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Erna’s International Cuisine: A ’70s Queens eatery that fed activists and a spirited community coming into its own
By Cristina DC Pastor Erna’s International Cuisine in Queens was the watering hole for Filipino Americans in the Seventies, much like today’s Jeepney in Manhattan or Purple Yam in Brooklyn. It was a restaurant where families celebrated special occasions, like a birthday party or a graduation. For families in no mood for home cooking on […]
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Josh Vasquez: Travelin’ Man
By Maricar CP Hampton & Cristina DC Pastor Joesyl ‘Josh’ Vasquez’s coming-of-age was marked by a pair of tragedies. His father Edgar, a painter, died when he was 15. He was followed to his grave by his mother Rosario, an educator, four years later. “I lost my dad from a heart attack when I was […]
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Can one be retired and still travel the world?
By Charmaine Talvy When I first met Carol, a pharmaceutical executive, she was 52 years old. She had just sent her only child off to college and wasn’t sure how to navigate her new empty-nester life. Carol had been working at the same company for three years and before that, she held the same job […]
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KultureKo: Be human about culture, and eat your apples!
By Angelito Cabigao If you had to recommend to your best friend a place to work for, would you choose Netflix or Sears? I would bet you would pick Netflix (enjoys 78 percent Glassdoor.com rating) instead of Sears (35 percent on Glassdoor). Aside from giving us Jo Koy specials to watch, Netflix provides a great […]
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‘Not a good time to be a gig worker right now’
Gig economy workers, who now comprise more than one-third of the U.S. labor force, lost an estimated 75 percent of their income in the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gig economy workers comprise app-based drivers for ride-share and food delivery services, such as Uber, Lyft, Doordash, Instacart, and Postmates. They can also work through […]
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TOFA100 to celebrate distinguished FilAms on Oct 31
By Rasmin Diaz A second batch of TOFA100 outstanding Filipinos in the fields of media, business and entrepreneurship, education and research, fashion, culinary and public service was announced last week by The Outstanding Filipinos in America (TOFA) Awards. “Entertainment and public service are among TOFA’s bigger categories because Filipino excellence truly shines through in these fields,” […]
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Through the Malong, Lydia Querian seeks to empower weavers and for FilAms to express their identity
Daily Malong, an ecommerce store promoting the indigenous malong, is on a two-pronged mission: To empower weavers and artisans and to extend an appreciation of indigenous crafts to the Filipino communities across North America. The site encourages the use of this versatile tubular clothing – can be used as skirt, scarf or wraparound dress — […]
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The Filipino Breakfast and how it usually starts with Tocino, Longanisa
By Maricar CP Hampton & Cristina DC Pastor In 1968, schoolteacher Maria Quesada and her husband Ramon, a pharmacist, arrived in the U.S., curious about opportunities in the country. They settled in San Francisco and opened two businesses – a handicrafts and furniture store and a Filipino grocery – adjacent to each other. Seeing that […]
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Howard Hoffman is CEO of first Filipino-owned cannabis company
By Cristina DC Pastor Howard Hoffman took a different path to the top. The CEO of Complete Hemp founded his first business at 13 years old, then dropped out of college. He recalled a conversation that would change the course of his life. He asked a teacher, who was then lecturing about becoming rich, if […]