Stories from Far and Away

Twenty eight years ago, Filipinas magazine, the first glossy monthly for Fil-Ams, was born, spearheaded by Mona Lisa Yuchengco, now Positively Filipino publisher. At that time, there was a severe lack of stories and writers about the Filipino diaspora and the staff (including us) had to search far and wide to identify achievers and celebrities with Filipino roots and to dig up issues worth writing about that affect us.

What a difference three decades makes! Today, the global Filipino diaspora has exploded into the millions, with Filipinos living and working in almost 200 countries, bringing with them their stories and their issues. This time, we don't have to search -- the stories are brought to us from not just the US but various nations as well. We almost can't keep up.

One such story is that of multimedia artist, dancer and Cirque du Soleil performer Ehrlich Ocampo who has captivated audiences in several countries but who finds his center in Iceland. Multi-awarded PF contributor Jennifer Fergesen profiles this multi-talented Filipino in "Ehrlich Ocampo: A Warm Light in the Cold North."

Sacramento, California-based artist/writer Alex G. Paman carries on the storytelling tradition of our motherland -- that of telling ghost stories -- in "Heirloom Ghost Stories."

Vegan chef Richgail Enriquez shares a healthy one for the Happy Home Cook this week: Patola Soup with Tempeh. 

I'm writing this from Manila where I'm somewhat saddened though not entirely surprised that the fervor of the 1986 People Power Revolt is long gone. In case you don't know or have forgotten what happened then, here's a Read Again of history:

https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/30-years-ago-coup-detat?rq=EDSA%20people%20power

And for readers and seekers of information, here are some stories worth reading:

US health care needs its Filipino nurses, so why is the system stacked against them?https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3048163/us-health-care-needs-its-filipino-nurses-so-why?fbclid=IwAR363vz_RdKSt6_pFkkY0ezZ5Rosr9lGApy-iszXaDizQeQw_vyYaGppntg

The True Story of the Mindanaoan Slave Whose Skin Was Displayed at Oxford
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/the-true-story-of-the-mindanaoan-slave-whose-skin-was-displayed-at-oxford-a00029-20171102-lfrm2?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20200215-fbnp-long-reads-the-true-story-of-the-mindanaoan-slave-whose-skin-was-displayed-at-oxford-a00029-20171102-lfrm2-fbold&fbclid=IwAR1jqAeA5WfqY7nbPctQ9WSC2doCXObAmpLkrk_MSMAfSOTlwFzvfZ9rr8s

This Pinay Has Been Working To Save Our Seas Since She Was 23
https://www.cosmo.ph/lifestyle/career-money/anna-oposa-save-philippine-seas-a93-20190308-lfrm?fbclid=IwAR3fQQpeCsZDdz6Qvh92Nm_5yNTiTHFytQnltXoe_9zpv42JEpIg9Oi7Dbg

Oriental Mart at Seattle’s Pike Place Market wins an ‘America’s Classics’ James Beard award
https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/oriental-mart-at-seattles-pike-place-market-wins-an-americas-classics-james-beard-award/?amp=1&fbclid=IwAR0wtXj31VaKXQ1SoGu3azcZEIj8tPePXYe6zrj3Vv7IuiwsDJZFfdh2UMQ

For video of the week, this video came from the Filipino galley crew aboard the cruise ship Diamond Princess which has been quarantined in Japan due several of its passengers have been infected with the corona virus. They uploaded the video to let their loved ones know that they are okay despite the crisis. 

Spot a Filipino and Eat

We'd like Positively Filipino to be the bridge that connects Filipinos wherever they are in the world. Thus, we have started a series that we hope will be a regular feature, PINOYSPOTTING, where we publish photos of chance encounters of the Pinoy kind. When you're traveling and meet a Filipino or Filipinos by chance or by design, take a picture and send it to us, captioned with your names, where the encounter happened and when.

Send to submissions@positivelyfilipino.com. 

If you're visiting Seattle's Pike Place Market, be sure to find your way to Oriental Mart, a sari-sari store and kitchenette owned and operated by an enterprising Filipino family for 44 years. In “The Smart Women of Oriental Mart," first-time contributor Gia Mendoza celebrates the entrepreneurial and people skills of the women of the Apostol family who have mastered the art of feeding tourists in that most holy of Seattle's tourist havens.

Over at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Pasig-born Eduardo A. Angeles is associate administrator of airports, a job that allows him to oversee 3,000 airports in the U.S. and manage a $3.5 billion budget for federal airport grants, among other heavy-responsibility functions. Quite a feat for a single mother’s son, who went on to become a hotshot lawyer, Anthony Maddela reports in "Mr. Angeles Goes to Washington."

Our food writer Elizabeth Ann B. Quirino focuses on Yasmin Newman, a Filipino Australian food journalist and author of 7000 Islands, the first Filipino cookbook that did well in the Australian market. Read “She Came, She Ate, She Wrote a Cookbook” and marvel at how Filipino food has made inroads in various countries.

My blog this week is about the "Dirty Pleasures" we savored in our youth.

In Video of the Week, we look back at the Red Bull wakeskating stunt at the Banaue rice terraces, which drew both praise from some bloggers and criticisms from conservationists.

Happy Autumn!