America, Mon Amour

America (or more specifically the United States) has been the “dream” land of generations of Filipinos, the pie-in-the-sky that hundreds of thousands aspire to reach. Yet America remains both hospitable and inhospitable to those who reach its shores. On one hand it embraces those who successfully navigate the often treacherous paths to assimilation, on the other, it puts every new immigrant through a wringer, squeezing out every drop of skill, talent and determination for the greater glory of this land of milk, honey and mountains of debt.

In this issue, we feature some of the stories of Filipino immigration to the US -- the brides of Filipino servicemen who fought for freedom and democracy in WWII only to find that in the real world of the US in the late '40s, freedom and democracy were two-edged swords; a Filipino doctor who came in the mid-'60s and who, until now, can't forget the culture shock of his first day; Filipino graphic artists trusted with defining the looks of some of the superheroes in comic books; mail-order brides confronted with the ugly side of some Americans; and a Filipino hairdresser in New York whose innovative approach to giving back puts bigots to shame.

The late great Filipino American writer, Carlos Bulosan said it best: "If you want to know what we are, look at the men reading books, searching in the dark pages of history for the lost word, the key to the mystery of the living peace. We are factory hands, field hands, mill hands, searching, building and molding structures. We are doctors, scientists, chemists discovering and eliminating disease, hunger and antagonism. We are soldiers, Navy men, citizens, guarding the imperishable dreams of our fathers to live in freedom. We are the living dream of dead men. We are the living spirit of free men.”

Ghosts, Priests, Publicity

While August 21, 1983 will be forever remembered as the day Ninoy Aquino was assassinated, there was another August 21 tragedy 12 years prior that should also be enshrined in our homeland's collective memory: the bombing of Plaza Miranda in 1971. The heinous crime almost wiped out the entire opposition (the Liberal Party) to Ferdinand Marcos who promptly responded by suspending the writ of habeas corpus and subsequently, declaring martial law.

To jog our memories, we are reprinting "The Ghosts of Plaza Miranda," an excerpt from investigative journalist/historian Gregg Jones' book, Red Revolution: Inside the Philippine Guerrilla Movement. Likewise, author and former revolutionary Mila D. Aguilar gives us a personal account of where she was on that fateful day.

Filipino priests are now making their mark in the US as about 800 of them are ministering to the spiritual health of Catholics in various states. Harvey I. Barkin in "OFWs of the Cloth" relates the journeys and the challenges that Pinoy priests have faced as they try to organize themselves into the National Assembly of Filipino Priests (NAFP), under the encouragement of LA Auxiliary Bishop (and the highest ranking Filipino in the US Catholic Church hierarchy) Oscar Solis.

Regular contributor Anthony Maddela scores another major story in "Go-Getter," about Sony Pictures' Senior Vice President of Worldwide Publicity Fritz Friedman. Friedman, who immigrated to the US from Manila when he was a young boy, has chalked up impressive accomplishments in the movie and video industry as a publicist par excellence, and his name is worth dropping if you're in that industry. He retires this month after 34 years with Sony Pictures.

Everyone's talking about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, so we're riding the wave and giving you links to the Filipino celebrities who have gotten wet, all in the spirit of fun and charity.

We are also posting a video interview of Michelle Pozon, a Filipina entrepreneur in Paris, who has joined the thousands of people all over the world helping out the victims of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda.

31 Years Ago This Month

Let's join our homeland in commemorating the 31st anniversary of the assassination of Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., a tragedy that changed the course of history. Read again "Ninoy's Final Journey," the up-close-and-personal recollection of then-ABC News correspondent Ken Kashiwahara, the martyr's brother-in-law.

Meanwhile, what do Portugal and the Philippines have in common other than Ferdinand Magellan (who was, in fact, Spanish)? A growing worldwide diaspora, that's what. Our regular contributor, Tiago Gutierrez Marques, who is Filipino-Portuguese, gives an insightful analysis of the two countries' labor export market in "Brain Drain, Portuguese Style."

Another good dissection, this time on the issues confronting the Asian male in America, is presented by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Alex Tizon in his book, Big Little Man.  In "Race and the Asian Male in America," another regular contributor Anthony Maddela offers an incisive review of Tizon's frank and fascinating memoir.

The yoyo's Filipino component is told by Luisa Igloria in "The Yoyo: A Story of Downs and Ups," which also provides a brief history of Filipinos in Chicago in the early- and mid-20th century.

Robin Williams is never far from our mind, just as he will always be in Chary Ozaeta-Gohh's memory of her encounter with the late lamented comedian. "A Moment with Robin Williams" is one of those testimonials on his goodness of heart.

Our Video of the Week is a BBC report that shows why the Philippines will always be a fascinating place.

And finally, my blog this week is about a recycled romance that many readers are probably familiar with.