October 14, 2020

Vote Like Our Future Depends on It

October 14, 2020/ Gemma Nemenzo

US citizenship, long considered the "pie in the sky" by many Filipinos, comes with a duty to exercise the right to vote, the most sacred of rights bestowed on those who have pledged allegiance to the American flag. Thus with the ongoing election that's tagged as "the most consequential of our lifetime," Positively Filipino's webinar last Monday, was a necessary service for Filipino Americans. It was a highly informative and lively discussion on the electoral college, Fil-Am voting patterns vis a vis other Asian Americans, and why we should all cast our votes (the down ballots or local races are just as important as choosing a president). If you missed it, here's the recording.: How Do We Make The Fil-Am Vote Count?

We have two other webinars scheduled this Fil-Am History Month and we hope to have the pleasure of your company then.

Three years ago in Mindanao, the beautiful city of Marawi was reduced to rubble as government forces and Muslim militants engaged in a fierce battle that lasted five months. The battle was officially declared over on October 17, 2017 by President Duterte. We think it's the right time, on this its third anniversary, to point you to a new book that tells in minute detail the story of the Marawi siege, which is a lesson in modern-day warfare. The Battle of Marawi, the book, is written by PF Correspondent Criselda Yabes and reviewed here by Dr. Patricio Abinales of the University of Hawaii.

This Week’s Stories

[New Webinar Video] How Do We Make The Fil-Am Vote Count?

Shocked And Awed By Patricio Abinales

Taylor Healy Saves The Signs Of These Times By Anthony Maddela

Octogenarians In Love, In The Covid-19 Era By Agnes Alikpala, MD

Filipino American History Books

[Partner] ALLICE's 16th Annual Free From Violence By Cherie M. Querol Moreno

The Happy Home Cook: Amboy Adobo By Chef Alvin Cailan

Video of the Week: TGIF, Thank God I’m Filipino

Read Again:

"Where Exactly Did Filipinos First Land in California?" by Abraham Ignacio Jr.

"Pieces of the (Midnight) Sun" by Oscar Peñaranda provides a preview of the stories he will tell for our webinar.

In The Know

Les nouveaux Misérables: the lives of Filipina workers in the playground of the rich
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/oct/12/les-miserables-nouveau-the-lives-of-filipina-workers-in-the-playground-of-the-rich?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR11ZJxAc2j2vJg-Rop9K5JF_DZLL1mVsKa-Gj6RtRp9hV-SA1N1vDeGYIs

Pasig uses online tech to consult residents on 'open streets' proposal amid pandemic
https://www.rappler.com/nation/pasig-city-uses-polis-consult-residents-open-streets-proposal?fbclid=IwAR2ItD_uTt1K6VJfEgzF5kxdjRtFp5nYd2u48mqLEjg8WztjvoC_MN1pxW8

beabadoobee Made Bedroom Pop. Now She’s Turning Up the Volume.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/08/arts/music/beabadoobee-fake-it-flowers.html?fbclid=IwAR23w_iqx_m21ZPbaHUoWFRV8k0ppLz6QQKfDR8GcPnZPe3QOX2prpYUY4I

A Letter from Napa Valley, Where Love Burns Hotter Than Fire
https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2020/10/08/glass-fire-napa-valley-northern-california-wildfires/ideas/dispatches/?fbclid=IwAR1JuWAUeI8QQRB32rJer12325XHvoLlr5OaoUgWlsiCCikgtQ9tnt0XGpc

Nostalgia: The untold stories of ‘Batibot,’ according to Kuya Bodjie
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/10/11/20/nostalgia-the-untold-stories-of-batibot-according-to-kuya-bodjie?fbclid=IwAR2sYTeNsmIz8lj8anKBULkU8XvMPnLcb0b13PxS6yYYvTQxLXfeOmT2rH8

October 07, 2020

Most Challenging U.S. Election in a Lifetime

October 07, 2020/ Gemma Nemenzo

I think all of us agree that this 2020 US presidential election is the most chaotic, dangerous and ultimately impactful in our lifetime (and among us who have had a long lifetime, that statement is not an exaggeration). For the approximately four million-strong Filipino American community, the stakes are high. Especially if in the next four years one has to deal with such fundamental issues as health care, employment, retirement and immigration. It is immensely important that the US citizens among us vote and vote wisely, to protect our interests, to make our voices heard and ensure a better future for our children.

For those who are still on the fence about voting, I hope you join us for Positively Filipino's next webinar this coming Monday, October 12 at 6 pm Pacific/9 pm Eastern (and in the Philippines, 9 am October 13). Like our past webinars, it will be exciting, lively and thought-provoking. To register, click here: http://bit.ly/filamvote

And speaking of past webinars, the last one we had on the Bridge Generation of Filipino Americans got a lot of raves for the insights and new knowledge that our three guests -- community treasures, as moderator Lloyd LaCuesta called them -- shared. If you missed it or want to listen to it again, here's the recording: The Bridge Generation of Filipino Americans

This Week’s Stories

Raising The Curtain On Filipino American Theater’s Past By Walter Ang

A Forgotten Fil-Am Activist Helped Shape Today’s Social Movements By Tim Salaver and Sherelle Johnson

A Sunny Side Up Kind Of Journey By Harvey I. Barkin

The Happy Home Cook: Dad’s Tortang Giniling By Chef Alvin Cailan

Video of the Week: Breaking the Tabo, the first episode of One Down’s documentary series on the glass ceiling for Filipinos in Hollywood.

[Partner] Happy Pilipinx American History Month! PAHM 2020

Read Again: The Boogie Woogie Boys By Alex S. Fabros, Jr.

Read Again: [Partner] A National Museum Of Filipino American History Opens In Stockton, California
By Richard Tenaza

In The Know

The Horrors Of The Philippine-American War You Weren’t Taught In School [PHOTOS]
https://allthatsinteresting.com/philippine-american-war?fbclid=IwAR0tDUaS5Gj02QonfgZgGibS52Dq4mzaFTXM6G7vNWvzLUEvZsEyiTPMagg

Tribesmen's Chief Gagaban, the First Filipino to Fly as a Passenger
https://www.facebook.com/groups/FAXRP/permalink/2848738425354074/

‘Let Men Die to Make Us Rich:’ How Mark Twain Used Poetry To Oppose the Philippine-American War
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/mark-twain-philippines-a00304-20200104?fbclid=IwAR2VoK8Ia_rIcc2brTF2ITS8ISGaecMjp_jWqYiHJwD4cndk3AB35PHRh-8

September 30, 2020

Bridge Generation

September 30, 2020/ Gemma Nemenzo

Many stories have been written, narrated, and documented about the "manongs," the first-generation Filipino migrants in the US who were recruited from the Philippines to work the farmlands of Hawaii and California. Not much have been written, however, of the "bridge generation," the children of the manongs/manangs who, because of legal and societal issues (including the law that prohibited minorities from marrying whites), are comparatively small in number but who nonetheless occupy a significant and consequential niche in Filipino American history.

This year, we are starting our celebration of Filipino American History Month tomorrow with a webinar that will feature three prominent members of the Bridge Generation taking us back in time on how it was to grow up in the era before civil rights, diversity and a new generation of Filipino immigrants.

We hope you join us in honoring these Fil-Am community trailblazers.