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The birth of Christ, not Santa coming to town
By Tony Joaquin Around December during the prewar days in Manila, my parents would take me and my sisters shopping for new and nice clothes to wear for Christmas. The whole family would drive over with Papa behind the wheel of our 1940 Chevrolet to the popular shopping areas, primarily in Escolta. But we also […]
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After 25 years, archdiocese rules ‘no more Simbang Gabi’ at consulate
By Cristina DC Pastor The Archdiocese of New York maintained its objection to the holding of Simbang Gabi midnight masses at the consulate building on Fifth Avenue, prompting the possible relocation of the Christmas tradition observed for 25 years by Filipinos in the New York Tri-State. “A mass can only be carried out in a […]
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IN THE MOTHERLAND: Thank you, Manila
By Laurel Fantauzzo I confess: I was afraid to move to Manila this year. Strange. I had never been afraid before. It was my fourth time here. I’d previously done a Tagalog language program, and the usual visits with relatives. I’d tried for three years to earn a Fulbright grant to return to the motherland. […]
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Remembering the Black Nazarene and the Filipino way of giving thanks
By Ludy A. Ongkeko, Ph.D. Standing out on its own in the Philippines’ metropolitan center is the Quiapo Church, home of the Black Nazarene. Every Friday is Quiapo Day when multitudes troop to the church where hourly masses are held to honor the much-venerated Black Nazarene. Filipinos all over their island nation honor the Black […]
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First- and second-generation Pilipinos and the root of their conflict
By A. Mabini For my parents First-generation, by established understanding, are Pilipinos who were born in the Philippines and have migrated to the United States. Second-generation Pilipino Americans are those born in America. I linger between definitions. Although by the above criterion, I fall under the former, I came here at a very young […]
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At TOFA-NY, win or lose they’re still Facebook friends
In the grand tradition of Filipino celebrations, the congratulations come with the cheers and the comical. The first Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York awards event held October 29 at Carnegie Hall was no different. (See trunk story on the right) You could tell the winners by the coterie of fans following them around, asking […]
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Gov. Cuomo: Empire State is ‘privileged’ to honor outstanding Filipinos
By Cristina DC Pastor On a night when it snowed in October for only the third time in 142 years in Manhattan, Carnegie Hall glittered as hundreds huddled to honor and fete 2011’s best Filipino Americans in New York, among them an undocumented immigrant journalist and a transgender woman. “The Empire State is privileged to […]
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‘Did it take moving to America to bring out leadership abilities in our people?’
By Ludy A. Ongkeko, Ph.D. There are organizations. And there are organizations. Almost always, what motivates people to form such groups is traced to various criteria: either from respective school origins, former work affiliations, professional ties, original homing grounds and other common bases for keeping themselves under one genre, or there may be no earthly […]
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Lost, then found, in translation
By Cristina DC Pastor She held on to my arm like a child tugs at her mother’s when in fear of strangers and unfamiliar surroundings. The elderly Asian woman who spoke no English had the look of fright on her face. “Brooklyn, Brooklyn,” she shook my arm with a sense of urgency. “What? You going […]