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The Madison Avenue parade that never gets old
By Elton Lugay The inclement weather did not stop Joyce Manzano from marching at the Philippine Independence Day parade June 3 on Madison Avenue. “I came prepared,” the 29-year-old paralegal from Woodside, Queens told The FilAm. “I knew it’s going to rain so I brought a very big umbrella.” Joyce came for many reasons: There’s […]
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The resilient, resurgent race
By Cristina DC Pastor Ray Sison arrived in America when he was 6. He is brown, he was shy, he is small, and many made fun of his accent. His guidance counselor in Jersey City told him not to bother applying to schools in New York because he wouldn’t make it. But Ray ignored the […]
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In L.A.’s Historic Filipinotown, Filipinos are in the minority
By Cristina DC Pastor In Los Angeles, the center for cultural activity among Filipinos is an area called Historic Filipinotown, a stretch of roadway where the population of 25,000 is 60 percent Latino, 25 percent FilAm and the other 15 percent a mix of ethnicities such as African Americans and Armenians. Dennis Arguelles, director of […]
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Military wife is this year’s Mrs. Kalayaan
By Elton Lugay The Palawan-born wife of a retired Marine officer was crowned Mrs. Kalayaan in a beauty pageant for married women organized by Pidci. Unlike most pageant contenders, Margie Wisotsky, 39, didn’t go bare in a swimsuit, didn’t dance and didn’t have to sweat bullets to answer a silly question. All she had to […]
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Jersey City Santacruzan ‘reynas’ announced
By Joey Mayo Excitement fills the air as the month of May approaches. May brings Flores De Mayo and Santacruzan. For Filipinos around the world it is the merriest and most beautiful month of the year as it brings back joyful childhood memories of fragrant flowers and festive processions. This year, the Catholic Action of […]
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‘Filipinos are still a blank slate’
By Philip Dominguez Mercurio As I was rifling through my emails, I came upon this online petition against the movie “Act of Valor” for what it claimed was “negative” stereotyping of Filipinos as terrorists. Some have diligently pointed out this portrayal of Filipinos as suicide bombers is inconsistent with people who are predominantly Catholic. However […]
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Learning to paint with (s)oil
Artist Ma. Rosalie Zerrudo connects young students to the Talaandig people of Bukidnon and other tribes in Mindanao through the Talaandig Soil Painting Lesson & Workshop on April 28 in Jersey City. The Talaandig soil painting is known to use the color of the soil in paintings, resulting in images enriched by the earthy tones […]
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The therapist is in, and he’s the Pidci grand marshal
By Cristina DC Pastor The funny way Dr. Prospero Lim told the story, it was a choice between being a surgeon and a psychiatrist. In the end, he chose to treat mental disorders because “I don’t want to stand.” Lim, this year’s Philippine Independence Day grand marshal, is a psychiatrist from Staten Island. This 70-year-old, […]
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Chicago’s Piyesta Pinoy was a smash bash
By Elton Lugay Chicago’s Navy Pier hosted the Philippines in its Neighborhoods of the World celebration – a “historic moment” for Filipinos in the Windy City. “This is a historic moment for all Filipinos in Chicago,” Ruben Salazar, president of the Philippine American Cultural Foundation told The FilAm. “This is also the first time that […]