Traveling the World

Travel is a transformative experience and no one lives this truism more gloriously than Louie Hechanova, a perpetual world traveler who has visited 107 countries (out of the total of 195), some of them several times. In "Around the World in 20 Years," Agatha Verdadero profiles this adventurous Germany-based Filipino who collects memories and adventures the way others collect stamps.

Another committed world traveler, Rey E. de la Cruz introduces us to some kababayans he met while traipsing through the continent Down Under. "Pinoyspotting: Australia" continues our series that we started last year and to which we ask all of you to contribute to. Take some pictures of Filipinos you meet in your travels and send them to us: submissions@positivelyfilipino.com.

In another corner of the world, Manuel Hizon writes about the poignant plight of Filipino seniors in "Reality Bites Off the Strip in Vegas." It is a sobering reality that contrasts with the glitter and excess of Sin City, USA.

Our recipe in The Happy Home Cook: meatless Pancit Canton stir-fried with shrimps and vegetables by Elizabeth Ann Quirino, our resident food blogger.

And our Video of the Week: NBC 7 San Diego's Liberty Zabala covers the first Filipino School in the U.S.

Safe travels, everyone!

Celebration!

May is the most festive month of the year for Filipinos. From Sarrat, Ilocos Norte to Pinamungajan, Cebu to Tubigon, Bohol and many other places in between, fiestas mark the return of townsfolk who have fanned out to distant shores but remain tethered to their hometowns emotionally. It's the time for family reunions, all-out food fests in various homes, mini-circuses, freak shows, processions and the awaited town dance at the plaza where a beauty queen's coronation usually caps the evening's festivities. 

Here in the U.S., May is a mixed-bag of commemorations that honors mothers, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, senior citizens, Mexicans, Haitians, Jewish and awareness of various health issues including mental health and lupus. So wherever you are, whatever your station in life, there's always reason to celebrate May because, above anything else, it's the month of sunny weather and glorious flowers.

We start off this month with a variety of delightful reads:

A challenging but ultimately satisfying trip to Mt. Pinatubo where first-time contributor, Dr. Sonny Siasoco and his family trekked. It's not for the faint of heart as his photo essay, "Positively Pinatubo," illustrates.

What if you've been bequeathed millions and you lost it? That's what happened to Filipina caregiver Hadassah Peri (born Gicela Tejada Oloroso of Sapian, Capiz), and our regular Internet sleuth Myles Garcia dazzles us with details of her fortune that's tied up with the late millionaire heiress Huguette Clark. "Good Help is Hard to Find: The Improbable Story of Huguette and Hadassah" is a must-read.

And for boomers who refuse to grow old, our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco comes up with a list of "Sixties Shades of Gray" that will have senior citizens and soon-to-be seniors laughing, if only the truth isn't so painful. 

The loss of a mother is a wound that never heals and Lisa Suguitan Melnick eloquently writes about it in "Out the Back Door." 

For those May gatherings, something familiar: Macaroni Chicken Salad with Pineapple from the recipe book of Elizabeth Ann Quirino, in The Happy Home Cook.

For our Video of the Week: Vina Lustado, a Filipino American architect who owns Sol Haus Design, a residential design firm, shows off her super-efficient and gorgeous 140-square-foot house in Ojai, California.

And my blog is on my personal May memories.

Lakes, Indigenous Art and the Beatles

A warm welcome to those who are getting this weekly newsletter the first time.

Positively Filipino has been publishing exclusively online since January 2013 and since then, has 500 or so stories on the myriad aspects of Filipino history, culture and politics to its name. If you click this link, you'll have access not only to the new stories we have this week but also to our archives, categorized according to general topics and through the authors' names. Just scroll down to the categories on the right side of the page. Everything is clickable so you can go straight to an author's work or the category you want to read.

Don't forget to check out our Global Briefs also for capsule reports on the goings-on in Filipino communities and Filipinos in different parts of the world.

This week, we feature the incredible art and culture of the T'boli people of Cotabato, one of the Philippines' indigenous tribes that should make us all proud, if only we know more about them. Patricia Araneta traveled to Lake Sebu in T'boli-land and wrote a compelling report, "T'boli: It's Better to Weave Than Leave," that includes pictures that showcase the exquisite work of the T'boli women weavers.

In Baguio City, the art of the Ifugao carvers take center stage as the Philippine Bamboo Foundation Inc. promotes the native product as a source of livelihood and as a means to protect the environment. Baguio-based writer Desiree Caluza explains in "You Take A Stick of Bamboo."

For writers in the midst of crafting a novel or a nonfiction book, nothing is more welcome than a respite from the demands of daily existence to be able to focus exclusively on writing. Maria Carmen Sarmiento, a Manila-based author, was able to do just that when she was chosen to spend a month in Bellagio, Italy by the banks of beautiful Lake Como. She tells us about how it was to write and interact with  an elite group of writers from all over the world in "My Month By the Lake."

Our recipe this week in The Happy Home Cook: Slow-cooked Sirloin Pepper Steak over Rice from Rene Astudillo, also known as the creator of The Adobo Chronicles.

For our Video of the Week, a group of Filipino fans seeks to reverse the Beatles' bad memories of Manila with "Postcards for Ringo"