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From NYC dreamer to Hollywood new leader: ‘Life is beautiful no matter how hard it gets’
By Tiara Camille Teruel When The FilAm asked me to write about my experience being named “One of Hollywood’s New Leaders” by Variety Magazine, I could not help but think about the pain, the sacrifice, and the reality of what it took to even be recognized. What it took to be able to accept it […]
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From Elvie’s to BAGO: A daughter’s journey to bring mom’s cooking from ‘turo-turo’ to Yelp
By Cristina DC Pastor This article is being published as a project of the Business Reporting Fellowship of the Center for Community and Ethnic Media at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. “Where’s Elvie?” Carla Cinco is amused. What her mother’s loyal customers are really asking is: Where’s the turo-turo? Elvie’s Turo-Turo, the first Filipino […]
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A Christmas caroling contest: $1,200 for your fa-la-la-la-la
By Marjorie Martinez The Christmas season is one of the most spirited, eventful times of the year, especially for Christian Filipinos. During this time, people set aside their differences as families reunite. Young and old gather to adorn their homes with festive lights and lanterns (also called ‘parol’), attend the Simbang Gabi, partake of a […]
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Trans women, activists ridicule homicide conviction of Jennifer Laude killer
“Hand over Pemberton! No special treatment!” This is the clear message of Anakbayan-USA, a youth and student organization, in response to press reports that U.S. authorities are refusing to turn over U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton to Philippine custody after being convicted of homicide. Pemberton, who is from New Bedford, Massachusetts, was found […]
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Chicago hosts first U.S. rally for Roxas-Robredo
While political parties are gearing up for the much anticipated 2016 elections in the Philippines, Filipinos overseas are also staging various online campaign strategies to vouch for their presidential and vice presidential candidates. Filipino Americans have expressed through social media their favorites. In Chicago, “Filipinos Abroad and Friends of Mar and Leni” was organized to […]
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Charo Santos-Concio: She came, took the stage, captivated the community
By Cristina DC Pastor She delivered her speech entirely in Tagalog. Her voice was gentle, her demeanor graceful. But ABS-CBN President and CEO Charo Santos Concio spoke powerfully when she urged Filipinos in the U.S. to continue to assert their “ethnic pride” and their sense of “pagka-Pilipino.” It is “easy to get lost, to be […]
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No slowdown in demand for Filipino nurses, but hiring calls for new strategies
By Cristina DC Pastor Victoria, a nurse from the Philippines, came to RN Express feeling defeated and depressed. She lost almost half a million pesos to recruiters but still had no job waiting for her. Her fiancé, a Filipino American, made the decision for her: Come to the U.S. and let’s get married. On the […]
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Student loans are nothing to be afraid of
By Jen Furer Having gone to school in the Philippines on an academic scholarship, the concept of student loans was alien to me. It wasn’t until I got married in the U.S. and had children that I learned having a student loan is no different from having a mortgage to a house. My husband took […]
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Dolly Fernandez: Growing up in a mixed-race family in anti-miscegenation era
By Cristina DC Pastor “It was a scandal, but it was also a happy marriage. They just had so much fun together.” Dolores ‘Dolly’ Fernandez, the daughter of a Filipino valet and a Norwegian hat check girl, traveled back in time and shared fond memories of her parents’ stirring romance amid anti-miscegenation laws which criminalized […]