Anniversary of a Death Foretold

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Today marks the 41st anniversary of the assassination of Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. -- a crime so consequential to Philippine contemporary history that there has not been a dearth of stories recalling, analyzing, commenting on the historical moment and its earthshaking consequences. 

Here's one of them: https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/ninoy-aquino-was-not-alone

The main protagonists of this tragedy -- Ninoy and Ferdinand Marcos -- remain subjects of speculation and scrutiny, with Ninoy of course emerging as the tragic hero and Marcos the despicable villain. But as journalists the world over know, every big story has a more interesting backstory, just like this one. Toronto-based Rogie Concepcion, a fraternity brod of both Ninoy and Marcos, writes about his encounters with Ninoy and some of the [many] stories the latter told. 

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In this issue, we are reviving a series we started some years back, Pinoyspotting which highlights random encounters of Filipino travelers with kababayans in various places and situations. Here's a group of them, crew members of Viking's Mani longship which plies the Rhine River in Europe. With almost half a million Filipinos working in the merchant marine industry, it's a given that you'll meet some in any cruise you're taking.

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A young woman who chose to be a farmer, an environmentalist, a non-profit leader and an advocate for staying put in the homeland. Cherrie Atilano, as profiled here by constant PF contributor Ian Layugan, is a worthy role model for Filipino youths who seek a meaningful, sustainable path in the service of Mother Earth. 

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Our Video of the Week again comes from the creators of The Filipino Story, an online series that celebrates being Filipino. Historian Prof. Xiao Chua answers questions from FilAms posted on Instagram. 

In The Know

An Aggressive China Is Pushing the Philippines and Vietnam Closer Than Ever
https://thediplomat.com/2024/08/an-aggressive-china-is-pushing-the-philippines-and-vietnam-closer-than-ever/

Fiesta in America bridges the gap for Filipino Americans in New Jersey
https://asamnews.com/2024/08/16/filipino-cultural-showcase-this-weekend-in-east-rutherford-new-jersey/

In ‘And So It Begins,’ Ramona Diaz asserts moving past nostalgia
https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/movies/interview-and-so-it-begins-ramona-diaz-asserts-moving-past-nostalgia/

PH seen struggling with shortage of accountants
https://business.inquirer.net/475199/ph-seen-struggling-with-shortage-of-accountants

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

Study highlights challenges in detecting violent speech aimed at Asian communities
https://techxplore.com/news/2024-08-highlights-violent-speech-aimed-asian.html 

‘Unity is strength:’ Oakland Chinatown elders tackle public safety
https://asamnews.com/2024/08/06/oakland-chinatown-elders-community-safety-asian-black-documentary-violence-theft/

Upstate NY’s Karen community seeks justice after fatal shooting
https://asamnews.com/2024/08/19/karen-refugee-killed-in-us-after-fleeing-military-junta-in-myanmar/

Funding provided by the State of California.

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Staff

Our Votes Matter

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Fact: "In the 2020 and 2022 elections, Democrats won Asian Americans’ votes in national elections by noticeably smaller margins than in years past." Author/academic James Zarsadiaz, in his op-ed piece first published in the Los Angeles Times, traces the history of Asian Americans’ increasing slant towards the Republican Party, an interesting shift worth watching. But will the recent upheaval in the US presidential elections -- the phenomenal ascendance of Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate -- alter this trend? As Filipino telenovelas would urge: Abangan ang susunod na kabanata (watch for the next episode).  

The Philippine call center industry in the Philippines is big business and already a permanent presence in the nation's economy. It's just fitting then that an award-winning fictionist - Glenn Diaz, a professor at Ateneo de Manila - makes a call center the setting of this crime thriller, The Quiet Ones. New York-based writer/academic Elaine Joy Edaya Degale reviews the book. 

We continue to spotlight Filipino artists, this time a pointillist born and bred in the Philippines' art capital, Angono, Rizal. Dolpee Alcantara Jr.'s signature technique and vivid colors are discussed by first-time contributor Leodovico Padua Masuli. 

Our Video of the Week, another of The Filipino Story's inspiring episodes: "I Didn't Want to be Filipino."

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

North Valley JCC shooting: 25 years later, the enduring fight against hate continues
https://abc7.com/post/north-valley-jcc-shooting-25-years-later-enduring-fight-hate-continues/15167111/

Nassau County mask ban: Many concerned over 'possibility of bias and hate crimes'
https://www.yahoo.com/news/nassau-county-mask-ban-many-235320938.html

New York City mayor hosts dialogue to address unmatched levels of hate crime
https://www.philippinenews.com/new-york-city-mayor-hosts-dialogue-to-address-unmatched-levels-of-hate-crime/

Funding provided by the State of California.

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Staff

Flexing Our Muscles

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It’s exhilarating to see Filipinos excel in Olympic sports be it via the homeland or the diaspora. We’re ecstatic over Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo’s historic two Olympic gold medals for the Philippines and the bronze medals of Filipina boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas. We’re kilig (thrilled) as well over half-Filipinos Lee Kiefer who bagged a gold in fencing for the US, and gymnast Jake Jarman who won a bronze for the UK.  

It’s a good time as any to remember another international pathbreaker in sports, the late tiny but mighty tennis star Felicisimo H. Ampon. In Felicisimo ‘Mighty Mite’ H. Ampon: Tennis Giant, writer Rey E. de la Cruz recalls how the ace from the working class broke “social, racial, physical, and political barriers” to put the Philippines on the world map of tennis.

Greater Filipino presence is also rising on the international concert music stage. On July 7, 2024, the Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra (MSJO) made history by nabbing its third gold medal in the 16th Summa Cum Laude Youth International Music Festival in Vienna. 

Just three days earlier the youth orchestra won the Grand Prize in the Bratislava International Music Festival in Slovakia. Talk about bravura performances. Writer Pablo A. Tariman reports on MSJO’s feats in Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra Conquers Europe.

Take a break from our extremely talented compatriots’ exciting European triumphs and do a side trip to France’s Charante-Maritime region. Go island-hopping and lighthouse-traipsing with writer Criselda Yabes. It will soothe muscles worn out from watching top Olympic athletes do the real straining.

Finally, be athletic or simply go about wearing 1587 Sneakers, a new brand created by sneaker industry veteran Adam King to celebrate the first arrival of Luzones Indios or ancestral Filipinos in America. Activist and award-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas explains his enthusiasm for the venture in Walk the Talk in 1587 Sneakers.

[Video of the Week] Puso sa Paris 2024: Carlos Edriel Yulo
[Bay Area Event] Building Communities: A Tribute to Our Manongs and Manangs

In The Know

The Philippines' first male athlete to win Olympic gold prompts outpouring of #PinoyPride
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/carlos-yulos-gold-medals-filipino-paris-olympics-rcna

Philippines at the Olympics: Villegas settles for bronze after losing to Cakiroglu
https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/40752383/aira-villegas-olympics-boxing-bronze

Nesthy Petecio bags Olympic bronze in loss to Polish boxer in semis
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/sports/boxing/916323/nesthy-petecio-semis-2024-paris-olympics/story/

National Artist Virgilio Almario writes poem for EJ Obiena, other Filipino athletes
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/artandculture/916103/national-artist-virgilio-almario-writes-poem-for-ej-obiena-other-filipino-athletes/story/#goog_rewarded

Filipina Am executive chef retiring from White House after 29 years
https://asamnews.com/2024/07/31/cristeta-comerford-from-manila-cooked-for-five-presidents-and-countless-world-leaders/

Purple Yam, a Filipino Institution of Brooklyn, Is Closing
https://ny.eater.com/2024/8/1/24211388/purple-yam-closing-restaurant?

Filipino students win at 65th International Mathematical Olympiad in UK
https://mb.com.ph/2024/7/20/filipino-students-win-at-65th-international-mathematical-olympiad-in-uk

Anti-Asian Hate Watch

Man sentenced in brutal 2022 killing of Manhattan woman in her Chinatown apartment
https://gothamist.com/news/man-sentenced-in-brutal-2022-killing-of-manhattan-woman-in-her-chinatown-apartment

Filipino-American man pelted with frozen eggs, ethnic slur near Mesa College
https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/filipino-american-man-pelted-with-frozen-eggs-ethnic-slur-near-mesa-college?

Racial slur used on sign at Grocery Outlet in Sacramento 
https://asamnews.com/2024/08/02/racial-slur-in-store-signage-anti-japanese-anti-asian/

Funding provided by the State of California.

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Staff