More Extraordinary Women

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One of our favorite places to converge at when we're in Metro Manila is Cibo (pronounced chee-bo), a restaurant in the Shangri-la Plaza mall in Mandaluyong. Not only is the mall a convenient meeting point when coming from various places in the traffic-choked metropolis, the restaurant itself is right smack in the middle of the second floor lobby, the better to eat, chat and people-watch at the same time. Its most important draw, of course, is the food. Cibo is an Italian restaurant, but it's not the checkered-tablecloth kind of Italian that leaves you burping and bloated the rest of your day. Cibo dishes are light and healthy and satisfying -- crafted undoubtedly by a gourmet chef. And that's Margarita Fores, a wiz in both the kitchen and business, an exemplary Filipina as profiled by PF Correspondent Criselda Yabes.

This is our last issue for March, Women's History Month 2024, and like our other issues this month, it's chock-full of stories about Filipinas who have made indelible marks not just in the Philippines but in other countries where they have settled. The last installment of "Filipina Movers and Shakers" shows the reach and expanse of the sisterhood of Pinay achievers while the second (and final) part of the National Historical Commission's "Women Workers of 19th Century Manila" provides a historical perspective of women's work in the Philippines.

In San Francisco, a recent gathering of Fil-Am women viewed a rough cut of a forthcoming documentary, "Manilatown Manang," which answers the oft-asked question, "But Where Are the Manangs?" The Manilatown Heritage Foundation film directed by Caroline Cabading honors two generations of Filipina women activists in San Francisco's Manilatown who worked side-by-side with their male comrades in defending the I-Hotel. PF contributor Lorna Lardizabal-Dietz reports on the event.

We couldn't resist adding a bit of spice and snark in this issue and Myles A. Garcia's "Gina, Imelda, Manda and the Tasadays" serves up just the right amount to close the curtain on PF's Women's History Month 2024 coverage. 

For those whose submissions didn't make it this month, fret not. For us, every month is women's month. The celebration never ceases. 

And if you haven't yet, register to join our webinar, Nurse Unseen, on Thursday, April 4. See flyer below for details and sign up here: https://bit.ly//nurseunseenzoom

[Video of the Week] Manila Visita Iglesia 2024

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

A woman is accused of attacking an Asian American elder in S.F. The case has inflamed city politics
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/shoving-hearing-thea-hopkins-jenkins-peskin-

A man got probation after stabbing a 94-year-old woman. It’s another reckoning for S.F.’s AAPI community
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/stabbing-probation-protest-19362275.php?

Protesters rally against probation in stabbing of 94 year old
https://asamnews.com/2024/03/22/justice-leniency-rehabilitation-sentencing/

Asian-American lawmakers decry bill to ban agents of hostile countries from buying Georgia farmland
https://georgiarecorder.com/2024/03/21/asian-american-lawmakers-decry-bill-to-ban-agents-of-hostile-countries-from-buying-georgia-farmland/

Buddhists Bring Karmic Healing to Antioch, California
https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/buddhists-bring-karmic-healing-to-antioch-california/

Property crimes can now be hate crimes
https://www.goldendalesentinel.com/news/property-crimes-can-now-be-hate-crimes/article_34c0b4ea-e6cb-11ee-9473-278629ac12ef.html

Funding provided by the State of California.

In The Know

Review: In ‘Larry the Musical,’ Filipinos fight to make labor leader a household name
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/larry-itliong-musical-sf-filipinos-19365243.php

Scorching schools: How heat worsens conditions of poor students in PH
https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/563065/scorching-schools-how-heat-worsens-conditions-of-poor-students-in-ph?utm_source=(direct)&utm_medium=gallery

US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson shares her life, home, and why she loves the Philippines
https://www.tatlerasia.com/power-purpose/front-female/us-ambassador-marykay-carlson?

A frustrated community demands the PVUSD school board bring back an ethnic studies consultant
https://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/local_news/a-frustrated-community-demands-the-pvusd-school-board-bring-back-an-ethnic-studies-consultant/article_7da1425a-e6ea-11ee-a319-97d64aaa50c0.html

From humble beginnings to big dreams: Injap Sia helps sari-sari stores level up, 200 converted into mini-marts
https://bilyonaryo.com/2024/03/22/from-humble-beginnings-to-big-dreams-injap-sia-helps-sari-sari-stores-level-up-200-converted-into-mini-marts/property/

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Women at the Forefront

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Before anything else, please join us for our webinar, "Nurse Unseen" on Thursday, April 4 at 4 pm. Filipino nurses have been at the forefront of caring not just during the pandemic but every day, in hospitals and other health settings. They are also facing dangers, including anti-Asian hate. If you are a nurse or you have a nurse in your life, this webinar is for you. You will also get to watch excerpts from an award-winning film of the same name. See below for the flyer and registration details.

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This week we are privileged to feature the series "Women Workers of 19th Century Manila" by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP). Informative and delightful, the series was posted one at a time in NHCP's Facebook page. We are consolidating the posts into two parts, the first six in this issue, and the second five next week. NHCP has retained the 19th century word spellings and has illustrated each post with old postcards, vintage images and 19th century art from acclaimed painter Jose Honorato Lozano.

More interesting, accomplished women are in our spotlight. In addition to the second installment of the Filipina Women's Network's Movers and Shakers list, we're shining the light on the women creators of a groundbreaking children's book, Dancing Hands: A Story of Friendship in Filipino Sign Language. Written originally in Filipino by Joanna Que and Charina Marquez, with illustrations by Fran Alvarez, the English version has already won two awards. Claire Mercado Obias tells us the story behind the making of the book. 

A surfer who is also a film maker is the subject of PF Correspondent Anthony Maddela's story this week. Satya Sullivan, who is doing her master's in Marine Affairs in Rhode Island, has founded a nonprofit called Colorful Lineup that offers surfing clinics to girls and women of color. She has also won awards for documentary filmmaking and cinematography. Quite impressive creds for someone who is only in the US temporarily. 

Here's a historical story worth reading again: We have published a substantial number of stories on Filipinos in Hawaii and the West Coast but not enough on the pioneering Filipinos in the Gulf Coast. So here's one on Filipino trappers and shrimpers in Louisiana in the early- and mid-1900s: "Life on the Bayou," by Carmelo Astilla. 
https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/life-on-the-bayou

[Video of the Week] The World’s Best Natural Free Divers

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Staff

Empowered Filipinas

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In many countries, across a wide expanse of professions and vocations, Filipina women are smashing barriers and blazing trails, a phenomenon that has been assiduously documented by the Filipina Women's Network (FWN) with its annual Most Influential awards. This week, Positively Filipino is featuring the first batch of 12 awardees representing six countries who are elevating Filipino womanhood to new levels of excellence. [Read part 1 of "Filipina Movers and Shakers" as compiled by our publisher, Mona Lisa Yuchengco, from FWN's roster. Parts 2 and 3 will be in the next issues of PF.]

It's not an easy book to read. It will shock you, anger you. A nightmare or two is not far-fetched. But if there's one book that a Filipino should read today, if only to be aware of what our Motherland just went through and might go through again, it's Some People Need Killing by Filipino ace journalist Patricia Evangelista. The book lists in both the New York Times' and President Obama's rankings as one of the best published in 2023, which is a first for a Filipino author. PF book reviewer Patricio Abinales provides a guide to ease one's way into the book's 429 pages without getting drained by the sadness and your rage. 

What does it take to raise a future Attorney General of California? Ten years ago, Cynthia Bonta, mother of Rob (Robbie for her), talked to PF Correspondent Cherie M. Querol Moreno about her family's journey that shaped the trajectory of her children's careers. Read Again https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/model-mom for a parenting guide.

Africa-based PF writer Agatha Verdadero found out the hard way the secret to making friends with Africans, specifically the proud Somali people, with whom she spent years as an international aide worker. "It was from them that I learned one of the most important truths about working in Africa: Never go to the continent with the romantic notion of being a messiah, of helping its people. You are not needed and wanted that way. Instead, be a trustworthy friend. Everything else flows from that fundamental relationship." Read Again her  article https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/friendship-worth-ones-life for some illumination. 

[Video of the Week] Asian Pacific America: Larry the Musical Premieres at Brava Theatre

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

'You brought the 'kung flu' here': Man pleads guilty to hate crime, assault at UC
https://www.wcpo.com/news/crime/you-brought-the-kung-flu-here-man-pleads-guilty-to-hate-crime-assault-at-uc

Racist note left on receipt at Asian restaurant in North Carolina sparks outrage
https://news.yahoo.com/news/racist-note-left-receipt-asian-174213584.html

Suspect in Manhattan subway hammer attack charged with hate crimes, threatened to kill police: court docs
https://www.aol.com/suspect-manhattan-subway-hammer-attack-232400157.html?guccounter=1

Fear of Anti-Asian Hate as an International Medical Graduate
https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/fulltext/2023/04000/fear_of_anti_asian_hate_as_an_international.5.aspx

Funding provided by the State of California.

In The Know

What we the Filipino audience lost when Jaclyn Jose died
https://www.thediarist.ph/what-we-the-filipino-audience-lost-when-jaclyn-jose-died/

In Pictures: 15 Manila Spots That Signal Beginnings of a Larger Walkable Heritage Zone
https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/culture/108008/manila-best-history-and-heritage-spots-a6883-20240210-lfrm?

Financial Adviser: 5 Business Lessons Everyone Can Learn from 'The Pretzel King' Mikkel Paris, CEO of Auntie Anne's Philippines
https://www.esquiremag.ph/money/industry/auntie-annes-philippines-mikkel-paris-ceo-business-lessons-a2334-20230725

Here's How Much It Costs to Live in Manila's Most Exclusive Villages 
https://www.esquiremag.ph/the-good-life/pursuits/manila-exclusive-villages-price-and-perks-a1868-a1910-20190625-lfrm10?

Spot Stays: This Palawan Resort's Water Villas Are Worth the Splurge
https://www.spot.ph/things-to-do/the-latest-things-to-do/107767/palawan-resort-setir-new-salepan-villas-a5138-20240117?

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