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Flores de Mayo & Santacruzan: classic Maytime festivals that inspire nostalgia
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Ph.D. The month of May has just joined the 2013 scene. Yet, what seeks their place via the vehicle of nostalgia are two festivities central to homespun memories: the Flores de Mayo (flowers of May), and the Santacruzan (Holy Cross), another time-nurtured event. The Flores de Mayo is a showcase of […]
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Bukidnon tribal ‘datu’ promotes Talaandig music from NYC to S.F.
“I couldn’t imagine myself taking train ride(s) to Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. When I was small I took a carabao ride to the mountains of Mt. Kitanglad.” With that post, Bukidnon tribal leader and musician Waway Saway invited Filipino Americans to watch his May 4th performance at the Lincoln Center. “Definitely, we will have good […]
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Philippine cultural center receives $1.5M state grant from Hawaii
Hawaii has released a state capital improvement grant to help construct the nonprofit Kauai Philippine Cultural Center (KPCC) in the capital city of Honolulu. The grant was released on May 6 a week into the Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month of May. Gov. Neil Abercrombie presented a $1.5 million check to Kauai Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, […]
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Consul General’s daughter among Santacruzan ‘reynas’
This year’s Reyna De Las Flores (Queen of Flowers) in Catholic Action of Mary’s (CAM) May 26th Santacruzan is Joyce Kathleen De Leon, 17, the youngest daughter of Consul General Mario de Leon Jr. and wife Eleanor. The New York-born Joyce will be joined by Medy Solero Taeza as Reyna Elena and Chelsea Pauline Lumbres […]
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DCG Theresa Dizon-de Vega: FilAms need to be ‘more engaged politically’
By Cristina DC Pastor The night before the interview, she was “dancing” with Jimmy Carter in the interactive documentary about the party-loving Imelda Marcos. Hours after this sitdown, she was administering the oath of allegiance to dual citizens at the Philippine Center lobby. Deputy Consul General Theresa Dizon de Vega’s life is one in perpetual […]
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Independence Day Parade Grand Marshal feted in gala
This year’s Independence Day Parade Grand Marshal, Dr. Rebecca Castro Rivera, was honored at a “Gabi ng mga Bulaklak” gala at the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel in Elizabeth, New Jersey on April 15. The evening’s program was highlighted by the investiture ceremony where Rivera was bestowed her sash by last year’s […]
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Carlos Bulosan poem to highlight Asian/Pacific Heritage Month in May
The White House announced that the theme for this year’s celebration of Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, is: “I Want the Wide American Earth,” a poem by acclaimed Filipino American writer Carlos Bulosan. The poem was chosen by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center to highlight the event. The White House […]
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Investors, advocates pledge support for production of ‘Noli’ opera
By Randy Gener The opera “Noli Me Tangere” has edged one step closer to the American mainstream with organizers and advocates of the arts in the pledging to do their part to invest funds and raise public awareness for its highly anticipated New York premiere. “Lovers of Philippine culture would have heard of Rizal’s classic […]
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FilAms petition Stony Brook University to reinstate Asian studies official
Filipino American writers and artists came out in support of a Stony Brook University official after her position as director of Wang Center’s Asian and Asian American Programming was eliminated in a reorganization. “It is with much wistfulness that I inform you that my Directorship of the Wang Center’s Asian and Asian American Programming is […]