Barack Obama Expresses Appreciation to Filipino American Community

By KRIS DANIELLE SUAREZ
abs-cbnNEWS.com

United States Senator and Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama extended his "warm wishes" to the Filipino nation as the country celebrated its 110th Independence Day, and expressed his appreciation of the Filipino-American community's contribution to American society.

In a statement posted in his official campaign blog Friday (Thursday in the US), the presumptive US Democratic party presidential nominee recognized the "enormous contributions" of generations of Filipino immigrants in building the United States, citing their service in both public and private sectors.

The junior US Senator from Illinois looked back to his childhood in Hawaii, saying that based on his experiences growing up in the state, Filipinos "have had an enormous positive impact on the culture and economy."

"As dedicated military and civil servants, lawyers and bankers, artists, engineers and entrepreneurs, agricultural and industrial laborers, healthcare providers and customer service workers, caretakers for our elderly and youth, Filipino Americans—4 million strong—have enriched our country, embodied our nation's highest ideals, and reflected the very best that the Philippines has to offer," Obama said in the statement.

Read more here ABS-CBNNEWS....

Check out this YouTube video on Barack Obama for Filipino American voters. Nat King Cole sings the Filipino classic "Dahil Sa Iyo."

The Political Glass Ceiling - Christopher Cabaldon

Last Tuesday, June 3, 2008, was a strongly anticipated day for politically active Filipinos. The Honorable Christopher Cabaldon, a gentleman that has been elected to be West Sacramento Mayor five times, ran for the California State Assembly District 8 seat. He also happens to be Filipino American. Historically, there has not been one Filipino American in that high of a political office in California. AsianWeek published an article in April entitled, "Filipino Americans on the Rise in Calif. Politics" at

http://www.asianweek.com/2008/04/21/filipino-americans-on-the-rise-in-calif-politics/.

The article, however, effectively points out that there is a glass ceiling that we have run into when it comes to getting that first Filipino American into office.

Cabaldon is a progressive individual, and a strong candidate. Yet the result at the end of the evening did not change the status quo. What is it going to take so that Filipinos can be politically empowered?

HOT FIL-AM EVENT! - "Kababayan Fest 2008" One of the Largest West Coast Filipinos Event

Kababayan Fest is one of the largest Filipino festivals on the West Coast. It will be held at California’s Great America amusement park in Santa Clara, California within the Bay Area on Saturday, July 5th, 2008. It is an all day event comprising of headliner acts, singers, dancers, cultural exhibits, local organizations, vendors, and Filipino heritage.

Headliners:
Kuh Ledesma
Melissa Reyes
Passion
Sharyn Maceren
Kaba Modern

Autographs:
Laika
Joey B

Featured Artists:
Mango Kingz
Native Elements
Philtered Soul
FBCV Hula Praise
Special Escrima Exhibition by Cabales Escrima Academy

Footage From Last Year's Event

Tickets are $34.99 pre-sale (limited) and can only be purchased online at:

http://www.cagreatamerica.com/kababayan

Read more here at www.kababayanfest.com....

National Spelling Bee Will Have the Largest Filipino-American Youth Representation In History

18 Fil-Am Spellers at Scripps National Spelling Bee

By Gwen de Leon
INQUIRER.net

Washington, DC -The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the United States’ largest and longest-running educational program administered as a non-profit program by The E.W. Scripps Company and 280 sponsors in the U.S., Canada, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, New Zealand, South Korea and Ghana.

Numerous Filipino-American students have competed in previous National Bees, with Joseph Henares of Avon, CT, garnering the highest rank thus far, finishing in the top five of last year’s Bee, co-sharing 3rd place with two other youths.

This year, 18 children of Filipino descent are competing for the title of Spelling Bee Champion, the largest number in recent memory, comprising over 6% of the top 288 spellers from the sponsors’ districts.

Read more here at Inquirer.net....

Filipina-American Victoria Recano - Television Reporter From "The Insider"

Victoria Recaño is an Emmy Award-winning American television personality, best known for being a correspondent on such programs as The Insider and Inside Edition.

Recaño was born in St. Louis, Missouri, one of six children. Her father was Filipino and Spanish having emigrated to the United States to pursue a career in medicine. Her mother was German-Hungarian. She studied dancing and piano, and attended high school at Cor Jesu Academy.

Read more here at her official website www.deltacreations.com/victoria/index.html