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Eric Gamalinda to unveil latest novel at Asia Society on Dec. 1
Eric Gamalinda’s complex, compelling and troubling new novel “The Descartes Highlands” is brought to life through dramatic readings by actors Alexis Camins, Jennifer Betit Yen, and Ben Mandell, with a conversation between Gamalinda and writer/filmmaker Jessica Hagedorn on his work. This event, to be held December 1 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the […]
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Being ‘tisay’ and feeling very conspicuous in the Philippines (Part 2)
By Lara Stapleton UST is where the incident took place. M. Evelina Galang, Amalia Bueno, Fidelito Cortes and I read, with Zack Linmark moderating. There was a tremendous turnout, with what looked like a hundred and fifty students, and a lovely reception afterwards. As Fidelito was reading, I caught from the corner of my eye, […]
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Balikbayan, murky, post-modern (Part 1)
By Lara Stapleton My grandparents had come to visit us before my family left to spend a year in the Philippines in the late ‘70s, when I was 10 years old. As pasalubong (I didn’t yet know the word), they brought two small clay models of what I suppose to be pre-Hispanic stoves. These objects […]
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Australian-born Yasmin Newman publishes book on Filipino cuisine, culture
Despite the Philippines’ location right in the middle of Southeast Asia, most people know very little about the country and even less about its cuisine. For Filipinos, food is more than sustenance; it is their cultural language. Filipinos use food to apologize, woo a woman, ask a favor, or say thank you; it fills in […]
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Ramon Gil is creating a comic book anthology by Filipino illustrators
Advertising man Ramon Gil gave up his dream to be a comic book creator 20 years ago, but in mid-life has decided to give his first love another shot. Gathering local FilAm artists like Rudy Nebres (DC/Marvel), and Len Peralta (“Geek-a-week”) as well as Philippine-based illustrators like Ryan Orosco (“Darna”), Lui Antonio (“Red Sonja”), Gilbert […]
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Maya Angelou tells her florist: ‘Oh, I love Filipinos.’
By Cristina DC Pastor There was never a tangled Christmas tree light in the many years – since 1998 – that florist Dennis Josue had been decorating the Harlem home of Maya Angelou. But one time was embarrassingly memorable. Dennis of Fantasia Floral Design on the Upper East Side, was called back to Angelou’s house. […]
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Book on California’s ‘Little Manila’ to have a New York debut on Feb. 12
Not long after 1898, when the United States claimed the Philippines as an American colony, Filipinos became a vital part of the agricultural economy of California’s fertile San Joaquin Delta. In downtown Stockton, they created Little Manila, a vibrant community of hotels, pool halls, dance halls, restaurants, grocery stores, churches, union halls, and barbershops. It […]
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How one middle-class family made the wrenching decision to leave the Philippines
By Cristina DC Pastor ‘How Sweet the Mango, No? The Journey of a Hispanic Amerasian’ By Matthias Mendezona BookSurge/CreateSpace Publishing May 2009 Much like Forrest Gump, Matthias Mendezona found himself playing cameo roles through various episodes in his country’s history. Like the Tom Hanks character, Mendezona emerged from a series of debacles in his life […]
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Nelson Navarro memoir to launch Jan. 16 at Philippine Center
The international launch of Nelson A. Navarro’s memoir, “The Half-Remembered Past,” will be held at the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue on January 16th at 7 p.m. Journalist, biographer and TV talk show host Navarro is now based in Manila, but he lived in New York for 17 years as a political exile from the […]