Week of Age-Old Rituals

At one point in my young life, I was a researcher for a UN-funded project on folk media in the Philippines, tasked with documenting traditional forms of expression and events all over the country. That was how I witnessed the various rituals that make Holy Week unique and special among our people -- from the meditative cadence of the pabasa that brought a community together to the disturbing flagellants and the sacrificial re-enactments of Jesus' nailing on the cross in Pampanga. There too were the pageantry of the Moriones festival in Marinduque and, of course, the Seven Last Words, the Visita Iglesias and the long Easter masses of the Catholics -- all of them traditions that showcase the richness of our culture.

Some of our contributing photographers sent in some images of Holy Week in the Philippines. Enjoy them again in "Images of Semana Santa."

For the undocumented in the US who are currently going through their own personal tribulations due to the Trump administration's anti-immigrant policies, here's a useful legal guide from immigration lawyer Lourdes Tancinco, "Undocumented's Options: Depart Voluntarily or Be Detained."

Advice on an equally significant topic is given by Dr. Glenn Vives, a cardiovascular specialist of Kaiser Permanente in Martinez, California. Regular contributor Manzel Delacruz mines the doctor's insights on why Filipinos and Fil-Ams are prone to cardiovascular problems, in "He Wants You to Have a Healthier Lifestyle."

Positively Filipino Correspondent and food expert Elizabeth Ann Quirino provides us two pieces this week: a feature on Tanya Maynigo Louks, founder and owner of Craft Kombucha, a healthy tea-making entrepreneurship in Washington D.C.; and her Good Friday recipe for Baked Tilapia, this week's Happy Home Cook feature.

For those who missed out on stories from other publications, here are the In The Know links for this week:

Dealing with Duterte's Philippines
http://www.metsociety.org/debate-foreign-policy/2017/4/3/dealing-with-dutertes-philippines

Drug war sends OFW rushing home for son who ‘couldn’t run’
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/887697/drug-war-sends-ofw-rushing-home-for-son-who-couldnt-run#ixzz4e12Kdwgy 

Inside a Filipino cybersex den
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3393713/She-sat-eight-year-old-girl-lap-asked-want-Inside-Filipino-cybersex-den-pot-bellied-paedophiles-pick-girls-abused-webcam.html#ixzz4e0uxRU00

So Beats Onischuk To Win 1st U.S. Championship
https://www.chess.com/news/view/so-beats-onischuk-to-capture-first-u-s-championship-3094

Philippine invasive plant could fuel the country's kitchens
https://www.yahoo.com/news/philippines-invasive-plant-could-fuel-114459236.html?.tsrc=fauxdal

And our Video of the Week: “Bibingka” a 2015 short film by Kay Cuajungco, who explores the lives of Filipino migrants through the foods they grew up with and the recipes that were passed through them.

Remembering the Bataan Death March

Seventy five years ago, on April 9, 1942, some 75,000 defeated Filipino and American troops were forced by the invading Japanese Imperial Army to walk 65 miles from Mariveles, Bataan to the prisons in San Fernando, Pampanga. The trek, under extreme heat and hunger, accompanied by maltreatment by the Japanese soldiers, resulted in the death of about 1,000 Americans and 9,000 Filipino soldiers. That day of infamy has since been recorded in history as the Bataan Death March. Positively Filipino joins the Filipino nation, and the veterans of WWII and their families in commemorating this tragedy that has nonetheless brought about stories of valor and heroism by its survivors.

Our Washington DC-based contributor, Jon Melegrito, the son of a Bataan Death March survivor, wrote about his personal journey to honor his late father by walking 14 milesin the scorching New Mexico desert with some 7,000 participants of the re-enactment of the Death March. 

In San Francisco, a group of women led by Cecilia Gaerlan, also an offspring of a survivor, has established the Bataan Legacy Project whose primary goal is to keep the memories of Bataan and its survivors alive. Contributor Manzel Delacruz writes about them and the good work they're doing.

And from another dark period of our Motherland's history, Issa Manalo Lopez in "Prison Baby" writes about her birth in a Marcos prison and how she had to come to terms with her parents' incarceration.

In case you missed these interesting stories from various publications, here are our In The Know links this week:

Once PH's poorest, town literally draws path out of poverty
http://www.rappler.com/nation/165305-subanens-celebrate-poverty-reversal-siayan-zamboanga-norte

Bishop Oscar Solis of Salt Lake City Catholic Diocese: Bringing the church to the people
http://asianjournal.com/aj-magazines/bishop-oscar-solis-of-salt-lake-city-catholic-diocese-bringing-the-church-to-the-people/

‘Bangungot’: Why young men die suddenly in their sleep
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/259051/bangungot-young-men-die-suddenly-sleep/

Man seeks justice for wife shot 28 times in Philippines
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-39405721?SThisFB

Jonathan Gold's 6 favorite Asian fried chicken joints in the L.A. Area
http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-fo-jonathan-gold-asian-fried-chicken-20160629-snap-story.html

For Video of the Week, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho spotlights Erwin Macua, a security guard who graduated cum laude at St. Theresa’s College, the school he worked for.

Finally, as we near Holy Week, another meatless recipe from Elizabeth Ann Quirino, Grilled Salmon and Shrimps in Banana Leaves.

Voyagers

As the calendar moves swiftly towards Holy Week, we thought it a good time to step back and revive some stories we had published that you may have missed or may want to read again. This week we focus on four Filipinos of various generations who left the Motherland and staked their future in another country. Brave adventurous folks all, and their personal narratives serve as both inspiration and cautionary tales.

In mid-20th century, a Filipina from Bulacan named Enya Gonzalez made it big in New York City as an opera singer and became the first Filipina to be on the cover of Newsweek. First-time contributor Gaby C. Gloria profiled this plucky Filipina who broke through barriers in "The Bold Soprano."

In 1971, student leader Jaime FlorCruz travelled to China along with other student leaders and activists from various schools. Little did he know that he (and a few others including the current Philippine ambassador to China, Chito Sta. Romana) would be living there for 40 years, and he would become the CNN bureau chief in China. FlorCruz, who had officially retired as an international journalist, wrote about his life as an exile in "40 Years In China: From Stranded Activist to International Journalist."

Regular PF contributor Agatha Verdadero, who runs a publishing house in Africa, told us the story of how she and her team established lasting friendships with Somalians -- not an easy feat -- in "Friendship Worth One's Life."

Her story is common among overseas Filipino workers (OFW) but is nonetheless remarkable. Edita Balane, working as a nanny in Dubai, tells Ana P. Santos of her dreams in "Everyone's Children But Her Own."

Meanwhile, we compiled an interesting bunch of stories from various publications this week for our In The Know section:

When a President says “I'll Kill You.”
https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/asia/100000004819836/duterte-philippines-when-a-president-says-ill-kill-you.html?emc=edit_ta_20170326&nl=top-stories&nlid=63804747&ref=cta

Jason Day withdraws from WGC-Match Play to be with mother as she battles lung cancer
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/day-withdraws-from-wgc-match-play-to-be-with-mother-as-she-battles-lung-cancer-212239016.html?hl=1&noRedirect=1

Security guard is still on duty hours before he graduates, cum laude, at Saint Theresa’s College in Cebu
http://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/127331/security-guard-still-duty-hours-graduates-cum-laude-saint-saint-theresas-college-cebu#ixzz4cjl6qJd4 

Philippine Peso Is worst Asian currency in 2017
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2017-03-24/philippine-peso-is-worst-asian-currency-in-2017-video

And we continue our series of meatless recipes for Lent for the Happy Home Cook. This week, PF Correspondent and foodie Elizabeth Ann Quirino shares her recipe for Shrimps and Leeks Omelet.

For our Video of the Week, after being bashed by Filipino netizens for calling suman “boring food,” TastesLikeChicken's William revisits the Filipino sticky rice snack with suggestions on how to eat it.