December 23, 2020

A Timeout Year

December 23, 2020/ Gemma Nemenzo

How will we remember 2020?

It was the year when the earth healed. The sky cleared, the waters became bluer, wild animals revisited their original habitats, bird species thought extinct were seen in city streets, and aquatic animals once again swam freely in waterways.

It was the year when music stopped in arenas and concert halls but emerged in balconies and homes as people found community in singing and making music.

It was the year of reconnecting as multiple families, old friends and previously neglected relationships got together to update, to converse, to wine and dine virtually, to dance.

It was the year of reflection as the hassle and bustle of daily existence turned to quiet calm.

It was the year of renewal, when the demand for distance and isolation brought forth stark reminders of one's priorities and what really matters.

It was the year for expanding one's horizons -- virtually-- as webinars, podcasts, talks by experts, museum tours, travel documentaries as well as streaming movies and dramas transported us to worlds we didn't have the time to explore before.

And yes, it was also a year of righteous rage, constant grief and good trouble, the intensity of which has led to significant changes that should usher in a better tomorrow.

Despite the pain of the pandemic and the sorrow of lost lives, we end the year with hope for a better 2021 and with faith that the cycle of life will continue as it has through the ages.

Our Stories This Week

It’s Not About That Imelda By Esther M. Chavez

Read Agains

Lulu’s Fifty-Peso Christmas Gift By Elizabeth Ann Quirino

Banana Leaves, Rice, And Coconut By Leah K. Sicat

Delicious Dishes For Your Christmas Table

Video of the Week: Parol Making Workshop

In The Know

Cebu Simala Shrine – Lindogon: The Miraculous Castle Church

https://sugbo.ph/2019/simala-shrine-church-cebu/?fbclid=IwAR3rKPuPLrje0VOaNUkzzuBKqFFTG50rIsc2kjkUIg7Thn5ZRMiZjC4sOjY

LOOK! This curvy, sexy, modern building is Marikina’s hidden architectural gem

https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/12/13/20/look-this-curvy-sexy-modern-building-is-the-guggenheim-of-marikina?fbclid=IwAR2Z8CnjflUVOw-vQ0g1o-CfrAyxROI5LLeevsw2WMTifhMISM3HNfG1ZRs

Independent int'l probe on alleged human rights violations in PH launched
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/17/20/independent-intl-probe-on-ph-human-rights-violations-launched?fbclid=IwAR0Viuv7kEiXD7h7ZSU95noKDuf9q07VMdVMIXQxao7BuyQ8tyLY1gueWDU

December 16, 2020

A Life in Film

December 16, 2020/ Gemma Nemenzo

Some of the best Filipino movies were created in the mid-1970s to the mid-80s when the likes of Lino Brocka, Ismael Bernal, Mike de Leon, Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Peque Gallaga, Eddie Romero and Lupita Kashiwahara dominated the directorial scene.

Not surprisingly, the period also brought about the elevation of production design as an award category, in recognition of its role in setting the overall look and feel of a movie. Setting the gold standard for production design was Fiel Zabat, who worked on some of that era's most critically acclaimed films and won many awards for her work.

The Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino recently awarded Fiel with the Natatanging Gawad Urian, the lifetime achievement honor, for her body of work. Manunuri stalwart Butch Francisco writes an extensive feature on Fiel's filmography and dishes out some juicy behind-the-scenes stories of the making of a number of Filipino film classics. ["Fiel Zabat: A Film Production Designer’s Production Designer"]

Meanwhile, the world is hopefully in the homestretch of the war against the Covid-19 virus and contributing writer Susan Araneta sums up the large role of Filipino health workers in various countries who were the frontliners in this, the most severe public health challenge of the century. ["A Virus Among Us: Filipinos and COVID-19"]

In Hawaii where many Fil-Ams won elective positions in the state legislature, long-time Honolulu resident and professor Belinda Aquino writes about the distinguished career Senator Donna Mercado Kim. ["State Sen. Donna Mercado Kim: A Household Name in Hawaii"]

The Happy Home Cook: Beer-Braised Pork chop from Rene Astudillo

Video of the Week: U.P. Concert Chorus sings “Simbanggabi”

In The Know

Jollibee Crew Emerged as Civil Engineering Topnotcher
https://gineersnow.com/engineering/civil/jollibee-crew-civil-engineering-topnotcher?fbclid=IwAR1nfMVZ_HLD4dV24nWfJNnI6aeX3C8wsE4WlFP5aN3YYtIPsrpVIoL585M

The first Filipino movie star in Hollywood is a woman
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/11/25/19/the-first-filipino-movie-star-in-hollywood-is-a-woman?fbclid=IwAR2C17OlTCi_65wDBgUHDfu1Y_nmeHiW_l39KID5hFRXOFKjSfLjr2vGjw4

Exclusive: Wesley So in the eyes of Lotis Key
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/drive/sports/12/09/20/wesley-so-in-the-eyes-of-lotis-key?fbclid=IwAR13BiP-1-J-oZDAmC8yQVA15mHd6La_tkU2mrd9zVs_-pFH-aogSi8xjK8

These Prehistoric Plants in the Philippines Are Older Than Dinosaurs
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/cycads-ancient-line-of-seed-plants-grow-in-masungi-georeserve-a833-sa00171-20200709-src-spot?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20201206-fbnp-long-reads-cycads-ancient-line-of-seed-plants-grow-in-masungi-georeserve-a833-sa00171-20200709-src-spot-fbold&fbclid=IwAR0gzMw2-ALO1DXEpslZ6PKXSAAmm4DvvEvlQAaeuPCuYfzmy_cWOwSAruY

Marawi Before the Siege: A photo essay by Bobby Timonera, Mindanews
http://marawi-narratives.ateneo.edu/marawi-before-the-siege/?fbclid=IwAR0bMZkJFNF8JqlR1E9cqUMdxp6G6RMcwWMpNfoIFDuawN2nItNv2WnqwA8

Everything You Need to Know about Filipino Food: The Next Great American Cuisine
https://www.themanual.com/food-and-drink/filipino-food-guide/?fbclid=IwAR3xaGNcIzmL7cmbSbZ2iHSCrReJB9OKRythCa7qiyQPn0dsWT0Sc363mcA

Introducing Isabel Sandoval: The ‘Lingua Franca’ filmmaker on her indie drama
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-09-07/lingua-franca-director-star-isabel-sandoval?fbclid=IwAR2Ss4ZDR6LnBlTARyAdlCOtEUyLt9O-5QR41dBIOa7jUALJI6tldzjILjk

December 09, 2020

Go Slow and Easy

December 09, 2020/ Gemma Nemenzo

It's going to be a slow and quiet holiday season this year, especially in the US, where the galloping numbers of covid cases and deaths have united health professionals and public officials (except for a minority) in pleading for people to stay home and forego multi-family gatherings and travel.

So between Zoom, Netflix and doing the stuff that gets you from one day to the next, we hope you'll spend time to peruse the stories, hundreds of them now, that we have posted since we started Positively Filipino in 2013. PF, as you are well aware, is an online-only magazine, thus all our posts are permanently stored on the web, available 24/7/365 to anyone who wants to read them.

If you're a new subscriber, PF posts new stories every Wednesday such as today. Our target readership are Filipinos all over the world, aka the diaspora, and we try to reflect that wide variety of interests in the equally wide variety of stories that we curate. If you click on our site, http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/ and click on Collections, you'll see the categories of articles that we cover. For quick look-sees on what's happening in our global community, we have our In Brief section, https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/in-brief that capsulizes important news daily. For those who want to look beyond our pages, we have our curated In The Know links to interesting stories in other publications included in our Wednesday newsletter.

However you want to fit PF into your life, we thank you for reading. We are truly appreciative of your continuing support.