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Nightclub impresario named to White House commission for Asian Americans
By Elton Lugay Being named a commissioner at the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) was a total surprise for radio/TV personality Billy Dec. First, he did not know such a government agency exists, and second, for one who is known throughout Chicago as a “nightlife impresario,” he did not expect […]
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Irma Bajar honored with Stonewall award for her LGBT activism
By Cristina DC Pastor In the summer of 2011, a young man put a gun to Irma Bajar’s head as she was walking to her home in Brooklyn. The man seemed angry and shouted slurs at her gender after he grabbed her phone. Irma went home shaken, but did not report the incident to the […]
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Transgender model Geena Rocero to speak at NextDayBetter’s May 3 event
For transgender model Geena Rocero, 30, coming out appeared to have occurred in stages, one exhilarating episode at a time. The first time was at age 15 when she won a beauty pageant in the Philippines, then at 19 when she underwent a gender reassignment surgery in Thailand. That surgery would pave the way for […]
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PIDCI celebrates 25th year; Grand Marshals pay homage to heroes
Dr. Emilio Quines and his wife Fely, also a doctor, are a private couple not used to the limelight. They are quite uncomfortable being called a ‘power couple’ being this year’s Grand Marshals who will lead a large Philippine Independence Day Parade on Madison Avenue on June 1. So at the recent Grand Marshal Gala […]
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Growing up FilAm, filling the holes in my heritage
By Daniel Griffith “Um, I’m Japanese! I think.” … Was my response, walking up three flights of stairs past the library in the first grade, to that question: “So, what are you?” That’s a fated question, which many to this day dread answering, even hearing. But it never bothered me. Six-year-old me knew they were […]
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‘If you’ve got one drop of ‘bagoong’ in you, then you’re Filipino:’ Fred Cordova
By Daniel Buenafe Griffith He was a humble man with a commanding presence. I can only imagine what that looked like 50-plus years ago, when he was a young university student, an aspiring journalist, a community activist, or just a mischievous boy pursuing his college sweetheart. But we’ll save those stories for actual writers to […]
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Amidst a Super Typhoon, young Pinay contemplates: ‘Am I Filipino enough?’
By Jessica Abejar When news of Super Typhoon Haiyan — PHL name: Yolanda — hit the Philippines this past weekend, I was completely devastated. But instead of being wrapped up in the sadness at the fact that the strongest storm in recorded history just hit the place my parents called home, I was faced with […]
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On its 20th year, FAHSI to report on FilAm socioeconomic profile on Nov. 16
The Filipino American Human Services Inc. (FAHSI) will be hosting a forum to present the findings of the Community Needs Assessment and to discuss issues of concern to the community. The forum will be held on November 16th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Philippine Center. FAHSI Co-Founder and Board Member Dr. Jean […]
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A museum called FAM
By Cristina DC Pastor This was how I explained the Filipino American Museum (FAM) to the hubby when I got home. Me: I just came from a museum opening, um, except that there is no museum. H: Huh? What? Me: It’s an empty room in an old Soho building, has white walls and not much […]