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Lea Salonga’s ‘Bahaghari’ album a collection of folk favorites
Tony Award-winner Lea Salonga has released an album of Philippine regional folk songs. The CD album “Bahaghari” was launched on December 14 at the Philippine Center, with Lea noting how each language is distinct and separate “like a rainbow.” Among the popular songs featured in the album are “Pobreng Alindahaw,” “Tinikling,” “Atin Cu Pung Singsing,” […]
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Lawsuit vs PIDCI puts to test leadership, credibility of Ner Martinez
By Cristina DC Pastor On the last night of the Simbang Gabi sa Konsulado, new PIDCI President Antero ‘Ner’ Martinez was served a court petition. He and members of the board of the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. are being sued before the Supreme Court of New York, and compelled to respond to the following: […]
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Ea Torrado choreographs loss, grief, and healing
Playing Sisa at the Lopez Museum in 2014. Inspired by the ‘loss of identity of mothers and the Motherland.’ By Cristina DC Pastor How many stages of grief are we allowed to have? Four? Seven? In Ea Marie Torrado’s 32 years, the grieving came in waves and stages: The father she knew nothing about, her […]
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Fun facts and tips about the NYE Times Square Ball Drop
Countries all around the world have their own unique New Year’s traditions. Many places feature customary cuisine, such as lentils (Brazil and Italy), suckling pig (Austria) and grapes (Spain). Others get a bit more creative. The Danish, for example, smash broken china on friends’ front doors, supposedly in a sign of affection. But you obviously […]
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Visiting the endangered Philippine Eagle
By Cristina DC Pastor DAVAO City –The Philippine Eagle named Pag-asa was the first eagle in captivity to be bred and hatched by Artificial Insemination. He came into the world in 1992 as Cory Aquino was winding down her presidency. He is now 25 years old. It took a while for me to process that […]
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A night filled with emotions as TOFA awardees reflect on their immigrant journeys
By Cristina DC Pastor “I left the room after my speech; I had to cry.” Avant-garde fashion designer Rocky Gathercole was heard saying to friends after the TOFA Awards at Carnegie Hall where he was among the 15 The Outstanding Filipinos in America for 2017. Accepting the award, Gathercole said he couldn’t believe he would […]
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Jossie Reyas: She cooked for royalty and socialites including a future U.S. president
By Mariel Padilla On a recent summer day, Jossie Reyas, 77, sat on a bench outside a small food pantry in Woodside, Queens waiting her turn to get cans of beans, fruit, soup and vegetables. Reyas, wearing frayed slippers and a faded floral blouse, was quiet and soft-spoken, but when asked about her life, she […]
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17 years ago, I could have been a teenage mother
By Jonna Baldres #MeToo It will be 20 years in November and it still affects me to this day — how I view society, relationships, people, trust, how I deal with life in all aspects. It’s what actually prompted me to be an activist. It actually took me days to finally post this since I […]
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Cries to abolish PIDCI grow louder
By Cristina DC Pastor Segments of the FilAm community are appalled at the conduct of the October 7 PIDCI elections, as they called on the Philippine Consulate to void the results or abolish the organization. “Make the election null and void due to unresolved issues,” wrote May Tumulak-Durano, a registered nurse, in her letter to […]