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How Mama reinvented herself in America (Part 2)
By Randy Gener Eventually times got harder. It became more difficult to find work in the Philippines. Cleo had no choice but to disappear for longer periods of time. One reason she felt compelled to come to America was that in the late 1970s, she had conducted a long search for her U.S. father via […]
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A song for my mother (Part 1)
By Randy Gener It was 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Sitting in my studio, my mom, Cleo, asked me to hold out my palm. Suddenly interested in my lifeline, she wanted to tell me something good about my future. “You will have a long life,” Mama said, “but you have to be careful about money. […]
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Jose Antonio Vargas attempts to define relationship with his mother
Here’s a teaser of Jose’s film “Documented.” By Cristina DC Pastor “I haven’t seen my mom in 20 years. I don’t know how to talk about that. It’s too painful to talk about her.” In a free-wheeling discussion with Filipino journalists in April, Jose Antonio Vargas spoke about the woman who gave him up so […]
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‘A mother will hold a child’s hands for a while but the heart forever’
By Lumen Castaneda What is a mother? The dictionary describes a mother as a woman who has borne a child or the origin or source of something like a mother plant. Mother means selfless devotion, limitless sacrifices and love that passes understanding. “A woman who has compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience is a mother. […]
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My mom: Realizing the American Dream at 82
By Suzanne Lansangan-Sabangan The front door of my condominium opened at 10 a.m. with my mother poking her head in and telling me she was ready. The swearing-in was to begin at 1:30 p.m. That was not new to me as she always made sure she was one or two hours early for any appointment, […]
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‘Going our own ways:’ A family made whole again by divorce
By Elena Velez It all took place in downtown Jersey City at St. Mary’s Church. That’s where Maria Almadin and Edwin Velez met. The two were madly in love for a while. Two years later, on December 17, 1994, the couple became one and showed their love for one another. In 1996, they had their […]
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Love is their color
By Cristina DC Pastor Once upon a time, there was a law that criminalized marriage between a Filipino and an American. The Anti-miscegenation law applied mostly – although not exclusively — to Filipino men and white women, its objective being the preservation of racial purity. That law has since been declared unconstitutional and repealed in […]
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The Brothers Harbaugh: Just like Filipino families that come together
By Ludy A. Ongkeko, Ph.D. One does not have to be a football fan to be acquainted with the Harbaugh brothers. Blissfully, the Harbaugh brothers have proven how brothers, how even those immersed in the same game, in the same craft as coaches, can love one another, as they represented their teams as heavy contenders […]
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My New Year’s Manifesto in 2013
By Pamela K. Santos New Year’s resolutions don’t appeal to me very much because I don’t want to think about being a better person. Are there things that I can improve upon in 2013? Certainly, but that’s not the issue. Behind every resolution is the deliberate and conscious decision to do or not do something. […]