Warriors and Remembrance

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We end this month that marks the 81st anniversary of the Bataan Death March with a rare first-person account by the late Lt. Col. Federico Peralta who survived the cruelty, the extreme hunger, malaria and severe exhaustion, and was later released as POW #24. Peralta served in the Philippine Armed Forces for 26 years and was able to write down his story and leave it with his daughter before he passed on in 1995. This is a riveting, heartbreaking recollection of the insanity of war and a testament to the valor of what has been called "the greatest generation."

In another WWII story, anthropologist/author Thomas McKenna's recently released book Moro Warrior documents the little-known valiant resistance of Moro guerillas against the Japanese army. The focus is on the unlikely friendship between a Moro boy and his American teacher which exemplifies the bond between the Muslims and the Americans in fighting a common enemy. PF Correspondent and Mindanao advocate Criselda Yabes reviews the book. 

If a centuries-old tree could talk, what fascinating stories it would tell. At the Lichauco ancestral home in Sta. Ana, beside the Pasig river, the balete tree which has given the Lichauco children so much joy, has been officially declared a Heritage Tree by the Philippine government. Two Lichauco daughters, Sylvia and Loretta, pooled their childhood memories for this article.

And speaking of warriors, once upon a time, in the late 1970s, an esteemed Kalinga chief named Macli-ing Dulag led his tribe's resistance against the Chico River Project of the national government. The damming of the river would have wiped out the vestiges of the Kalinga way of life. Macli-ing was assassinated on April 24, 1980 by government troops. Since then, April 24 has been designated as Cordillera Peoples Day. Read Again Ma. Ceres P. Doyo's story on this valiant warrior: The Unforgettable Macli-ing Dulag — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

It's summer in the Philippines, and traditionally the season brings about a rite of manhood for Filipino boys. Read Again: 

Circumcision: Writhe of Passage — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

Summer also means mango season in the Philippines and now, even here in the US. Visit your Asian store so you can taste again this delicious treat from PF Correspondent and foodie, Elizabeth Ann Quirino: The Happy Home Cook: Mango Refrigerator Cake — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

[Video of the Week] Why Is The Filipino Calamansi Being Left Behind?

In The Know

LIST: Premium buses to drive you through a relaxing out-of-town trip in PH

https://philstarlife.com/living/312762-list-premium-buses-baguio-ilocos-bicol?page=4

Coloring the Margins: Pacita Abad

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/arts/design/walker-pacita-abad-minneapolis.html?fbclid=IwAR1ATyWLHeUWYAgvfbG7ooJsZerqmUqlrQmEtRLfov3W9DP1sp2PEQ9pYbU

Goodbye, tilapia surprise: Selecta’s transparent ice cream container goes viral

https://www.rappler.com/technology/internet-culture/selecta-transparent-container-viral/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&fbclid=IwAR0go2TlC_xvwYsIh2sjn4dbswlnAYnz3ttwpzDEpo9RAThfI006JBRIzL4

IN PHOTOS: Why Chef Tatung’s Azadore might be the coolest-looking new restaurant in QC

https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/food-drink/restaurants/04/21/23/this-might-be-the-coolest-looking-new-restaurant-in-qc?fbclid=IwAR1zq7ZidToM2uplawqJtEThpTaaPralDoWUmhd1oYTSCap9uYBQ0c2Mdj8

The Fascinating World of Caroline Kennedy

https://anankemag.com/2016/10/18/the-fascinating-world-of-caroline-kennedy/?fbclid=IwAR1nj-LlPycni9avD8nLVBXh72A0Eh4RKYyv5Gvk6SovR9TZU_wsHpeI1SU

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Staff

Listen to Mother Nature

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Before anything else, we join the Filipino nation in paying tribute to an exemplary public servant, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario who passed away Monday aboard a flight from Manila to San Francisco.

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Snow and tornadoes in California. Unrelenting rains and flooding in the south. Unseasonal typhoons and more frequent earthquakes in the Philippines. Drought, melting glaciers, warmer oceans, heat waves -- the list goes on. If there's ever any doubt that Mother Nature is sending an unmistakable message to humankind to shape up, banish that thought. This year's Earth Day (on Saturday, April 22) is both a reminder and a call to action.

Climate change, environmental degradation, global warming -- however it's called -- requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. And that means each one of us can do our part. Every little action helps. If volunteering for a seashore cleanup or planting saplings in denuded areas is not your thing, your throwing your soda cans and/or bottles in the recycle bin, or setting aside your food scraps for composting are just as consequential. 

While Earth Day is a proclaimed annual celebration, Saving the Earth is a commitment and a lifestyle. No public announcements necessary. 

Our lead story this week is about how one family parlayed its ecological way of life into certifiably sustainable housing developments. PF contributing writer Chiara Cox begins by telling us about how it is to grow up in a green household.

Chocs N' Boxes, a Filipino-owned gourmet chocolate shop in a Chicago suburb, is the only chocolate maker and seller in the U.S. that sources its chocolate from cacao beans grown by farmers in the Philippines. PF Correspondent Rey de la Cruz reports.

And if you're still wondering if Filipinos have established their place in the American tapestry, check out our ongoing list of  FilAms Among the Remarkable and Famous, already on part 46. Our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco, who does the compiling, sees no end in sight.

[Video of the Week] Claude Tayag

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Staff

Justin Jones, One of Us

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Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones (D) has inadvertently become the symbol and voice of the nascent civil rights movement in the US, which has expanded from being predominantly Black in the '60s to now include all peoples of color and gender.

Jones, together with another Black colleague Rep. Justin Pearson, were expelled by the Republican-dominated Tennessee House of Representatives for disruptive behavior during a session discussing gun laws following the mass shooting in a Tennessee school that killed six, including three 9-year-old kids. Another colleague, Rep. Gloria Johnson, a white woman, was not expelled, bringing race to the forefront of the legislative action.

Jones identifies unequivocally with his Filipino roots [Read Leny Mendoza Strobel's story on him: Justin Jones – Black, Filipino, Civil Rights Activist — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora]. Many of PF's Fil-Am readers strongly support him. "This blatant racism is personal since Justin is one of us, " lawyer Ben Olivas wrote. " I explain to my American friends that I will not be silent in the face of the right’s embrace of authoritarian rule, given our own fight against autocracy back in the day.  There is nothing Christian about showing kindness only to those of your tribe."

Last Monday afternoon, following a worldwide outrage, the Nashville Metropolitan Council unanimously reinstated Jones as its duly appointed representative, bringing him back to the House that expelled him. [See our In The Know links section below for the Associated Press report.] Is this the end of this story on race and an assault on democracy? Not a chance. We think this is only the beginning.

Our new stories this week brings us to two places in northern Philippines that seldom get airtime in mainstream media: Batanes, the northernmost province, where ace food writer Micky Fenix was introduced to uvi, a non-purple root crop native to the area; and Benguet, where the Northern Blossom Flower Farm caught the attention of PF contributing writer, Ian Layugan. 

To commemorate the 81st anniversary of the Fall of Bataan on April 8, 1942, here's a story for the ages: 

Death of an Army — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

Before recently becoming the cover girl for a Philippine fashion magazine, Whang Od, the oldest living traditional mambabatok (tattoo artist), was the focus of Maia Almendral Esteves' first-person account on how it was to have a centuries-old tradition imprinted on her skin: 

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/from-brooklyn-to-buscalan-a-journey-to-whang-od

For Filipino boomers in Manila in the early '70s, Holy Week inevitably trigger memories of "Jesus Christ Superstar," the musicale whose Manila production made the lead performer, Boy Camara, still a remembered name. Where is he now? PF contributing writer Bella Bonner brought us up-to-date: Boy Camara Superstar — Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

Our Stories This Week

Rooted In Tradition by Micky Fenix

A Matriarch’s Legacy Flowers In The Mountains by Ian Layugan

Read Agains

Justin Jones – Black, Filipino, Civil Rights Activist by Leny Mendoza Strobel

Death Of An Army by Antonio A. Nieva

From Brooklyn To Buscalan: A Journey To Whang Od
by Maia Almendral Esteves

Boy Camara Superstar by Bella Bonner

[Cook It Again] The Happy Home Cook: Thai Beef Lettuce Wrap by Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo

[Video of the Week] The Reliever (Full Movie)

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Staff