October Rhymes With Remember

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This month marks the 31st year our FilAm community is celebrating Filipino American History Month (FAHM). October was the month chosen in 1992 by the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), as initiated by the Seattle-based historians Fred and Dorothy Cordova [read about her in our In The Know links below].

Why October? The first recorded landing of Filipinos (then called "Luzones Indios") happened on October 18, 1587 in or around Morro Bay, California via the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Buena Esperanza. For more information about this, read again Abraham Ignacio Jr.'s story. https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/where-exactly-did-filipinos-first-land-in-california

Since 1992, FANHS chapters and FilAm community organizations in various cities and states in the US have commemorated the month with events and activities to mark the presence of Filipinos in the US. And what a presence we have! Already, the Philippine national language is the dominant household language in 15 US cities, and the third most spoken (next to English and Spanish) in the state of Nevada [See "Tagalog Spoken Here"].

Finally in 2009, the US Congress made it official: October is FAHM, a designation that is recognized in all 50 states. In 2015, the Obama administration celebrated the first FAHM in the White House.

How to celebrate FAHM this year? Check out your local libraries and community centers; many of them have cultural presentations, film showings and exhibits on FilAms. [See our Community News section for information.] If you're in Northern California, visit Stockton, where the FANHS Museum is located. Gather friends and family for a Filipino meal or two in restaurants serving Filipino food. Watch films and read books that tell our people's stories. The Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. is about to come out with "The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American History, Art, and Culture in 101 Objects" [Read Titchie Carandang's "Historical Memories Are Made of These"]

Positively Filipino has, through the years, compiled real stories -- good and bad-- about our FilAm communities, including those that pay tribute to those who came before us and on whose shoulders we stand on as we navigate our way through this idea called America. [Read Again "We Stand On Their Shoulders, Part 1 and 2].

It's not always pretty, our stories in this land. The past three years have been particularly fraught with the increasing incidents of hate directed against Asians. Veteran journalist Cristina Pastor visits Noel Quintana, our kababayan in New York City whose face was slashed when he was in the subway on his way to work one morning in 2021. Despite his trauma, he soldiers on, speaking out against racism wherever and whenever he can. Determination and resilience, that's what he's demonstrating.

And that, in essence, is what our community is celebrating this eventful month of October 2023. 

Our Stories This Week

Historical Memories Are Made Of These by Titchie Carandang

Tagalog Spoken Here by Taylor Tomita

[Act Against Hate] His Slashed Face Is A Vivid Indictment Of Racist Hate by Cristina DC Pastor

Remembering Joyce Juan-Manalo by Allan S. Manalo

Catch A Rising Star: Amaya Braganza by Anthony Maddela

Read Agains:

We Stand On Their Shoulders, Part 1 by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

We Stand On Their Shoulders, Part 2 by Mona Lisa Yuchengco

[Video of the Week] Profits Enslave The World: A Song Across Generations

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Staff

[Updated] Women of Peace and of a Just War

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We are updating this newsletter without the article on Emma Rotor. 

The author Erwin Tiongson requested that it be removed because Science News is planning to publish it in its printed magazine. Erwin apologizes for the confusion.

Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, is the first female chief negotiator in the world to sign a final peace accord with a rebel group. That rebel group was the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), then at war with the Philippine government. In 2014, the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) was signed, ending the 17-year conflict that killed more than 120,000 Filipinos on both sides, and ushered in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Manila-based contributor Manuel Hizon writes "A Stouthearted Peace Builder."

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In trying to heal from a deep sadness, FilAm cultural torchbearer Chiara Cox embraced the depth of Filipino culture through music and art. From there, she has organized an impressive array of cultural events to celebrate FilAm History Month in her community in Columbia, South Carolina. Check out the schedule of festivities in "The Calling of My Soul."

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Anti-Asian hate is alive and festering not only in California but in other states as well. Here's a report on recent incidents in Portland, Oregon.

What to do when you or someone you know is a victim of a hate crime in California? These guidelines and resources keep you informed.

Funding provided by the State of California.

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The production team that brought you the acclaimed movie "11,103" has come out with a series of short videos on how the Marcos dictatorship destroyed the sugar industry in Negros. The first of these docus is on The Escalante Massacre, which you can watch here as our Video of the Week. 

In The Know

On board the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal: A journalist’s first-hand account

https://verafiles.org/articles/on-board-the-brp-sierra-madre-in-ayungin-shoal-a-journalists-first-hand-account?fbclid=IwAR3nsF_Q5aOp7mK5Wh0EVTJCFJ0RJcSMiV1zaUdmuCFPWAN5DZzgjeBU--A

PH ‘learning poverty’ still among region’s worst

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1835164/ph-learning-poverty-still-among-regions-worst?fbclid=IwAR1i4WPD2VVRp0NDB9-YjoRw-5ToggPoBfU5rd2fYB2FO25O7z9FCqwTLIA#:~:text=In%20the%202023%20WB%20report,New%20Guinea%2C%20Tonga%20and%20Tuvalu

Olivia Rodrigo wants to perform in the Philippines

https://www.nme.com/en_asia/news/music/olivia-rodrigo-wants-to-perform-in-the-philippines-3501645?fbclid=IwAR1i4WPD2VVRp0NDB9-YjoRw-5ToggPoBfU5rd2fYB2FO25O7z9FCqwTLIA

Jun Urbano: Mr. Shooli, a plate of peanuts, and the lost art of satire

https://philstarlife.com/geeky/105588-jun-urbano-profile?page=3

It’s Never Too Late to Find Love, Just Ask These Octogenarians

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/22/style/emilio-quines-jr-angie-cruz-wedding.html?fbclid=IwAR1Ras8LG4yEHLO5-TAYPlb_setJz1HPDNoFXJThpytGQAGQP7fJOK9P4-g

David Byrne’s Broadway Musical Celebrates a Monstrous Fascist

https://hyperallergic.com/845782/david-byrne-broadway-musical-here-lies-love-celebrates-a-monstrous-fascist-imelda-marcos/

Filipino Restaurant Archipelago Brings Identity, Culture, and Empowerment to the Center Stage of Fine Dining

https://southseattleemerald.com/2023/09/16/filipino-restaurant-archipelago-brings-identity-culture-and-empowerment-to-the-center-stage-of-fine-dining/?fbclid=IwAR2I8x1wXXIhml-7v25zYtz7Ap9xhzVnSvDwYbMi0ATxniLiMZFtDYvEarQ

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Staff

A September to Remember

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September is the month to remember the full impact of the Marcos dictatorship in our homeland. Here are some reminders from our archives:

Marcos’ Legacy and the Philippine Military

Martial Law Stories: My Thriller in Manila

The island of Negros in the 1970s and 1980s fell on hard times when the US ended its market quota for Philippine sugar in 1974. Just two years after the declaration of martial law, President Ferdinand Marcos handed the reins of the industry to his cronies. What started out as an attempt to avert a crisis created the biggest crisis of all: the downfall of the once-formidable sugar industry which in turn led to families losing their farms and sugar farmers losing their livelihood. By the time the Marcos administration was forced to exile in 1986, social unrest and famine were widespread. Ian Rosales Casocot, whose family lost everything during the market crash, wrote about their descent to destitution (Read: "Raping Sugarland").

In February 1945, a daring rescue by US troops of prisoners of war (POW) at the UST campus happened. It wasn't exactly a clean operation -- while the POWs were freed, several of the rescuers were killed. Worse, the Japanese military retaliated with a massacre of civilians in Los Banos, Laguna.  Cecilia Gaerlan, head of the Bataan Legacy Historical Society tells us the story.

A Filipino/Indian/Canadian newscaster has been a constant presence in broadcast news in Vancouver, British Columbia for years. Jason Pires' recent career move confirms his upward trajectory in an industry and a market that reward hard work and talent.

In the US, the list of remarkable Filipino Americans in various fields continues to grow. Chapter 51 of our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco's, compilation is here.

Likewise, our series on Bridge Generation stalwarts by writer/historian Peter Jamero continues with a profile of Seattle-based civil rights activist Lois Fleming.

[Video of the Week] The Story of the Filipino: Dely Po Go

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Staff