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On Global Filipinos: From the slums of Iloilo comes Broadway producer Jhett Tolentino
By Loida Nicolas Lewis When Jhett Tolentino debuted on Broadway in March 2013 for producing “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” that starred Sigourney Weaver, he received his first Tony Award. He was in a daze and had to pinch himself but was also aware that he was the first Filipino producer to receive a Tony Award in that category. […]
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Biracial FilAms reflect on race and Blackness
By Cristina DC Pastor Ayana Owens experienced racism at an early age when her family entered a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Pennsylvania and overheard customers asking not be seated near them. She remembered another bitter memory when kids in her Baltimore neighborhood taunted her to “go home to China” because they didn’t want to play […]
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Anti-Terror bill of 2020: The disintegration of democracy in the PHL
By Matthew Alonsozana As Filipino Americans, we should constantly take pride in knowing that we are the heirs of a living tradition of quiet valor and moral courage. Many of the public health heroes who have risked so much in this coronavirus crisis are the embodiment of a spirit that infuses our culture. While we […]
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#BLACKLIVESMATTER: A Filipino immigrant’s perspective
By Paulo K Tiról Against the backdrop of the #BlackLivesMatter upheavals over the past days, I’ve thought a lot about my relationship with anti-Black oppression — specifically, as a Filipino immigrant who came to the United States as an adult. I spent the first 34 years of my life in Manila, where American history is […]
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Indie filmmaker, Hollywood actor team up to produce ‘Titleholder’
Hollywood actor Cory Kays and Dallas-based filmmaker Danny Aguilar have collaborated on an upcoming film, “Titleholder.” “Titleholder” follows the journey of an American boxer who struggles to make ends meet. He travels to the Philippines with his Filipino best friend and experiences authentic Filipino culture, including beauty pageants, karaoke, basketball, and of course, boxing. While […]
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Msgr. Boy Sosing, 67: Good friend, beloved uncle, great priest mentor
By Boyet Loverita November 14, 2004, it was a sad day for our family. It was the funeral of our beloved mother at St. Michael Parish Church in Laoang, Northern Samar. The funeral mass was officiated by my two clergy cousins, Fr. Poten Dulay and Fr. Jonathan Loverita. It’s a Filipino tradition that after the […]
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Father Leo Patalinghug: ‘Faith can be as intimate as a meal’
By Lynn Alejandrino-Topel Nobody with a crystal ball could have foreseen a breakdancer and a 3rd degree black belt holder in taekwondo would be a priest someday. Not just any priest, but a “Cooking Priest” at that! Father Leo Patalinghug is all of the above and more! After shedding his martial arts robe, he dons […]
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What is it about Filipino nurses and courage?
By Cristina DC Pastor In 2012, when Hurricane Sandy hit the New York area with devastating fury, the world came to know of the heroism of Menchu de Luna Sanchez. Menchu was the quick-thinking Filipina nurse from NYU Langone Medical Center who saved 20 infants when the city lost power and was plunged into darkness. […]
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At ‘drive-by parties,’ cars honk Happy Birthday
By Cristina DC Pastor Once upon a time, children reveled in the passage of each birthday celebrated with friends and relatives over grilled hotdogs and parlor games. COVID-19 has changed all that. Two families shared with The FilAm how they organized their daughters’ ‘drive-by parties’ where guests stayed in their cars honking their greetings and […]