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Prayers, donations pour in for children of Jersey City couple killed in tornado
By Cristina DC Pastor Americans and Filipinos alike are opening their hearts, and wallets, to three children who lost their parents July 24 when a tornado swept through a campsite in Cheriton, Virginia. The tornado hit a tree that toppled on the tent of sleeping Jersey City couple killing Lord Balatbat and his wife Lolibeth […]
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My father and me: Still far away
By Rene Pastor I was about 3 or 4 years old. My dad was driving this top-down Impala in the middle of Manila. We passed by this bridge with steel girders over the Pasig river, which did not give off a foul odor then. I held my hands up as the wind whipped through my […]
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Mithi Aquino becomes the Ambassador’s wife
By Cristina DC Pastor “Why me?” Mithi Aquino, 36, would ask then-Ambassador to Manila Harry K. Tomas, 57, every time she is wracked by doubts. “Why not?” he replied in his usual curt manner characteristic of long-time diplomats. Three years after the Jolo beauty and the American diplomat from New York met, they got married […]
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Couple urge those who stereotype Filipino-Western relationships: ‘Don’t judge’
This article was written in reaction to A. Mabini’s provocative essay “The Pilipina’s infatuation with the White Man,” which was published in the December 2011 issue. Authors, John Nicholson and Choi Mercado, have chosen to write their response by sharing with The FilAm readers their personal account of their own Filipino-Western relationship. John, 40, is […]
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A marriage in transit
By Cristina DC Pastor We paid the haulers then locked up the house for good. My neighbor Mike, who was washing his car by his driveway, waved. We met halfway to hug. “You guys have been great neighbors,” he said with a wry smile like he was really sad to see us go. He waved […]
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Why I got married on Valentine’s Day
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Ph.D. Once in every 12 months, there is a day that tugs at a great many hearts. There are virtual reminders weeks before it becomes part of the prevailing picture. Media and commercial interests zero in on Valentine’s Day. The meaning? To purchase expensive presents? To play up to romantic notions? […]
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‘Forever Families:’ What happens when adoption does not work out?
By Lorial Crowder On November 27th, an Ohio couple returned their 9-year old adopted son to Butler County Children’s Services with claims he was “displaying aggressive behavior and earlier threatened the family with a knife.” The boy was adopted and raised from infancy, according to reports. The couple was indicted on “misdemeanor counts of nonsupport” […]
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Paying homage to the women who raised her
By Maya Rowencak Food was important to me as a child. My mother always fed me. But there’s one moment that sticks in my head: eating a fish head. Now, I’m as American as you can possibly imagine. My mother used to say I was “bastos” and “you’re just like your father” and “(insert bad […]
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Randy Gener’s tribute to his mother wins Plaridel Award’s outstanding essay
Editor, writer and artist Randy Gener, whose essay about his recently departed mother was published in TheFilAm magazine on what would have been her 67th birthday, garnered the Philippine American Press Club’s 2013 Plaridel Award for Outstanding Editorial Essay/Commentary at a gala dinner in Colma, California, on October 19th. In addition, the Asian American Arts […]