Watch Out World

This week we introduce a new twice-monthly section, "Watch Out World, This Is a Filipino" featuring short profiles of emerging and outstanding young Filipinos from all over the world who are making waves in a wide variety of fields. Elizabeth Ann Quirino, whose talents are not limited to food writing, handles this recurring section and she would like to hear from you. If you know of a young Filipino the world should hear about, contact her at info@ebquirino.com. For starters, she writes about journalist/violinist and now filmmaker Ida del Mundo and immigration lawyer Gino Barrica.

Like a wound that never heals, the issue of Filipino World War II veterans not getting the recognition they deserve continues to fester. Jon Melegrito, board member of the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project, makes a strong case for their getting a US Congressional Medal of Honor in "Filipino WWII Veterans -- Their Mettle Deserves a Gold Medal." Only 18,000 Filipino veterans remain out of the original 270,000.

In Sual, Pangasinan a few years ago, a 6'1" American woman from South Dakota named Brittony Hubbard taught English at the local high school as a Peace Corps volunteer. Contributing writer Lorenzo Paran III interviews Brittony as she talks about the challenging but grand time she had in that corner of the country where she literally towered over everyone.

In The Happy Home Cook this week, we feature popular movie and TV actress Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo's Lemon Cake with Thyme and Lavender. Juday, as she is fondly called by her fans, just came out with her own, fresh-off-the-press cookbook, Judy Ann's Kitchen,which features recipes for comfort food, baon and entertaining. 

We are also posting Goldilock's recipe for ensaymada.

Our Video of the Week: Jaime FlorCruz, recently retired CNN Bureau Chief in China, from CNN Philippines' The Story of the Filipino series.

Read It Again: Filipinos in Greece

From Cuba to Tagaytay

Have you tried the recipes we've been publishing weekly in The Happy Home Cook section? We'd like to hear back from you. Let us know how it worked out, or didn't. Just send us an email and tell us about it. Better yet, share your personal tested recipe with our readers worldwide.

As the US and Cuba prepare to restore diplomatic relations, Latin America specialist Chibu Lagman's photo essay gives us a peek into the mysterious island nation before the deluge of American businesses alters its landscape. Cuba is the Philippines' historical kin as both countries were ceded by Spain to the US in 1898 under the Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War.  "Eternamente Cuba" illustrates the endurance of this kinship despite the two countries following divergent paths in the past five decades.

In Makati, the sordid tale of the Binay political dynasty is given a new twist in Rene Ciria Cruz's satirical piece, "The Grabfather (Excerpt)." Originally published in Inquirer.net, it is some sort of “remake” of Mario Puzo’s hit novel — a part of it, at least — Makati-style.

Speaking of altered landscapes, when visiting Tagaytay, make sure you visit Museo Orlina, a new and beautiful structure built by internationally acclaimed glass sculptor Manuel Orlina over his ancestral house. Regular contributor Omar Paz visited the place -- Tagaytay's answer to Baguio's famous landmark, the BenCab Museum -- and shows us yet another reason to enjoy Tagaytay.

In Chicago, when craving for homemade Filipino food, hie over to Merla's Kitchen where fresh is always the operative word. In "It's Always Fresh at Merla's Kitchen," Rey de la Cruz introduces us to Merla Birondo, the owner, from whose skillful hands come such delicious dishes as her version of pork menudo, the recipe for which she shares in The Happy Home Cook this week. 

Also, we feature another recipe of a Filipino favorite: Mamon from Goldilocks.

We have a Partner post this week from the Asian Journal: Teach For The Philippines: Committed To Nation-Building Through Education

In our Video of the Week, the Department of Tourism's Postcards from Paradise campaign aimed at former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, picks up steam as more Filipinos join in to invite him back to the Philippines after the band's disastrous exit after their 1966 tour in Manila.

A Week To Remember

June 26, 2015. The day the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples can marry in all 50 states. I didn’t think I would see this in my lifetime. I cried just as I did when a black man assumed the presidency in 2008. Times are indeed changing, sometimes too fast for some of us, sometimes staggered, “two steps forward, one step back” as President Obama said, and for those who refuse to accept equality for everyone, then time stands still. In Now It Can Be Called Just Plain “Marriage,” writer and blogger, Rene Astudillo, talks about his own personal crusade on marriage equality and what this landmark decision means to him and many of his LGBT peers. “No longer may this liberty be denied,” wrote Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.

On the other side of our world, we uncover secrets. In The Lost Treasures of Corregidor, Larry Ng writes about one of the secrets of Manila Bay – when 425 tons of silver coins and 2,222 gold ingots were sunk into Caballo Bay just before the Japanese invaded Corregidor. The gold was never seen again.

When I first arrived in San Francisco, my children and I frequented Goldilocks for a taste of home. It was the only Filipino restaurant/bakery at the time. One of the dishes we liked but didn’t know how to cook was Brazo de Mercedes. In this issue, Goldilocks shares the secret for this dessert in Happy Home Cook. And if you’re traveling and miss home, Sasha Lim Uy lists 10 Filipino Restaurants Around the World. And speaking of traveling, artist Ivan Kevin Castro introduces us to Filipinos in Pinoyspotting: China. Finally, our Video of the Week showcases two talented Ilongo brothers, “The Gentlemen,” on America’s Got Talent.

July 4, 1776. The day the United States of America became an independent nation. As we celebrate this day, let us not forget the freedom we enjoy to live the way we want, without excluding those who may seem different from us. Happy 4th of July to all.