Fateful August

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August, particularly its third week, can trigger some somber memories among Filipinos of a certain age who were living in the Philippines during the administration of the first Ferdinand Marcos.

Fifty-two years ago, on August 21, 1971, the bombing of the miting de avance of the Liberal Party at Plaza Miranda happened. This heinous crime, which permanently injured some of the LP's leading lights, led to the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, a precursor to martial law.

Forty years ago, on August 21, 1983, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino was assassinated a few minutes after his plane landed at the Manila International Airport, another heinous crime that eventually resulted in the downfall of the Marcos dictatorship. [See our stories below on Ninoy Aquino.]

The killings have not stopped. Our lead story this week is about a concert tribute that poet/journalist/arts and culture impresario Pablo A. Tariman mounted last week to honor the memory of his daughter Kerima and her husband, Ericson Acosta. Both were felled by government bullets on August 20, 2021 and November 30, 2022, respectively.

A sad/horrific story but with a new twist: AsAm News reports that the Smithsonian Institute has arranged to return the remains of 64 Filipinos from the early 1900s that were unethically collected by an American anthropologist for his research (unsubstantiated) to prove that White people are genetically superior to other races. Take a deep breath before reading this story. 

This issue is not all grim, however. 

We have a delightful story about a 72-year-old who went paragliding and sky jumping. And lived to tell the tale.

Then there's this young Filipino artist who paints raindrops. 

This week, we are also posting a new section called Anti-Asian Health Watch that provides links to stories on Asian hate incidents. With our Act Against Hate section, Positively Filipino continues to be an information resource for California's anti-Asian hate campaign.

Anti Asian Hate Watch

Funding provided by the State of California.

Free program offers legal services to Californians facing racial discrimination in the workplace

https://www.abc10.com/article/news/community/race-and-culture/program-california-employees-victims-racial-discrimination-workplace/103-b5afc674-fd7b-4d45-bc1b-9d4f95a8ff90 

Discrimination during pandemic significantly harmed Asian American students’ mental health: study

https://nextshark.com/discrimination-during-pandemic-significantly-harmed-asian-american-students-mental-health-study

16-year-old girl charged with assault for viral attack on Asian family riding NYC subway

https://nextshark.com/teen-girl-assault-charge-nyc-subway-attack-asian-family

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Staff

Lahaina on Our Mind

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It's Hawaii on our minds these days as we watch with horror and sadness as the devastating wildfire in Maui wiped out the historic town of Lahaina, which used to be the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Our sorrow, however, can't come close to what our Toronto-based writer Odette Foronda is going through. She has a personal connection to Lahaina; it is where her Ilocano father was born. She visited some years back to research on her family history there. Odette shares with us her photos, which are now enduring visual testaments to the significance of the place to the Filipino farm workers of the early 20th century.

Another historical piece on Filipinos in Hawaii is our repost from Honolulu Civil Beat of Jessica Terrell's story about how Filipino plantation workers were wrongfully accused of being part of the insidious Ku Klux Klan in 1922. Though the accusation was completely false, its repercussion led to the demonization of the Filipino workers by Hawaiians at that time. An early instance of hate against FilAms.

When Leo Jaminola wrote a personal essay to celebrate his graduation at the University of the Philippines (UP), he didn't expect it to go viral on social media. But his story about his struggle to attain a higher education while working multiple jobs to support his family resonated with thousands who appreciated his heart-rending, thought-provoking (and hopefully action-inducing) indictment of the uneven educational opportunities in the Philippines. We're reposting the essay here because it is a must-read. We hope you share it with your networks as well.

As Barbie-mania spreads across the globe, a long-time FilAm collector of Barbie dolls allows a rare exhibit of her private collection. The exhibit, called MDCT Vault, runs for a limited time in West Hollywood. PF Corrrespondent Anthony Maddela was there to report on Mary Knight's of vintage dolls, sure to make every Barbie-loving heart a-flutter.

We're on the 50th edition of the first-of-a-kind list of remarkable, accomplished and famous FilAms and there's no end in sight. If you know anyone who deserves to be on the list, let our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco, know by sending her the person's credentials. 

 

Have you or someone you know experienced an instance when you felt targeted and afraid? When and where did it happen?  How did it happen?  Do you think you were targeted because you're Asian? Tell us about it by clicking this link: actagainsthate@positivelyfilipino.com. If you feel that you are a victim of a hate crime, report it to https://stopaapihate.org/ 

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Staff

Finding Filipino

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A few months ago in San Francisco, FilAms were gifted with the unexpected sight of 15 bus shelters adorned with comics-like posters reminiscent of the art of famous artist Larry Alcala. Drawn by FilAm artist Rina Ayuyang, the poster series entitled Finding Filipino celebrates the lives, events and legacies of the city's vibrant FilAm community. San Francisco writer/multimedia artist Wilfred Galila talks to Rina about the commissioned project in "Finding Filipino in San Francisco's Bus Stops."

A magical mystery tour -- that's what Toronto-based writer/photographer Odette Foronda regales us with as she shares her pictures and stories of her one-day visit with the Tuareg tribe who lives at the edge of the Moroccan Sahara. A constant traveler, Odette has 11 books of her pictures and stories to her name.

A Filipino tenor, Arthur Espiritu, has taken the Viennese opera world by storm as he performed the title role of Verdi's Don Carlo. According to PF contributing writer Pablo A. Tariman, opening night drew standing ovations and unanimous acclaim for Espiritu by Vienna's biggest media outlets. No mean feat in a city where opera resides as part of the air the people breathe. 

Our series on Bridge Generation personalities as profiled by BG historian Peter Jamero continues, this time featuring Joey Tabaco, New York City-born and bred whose career in the US weather service involved "flying into typhoons and hurricanes all over the world."

Though the triumph was short-lived, the national joy that the Filipinas Women's Football Team brought when it scored the first-ever Filipino ball in world-stage soccer was immeasurable. Now it's time to take stock, as businessman/columnist Juan Miguel Luz writes. Lessons learned, lessons to be learned as the country builds on the World Cup experience, points to one long-hoped-for opportunity: a sports development program for Filipino youth. Surely the hundreds of billions of pesos budgeted annually for "confidential funds" for the Philippine president and vice president can spare several millions for this worthy sports project, don't you think? 

[Cook It Again] The Happy Home Cook: Vegan Filipino Spaghetti By Chef Richgail Enriquez Diez

[Video of the Week] Uncle Roger Makes Adobo

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Staff