December 06, 2022

Relax and Smell the Fish Sauce

December 06, 2022/ Staff

The holidays are coming up fast and we know this is a busy and stressful (though joyful) time, so we'll just keep this short.

Everyone needs to take time for a break so we hope Positively Filipino will provide you some relaxation as you take a breather from the many tasks you have before you.

In this issue, a San Francisco Bay Area dance troupe brings some Filipino culture to the World Folklore Festival in Cannes, France.

A worthy gift for the young readers and literature lovers in your life: the third volume of Growing Up Filipino, a collection of short stories from writers of the diaspora.

And for the home cooks gearing up for a Filipino holiday cookfest, a bit of history behind a staple in a Filipino kitchen -- Rufina Patis.

If you're hungry for some food nostalgia or are in need of some ideas for your holiday feast, Read Again our features on two distinctive cuisines, both written by culinary expert Micky Fenix. The first on Ilocano food, the second about Batangas dishes.

Soup Tales And Big Breakfasts

Straightforward, Simple Batangas Cuisine

Not exactly for the health nut but a delicious, occasional treat (and what better time than the cold December holidays): Cook Again the favorite Ilocano dish, Igado: The Happy Home Cook: Igado — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

We end with a celebration of an extraordinary life, that of the Ultimate Entertainer, the Queen of Kundiman, the lovable Ibyang of TV sit-com fame, Sylvia La Torre who passed away last week at the age of 89. Our Video of the Week (in Filipino) pays tribute to her talent and her unmatched legacy in Philippine entertainment history.

In The Know

Medalla voices caution over plans to create $4.9B sovereign fund

https://www.bworldonline.com/top-stories/2022/12/02/490762/medalla-voices-caution-over-plans-to-create-4-9b-sovereign-fund/?amp&fbclid=IwAR3ehISkESEZO8Lm-avQM-F-tvQSya2E8MlJMAhLnw-NPniSSU0CTNSKwzM

Sylvia La Torre, Philippines’ Trailblazing Entertainer, from Radio to Cinema

https://www.goldenglobes.com/articles/sylvia-la-torre-philippines-trailblazing-entertainer-radio-cinema?fbclid=iwar1v1f_y1zv7cjsyjknm8jcusy_dj0ex8xyegl_-5gank7ilxex65cq4co4

Hawaiʻi students create Filipino Curriculum Project

https://www.khon2.com/local-news/hawaii-students-create-filipino-curriculum-project/

Philippines sees a pandemic boom in child sex abuse

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63658818

Palm Springs Meets Morocco and New York in Mactan

https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/philippine-daily-inquirer-1109/20221130/282084870820850?fbclid=IwAR39ylNxOaXV0RsxfHeOjCtvgEtpVIEhDXQjDs0p_Sa1HVcTI0y9O2b0qqI

Why Is It Suddenly So Cool To Be Filipino?

https://sfstandard.com/arts-culture/is-it-cool-to-be-filipino/?fbclid=IwAR17SqaLHQMCoy8a3HHpESrCw1wCwmC-eHsmHuZeNUfA9UeoEO9EXTdGdoc

Raise your spoons and forks: 12 critically-acclaimed Filipino restaurants making their mark overseas

https://au.news.yahoo.com/raise-spoons-forks-12-critically-051117265.html

San Francisco couple accused of trafficking nanny from the Philippines

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/sf-couple-allegedly-trafficked-nanny-17635685.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=briefing&utm_campaign=sfg_thedaily&stn=nf&sid=53bb0669fdd5ac0b52000049

November 29, 2022

Our Heroes Old and New

November 29, 2022/ Staff

November 30 is National Heroes' Day among Filipinos. Let's take the time to honor our national and personal heroes who came before us, recognize the heroes that live among us and bring out the hero within us.

As the World Cup grabs the world's attention and passions, here are some football history trivia with Philippine roots:

Did you know that...

* before the legendary Lionel Messi of Argentina established the record for number of career goals in world football, the record that went unchallenged for 87 years was held by Paulino Alcantara, a Spaniard born in Iloilo, who wowed as the star player in the Barcelona team (1912-1927?)? His Barcelona football career was interrupted for two years when he returned to the Philippines with his parents to settle personal matters between 1916-1918. While in Manila, Paulino joined the Philippine Commonwealth National (Football) Team which he steered towards the championship of the Far Eastern Championship Games in Japan in 1917. That feat remains unmatched in Philippine football history.

* Filipino-French Alphonse Areola, a backup goalie for the 2018 World Cup champion French team, is the only footballer of Filipino descent with a true World Cup victory and medal to his name?

PF Correspondent Myles Garcia regales us with Paulino Alcantara's story and more in "Bend It Like Paulino...and Friends."

In the predictable arena of beauty contests, an outlier has created waves by being herself. Such a strange concept, this refreshing authenticity, as noted by first-time PF contributor Ian Layugan who profiles one of the Binibining Pilipinas winners, Herlene Budol.

They were the soft power that provided the counterpoint to a basically brutal US colonial conquest of the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century. They were the American teachers largely responsible for shaping the Philippines and Filipinos in America's image. From the US-Philippines Society, a report on a new book that tells the story of the Thomasites.

And when we speak of heroes, we look at our own.

Read Again about our other National Hero, Andres Bonifacio:

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/andres-bonifacio-the-other-national-hero

Read Again about some less-celebrated but no less worthy ones:

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/six-profiles-five-in-valor-one-in-villainy

For the Happy Home Cook, here's a dish that can delight any day.

Cook Again: http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-happy-home-cook-chicken-curry

Video of the Week: Maria Ressa Talks About New Book

In The Know

The rise and false ‘sacking’ of Cardinal Tagle

https://opinion.inquirer.net/159074/the-rise-and-false-sacking-of-cardinal-tagle?fbclid=IwAR1SJtTQZfhZFLZ4vsCikB4JSNuS3wT-EVODnYSRyamK4E6HgcPy4tcgf9w

Filipino fast food chain lauded for having menu for blind, visually impaired

https://interaksyon.philstar.com/trends-spotlights/2022/11/23/235516/filipino-fast-food-chain-lauded-for-having-menu-for-blind-visually-impaired/

There’s No Jollibee In Montreal, But A Hip Filipino Spot Has Recreated Its Menu

https://www.mtlblog.com/montreal/theres-no-jollibee-in-montreal-but-a-hip-filipino-spot-has-recreated-its-menu?fbclid=IwAR3bq6ZDCARWOmQcMb3Yt7YLLyxZVeCspJpJQU7coaaVKdMWiATEGfoS9EY

Don’t call him ‘Next Jo Koy’—this rising Filipino comic has humor, style, story all his own

https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/11/27/22/everything-we-know-about-rising-comedy-star-jr-de-guzman?fbclid=IwAR07DvhgpdlJO9AUS8mNNqG8tXvXbrPHaKVKWxyAh7h6U_MNF5LfMzHjf_k

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?mibextid=Zxz2cZ&fbclid=IwAR2u7J0A5nOZzgdkyUKpi8VUKCudr0-c-81TcOxzx_e0gfuuF64wHSrRRdw

Marking Santa Barbara’s Filipino Legacy

https://www.independent.com/2022/11/16/marking-santa-barbaras-filipino-legacy/

Jose Mari Chan reacts to Pentatonix-Lea Salonga cover of 'Christmas in our Hearts'

https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/11/16/22/jose-mari-chan-reacts-to-pentatonix-lea-salonga-cover?fbclid=IwAR3zKFRjgGjH__C6v9Tlg1DCOcylJ2dQylO2JCG-WN0ybSufiIy6hWg83Yw

November 22, 2022

History In Our Hearts

November 22, 2022/ Staff

Happy Thanksgiving Day to our US-based readers. We have a lot to be grateful for, foremost of which is that we're still around. Quite a blessing after three years of living through a raging pandemic.

In the California Museum of Sacramento, an exhibit called "California is in the Heart" recognizes and celebrates the history and contributions of FilAms in this state where our presence is biggest. The exhibit, a joint project of UC Davis' Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies and the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) Museum, runs until April 9, 2023 so it's a good reason to plan a trip to the state capital.

A FilAm carving her place in the theater arts, Alexandra Palting created and performed her one-woman musical 0874: A Filipino-American Love Story on social media and is now preparing for its full theater production with a grant from the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Why 874? That was the number of love letters Alex's lolo and lola wrote to each other when they were separated by the Pacific Ocean between 1958-1963.

And if you've ever craved lanzones, here's something that will trigger your nostalgia some more.

As the days get nippier and the holiday emotions heat up (ok, it's already in full throttle in the Philippines), it's a good time to reacquaint ourselves with Jose Mari Chan, long-time purveyor of sentimental OPM Christmas songs. http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/joe-mari-chans-enduring-heart-songs