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On Veterans Day, remembering the Pinoy as a great lover, dancer and fighter
By Nestor Palugod Enriquez Alfredo Diaz was studying at the University of the Philippines before World War II broke out 71 years ago. When Alfredo Diaz was learning the art of artillery, the UP student body president was Ferdinand Marcos, who was also the ROTC cadet commander. Diaz held up till the 1942 Fall of […]
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‘Forgotten Soldiers’ to screen Nov 12
In remembrance of Veterans Day on November 11, the documentary “Forgotten Soldiers” will be shown at the International Film Festival Manhattan on November 12 at the Quad Cinema 34 on W 13th Street. The film by Donald Plata is about the Philippine Scouts, regiments of Filipino soldiers who fought the Japanese invasion during World War […]
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Jose Rizal was a boxer, too
By Nestor Palugod Enriquez Dr. Jose Rizal was the Philippines’ Renaissance Man. He was a physician, a linguist, poet and fighter. His hands were not only for writing, but the hands of a martial artist, a boxer, trainer and instructor. The maestro taught his pupils in Dapitan instruction on boxing and fencing. In London, he […]
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‘I saw the second plane slam into the south tower’
By R Sonny Sampayan-Sampayan I had just retired after 22 years in the United States Air Force and decided to move to New York City. I was drawn to the city lights, Central Park, Times Square, Wall Street, Brooklyn Bridge, and the many tall buildings like the Empire State building and the Twin Towers. Ten […]
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Celebrating the lives lost in 9/11
By Cristina DC Pastor Nenita Grijalvo walked up the stage and began to wipe a tear even before she could utter a word. “9/11 is the day that changed our lives forever,” began the widow of Ramon Grijalvo, the devoted Ilonggo husband who worked as a computer analyst at Blue Cross Blue Shield, which occupied […]
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‘The terror plan backfired; we Americans got closer’
By JV Tuazon It was the summer of 2001. I was a year fresh out of college and had just embarked on my path towards a doctorate degree — but those achievements would be overshadowed by the dark clouds that literally loomed ahead. That summer, I worked part time at New York Sports Club on […]
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‘9/11 was the scariest, darkest moment’
By Cristina DC Pastor Ten years after 9/11, FilAms look back on that day recalling the confusion, the disbelief, and the fear. Those emotions resurface — along with the smell and taste of a petrified New York — as they talk about the “worst day” of their lives. Ryan Songalia, boxing journalist I was 14 […]
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‘Amigo:’ An ambiguous friendship
By Elton Lugay John Sayles’s “Amigo” tackles a little known episode in history: the 1899-1902 Philippine-American War. “I felt like there was a kind of vacuum, that a conversation was not being had about this moment in both Filipino and American history that needed to be restarted,” said Sayles at a recent forum held at […]
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Those who came before us
By Cristina DC Pastor Was it Jose Rizal who paved the way for the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in the New York area? Romantic thought there, but Rizal came here as a transiting tourist, not as an immigrant. “He didn’t stay, per se. Just a stopover,” confirmed Reme Grefalda, curator of the Asian-American Pacific […]