Jordin Isip

Jordin Isip is a Filipino American artist in Brooklyn, New York. His work has appeared on various magazines distributed internationally. He is a third-generation artist, whose grandfather, Manuel Rey Isip, painted the iconic Fighting Filipinos painting from the World War II era.

FANHS Symposium

The Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) Hampton Roads Chapter is working on a series of workshops from July 1, 2009, through July 5, 2009, in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Potential workshops are:

• Filipino Americans in the Media
• Young, Hip and Outta Control: Filipino American Teenage Issues
• Teaching the Filipino American Experience
• NGO (Non-Governmental Organizations) Help in the Philippines
• Old School, New School, Home School: Bridging the Generational Gap
• AM (American Made) vs PM (Philippine Made): Bridging the Cultural Gap
• History of the Philippines 101
• No History, No Self Know History, Know Self: Filipino American History 101
• Wat Up: The Written and Spoken Word Through Brown Perspectives
• Visiting Filipino American Communities: Why Are We Here?
• Hip Hop Dance Crews
• Halo-halo: Inter-racial Relationships
• Mano Po: Assuming the Helm From Our Elders in our Local and National Community

It looks as though there will be a lot of thought provoking discussions.

Tina Macuha, Advocate

Tina Macuha, a television anchor of Filipino descent in Sacramento, California, is using her personal story to advocate for lifesaving procedures. After a routine mammogram, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Fortunately, she caught it early as a stage zero breast cancer, where the cancer cells have not spread. Without treatment, it can become invasive breast cancer.

Her mother's side of the family has a history of breast cancer, and she chose the most aggressive treatment against the diagnosis--a bilateral mastectomy. All the while, she is using her own story as an example of the importance of being diligent in taking care of one's self.

Dennis Apuan, Colorado House of Representatives

Dennis Apuan went from sweeping floors to becoming a member of the Colorado State House of Representatives.

He is serving his first term in the seat vacated by Stella Garza-Hicks, who retired.

Young Filipino People's Far West Convention

It is an event where Filipino Americans get together and talk about building political empowerment. The organize politically, and talk about awakening and acting, uniting, fighting for rights, building a progressive and active Filipino community, and responding to issues of the day. It is also an event that took place each year from 1971 to 1982. The Young Filipino People's Far West Convention was ahead of its time, and set an example of how young Filipinos could organize and plan large campaigns and movements.

Pnoy Apparel

Pnoy Apparel is a Filipino American owned and themed clothing company that has not forgotten that Filipino Americans are very connected to the Philippines.

The owner, Ellezar "Zar" Javier, runs the "Shirt the Kids Charity Campaign," where the goal is to give 10,000 poor and needy children in the Philippines a t-shirt. Charitable individuals only need to donate $5 to purchase a shirt for a child, donate to the Philippine Children's Fund, and donate to the American Kids Cancer Fund.

The company, its owner, and its employees are examples of using profitable business models for nonprofit causes.

Samahang Pilipino

Samahang Pilipino, the Filipino American club at California State University, Sacramento, is having its Pilipino Culture Night (PCN) on April 24 and 25, 2009, at the 24th Street Theatre in Downtown Sacramento.

The organization is building momentum, as they host their third PCN in a row after several years of not having one. Founded in 1980, the organization seeks to educate its members and provide opportunities to learn about the Pilipino culture.

Siquijor Protective Association, Inc.

On July 11, 2009, the Siquijor Protective Association, Inc. is having a seventieth anniversary celebration in Stockton at the Waterfront Hotel.

The Association began informally in 1936 responding to the financial needs of a fellow Siquijorian who had died from tuberculosis. He lacked the resources to facilitate the burial and the Siquijorians came together to contribute towards it.

Because of the need for assistance by individuals and families in catastrophic circumstances, a group of Siquijorians began to meet in Isleton to organize a club for the purpose of building a financial base to carry out the assistance program. The program focused on helping its members financially in time of illness or death.

They raised money through annual dues, product sales, membership fines, and fundraisers. The organization became incorporated on July 20, 1939 as a non-profit organization and became known as the "Siquijor Protective Association, Inc."

At its peak, there were about 400 members. After more than seventy years, it has 92 current members. Of the original members, Fortunata S. Olaivar (Viernes) remains a member.

The association's existence is a testament to the strong past and current leadership. It is a valuable and historical source of pride for Filipinos.

Common Destiny by Juanita Tamayo Lott

Juanita Tamayo Lott will be participating in a book reading in Vallejo, California, on Sunday, April 26, 2009. She will be reading from her latest publication, Common Destiny.

Lott was one of the first Filipina American writers emerging from the San Francisco Kearny Street Workshop in the 1970s with creative writings featured in Liwanag, Flips: A Filipino-American Anthology, and The American Poetry Review. For almost four decades, she has authored or edited works for scholarly, professional, and lay audiences. They range widely from Diwang Pilipino, U.C, Davis, 1971 through Comparable Worth, Pay Equity, and the National Institutes of Health, 1986, Discovering Motherhood, Mothers at Home, 1991, Asian American Almanac Gale Research, Inc. 1995, Filipino Americans: Transformation and Identity, Sage Publications, 1997, and the Proceedings of the Joint Statistical Meetings, 1999- 2007.

Her previous books include Asian Americans: From Racial Category to Multiple Identities (Alta Mira Press, 1998) and Spotlight on Heterogeneity: The Federal Standards for Racial and Ethnic Classification (National Academy Press, 1996). Juanita is founding co-chair of the first Pilipino Studies Program in the United States in 1969 at San Francisco State University, an officer of the American Statistical Association, and served on the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program's Filipino American Centennial Commemoration Committee. A daughter of the pioneer generation of Filipino Americans, she graduated from San Francisco State University, cum laude, and the University of Chicago.

Gerry Penalosa

While many wait in anticipation of the next Manny Pacquiao fight, Filipino boxing fans have a more immediate match up to enjoy, when Geronimo Penalosa faces Juan Manuel Lopez on Saturday, April 25, 2009.

Penalosa has an impressive record at 54-6-2 and 36 KOs.

Congratulations to Mga Kapatid Modern

Congratulations to Mga Kapatid Modern, who won first place in Dance Dance Revolution at the University of California, Davis' annual Picnic Day.

After several years of competing, and some controversial finishes, they demonstrated that there are no such things as losers, only people that give up too soon.

UFC 98 - Filipino-American Phillipe Nover is Ready for Battle

Phillipe Nover (born February 3, 1984), is an Filipino-American mixed martial artist. He is best known for his participation on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir.

Phillipe was born and raised in Brooklyn. Nover is of Filipino, and Polish descent. He trained with Sifu Ralph Mitchell at Universal Defense Systems which covers Filipino Arnis , Muay Thai, Kick Boxing, Kung-Fu, Judo, Jeet Kun Do and Savate.

Phillipe Nover is set to fight Kyle Bradley at UFC 98

Read more at FightHype....

Filipino American Symphony Orchestra (FASO) Gala - May 16, 2009

Asian Journal Publications, Inc. and Asian Journal Foundation cordially invite your to participate at the debut Gala Night of the Filipino-American Symphony Orchestra (FASO) on May 16, 2009 at the Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills.

The Filipino-American Symphony Orchestra (FASO) is the first Filipino symphony orchestra outside of the Philippines. FASO was established in Los Angeles County, which has the biggest concentration of Filipinos outside the Philippines. With FASO’s existence in Los Angeles, mainstream America - and the world - will recognize, appreciate and enjoy symphony music played by excellent Filipino musicians based in Southern California. This is just part of our story.

Read more at PinoyWired....

Reuniting War Heroes

The Philippine Scouts were organized military units in the Philippines when it was a colony of the United State of America and up until the independence of the Philippines in 1946. Many fought in World War II as well as took part in post-war activities.

The Philippine Scouts Heritage Society is having a reunion on May 8 and 9, 2009, in Long Beach, California. There will be memorabilia on display at the reunion, which is open to anyone to attend. There will also be a dinner on day two of the event, where General Antonio Taguba will address the dinner guests.

There will be a lot of history to be witnessed there.

The School on Gender Rights for Filipina Domestic Workers

In New York, the Gabriella Network (GABNet) of the Mariposa Alliance and the Damayan Migrant Rights for Filipino Domestic Workers. It is the first of its kind in the nation and aims to teach Filipino women how to deal wth situations pertaining to gender rights and safety, gender violence, and gender discrimination.

A prominent advocate for women's rights, the GABNet has long been ahead of the curve when it comes to innovative forms of activism. Their worldwide network is extensive, multigenerational, and multicultural.

A New Book on Filipino America

There is a new book by Benito M. Vergara, Jr. entitled Pinoy Capital: The Filipino Nation in Daly City. It is often joked that the fog in Daly City is actually the steam from all the rice cookers. Less known is that 35% of the population of Daly City is of Philippine descent. The book analyzes the development of Daly City, placing it within the context of Filipino American history. It looks like it will be a good read.

What do you think of Filipino-American Cassie's new shaved head look?

There are not many women who can shave their head and still manage to look amazing. Last Friday, while taking a late lunch, I strolled past the Bad Boy offices with friend and highly esteemed celebrity photographer, Johnny Nunez. He quickly spotted his friend Cassie, who was sporting her freshly buzzed locks just hours after she made the radical decision to rock the half-bald, half-long look. Johnny quickly greeted Cassie with a warm hug and asked her about the new style. She glowed and smiled confidently, flipping around what was left of her hair — and the girl looked gorgeous.

Read more at MTV News....

Filipino-American, Randy Gener, wins Nathan Award for dramatic criticism

Nathan Award

New York City writer and critic Randy Gener, senior editor of American Theatre, is the winner of the 2007-08 George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism, which is administered annually by Cornell's Department of English.

The award was endowed by Nathan (1882-1958), the great theater critic who graduated in 1904 from Cornell, where he was an editor of both The Cornell Daily Sun and humor magazine the Cornell Widow. Nathan went on to write for and co-edit (with H.L. Mencken) two influential magazines, The Smart Set and American Mercury, and to publish 34 books on the theater.

Nathan's will mandated that the award winner for "the best piece of drama criticism during the theatrical year" be chosen by a majority vote of the heads of the English departments of Cornell, Princeton and Yale universities.

Gener is also an editor, playwright, visual artist and author of "Love Seats for Virginia Woolf" and "What Remains of a Rembrandt Torn Into Four Pieces," among other plays; scholarly essays, articles and reviews in the Village Voice, The New York Times, New York Magazine, Time Out New York, the International Herald Tribune and other publications. He also was a founding critic of the New York Theatre Wire, an online magazine.

Read more here....

New York Daily News article....

As a paperboy selling the People's Weekly on the streets of Manila, Randy Gener read the story of his father, a Filipino businessman living in the U.S. getting shot to death in Los Angeles.

"I had a habit of reading the paper before I went off," he recalls.

This particular morning he'd decided to read it after his rounds. But, sitting on a bus, glancing over one man's shoulder, Gener saw the tragic headline and recognized his own last name.

Read more here....

US Bank to look into investing in the Fil-Am community

LOS ANGELES—US Bank representatives took a tour of Historic Filipinotown and met with Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) offi cials to discuss ways the Fortune 500 company can help the Filipino American community.

Richard K. Davis, Current Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO of US Bank and a few of his partners, visited and spent a few hours at SIPA headquarters on Thursday, April 2, to see "up close the great things that are happening here in Historic Filipinotown."

Read more at Asian Journal....

New York Pinay’s 2nd Annual All-Filipina Showcase Celebrates Women’s Resilience and Art - April 25th, 2009

New York, NY–After a momentous GABRIELA-USA assembly in Los Angeles on March 29, 2009, Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment (FiRE) will continue celebrating the advances of Filipino women’s struggle with their own brand of New York flare. Highlighting significant Filipino women in Filipino and Filipino American history and current day heroines and artists in FilAm circles, the second annual Diwang Pinay focuses on how Filipino women are emanating a light that inspires the nation at home and abroad.

FiRE’s annual Diwang Pinay is themed “Light of the Nation” or “Ilaw Ng Bayan” to redefine a traditional saying that women are the “light of the home” or “ilaw ng tahanan.” Expanding the cultural stereotype of the domestic Filipino women, the night will celebrate 25 years of Filipino women’s resistance, led by GABRIELA in the Philippines, a national alliance of women’s organizations. The alliance not only holds a distinct role in pushing forward the women’s rights in the Philippines, historically and currently, but has also given women hope and bravery to hold on to in the face of violence, poverty, state repression and migrant issues.

Read more here....

Filipina Going for Gold

Issai Villafuerte is a potential winter Olympian for the Philippines, having won several ice skating competitions in various parts of the world. She already has made a mark, becoming the first Philippine-born individual to qualify to compete in United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) contests.

As individuals of Philippine descent continue to apply themselves, they will continue to display their competitive spirit and represent for all Filipinos worldwide.

Brandon Vera Confident He's Back In Business

A win over Mike Patt (12-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) might not earn anyone an immediate title shot, but for the UFC's Brandon Vera (10-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC), his UFC 96 TKO-win over the Ohio native was a step in the right direction.

How Will UFC 96 Win Put Vera Back On The Map

"I found myself," the former heavyweight contender recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio "It wasn't just at 205 (pounds). I found myself as a fighter, as well. "I'm happy with myself and where my mind's at and where we're at as far as my coaching goes and where we're at in my career. I'm super excited to be where I'm at today." "I would say it's a combination of everything (that influenced me to change)," Vera said. "The losses didn't really add up. You're supposed to learn something from your losses, or gain something from it. I didn't. I always had something to fall back on, whether it was a broken hand, or the referee stopped the fight early, or I cut weight too hard. On His Loss To The Dean Of Mean Keith Jardine

"The Jardine fight was the fight that I actually started thinking about what I'm doing as a fighter. I started training different for Jardine, but maybe it was a little bit too little, too late. I might have started training like a real fighter maybe too late to be able to beat Jardine at that point in my career."

Read more here at fightscoops.com

Filipina Real World Cast Member Melissa Howard Gives Birth to a Baby Girl

It’s a little princess for Melissa Howard Beck! The former Real World: New Orleans castmember and her husband, Glassjaw guitarist Justin Beck welcomed their first child Friday, March 20th at 10:18 p.m. Daughter Shalom Mazie Beck weighed in at 6 lbs., 3 oz and measured 18 inches long.

Read more here at Celebrity-babies.com

Filipino-American vets celebrate victory 63 years in the making

Most of the old, frail soldiers at San Jose's Eastside Community Center have been Americans for almost two decades now.

But on Saturday, they finally were treated like it.

About 200 Filipino-American veterans and family members from throughout the Bay Area gathered at the center to celebrate a milestone victory: passage of hard-fought legislation that honors the veterans for their World War II service and gives them a lump-sum payment of $15,000 to help rectify a congressional snub that stripped away their veterans' benefits 63 years ago.

The checks started going out Thursday. And many Filipino vets thought they'd never live to see the day.

Read more here at Mercury News....

Filipino World War II Veteran Update

Reports are that the first lump sum stimulus payments to Filipino World War II veterans were issued on Thursday.

At the same time, reports continue to heard of veteranos that pass away before filling out the one page application for the stimulus payment.

They have shown dignity, courage, and patience over the years. This payment is one step closer to full equity.

Filipino-American Singer-Songwriter, Conchita Campos, Is A Rising Star

Filipino-American singer-songwriter, Conchita Campos is making her mark on the pop/folk scene.

Campos studied music at San Francisco State University, and turned to a career in radio on the West Coast. A job opportunity brought her to New York where she soon found a welcome audience in the indie folk scene. Becoming a well-known voice at venues like the modern Crash Mansion and the well-established Knitting Factory and The Bitter End where Bob Dylan was a regular, Campos has audiences hanging on every note. This young talent not only is writing sensitive material and delivering it with silken skill, but she is presenting a new face to the mainstream singer/songwriter scene, one that reflects the Asian-American experience and her own personal struggle to find her way within two cultures.

Read more here at Bier Magazine....

Various Pilipino American Origins

As time goes on, the Filipino American community continues to grow with more and more generations. In Louisiana, Filipino American families are more than twelve generations deep. The community also grows each year with newly immigrated families as well. The result is a varied and diverse Filipino American community.

I attended the viewing of a 97-year old Filipino American who had immigrated to Hawaii from Ilocos in 1993. In 1999, he had moved to the mainland in California. Earlier this month, a prominent Pinay also passed away at the age of 74, who had served two terms as National President of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS). She was born in Stockton, CA, and her career took her to Sacramento, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; and Falls Church, VA, before she retired in Atwater, CA. There are also many from the manong generation, who immigrated as farm laborers during the first part of the twentieth century.

These are just a few of the many topics and individuals that can be studied, researched, remembered, and memorialized. Through that work, Filipino American history will forever be preserved.

Signs of the Past

Many remnants of the Manila galleon trade exist today. For example, there exists in the province of Guadalajara a school named, "Escuela de las Islas de Filipinas" (School of the Philippine Islands). Guadalajara is very near to the Pacific coast, and was a stop for the many galleons that traveled between the Philippines and Spain.

The Filipinos that landed in Morro Bay in 1587 and lived in St. Malo, Louisiana also share these common roots. They are all vestiges of the Manila galleon trade era.

Pacquiao v. Hatton

People are getting more and more excited as the May 2, 2009, date approaches. On that day, Manny Pacquiao will box Ricky Hatton. Pacquiao, a hero among Filipinos worldwide, has stated that this will be one of his last three matches. Upon retiring, Pacquiao indicated that he will focus more on promoting.

Raising Funds for FANHS

Through the generous support of donors and volunteers—including full time volunteers and cofounders, Drs. Dorothy and Fred Cordova, Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) Executive Director and Archivist--the FANHS has gathered and promoted Filipino American history through publications, public programs, films, and artistic expressions for more than 25 years.

The FANHS hopes that it is included in people's charitable giving so that the organization can continue to promote Filipino American history for “the next generations.” When communities throughout the nation celebrate Filipino American History Month each October, it is because the FANHS launched the very first Filipino American History Month events in 1988, with a resolution that has been officially adopted in the state of Virginia and elsewhere. Just this year, events held by some of the 28 FANHS Chapters included a documentary film premiere in Sonoma (CA), book launches with jazz in Berkeley (CA), a film festival in Vallejo (CA), a collaborative museum exhibit in New Mexico, a symposium in Portland (OR), and a nationally recognized speaker’s banquet in Philadelphia (PA).

FANHS Hampton Roads (VA) published two oral history collections through a unique intergenerational collaboration between high school student groups, professional organizations, community elders, professors, and local leaders.

Filmmakers , writers, scholars, artists, students, elders have used the thousands of artifacts--print materials, oral histories, photographs, and other memorabilia--housed in the FANHS National Archives in Seattle, Washington. Many have seen the FANHS photos and documents on book covers, in multimedia curricula, in films, in museums, and in the Smithsonian’s current traveling exhibit, “Singgalot: The Ties that Bind.”

Generations have also been inspired by the 12 biennial national FANHS conferences that draw hundreds of participants to memorable panels, films, authors’ receptions, awards banquets, and historic tours. At the 2008 conference, the Governor of Alaska proclaimed “Thelma Buchholdt Day” in honor of three-term FANHS President and state legislator from Anchorage, Alaska.

FANHS is one of the few national conferences that subsidizes the registration of youth participants. Many “former FANHS youth” are now in leadership positions where they are making a positive impact in academic institutions, in their own businesses and communities, and as young political leaders.

Now, more than ever before, the FANHS needs support to continue its work. Preserve and promote Filipino American history by making a financial contribution to the FANHS. Gifts of any size are appreciated. While these are challenging financial times, gifts of membership to the FANHS are always welcome as meaningful gifts for any occassion. Donations to the FANHS also express a special way of honoring the memory of loved ones.

Donations to FANHS will support:

• The FANHS National Archives in Seattle, perhaps the most extensive collection of oral histories, photographs, and historical documents on Filipino Americans in the United States, needs to preserve its growing archival collection (where the need for an additional room has increased rent). We hope to eventually digitize materials to include collections
  in the “satellite archives” of its 28 FANHS Chapters.
• Youth interns and researchers are needed to work with the FANHS National Office.
• The FANHS Filipino American National Museum, a Filipino American cultural and youth center in the historic “Little Manila” neighborhood of Stockton (CA), which is a collaborative project of Stockton’s Little Manila Foundation and the FANHS.

Political Empowerment

Political empowerment is still a treasure that eludes the Filipino American community here in America. While Filipino Americans make up the second largest Asian American community in the United States, the community still has yet to harvest the power that comes from its numbers. It is important to recognize the fact that everyone has a responsibility towards bringing political empowerment to fruition, especially for future generatsion. It is a common hope to have our voices heard all over America.

Filipino Labor Militancy

From the 1920s to the 1970s, Filipinos were militant farm labor union members and organizers. Filipino workers in the United States and Hawaii began striking for better wages and working conditions as early as 1919, when Pablo Manlapit launched the first Filipino sugar workers strike in Hawaii. Filipinos organized their own all Filipino unions, joined with Mexicans or other Asian Americans, or joined left-leaning unions affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) or American Federaltion of Labor (AF of L). In Alaska and up and down the west coast, from the 1920s to the 1960s, Filipinos withheld work, went on strike at critical times during the harvest, and formed the backbone of organized labor in the agricultural fields. This long legacy of militancy can be seen in the 1965 Delano grape strike, led by Larry Dulay Itliong of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), which formed, along with the National Farm Workers Assocation (NFWA), the United Farm Workers Union (UFW).

Filipino World War II Veteran Update

Filipinas Magazine just released another issue and in it is a nice write up of the status of Filipino World War II veterans after the most recent legislation. It is an honest and even-handed description of the situation, addressing the positives and negatives of the stimulus bill provisions. The article can be accessed on the Filipinas Magazine Web page at http://www.filipinasmag.com/?p=1211.

Stone by Whilce Portacio

In music, the Beatles are known as being part of the British invasion. In comics, the equivalent is the Philippine invasion, where many Philippine artists came to work in the comic book industry. One of those individuals is Whilce Portacio.

Whilce not only brought his artistic talent with him. He also brought his culture with him, and implemented it into his comics. One in particular is Stone, which had characters that are part of the Philippine supernatural spectrum, like the dwende, the capre, and many other beings.

HIV/AIDS Incidence in the Filipino American Community

Filipino Americans have the highest rate of HIV/AIDS among Asian Pacific Islander Americans. A fact sheet from the Center for Disease Control reveals that in a study of Filipino American methamphetamine users in the San Francisco Bay Area, methamphetamine use was strongly associated with behavioral risk factors for HIV infection, including infrequent condom use, commercial sex activity, and low rates of HIV testing.

This is certainly an issue that needs to be discussed more to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Filipinos in Louisiana

Dr. Laura Renee Westbrook wrote an article about Filipino culture and customs in Louisiana, was posted online yesterday, March 31, 2009, by the Louisiana Division of the Arts.

It can be read on the Louisiana Regional Folklife Program Web site at http://www.folklife.uno.edu/. The article is listed in the menu on the left side of the page.

The writer was invited to special events and places of worship, to homes and businesses, participated in interviews, corresponded with people by telephone and e-mail, shared photographs and stories, and was steered in the right direction, even having their spelling corrected, by Filipinos in Louisiana.

The Filipino community in Louisiana, like in all cites and states, is such a special asset. The people who love, and are part of these Flipino communities, have come to mean a great deal to many individuals as well.