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Joel David’s ‘Canon Decampment:’ Philippine cinema through the years
By Allen Gaborro What many Filipinos think about Philippine cinema off the top of their heads are the plethora of heavily marketed, A-list action flicks, romantic and socio-economic on-the-edge melodramas, and hilarious comedies that have illuminated theater screens for decades. Distinguished cinema analyst and academic Joel David acknowledges the significance of this familiar view. But […]
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Janet Salazar writes about the real power behind decision-making in debut book
Every one of us has faced a decision we could not make alone. The pivot out of a steady job to chase the thing you actually love. The choice to start a business, or to put your name on a ballot. The morning you had to lay someone off. We watch bigger versions of the […]
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‘Ube is ours,’ but what does that really mean?
By Cristina DC Pastor As purple yam becomes a global food sensation, the Philippines faces the challenge of how to protect, define and capitalize on a crop that has become deeply identified with Filipino culture. Ube is many things to many of us. It is ube halaya at Christmas, the colorful swirl in halo-halo, a […]
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An Ivy League inspiration: A community library finds a home in Mindanao
By Elaine Joy Edaya Degale Before the Library, there was Merienda. I founded Operation Merienda in 2020 while completing my graduate work at Teachers College, Columbia University. My academic work examined philanthropy through the frameworks of human rights and peace education. I was interested in how philanthropic projects could provide resources to communities without treating […]
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Author Cinelle Barnes finds her way back after losing memory from aneurysm
By Allen Gaborro Today’s volatile, information-laden, post-truth paradigm makes it difficult to turn our focus away from the external world and toward our inward life. However, even at the risk of confronting doubt, anxiety, and the fear of inadequacy—and with the outside world ceaselessly closing in—we are compelled to observe and comprehend our delicate, complicated […]
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R. Ghrist debuts historical fiction about a forgotten heroine in wartime Manila
I Am Joey by R. Ghrist is a historical novel inspired by the extraordinary true story of Josefina Guerrero, a young Filipina woman whose courage during World War II helped shape the resistance movement in Japanese-occupied Manila. Set during one of the darkest periods in Philippine history, the novel follows Josefina as her privileged life […]
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Cinelle Barnes’s memoir pieces together her past as she recovers from brain trauma
“A Way Home: A Memoir of Losing Yourself and the Beauty of Returning” by Cinelle Barnes is a heart-wrenching memoir about remembering and rebuilding a life after everything known disappears in a flash. In 2023, Barnes is writing a travelogue about journeying home to the Philippines after a 20-year separation when she suffers a traumatic […]
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When cultural, generational identities clash in a Filipino kitchen
By Allen Gaborro There are few things in this world that Filipinos cherish more than food, family, drama, and their cultural heritage. So, when you combine all these disparate elements into a passionate, multifaceted chiaroscuro of a very personal work of fiction, you can’t help but feel the anticipation of experiencing what it means to […]
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Patrick Joseph Caoile publishes debut collection of short stories of Filipino immigrants
Patrick Joseph Caoile’s “Tales from Manila Ave.” Caoile’s short story collection, released this month, traces the joys and struggles of Filipino immigrants as they navigate life and ponder identity outside their motherland. Through touching reflection on community and memory, Caoile’s debut collection takes an honest yet playful look into the intricacies of longing and belonging, […]