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When the woman is much older: Brigitte Macron and Dionesia Pacquiao and their skirmishes with sexism
By Cristina DC Pastor In my search for the Filipino Brigitte Macron, I circled back to Dionesia Dapidran Pacquiao. Except for the huge age gap these women have with their significant others, I find nothing else they have in common, except, notably, the public’s obsession with their relationship with much younger men. Brigitte is the […]
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Fake website, genuine friendship
By Cristina DC Pastor “Gary Abasolo for Jersey City Mayor.” @abasoloformayor. Founded June 2014. Dedicated to Jersey City’s favorite son. 156 Likes. Nothing about this Facebook page strikes the reader as amiss. But if you’re from Jersey City, you know that lawyer Gary Abasolo, 47, was never a candidate for mayor. Not in 2014 when […]
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Mother-son Maritess and Aries Dela Cruz: Bonding over Hillary, together mourning her loss
By Cristina DC Pastor Grief has gripped the Dela Cruz household in Queens three days after the November 8 election. Aries Dela Cruz, president of the Filipino American Democratic Club of New York, mourns the defeat of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to her GOP opponent Donald Trump. “I’m going through a lot of stages of […]
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Kirby Asunto & Shirley Asunto: A relationship nurtured on traditional Filipino values
By Cristina DC Pastor At 18 years old, in-demand pop singer Kirby Asunto can very well make a decision to get an apartment, live on her own, and manage her flourishing career. As a matter of fact, the law says she can get married without her parents’ approval. Right now, Kirby is having none of […]
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FilAm mom’s birthday letter to her son in the Philippines: ‘Our distance I carry with a heavy heart’
By Laura Garcia, RN My dearest son, Images of you flashed through my mind as I reminisce the days and months I carried you. I could still remember your first kick inside my belly. I wasn’t even sure if it was a kick or a punch, it was that intense! I knew then you were […]
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Twin brothers indicted in duplicate hit-and-run charges
Two Long Island brothers may go down in New York State history as twins indicted in identical crimes. In October 2013, Benedict Bacayon, a technology professional from West Babylon, was arrested for “fleeing the scene” of a hit-and-run offense while he was driving his 2006 Mercedes Benz CL500. He is in his 30s. Just recently […]
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A grandfather’s letter to his 13-year-old ‘apo’
Former advertising executive Tony Joaquin of Sacramento, Calif., welcomes his grandson Julian Ismael Joaquin’s transition into adolescence. As he ushers him into this new phase leading into adulthood, Tony is also reminding him to always be respectful of women. A man has a choice, and Tony’s wish is for all young men to be “gentlemen” […]
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Dolly Fernandez: Growing up in a love-filled, mixed-race family in the anti-miscegenation era
By Cristina DC Pastor “It was a scandal, but it was also a happy marriage. They just had so much fun together.” Dolores ‘Dolly’ Fernandez, the daughter of a Filipino valet and a Norwegian hat check girl, traveled back in time and shared fond memories of her parents’ stirring romance amid anti-miscegenation laws which criminalized […]
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As Father’s Day nears, I remember Papa and how I learned the English language through him
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Ph.D. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are separated by only a month but as celebrations go, the two events seem worlds apart. When I first arrived on these shores in the very early sixties, I was struck by the fervent regard for Mother’s Day. Brunches were crowded. Ditto all other dining […]