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Black Friday, meet Brown Shopper
By Elton Lugay They came without sleep, and brought their friends, families and credit cards. Filipino shoppers barreled their way into Black Friday malls with abundant energy, patience and a well of good humor and shopped till — someone pleaded with them to stop. “Black Friday survivor!” writes Unicef’s Pam Santos on her Facebook wall. […]
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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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Celebrities wear his shirts
By Cristina DC Pastor The way Darwin Dion Ignacio told the story, it sounded so simple. “I met him at a NY Knicks game. I knew he was gonna be there so I brought a couple of shirts. I tapped him on the shoulder and said, ‘Hey Spike, I know you’re a big fan of […]
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The mirror diplomacy of ConGen Mario de Leon
By Cristina DC Pastor One of the first things Consul General Mario de Leon Jr. did on assuming office in March was to ask his staff to look in the mirror. He wasn’t trying to be insulting, not even superficially bellicose. He was simply suggesting a practical trick calculated to foster harmonious relations between the […]
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Hazel and Pete say ‘I do,’ read vows on their iPads
By Cristina DC Pastor The bride and groom came in a yellow cab, the guests a red double-decker tourist bus. And that’s just one of the “very New York” highlights of the October 8 wedding of CBS 2 reporter Hazel Sanchez and AIG insurance executive Peter Rapciewicz. Everything else was a nice pastiche of Filipino […]
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‘Did it take moving to America to bring out leadership abilities in our people?’
By Ludy A. Ongkeko, Ph.D. There are organizations. And there are organizations. Almost always, what motivates people to form such groups is traced to various criteria: either from respective school origins, former work affiliations, professional ties, original homing grounds and other common bases for keeping themselves under one genre, or there may be no earthly […]
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Lost, then found, in translation
By Cristina DC Pastor She held on to my arm like a child tugs at her mother’s when in fear of strangers and unfamiliar surroundings. The elderly Asian woman who spoke no English had the look of fright on her face. “Brooklyn, Brooklyn,” she shook my arm with a sense of urgency. “What? You going […]
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Gathercole’s dark designs
By Elton Lugay While Monique Lhuillier‘s classic elegance dazzled at the New York Fashion Week’s Lincoln Center, Dubai-based designer Rocky Gathercole held his own in Brooklyn. Many described his collection as anything from outrageously eclectic to stunning. Edgy is probably the best word to use for now. His outfits were lavish. There were gowns intricately […]
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Bloomberg hails TOFA-NY awardees for ‘contributing to city’s amazing energy and spirit’
By Cristina DC Pastor ‘It was like waiting for the ball to drop on New Year’s Eve.’ Filipinos in New York and elsewhere celebrated on Facebook the victories of former fashion model Bessie Badilla, U.S. Marshals spokesman Roland Ubaldo and nine others in the first The Outstanding Filipino Americans in NY awards honoring 12 notable […]