Reflect and Refresh

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However and wherever you choose to celebrate this week, we wish you the space for meaningful reflection, the comfort of rituals and the joy of community.

Jose Garcia Villa and Nick Joaquin -- literary giants known for sardonic humor and acerbic wit -- apparently had affection and respect for each other, as PF contributing writer Virgilio Reyes Jr. gleans from a valuable poem Joaquin wrote for the internment of his friend, Garcia Villa. The latter's colorful life is at the center of this tribute to the friendship between two great Filipino writers.

Hardly anyone has been untouched by grief these past three years. Certainly not PF Correspondent Criselda Yabes who mourns and honors her "three mothers" in this week of solemnity and contemplation.

To Cha-cha or not to cha-cha? The issue of Charter change comes up once again in the Philippines, and Netherlands-based lecturer/activist Jacob Apostol weighs in.

Once upon a time, in the '70s decade, when political turmoil was prevalent and Filipino Americans were struggling to be heard, a rock band named Dakila made waves by recording what is now considered the first Asian American rock album. With permission from KQED, we are posting this story about the revival of Dakila's important musical legacy.

In time for this Holy Week, Read Again about the art and soul of Redemptorist priest, Fr. Rey Culaba: 

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/art-and-soul-and-fr-rey

Always a good Lenten dish, guaranteed: 

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/pesang-salmon-filipino-fish-stew-in-ginger-broth-with-tomatoes-spinach

[Video of the Week] 6 Decades of American Fashion Turned Filipino

In The Know

The best Filipino restaurants in Los Angeles

https://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/restaurants/best-filipino-restaurants-in-los-angeles

[Only IN Hollywood] 2 Filipinos among key talents behind ‘John Wick 4’s’ dazzling fight scenes

https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/movies/only-in-hollywood-filipinos-talents-behind-john-wick-4-fight-scenes/?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2iy6mRfnRcptLx7XcVfGjpev9_Hcdzl9PeHZ1n-CzGwP30-mxH3sxdX5w

Rich Rodriguez honors Filipino spirit through Masaya store

https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/03/19/the-sunday-times/filipino-champions/rich-rodriguez-honors-filipino-spirit-through-masaya-store/1883301?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3cpRWwVAHGasL_6GpQrau9xNUIJFDtqT2Ie-01mofbMMEV0Ys4cY0zLQY#Echobox=1679777836

Child actor singing ‘Happy Birthday’ in Filipino on ‘Barney’ 3 decades ago has left an indelible impression

https://nextshark.com/pia-jasmine-hamilton-happy-birthday-filipino-barney

Local Filipino American players pave way for baseball’s growth in Philippines

https://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/story/2023-03-26/filipino-american-baseball-players-pave-way-for-growth-philippines

Pinay Nurse In US Transforms Backyard Into Garden, Conducts “Talipapa Days” To Sell Her Produce

https://www.businessnews.com.ph/pinay-nurse-in-us-transforms-backyard-into-garden-conducts-talipapa-days-to-sell-her-produce-20220928/?fbclid=IwAR31cjQOHoXmoZxnJ3GBOz1ZS-SO4w8LRHhVyrxxdrXvOj-JKxl5JfWaBes

Apo Whang-Od And The Indelible Marks Of Filipino Identity

https://vogue.ph/magazine/apo-whang-od/

Taylor Swift surprises Filipino fan by doing his viral dance during concert

https://nextshark.com/taylor-swift-filipino-fan-viral-dance

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Staff

Breaking Barriers

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If you had watched a play or two at Fort Santiago's Rajah Sulayman Theater, consider yourself privileged. The open-air venue located in the former barracks of Spanish forces was the perfect setting for original stage productions of PETA, the Philippine Educational Theater Association, which is the first national theater group in the Philippines. PETA was the brainchild of Cecile Guidote-Alvarez. So was Rajah Sulayman. For these achievements, Alvarez is tagged by PF Correspondent Rey de la Cruz the "Mother of Philippine Theater."

A young Fil-Am accountant who used to be a DJ was decisively elected to the post of Controller of the city of Los Angeles in last November's election. Kenneth Mejia's feat broke barriers and deserves to be saluted, as PF Correspondent Anthony Maddela writes.

How was it to grow up a colegiala in the late '60s? It was way before the wave of permissiveness permeated Manila society and makes for a funny, poignant story now. Veteran writer Neni Sta. Romana Cruz who went to St. Scholastica discloses the skeletons in their closets.

To cap off International Women's Month, let's revisit the stories of two Filipino women of different generations who made their mark in Broadway and Hollywood.

Enya Gonzalez played Cio-cio San in the 1938 production of Madame Butterfly and landed in the cover of Newsweek. 
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-bold-soprano

Marya Coburn was a bit player in Hollywood in the late '60s and had some interesting tales to tell.

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/she-kissed-elvis-and-lived-to-tell-the-tale

To prepare for Holy Week, Watch Again movie star Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo cooking her favorite Semana Santa dishes. 

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-happy-home-cook-holy-week-dishes

Our Video of the Week: 20 Must-Try Street Foods in the Philippines

In The Know

Today in Philippine history, March 23, 1895, Encarnacion Alzona, the first Filipina to complete her doctoral studies, a pioneering suffragette was born in Biñan, Laguna

https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/2741/today-in-philippine-history-march-23-1895-encarnacion-alzona-the-first-filipina-to-complete-her-doctoral-studies-a-pioneering-suffragette-was-born-in-bi-an-laguna

These Were the Badass Senators We Should Look Up To

https://www.esquiremag.ph/politics/opinion/filpino-senators-statesmen-a00293-20190517-lfrm?utm_source=izooto&utm_medium=messenger_notifications&utm_campaign=20230319-filpino-senators-statesmen-a00-izold&utm_content=

Budji Layug’s Next Big Vision: Community Design

https://vogue.ph/lifestyle/art/budji-layugs-next-vision-community-design/

This Woman Crawled Out of Poverty and Bought Her Parents a House at 26

https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/winnie-talosig-rebancos-coca-cola-interview-a00293-20210329-lfrm2?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20230313-fbnp-long-reads-winnie-talosig-rebancos-coca-cola-interview-a00293-20210329-lfrm2-fbold&fbclid=IwAR3obZTxtll0WASD958duEXqVJ_UQuooMPDNu04Ot9H0hF-1TpPcLLhp7hc

Ana Lorenzana De Ocampo on becoming a food industry success

https://mb.com.ph/2023/3/18/ana-lorenzana-de-ocampo-shares-her-recipe-to-become-a-food-industry-success?fbclid=IwAR3IC__EhikqfbOwt9N0OzleVTJAA5_3gi0nB3j0x6KMPc_6wp4dUqbpNk8

Hapag: A genuine love for Filipino food and the people you work with can make a big difference

https://fnbreport.ph/hapag-a-genuine-love-for-filipino-food-and-the-people-you-work-with-can-make-a-big-difference/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3w6izsVa9Tb2vu049QDqyw41nGFwH9I5uVUJjnK9-crDNrYROrzQcxtwg#Echobox=1679361107

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Staff

Glory Day on Ice

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A 24-year-old Fil-Am ice skater Isabella Gamez and her partner Aleksander Korovin achieved a feat that has never been done before: be the first Pairs figure skaters representing the Philippines to quality for the International Skating Union World Figure Skating Championships that starts today in Saitama, Japan. PF Correspondent Myles A. Garcia provides us a primer on Pairs vs. Ice Dancing, explains how a Russian skater came to represent our homeland, and introduces Gamez who has illustrious athletic creds: she's the granddaughter of basketball legend (and former senator) Freddie Webb.

Sure to make your mouth water and get you in the kitchen is Chef Claude Tayag's The Ultimate Filipino Adobo: Stories Through the Ages, a cookbook and culinary history book that serves up luscious stories about our national dish. PF Correspondent Elizabeth Ann Quirino, herself a cookbook author, stirs up our palates with her review of this must-have foodie treasure. 

Sidney Sheldon? Literature? You would think the name and classroom subject couldn't be used in the same sentence but popular PF contributor Ian Layugan did just that in his recall of his high school reading choice, "How Sidney Sheldon Taught Me How to Read."

More women stories and writing for Women's History Month:

A woman shines in Spain:

The Stunning Isabel Preysler — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

Women Reign in Pampanga:

Why Women Rule Pampanga — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

A famous Filipina artist writes about her adopted hometown in France:

Limeuil — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

It may not be adobo but only a Kapampangan chef can do a genuine Sisig:

The Happy Home Cook: Sizzling Sisig — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

[Video of the Week] 'Lihim ng Casa Sulipeña,' dokumentaryo ni Kara David | I-Witness

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Staff