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Trail goes cold in case of missing ‘balikbayan’ boxes and vanishing freight forwarders
By Cristina DC Pastor This is a story familiar to many of us who have experienced shipping ‘balikbayan’ boxes around the holidays with relatives receiving them several months later, or worse, not receiving them at all. The story of Tess Madamba, a caregiver from Queens, is our story. She sent several ‘balikbayan’ boxes to her […]
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$76K judgment for trafficked physical therapist; 3 staffing agencies charged with coercion, fraud
Three staffing companies were hit with a $76,000 judgment in a lawsuit which claimed that they violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act by luring a Filipino man to the United States with false promises of a highly paid full-time job, according to the website Pechman Law Group PLLC. The […]
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‘Halo-halo’ politics: The Democrats’ messy and delicious path to a political revolution
By Aries Dela Cruz My favorite Filipino dessert is ‘halo-halo.’ It has some basic foundational ingredients. Ice, condensed milk, and various kinds of jellies, beans, and fruits. Sometimes it has ice cream and the ice cream flavor changes it, and it never tastes the same each time you try it. Anthony Bourdain said, “It makes […]
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Never too late, baby, to return to Carole King’s music many decades later
By Rene Pastor & Cristina DC Pastor The line snaked around the Stephen Sondheim Theatre consisting mostly of people of a certain age. We saw some young ones, and they were with what looked like their parents, aunts and uncles. But the vast majority of “Beautiful” watchers belonged to a generation which came of age […]
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Low voter turnout a disappointment, reports consulate in N.Y.
By Cristina DC Pastor “Para sa aking mga apo.” (This is for my grandchildren) These words were written on the inside flap of a ballot envelop received by the Philippine Consulate. Although this ballot appears to be filled with “fervor,” Consul General Mario de Leon Jr. expressed disappointment over the low voting turnout in the […]
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In the land of Sopranos, a thousand Sto. Niños find a home
By Cristina DC Pastor From the outside, this modest, cottage-style house in the residential section of Linden, N.J., looks like any family home. This house on East Blancke Street is actually a museum cradling more than a thousand statues and figurines of the Sto. Niño Infant Jesus, giving the visitor an entrancing feeling of being […]
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The People’s Prince
The death of pop artist Prince opened up a flood of memories of coming of age, watching concerts and listening to music that was fearless as it was artful. Grieving FilAms remember the man and what his music meant to them.
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My sister Myrna
By Luis H. Francia In my mind’s eye, I can see my ‘ate,’ or older sister Myrna here, possibly as a ‘babaylan,’ part of a religious community more solidly rooted in folk beliefs than the Catholic Church and more empowering of her as a woman. I remember attending her 25th anniversary celebration as a nun […]
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FilAms hail Hillary victory: ‘She’s always been attentive to our community’
Filipino Americans for Hillary celebrated Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s win in the New York Primary Election on April 19 at the Sheraton Hotel. “Today you proved once again, there’s no place like home,” said the former Secretary of State to the cheering crowd. “The race for the Democratic nomination is in the homestretch and […]