in the vicinity, join up.

[Read It Again]

Major General Basilio J. Valdes – Doctor, Officer and Gentleman by Jessie Thompson Huberty

The Manila House in Washington, D.C. by Titchie Carandang

[Video of the Week] Espionage, Exile & Debate Glory: Hidden Filipino History in Washington, D.C.

In The Know

Photos show the impact of Typhoon Kalmaegi on the Philippines
https://apnews.com/photo-gallery/typhoon-kalmaegi-tino-central-philippines-floods-photos

The Philippines MICHELIN Restaurants – The MICHELIN Guide
https://guide.michelin.com/ph/en/selection/philippines/restaurants 

The Assassination of Doña Aurora Quezon 
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/assassination-of-dona-aurora-quezon-a00293-20190429-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook

Conservative and Religious: Filipino Evangelicals Go MAGA
https://fulcrum.sg/conservative-and-religious-filipino-evangelicals-go-maga/?

Meet the First Filipina to Visit All 203 Countries and All 82 Provinces of the Philippines
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/first-filipino-all-countries-all-philippines-provinces-a7420-20251019-lfrm5?

A Fateful Homecoming, August 21, 1983

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What does it take for a young kid fresh out of high school in the mid-'60s to learn about real life before he joins the US military in Vietnam? For Fil-Am writer/historian Alex S. Fabros, Jr., it was doing back-breaking labor with Filipino manongs in the farmlands of California. In this issue, we post the first of a series of five stories Fabros wrote about his time as a farm laborer. The story -- and the series itself -- is a valuable Fil-Am history lesson, made more so by the author's end notes and citing of sources. 

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"He will be lonely without me." While probably said in jest, these words from Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. of his arch-rival, then-President Ferdinand Marcos, shortly before he (Aquino) left his US exile to fly home to Manila is the ultimate ironic statement. Forty-two years ago tomorrow, on August 21, 1983, Aquino landed in Manila and was shot dead, a heinous act that marked the beginning of the end of the Marcos regime.  Chibu Lagman, a then-student journalist who happens to be Aquino's fraternity brod recalls his last interview with the Filipino martyr.

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Humor that bites -- that's what stand-up comedian Vice Ganda is known for. With over 20 million followers in social media, Vice is a formidable force in Philippine society and politics, as our Manila-based correspondent Rene Astudillo attests. 

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Filipina nurses in WWII is now the focus of a campaign by the Bataan Legacy Historical Society to recognize their heroism with a Congressional Gold Medal. Cecilia Gaerlan, the group's Executive Director and founder, writes about Adelaida Garcia, one of the heroic nurses, to jumpstart the campaign.

[Read It Again]
The Ghosts of Plaza Miranda by Gregg Jones
August 21, 1971: A Testament to My Immaturity by Mila D. Aguilar 
Diary of a Fil-Am Cop by Edwin Palomar

[Video of the Week]
”Quezon” Trailer

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Staff

A Meaningful Journey

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Toronto-based intrepid traveler/chronicler/photographer Odette Foronda invites us to experience (not just see) Auschwitz, 70 kilometers from Krakow, Poland and site of the most notorious Nazi concentration camp in WWII. It's not going to be a joyful journey but a meaningful one, an important history lesson in fact, considering current US and world realities. Through her words and photos, Odette poses a challenge: learn and understand what happened in Auschwitz and disprove what she quotes a wise man as saying, that "The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history."

FilAm artist and picture book illustrator Niña Mata has come up with a children's book called Girls to the Front, featuring 40 Asian American women from various generations who became prominent in their chosen fields. Of the 40, seven are Filipinas. Find out who they are from Claire Mercado-Obias' review, "Let's Hear It for the Girls."

She may not look Filipino but multi-awarded theater and film actress Sunita Mukhi is as Filipino as sinigang and tinikling. Born and bred in the Philippines, educated in St. Scholastica and La Salle, Sunita, now a US citizen, goes home (to Manila) whenever she has the time because family and friends are there waiting for her. Rogelio Constantino Medina profiles this totally Filipino performer.

Our Video of the Week: to commemorate the 9th anniversary of the arbitral ruling on the West Philippine Sea, a concert at sea was organized by Akbayan. 

Read Again: 

How Filipinos Got Their Surnames by Penélope V. Flores
Quezon Saved Jews from the Holocaust by Ambeth R. Ocampo
Filipino Terms of Endearment by Myles A. Garcia

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Staff