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5 days in N.Y., 4 Broadway musicals, 1 giddy California girl
By Tara Saha As our red-eye flight from California dipped into the polluted air, I gripped my friend’s hand till she winced and squealed girlishly. I’d abandoned all dignity. New York City, land of fame, loss, money, musicals, and superb shopping had been my dream since I was a little girl. When, six months earlier, […]
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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 […]
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Filipinos as jihadists? Online protest against film is on
The Filipino a suicide bomber? It’s like Chinese people portraying the Corleone cronies in “The Godfather.” There may be tiny pockets of Muslim separatists in the South, but Filipino people have never been known to be jihadists. This unfortunate detail is cinematically faulty. But in “Act of Valor,” a film about the much-heralded Navy SEALS, […]
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The heat is on in Tampa
By Elton Lugay It was like coming home to a barrio fiesta in my native Cebu. The weather was warm. Everyone was dressed in short pants and cotton shirt, slippers on their feet. The smell of grilled pork barbecue filled the air. No, I was not on Madison Avenue, but in outdoorsy Tampa, Florida for […]
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A look back: Nick Joaquin’s N.Y. ‘Portrait’ in 1997
By Tony Joaquin Nick Joaquin loved to read The New Yorker magazine and even imitated Broadway musicals that featured Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Nick would have enjoyed New York City — Manhattan particularly. But when he was awarded a travel grant by the Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, he had no time but just a brief […]
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TOFA-NY welcomes new board members, now open for nominations
The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York (TOFA-NY) recently launched to a show of support from the Philippine Consulate and a musical extravaganza topbilled by PopOpera artist Jonathan Badon. On its second year, TOFA-NY made two important announcements. One, that it is now accepting nominations for different award categories. Deadline for submission of nominations is […]
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To be Filipino on Broadway
By Cristina DC Pastor Getting a role on Broadway is like reading the tea leaves. Sometimes, it comes easy, other times you have to go to a hundred auditions and callbacks until you land it. Sometimes, the culprit is an unmotivated agent, other times it’s the casting director with blinders. Race is one of the […]
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She’d rather be known for her Voice than her ethnicity
By Elton Lugay Count Cheesa Laureta among the many Filipinos whose career paths are generally paved in two directions: music and health care. Confident of her singing talent, she chose music over the more stable prospects of becoming a nurse. The Hawaii-born couldn’t be happier when she became a finalist in “The Voice,” a new […]
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Filipinos, Mexicans rooting for Jessica Sanchez
By Elton Lugay Another Filipina is gunning for the “American Idol” title. Jessica Sanchez’s powerful vocals had FilAms and the judges gushing and raving about the resurrection of Whitney Houston. “Jessica, you blew us away and made us all speechless for the win,” Aimee Pabilona, a physical therapy aide from Manhattan, posted on Facebook. When […]