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High drama and low humor in Ricky Lee’s new fiction about a cross-dressing ‘manananggal’
By Joel David The results of the recently concluded American presidential elections seemed guaranteed to make everyone happy – except for the Republican Party and its now less-than-majority supporters. American conservatives could have spared themselves their historic loss if they had taken the trouble to inspect the goings-on in a country their nation had once […]
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The Marcos Dictatorship and the irreparable damage to a family and the Filipino experience
By Joel David In the process of finalizing the current issue of Kritika Kultura, Ateneo’s online journal, on Ishmael Bernal’s “Manila by Night,” I went over some of the notes I took during the too-few interviews I had with the director. One of the statements he made, that our stories as a people are better […]
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To be Filipino in pre-war Philly
‘Filipinos of Greater Philadelphia’ By Eliseo Art Arambulo Silva Arcadia Publishing August 2012 Artist and author Eliseo Art Arambulo Silva invites the public to the September 15 launch of his book “Filipinos of Greater Philadelphia,” which highlights the nation’s oldest Filipino American organization. The book signing will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. […]
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This New Yorker has not read a single book
He will never be like Amy Poehler who “rubs elbows” with the strange people who exist in other worlds, or Jay-Z who sees in reading a way to “put words to feelings.” You won’t find him with a copy of the Daily News in the subway train or under the covers at 3 a.m. finishing […]
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The American Dream redefined
‘Forty Years Of Writing In America’ By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko Jack Bacon & Company 2008 By Allen Gaborro There is something rather intimate about Dr. Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko’s book, “Forty Years Of Writing In America.” The work not only has a contemplative and reflective aura about it. It also, especially with subsequent readings, radiates with […]
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Heart-warming story pushes the boundary of children’s lit
‘Papa’s Gift’ By Genny Javellana BananaHeart + SoulSnax May 2012 “Papa’s Gift” is a moving story that touches on the relationship between father and daughter. Written and illustrated by Genny Javellana, it is a story based on events from the author’s life. Weaving deeply personal story and dialogue with whimsical imagery, Javellana creates an inter-generational, […]
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Book gives voice to the ‘silent generation’ of Filipino Americans
‘Vanishing Filipino Americans: The Bridge Generation’ By Peter Jamero University Press of America May 2011 By Lorenzo Paran III Any Filipino American worth his salt can tell you about the ‘manong’ generation, the group of mostly single Filipino males that in the 1920s and 30s began the great wave of Filipino immigration into the U.S. […]
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Feel-good book launch goes from classy to campy
How is it that people who attended the May 30 launch of Ruben Nepales’ “My Filipino Connection: The Philippines in Hollywood” went from being moved to tears to foot-tapping to the beat of “Ocho Ocho?” Because Broadway actress Ali Ewoldt was there, and her soul-stirring rendition of West Side Story’s “Somewhere” gave the crowd goose […]
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An ‘evocative’ collection of diaspora stories
By Maria Batayola “Hanggang sa Muli: Homecoming Stories for the Filipino Soul” Compiled and edited by Reni Roxas Tahanan Books May 2012 Reni Roxas, publisher of Tahanan Books, hits a home run with her new book, “Hanggang Sa Muli: Homecoming Stories for the Filipino Soul.” It is wonderful chicken soup for the soul for Filipinos, […]