At the Top of Their Game

Two exceptional Filipinos who are outstanding in their respective fields headline our issue this week.

Maria Ronson (nee Nimfa Fallarme) is the Associated Press' (AP) vice president for sales in Asia and was just awarded the Oliver S. Gramling Achievement Award, AP's highest honor, for professional excellence. Cherie Querol Moreno writes about her.

Our other headliner is Officer Angel Lozano of the San Francisco Police Department who was also a US Marine. Manzel Delacruz recounts his exploits and achievements in "This Cop Is an Angel."

Architect and environmental planner Nathaniel "Dinky" von Einsiedel waxes nostalgic over the neighborhood where he grew up -- Area One in the University of the Philippines campus of the '50s and '60s. It was a safe, integrated, kid-friendly community, which should be a model for all newly sprung suburban communities, he contends in "Growing Up in UP's Area 1, A Model Neighborhood."

A different kind of community -- the farm workers community in Delano, California -- is the setting of Patty Enrado's compelling first novel, A Village in the Fields. Elaine Elinson reviews this book which, she says, picks up where America Is In the Heart by Carlos Bulosan leaves off. Quite a strong endorsement since Bulosan's masterpiece is a classic. Enrado focuses on the lives of Filipino manongs who initiated and sustained the Grape Strike that started in 1965 and lasted for several years.

Our Happy Home Cook recipe as we move closer to Christmas: Lenguas De Gato by Positively Filipino Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino.

Our Video of the Week: 11 Signs You're At A Filipino Party from BuzzFeedYellow

Heroes

We celebrate Bonifacio Day on November 30 this year in the wake of the market success of "Heneral Luna," the movie. We'd like to think there is a resurgence of interest in the lives of the men and women who helped shape our nation and heritage, so how about reading again "Andres Bonifacio, the Other National Hero," Dr. Penelope V. Flores' timeless tribute to the man whose 152nd birth anniversary we celebrate this year.

We join the Philippine American Press Club in urging justice for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre (aka Ampatuan massacre). It has been six years yet there have been no convictions. We are publishing a joint editorial with other Filipino American media to press the point.

Moving to the present, Filipino American artist Lewanda Lim wowed the audience at the Columbus (Ohio) Arts Festival with her exhibit called Intersection. Positively Filipino Correspondent Rey E. de la Cruz profiles Lim, known for her socially conscious paintings and collages, in "Lewanda Lim's Socially Conscious Art."

In sports, Los Angeles Lakers' Jordan Clarkson visited the Philippines recently in his capacity as part of the NBA All-Rookie First Team. It was an eye-opening visit for this grandson of a Pampanguena, as Positively Filipino Correspondent Anthony Maddela reports.

For those who are intending to visit Australia, regular contributor Larry Ng tells us about Uluru, Australia's crimson mountain which is really a rock, the largest in the world. "Climbing Uluru" is a fascinating story about an unconquerable natural wonder right smack in the continent's Red Centre.

Working on your Christmas menu? Try out Positively Filipino Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino's recipe for "Suman sa Ibus" or Rice Logs. No Filipino Christmas is complete without a kakanin, and this easy-to-make recipe fits the bill.

Our Video of the Week is a feature by CNN Philippines on an inspiring organization that is making waves in education: Teach for the Philippines.

From Russia, France and Benguet

Sometime this month, White Russian refugees and their descendants, who temporarily settled in the Samar island of Tubabao from 1948-51 after the Communist takeover of China, will gather in the Philippines to celebrate the anniversary of their escape. The White Russians were the supporters of the czar who fled Russia after the Revolution of 1918 and settled in China. Their moving to the Philippines is an episode in our homeland's history that is not well known, but the noble humanitarian gesture of the Elpidio Quirino administration in accepting the refugees is something we can be proud of. Positively Filipino Correspondent Myles Garcia tells the compelling story in "When Russians Came to Tubabao," a timely one because coincidentally, Russian President Vladimir Putin, was supposed to attend the APEC Summit in Manila almost at the same time, until he cancelled.

As the tragedy in Paris makes our hearts bleed, let's join Positively Filipino Correspondent Criselda Yabes as she takes us on a virtual tour of the peaceful, soothing village of Haybes in France's Les Ardennes region which shares a border with Belgium (where the terrorists seemed to have originated). "My French Village" introduces us to another side of France, away from the chaos, grief and danger in Paris.

Meanwhile, in Manila, two lady entrepreneurs embark on an online venture selling Benguet coffee to the world. "Kalsada Coffee's Long and Winding Road" by first-time contributor Rexy Josh Dorado, relates how a Filipino American scholar, Carmel Laurino, unearthed a 1909 photo of Filipino coffee being sold in Seattle, which led to her partnering with coffee specialist Lacy Wood to set up Kalsada, an ambitious undertaking that aims to put Benguet on the world's coffee map.

It's 37 days before Christmas, and I'm sure many of you are already thinking about culinary gifts and special treats for the family. Thus, in the next weeks, we'll be posting recipes of goodies that you might want to bake. This week, we have Calamansi-Lemon Muffins from Positively Filipino Correspondent and food expert Elizabeth Ann Quirino.

Our Video of the Week focuses on artist Peter De Vera who built an art museum called Bale-Balayan for the underprivileged. Another feature from CNN Philippines: The Story of the Filipino.

I hope you enjoy my blog this week on Backyards.