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Film on Typhoon Haiyan recovery: Triumph over trauma
The film ‘Fields of Hope’ will screen on April 23 as part of the Manhattan Film Festival in New York City. It follows three boys, Jarred, Julius, and Kenneth, who endured the worst of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) when it devastated Leyte in 2013. Through their participation in the Mission Tacloban grassroots football (soccer) program, […]
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Geneva: Home of the army knives, sweet chocolates and the World Wide Web
By Wendell Gaa Switzerland is one of Europe’s most popular destinations because of its mountain hiking and skiing resorts, lovely scenic nature parks, fancy watch-making shops, colorful Swiss army knives, and of course, sweet tasty chocolates! I do love each and every one of these things, but the most indelible impression I’ve had of Switzerland […]
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Cesar Conda’s winding journey from intern to leading GOP policy wonk
By Cristina DC Pastor In college and already a proud Republican, Cesar Conda had the ‘privilege’ of being the motorcade driver to then President Ronald Reagan during the G-8 Economic Summit in Williamsburg. More than three decades later and now a well-regarded political conservative, he would recount this episode of how he came up close […]
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Mia Alvar wins $25K PEN/Bingham Prize for debut story collection ‘In the Country’
PEN America named Mia Alvar winner of the 2016 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction on April 11 at a ceremony in New York for her short story collection “In the Country.” Published by Alfred A. Knopf, “In the Country” comprises nine stories giving voice to the Filipino diaspora as its characters reflect on […]
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A strange encounter at a fundraising gala
By Cristina DC Pastor My Friend, who shall not be named because of an ongoing federal investigation, called early morning today. He does not usually call at 7 a.m. unless it’s an urgent matter or I phone him and I am expecting a callback. Friend met a couple of a people at the recent Pan […]
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In this ‘Pamanhikan,’ parents of the groom and groom meet, come to blows
By Lindy Rosales ‘Pamanhikan’ is a Filipino tradition where the parents of the bride and the groom meet for the first time. In this unique ritual involving families getting to know the other, there is a lot that can happen, which may prevent the wedding from taking place. Such is the plotline of comic satire […]
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26K FilAms across Northeast start voting for Philippine president
By Cristina DC Pastor On a chilly April 9 Saturday facing the threat of a snow, the 26,000 Filipino Americans eligible to vote in the U.S. Northeast for the next Philippine president began casting their ballots. The number represents 0.04 percent of the 54.4 million Filipinos voting in this election. In a five-way race, the […]
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What happens to nurses who go into retirement?
By Cristina DC Pastor For the tens of thousands of Filipino American nurses in the New York metropolitan area, options for the proverbial ‘long vacations’ are varied. Some go into business by opening their own staffing agencies or nursing homes for the elderly. Some pursue hobbies they have put in the back burner, such as […]
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NextDayBetter’s pneumonia awareness: Helping the homeland one meaningful action at a time
Pneumonia is the leading cause of childhood death in the Philippines. There is a vaccine to prevent the disease, but at about $45 per child, the price charged to the government by pharmaceutical company Pfizer, this price may become unsustainable in the future. NextDayBetter, a storytelling platform for diaspora communities, has joined Doctors Without Borders’s […]