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Love that overcomes distance, phobias and a 20-year age gap
Back in March 2018, neither believed they could meet a lifetime partner through a dating app. Roberto Villanueva liked Roman De La Cruz’s sweet and shy disposition and Roman liked Roberto’s candor. Perhaps such traits could be traced to their upbringing: Roberto, 48, was raised in Manila and became an accomplished professional in Manhattan. Roman, […]
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NYC-based charity opens art gallery in Makati
After three years of virtual mentoring and art exhibitions, trustees and volunteers of a New York based nonprofit Eagle Eye Charities Inc. (EEC) opened its first art gallery in Makati City. Eagle Eye Art Gallery is nestled amidst residential units and offices at Valero Plaza, Salcedo Village. It celebrated the Fourth of July commemorating its […]
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FILAMSPEAK: The proposed ‘speaking section’ of the naturalization test: Will it hurt immigrants?
By Cristina DC Pastor Aida Demetrio clutches the small card while waiting to clear immigration at Newark airport. She waives at her husband standing outside. She has been a permanent resident for a decade and a half. She flies back and forth regularly between Manila and New Jersey and is perfectly content just having a […]
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Jollibee workers protest termination allegedly after attempting to demand higher wages
Former Jollibee workers protested at popular Filipino fast food restaurant in the Journal Square location in Jersey City, New Jersey, claiming they have been terminated for organizing “for higher wages and a fairer workplace.” Workers delivered a letter to management demanding reinstatement and backpay. This is the first-ever worker protest in a Jollibee location in […]
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A ‘Star Wars’ tour through Kerry, Ireland
By Wendell Gaa As a lifelong fan of the “Star Wars” franchise, taking a guided tour of the Ring of Kerry region in southwestern Ireland was simply a dream realized. In my view it is the greatest cinematic mythology saga of all time. A tour which would exclusively take me to see the on-location filming sites […]
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Susan Angeles’s exhibit to fund autism arts program
Susan Angeles is a New York-based mixed media artist. Born in Quezon City, her passion for art began at an early age when she would copy some of the paintings in her parents’ art collection. She took private art lessons with celebrated Filipino artist Sofronio Y. Mendoza (SYM) in the 1970s. This influenced her early […]
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A plea for kindness, understanding from mom, teacher of special needs children
By Veana del Carmen Pastor They’re called “special” for a reason, children who are a little bit different, some a little bit slow, others a little bit frisky, still others with exceptional abilities we may never be able to understand. Why are they excellent with numbers, why is their art so beautiful, their music so […]
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NASA Engr. Genevie Velarde Yang: To Mars and beyond
By Vicky Vitug Genevie Velarde Yang remembers growing up in Norwalk, Southern California playing Solitaire and Minesweeper games on a computer with her family. No one would have thought that one day she would become an engineer, or more precisely, a Flight System Engineer who would become pivotal in the successful Perseverance Rover mission to Mars for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). “Back […]
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Anne del Castillo steps down as MOME commissioner, joins DCLA as senior advisor
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on June 29 the appointments of four senior administration officials, including a new role for Filipino American Anne del Castillo as senior advisor at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), the largest local funder of art and culture in America, supporting more than 1,000 nonprofits […]