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How salon owner Linda Jimenez built a life from the ground up
By Vicky Potenciano-Vitug As a young child, Linda Bautista Jimenez experienced one of the most painful and traumatic experiences in her life: Her father abandoned their family. She will never forget her mother’s humiliation, anguish and despair. Nanay Berta suddenly became the sole breadwinner for her three young daughters: Ligaya, 15 years old; Betty, 12; and […]
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Kalaya’an Mendoza: The face of a Filipino Antifa
By Cristina DC Pastor Kalaya’an Mendoza is the co-founder of Across Frontlines, an organization that works alongside human rights activists to keep them safe during mass actions. He has been engaged in nonviolent civil resistance for the past two decades, including the years he spent as a grassroots organizer and field director for Amnesty International […]
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Patricia Dinglasan: Looking for laughs in a plague year
By Cristina DC Pastor “I am Filipino. I am not a nurse. I just play one in my husband’s sex fantasies.” Trust comic Patricia Dinglasan to find humor amid a depressing pandemic and mold it into a hilarious punchline. For this budding Manhattan comedian, let’s just say the pandemic is a wellspring of jokes and other […]
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A Filipino family calls Britain home (Part 2)
By Cristina DC Pastor The Covid protocols introduced by the British government are not popular, particularly among businesses that had to shut down and individuals who lost their jobs, said Gene Alcantara, a Filipino community leader in the UK. “Travel is banned, visits even to relatives are banned. But everyone knows they are necessary to […]
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‘Filipino nurses are highly regarded in the UK’ – community leader Gene Alcantara (Part 1)
By Cristina DC Pastor British citizen Gene Alcantara has lost three friends to COVID-19. A sister-in-law has tested positive and is isolating. With a new and quick-spreading Coronavirus variant discovered in the UK, he voiced muted confidence that, “we will endure no matter what.” Alcantara, a community leader who has his own immigration consultancy practice, […]
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Why FilAm veteran, ex-cop Jurell Snyder took part in the Capitol protest
By Cristina DC Pastor A U.S. Army veteran and former Oakland, CA police officer was among the mob that rallied on January 6 at Capitol Hill in support of Donald Trump. Filipino American Jurell Snyder said he was protesting alleged voter fraud, adding he just “stayed outside” and did not enter the building. “The intention […]
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‘The threat to my health and life has led to anxiety’
By Femarie Clarete-Bedona, RN As a Critical Care Nurse for 27 years, I had the opportunity to serve and render nursing care to patients with different kinds of illnesses. I was confronted with the most challenging and threatening part of my career when New York City became the epicenter of COVID-19 since March of 2020 […]
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A villainless film in ‘Soul’
By Wendell Gaa While I didn’t personally find this new film by Pixar to be among its best — like “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo” or “The Incredibles” — it is a shining example of what the animation studio does so excellently well: Telling stories with relatable characters using innovative and compelling narratives. The film’s plot […]
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Cecilia Aragon writes a memoir about fear and flying
The daughter of a Chilean father and a Filipina mother, Cecilia Rodriguez Aragon has published a memoir about being the first Latina pilot on the U.S. Aerobatic Team. “Flying Free: My Victory over Fear” is the story of how Cecilia broke free from expectations and rose above her own limits by combining math and logic with […]