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The unwritten clause in my marriage contract
By Jen Furer Craig and I were sitting on a bench in the middle of the American wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Before I had met Craig, I had not known such beauty existed. So the first time I visited the Met, I felt like a newborn learning new things about life – […]
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LGBT community in tears over Obama support for marriage equality
President Obama’s personal support for same-sex marriage drew praise and tears from some in the FilAm gay community. “I am just in awe. I am just in tears,” said film critic Mau Feria on hearing Obama come out in favor of same-sex unions after years of hedging his comments. Comedian Rich Kiamco, who recently married […]
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‘As I find pieces of myself I worry that it’s costing you pieces of my heart’
By A. Mabini I remembered the moment I tricked her into holding my hand. It was one of the oldest tricks in the book. I examined it with mine, and without warning locked my fingers with hers and said, “Perfect.” That was 11 years ago when we were both in high school. We had no […]
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A hoarder in the family, a collector of fraying memories
By Cristina DC Pastor I’ve been spending a bit of time with my elderly aunt who lives in the Upper West Side. Tita Emma is neighbors with the Lincoln Center, the Juilliard School of Music, the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Opera. The Central Park is a hundred or so steps away. She is […]
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Noemy Paet Alvendia, sister and widow
By Cristina DC Pastor How does one deal with a tragedy where both victim and accused come from one family? If you are like Noemy Paet Alvendia, the emotional terrain is fraught with family, community and legal landmines and almost becomes an unnavigable journey. As she mourns the passing of her husband Jeorge, this Jersey […]
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‘I want to be able to tell my grandkids where we came from’
By Joey Tabaco The first time I heard of Singgalot was in a 2008 Yahoogroup email from the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) Metropolitan New York Chapter, in which I am a board member, announcing the opening of its tour in Los Angeles. A follow-up message thread from Nestor Enriquez, a FANHS National Trustee […]
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A love letter to a friend
By Laurel Fantauzzo I want to pluck the chill from cold gardenias and place it in your hair. I will be what you want of me—shadows of clock hands, the remaining drop in a coffee spoon. Anything, except cruel. — Hossannah Dear Hossannah, I’m writing this letter to you the week of Valentine’s Day. But […]
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How about caring and humor instead of wine and roses?
By Ludy A. Ongkeko, Ph.D. Long ago and far away, the name “Valentine” or “Valentinus” emerged. That nomenclature started it all. Valentine, a priest known to have helped secret marriages of young couples in Rome during the third century, struck the ire of Emperor Claudius III who outlawed such marriages. That sovereign believed single young […]
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Thank you, more please
By Jean Charisse A. Arboleda Alright, so we have established the fact that I can be slow. I just realized after three years that the failure of my marriage has prepared me for life in the mean, gritty, and unsympathetic New York City. I never would have lasted this long here had I not made […]