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Creating art while battling cancer, how Leani Auxilio heals
By Cristina DC Pastor On Leani Auxilio’s bed at Mt. Sinai St. Luke’s hospital are drawing papers and pencils of different colors. On days when she is not exhausted after a will-sapping chemotherapy treatment, she likes to draw to keep busy. At times, she turns to the Procreate app on her iPad where she sketches, […]
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The day PAFCOM served up Filipino food at a soup kitchen
On February 18, which was Presidents Day, sisters Krismarie and Marykirsten Taino woke up early to help out at the Let’s Celebrate Soup Kitchen on Fairview Avenue in Jersey City. The teens, together with their mother Maricar Taino, were among the dozen volunteers from the Philippine American Friendship Community, Inc. (PAFCOM) who served breakfast and […]
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Loida Nicolas Lewis is new board chair of Children’s Orchestra Society
The Children’s Orchestra Society (COS) has announced it has elected Loida Nicolas Lewis, a pianist and advocate for culture and the arts, as its new chairperson of the board. The COS, founded in the 1960s by the late Dr. Hiao Tsiun Ma — father of renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Dr. Yeou-Cheng Ma – made […]
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Elaine Ficarra discovers the land of her mother
By Cristina DC Pastor In July this year, Pennsylvania-born Elaine Ficarra joined three other youngsters on a trip to the Philippines. She traveled with Bronx teen Feih Hidalgo, IT student Calvin Santiago from New Hampshire, and Alexandra Brown, a Filipina who lives in Australia. There is a common thread tying Elaine, a 17-year-old singer and […]
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Joshua Ang Price: An Asian in Arkansas
Joshua’s mother Teresita Acervo Ang grew up in Roxas City, Capiz and attended Philippine Women’s University in Manila, where she studied nursing. The Philippines was then under President Marcos’ martial law. While working at Makati Medical Center, Teresita saw tanks and soldiers patrolling the streets. A 9 p.m. curfew was strictly enforced, and there were […]
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Manila teens invited to train at prestigious NYC ballet school
By April Deocariza Two Filipino students who performed on stage with Stella Abrera and her fellow American Ballet Theatre colleagues are now in New York City receiving the training experience of a lifetime. Steps Dance Studio scholars Elwince Magbitang and Raye Vince Pelegrin, both 16 years old, received invitations to study for one year at […]
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Debate on admissions to Specialized High Schools: FilAms share views
By Reese Villazor New York City has some of the best public high schools in the United States. Among these are the eight specialized high schools, which include Brooklyn Tech, Bronx Science, and Stuyvesant. Gaining admission to these schools is earned only through the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) which is a very competitive […]
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That thing called ‘space’
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Ph.D. Just weeks after this year’s spring term had concluded, topped by commencement trimmings, a FilAm mother of five, contacted me, saying between sobs: Her oldest child had just moved out of their Los Angeles home because she needed “space.” Lilly — affectionately called “Nanay,” by her household — requested me […]
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50 years ago, and I still remember
By Bella Santos Owens I remember vividly, it was a sunny morning and I was playing on the veranda of our house in Marilao, Bulacan. I was sitting on this low table while playing with my doll. I remember his cheap cologne and scratchy stubble on me like it was just yesterday. Our male helper, […]