Soulful Sojourns

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Transformational travel is not the usual route one takes when one wants to see as many places within a prescribed time period (say, a two-week vacation from work) for cheap. You have travel deals, tours and cruises for that. 

Transformational travel is intentional and immersive, with the goal of deep learning -- the place's culture and spiritual growth for oneself. In other words, meditation, not selfies; solitude, not crowds; communion with the divine, not imbibing the spirit of alcohol. Which is what writer and teacher Rene J. Navarro directs us to in his travel story "Pilgrimages" this week. "That is the apotheosis of a pilgrimage. Your soul is touched, and you are not the same again," he writes. Would that we all experience such a rare travel gift at least once in our lifetime.

Fanny is not the name of just one woman. It is an all-female rock band, three of whom are Fil-Ams, who were big in San Francisco in the late '60's and early '70s, and hadn't been heard of in the decades since. Now, the group is resurrected and touring in California, and is the subject of a documentary called "Fanny: The Right to Rock," streaming here until June 19:

 https://www.pbs.org/video/fanny-the-right-to-rock-bn4llg

We are reposting the Center for Asian American Media's (CAAM) feature on these remarkable women, elderly now yet still feisty and lively. And definitely rockin'.

A novel about a boy from Batac (Ilocos Norte) witnessing the rise to power of another boy from Batac won Manila's recent National Book Award for Best Novel in English. Its author, Patrick Everhard, is the first foreigner to win for his fictional/historical novel, Snakes in the Grass. PF Correspondent Criselda Yabes, whose novels have also won awards, tells us about the book.

Regular PF contributing writer Ian Layugan  relates one of the most memorable experiences in his young life. It involves a nun, torrential rain and a mountainous foot path. "Sister" is a story of unexpected caring.

Stories This Week

Pilgrimages by Rene J. Navarro

Fanny And Their Ongoing Legacy In Redefining Rock by Lauren Lola

About A Boy – From Batac by Criselda Yabes

Sister by Ian Layugan

[Make It Again] The Happy Home Cook: Buko-Pandan Gelatin (Young Coconut-Pandan Gelatin)

[Video of the Week] The Voice of Our Lady

[Partner] The Invisibility Of Asians In America by Sunita Sohrabji

In The Know

DoT wants more halal-friendly food, services nationwide to attract Muslim travel market 

https://www.bworldonline.com/the-nation/2023/05/11/522414/dot-wants-more-halal-friendly-food-services-nationwide-to-attract-muslim-travel-market/

In the Philippines, Chinese-Filipino Couples Face a Great Wall

https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7bd9y/dating-philippines-filipino-chinese-great-wall-mixed-race?fbclid=IwAR2F-IZOuXcI8jqqG6Vt8Jy-6d-WEkunjyQmW8yqfoWZanLgrTL5kyu0Rd4

Apparently, South Koreans Are the Top Tourists in the Philippines

https://www.esquiremag.ph/life/travel/korean-travel-south-korea-top-tourists-philippines-department-of-touri-sa00011-20230505-src-cosmo?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20230505-fbnp-life-korean-travel-south-korea-top-tourists-philippines-department-of-touri-sa00011-20230505-src-cosmo-fbfirst&fbclid=IwAR3IXEE9eC8xVUjpELGclfpQgwTTgHLKjP-f6CwaWWUolDuoUYoKrQUJgt0

Teresita Basa Died Under Sinister Circumstances, Then Her Ghost Solved the Mystery

https://en.bamsmackpow.com/view/?id=teresita-basa-mystery-bam&src=facebook&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=bam_a_ww_an_bsp2_159460_teresita-basa-mystery_all_conv-tv90_conv_both_18p_i-0_cost-0.5_287682678&utm_medium=23853522863390122&fbclid=IwAR2iSJadGrqolAovnxT9cOsJNDYWhVGK67EAsFAnt8xg9FidD3496BZpxBQ&page=22

Northern California farm draws on Philippine and Hmong ancestries

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/northern-california-farm-draws-philippine-hmong-ancestries-rcna82898?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_aa&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR18aOJInmBslMAcGu1iy-h-19or1Z6KmrSsz5bsrCFMBJ_lO4HpsGuFp80&_branch_match_id=1121133821907759179&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXz0tKzkstL9ZLLCjQy8nMy9a3SPTPdU7zCnCvSrJPS0rOyUyx9Sx3DDIEint55uU6Fef4Oia7lxpmVupm6Bpa5hcZRpl55xYFF1eZJhUXObv5OnnF5%2FibeBQUu5e6FVgYAAAcz6p1aQAAAA%3D%3D

Catch a glimpse of Old Manila at these restored buildings and ancestral homes

https://nolisoli.ph/104515/restored-ancestral-homes-buildings/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2Qau6j37SVCs7JJI21OZ6hHsd5OxasKq8vVO4Hk5Yi0miN6WgoDoEtQLM#Echobox=1683599801

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Staff

Deliverance

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What would you do if war came to your doorstep?

In Sudan right now, warring political factions have destroyed lives and homes, giving Filipino OFWs no choice but to leave -- quickly, secretly. In this harrowing, exclusive, day-to-day report of their escape from Sudan, first-time PF contributor Lawrence Espinosa shows us what it takes, how it feels when your day begins with the sounds of battle and ends with sleeping on sidewalks as you try to get to safe ground. 

A different kind of conflict -- age-old, pernicious -- is the blame game Asian Americans are subjected to whenever an economic or medical crisis such as Covid-19 hits US soil. UC Berkeley professor and author Catherine Ceniza Choy dissects the roots of medical scapegoating and anti-Asian violence that has been the wont of immigrants from our side of the Pacific since the 1800s. 

Finding one's voice and getting published constitute the holy grail of writers, and Chinese Filipino-American Mae Coyiuto does it with her YA (young adult) novel, Chloe and the Kaishao Boys, now available under the Penguin Random House imprint. PF contributor Rafaelito Sy shares his conversation with the young author.

And of course our list of Fil-Ams Among the Remarkable and Famous compiled by our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco, continues, with chapter 47.

In The Week

Revisiting Malacañang Palace's storied past and a tour of its recent renovations
https://www.tatlerasia.com/homes/architecture-design/tatler-exclusive-malacanang-palace?utm_source=tatlerasia.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PH_DIG_FULL_Malaca%C3%B1ang_Revisited_20230505

Filipino composer-lyricist’s musical opens to standing ovation in LA: ‘These are our stories!’
https://www.thediarist.ph/filipino-composer-lyricists-musical-opens-to-acclaim-in-la-these-are-our-stories/

Dutch museum picks Filipino engineer’s unique take on Vermeer’s famous ‘girl’
https://www.rappler.com/nation/overseas-filipinos/mauritshuis-museum-filipino-engineer-maria-glensie-ombrebueno-take-girl-pearl-earring-painting/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=Social&fbclid=IwAR0tmMD_zdOd7UEGqGp3BciCe2LzzXWVDYSwbE0jDyf4tJo4h3TU4uqZPL8

ECE grad on visit visa and tight budget ends up managing Pinoy resto in Dubai
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/pinoyachievers/868565/ece-grad-on-visit-visa-and-tight-budget-ends-up-managing-pinoy-resto-in-dubai/story/?fbclid=IwAR1kxDIeKb5UeIOWPLfp74gRUySKiIR2Gw-hVIfnbwTOC624F6-W_cTHfrA

An Adobo in Every Pot
https://www.eater.com/23178801/filipino-adobo-alaska-food-restaurants-juneau?fbclid=IwAR2KtKAV4QE2tajRXLeeROhlJanpvPlljpPT-OKwlt7VxLEx_6Ee36Okzzk

Meet the Davaoeña introducing Pinoy food to one of Manhattan’s coolest neighborhoods
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/food-drink/restaurants/05/06/23/choly-where-nys-greenwich-village-goes-for-pinoy-food?fbclid=IwAR2lj9dtmNWOlCClPsRbpDyFaJaifYo4JMsPzgQCK7TY8h3S7qcOqGSSAQQ

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Staff

The Merry Month of May

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May, as those who grew up in the Philippines knows, is the month of fiestas, when feast days of saints are celebrated more extravagantly because it's summer and the fruits and other seasonal produce are in abundance (among other reasons). The most high profile among these fiestas happens on May 15, the feast day of San Isidro, the patron saints of farmers. Since the Philippines is still highly agricultural, San Isidro is revered in many towns all over the islands. The more famous festivals that draw a lot of tourists are the Pahiyas of Lucban, Quezon, and the Carabao parade of Pulilan, Bulacan where kneeling carabaos -- the beast of burden of farmers -- are the main attraction.

Here in the US, the big event, in addition to the month-long AANHPI Heritage celebration, is Mother's Day (May 14 this year), a de facto "holiday of obligation" for everyone who still has mothers, are mothers themselves, or function as mothers (single dads, for example). 

The spirit of celebration and commemoration is something we always try to capture in our story lineup. This week, we have a loving tribute by a son (who happens to be one of the most respected writers in our homeland) to his 95-year-old mother, a review of a children's book that recollects sari-sari stores in the summer (which includes a recipe for the Happy Home Cook), and a remembrance of one of the greatest writers our motherland has produced -- Nick Joaquin aka Quijano de Manila, who would have been 107 years old this month. 

Summer also means travel, and we continue to collect travel stories, one of which is in this issue: a riverboat journey through the Amazon River.

If you haven't yet, tell us your most memorable travel story. Send to submissions@positivelyfilipino.com and don't forget to include pictures.

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Staff