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NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson gives assurance of continued protection of immigrants
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, in his first formal press briefing with members of the community and ethnic media in the city, cited “daunting” statistics about homelessness and poverty and noted that four in 10 New Yorkers are living at or near the poverty line. In a city that is “superficially doing so well,” with […]
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Consul General bids goodbye, urges community to support each other
By Cristina DC Pastor Consul General Theresa Dizon-De Vega is a rare-breed diplomat. Actually, extraordinary, if one were to consider how she has been “borrowed” by Manila and “asked to help” senior officials as they ease into their jobs. She is a walking Official Gazette, knows all the Republic Acts from memory, she is pleasant, […]
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Ruffy Ronas: Here’s looking at you, Staten Island
By Cristina DC Pastor Before I got to know him, freelance photographer Ruffy Ronas was just another face in the crowd. He is always ready with a smile, a tap on the shoulder, a polite hug. Because of his height and soldier’s chest he stands out. With his James Stewart haircut, he appears like someone […]
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Outpouring of love for ‘Honorary Filipina’ Ruthie Ann Miles whose daughter dies in car accident
The FilAm Broadway community expressed an outpouring of love and support for Tony Award-winning actress Ruthie Ann Miles who played Imelda Marcos in the rock musical “Here Lies Love.” Tony awardee Lea Salonga writes on Facebook, “Please help however you can,” following reports that a pregnant Miles and her young daughter were hit by a […]
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Songwriter Bobby Lopez wins 2nd Oscars, makes EGOT history
Songwriter Robert ‘Bobby’ Lopez, whose father is Filipino American, is the first individual in musical history to win two Emmys, two Grammys, two Oscars, and two Tonys – a double EGOT awardee at the young age of 43. Lopez and his wife Kristen Anderson recently won the Oscars Best Original Song for “Remember Me” from […]
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Miss Gorg pageant seeks to promote accomplishments of trans women: organizers
Miss Gorg 2018, a beauty and personality search for gay men and transgender women will launch in New York on March 31 in celebration of the International Transgender Day of Visibility. “It’s a platform that lifts our community to a higher level,” said Peche Di, a Thailand-born transgender model, actress, videographer and founder of Trans […]
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Angel and Alyssa to front-act ‘Sikat Ka, Kapuso!’
Unknown to many, as Angel Ram was busy rehearsing for the GMA concert, “Sikat Ka, Kapuso,” she was doing gown fittings, checking her guest list, and just managing her nerves as a bride-to-be. Angel, one of the front acts, wed her boyfriend on February 23 in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, a month-and-a-half before the SKK […]
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Voices of a movement in ‘A Time to Rise’
By Renee Macalino Rutledge From our first wave of immigrants, the manongs of the 1920s and ’30s who risked their jobs and safety fighting exploitative labor conditions on West Coast farms, Filipinos have been politically active in the U.S. Yet the dominant image of the passively assimilated Filipino prevails. “A Time to Rise: Collective Memoirs […]
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Concert producers Robert and Melissa Mendoza and the soundtrack of their lives
By Cristina DC Pastor The couple that headbangs together produces concerts together. Because they can, and because the power of music sends good vibes throughout the 40-year marriage of Brooklyn couple Robert ‘Ogie’ Mendoza and Melissa Rubio Mendoza. From Manila to New York, this couple has bonded through Karaoke singing, watching theater musicals and, of […]