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The day Harvard Radio played 11 hours of Filipino music
By Jeromel Dela Rosa Lara I am a Filipino immigrant. I was born, raised, and lived in the Philippines for 11 years. My mother and I arrived here in America in 2011. My mother is a certified nursing assistant (CNA) doing the job of domestic caregiving, which is the arduous and literally back-breaking work that […]
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The deaf can hear the love
By Vicky Potenciano-Vitug It was a Broadway-style performance with Filipino children and young adults, singing, dancing and acting. But for the unaware, they would not suspect “Musical Reflections” — streamed online on March 18 — had a cast of mostly deaf children! It was a surprise for me to see that the deaf could perform like […]
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Teen author Casey Giles publishes two fiction books
Casey Giles, the only child of a Filipina immigrant and a fifth-generation Texan, has published her first novel titled, “Indifferents,” last November of 2019, followed quickly by its sequel “Indigo Fading,” which was released on December 25, 2020. She had her book launch and signing event on March 6, 2021, in Sugarland, Texas with proceeds […]
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6th-grader’s essay comparing 9/11 and COVID wins 1st place
By Grethel Bolandrina “Sadly, COVID-19 and 9/11 have also provoked discrimination within people of different races. 9/11 turned a few people against Muslims and the Coronavirus against the Chinese. If there’s one good thing that came out of these disastrous events, it would be that the world and people came together for each other. Citizens […]
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Kids groan the discomfort of wearing masks but warn ‘COVID can give you tummy aches’
By Cristina DC Pastor Kids say the darndest things; they also dispense the wisest advice. Zed Alexander Payumo, 7, stressed the importance of wearing a mask because “COVID can make you sick and give you tummy aches.” A second grader at Success Academy Hudson Yards, Zed, however, is a little bummed that people have to […]
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First-time voter Sophia Policarpio: Thrilled, independent, undecided
By Cristina DC Pastor There are two things that get Sophia Policarpio excited and anxious at the same time: Being an incoming freshman at Stony Brook University and a first-time voter in the November 3rd elections. On turning 18, she registered to vote in her East Hills neighborhood in Long Island, thrilled at the thought […]
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The Conways: A Filipino American family
By Cristina DC Pastor They’re not the Conners where the head of the family, Dan, works as a contractor, and his wife Roseanne ran a diner in a fictional working-class suburb called Lanford in Illinois. We are talking about the Conways where the head of the family, George, is a high-powered Manhattan lawyer, and his […]
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At ‘drive-by parties,’ cars honk Happy Birthday
By Cristina DC Pastor Once upon a time, children reveled in the passage of each birthday celebrated with friends and relatives over grilled hotdogs and parlor games. COVID-19 has changed all that. Two families shared with The FilAm how they organized their daughters’ ‘drive-by parties’ where guests stayed in their cars honking their greetings and […]
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Well-liked NYPD Sgt. Chris Traumer announces retirement
By Wendell Gaa Having served the New York Police Department (NYPD) for 21 years, police officer Chris Traumer, recently retired with the distinguished rank of a sergeant. This towering 6’7 Filipino American is known to be one of the friendliest and most helpful law enforcement officials ever, one who has loyally served the City of […]