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The Promising Pal
By Margie Tayone Bruce Excerpt from author Margie Tayone Bruce’s sixth novel “The Promising Pal,” a romance fiction about teen lovers broken up by distance. Issa Maayo cannot forget her first love, the boy she left behind, the precious innocent moments they shared, and the secrets that led to lies that ultimately led to regrets. […]
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Jose Antonio Vargas gets an O visa: No longer undocumented
By Cristina DC Pastor On December 30, 2024, the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, Mexico issued the famously ‘undocumented’ Jose Antonio Vargas a (d)(3) Waiver O Visa, a purely discretionary visa usually given to individuals “balancing social and humanitarian considerations,” according USCIS.gov website. “My O visa was approved…after 31 years, four months and 28 days of […]
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‘Didi:’ Awkward teen and his obsession with social media
By Wendell Gaa The Millennial Generation is without a doubt the first generation to truly come of age in the social media era. Thus far, no recent movie in my opinion has so perfectly captured this facet of Millennials than the film “Dìdi” which is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime. For those who yearn […]
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Florence Finch, the brave Filipina POW who fought the Japanese
By Marissa Bañez On November 7, 1947, Florence Finch, daughter of an American father and a Filipina mother, was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Truman for saving the lives of countless World War II American prisoners of war of the Japanese in the Philippines: For meritorious service which had aided the United States […]
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Dr. Angie Cruz, the reluctant Grand Marshal
By Cristina DC Pastor This year’s Grand Marshals for the 127th Philippine Independence Day parade on June 1 is the well-liked couple Dr. Emilio Quines and his wife of two years Dr. Angie Cruz. The pair were presented before a Grand Soiree on January 11 to kick off the celebration. The yearly gathering is said […]
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Educator Deirdre Levy announces candidacy for mayor of NYC
By Cristina DC Pastor Deirdre Levy, a K-2 special education teacher, has announced her candidacy for mayor of New York City. This pits her possibly against former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is reportedly mulling a decision to run, and re-electionist Eric Adams in the June 24 Democratic primary. Cuomo resigned in 2021 over sexual misconduct […]
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Wells Fargo’s Jerome Flores: Embracing diversity at work and at home
By Cristina DC Pastor Jerome Flores started working at Wells Fargo Bank as a young teller. That was 18 years ago or shortly after the merger with Wachovia. It’s his “first real job.” Today, he is one of the Filipino Americans holding top positions in the country’s fourth largest bank. He is the Senior Diversity […]
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How hyper-masculinity denied Babaylan women then, Kamala Harris now, their power
By Allen Gaborro There is more than one reason why Kamala Harris was defeated by Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, the most prominent of all being the fact that the Democratic nominee was a woman. But it wasn’t simply because Harris was a woman per se that so many men reverted to their […]
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‘St. Denis Medical’ and the Filipino Mafia in U.S. hospitals
By Cristina DC Pastor “St. Denis Medical” is the latest hospital series to hit primetime television. But instead of being a medical drama like “ER” or “Grey’s Anatomy,” SDM is a sitcom about a small-town Oregon hospital with Filipino nurses among the main characters and the so-called Filipino Mafia as their hospital Superpower. “It’s funny,” […]