Issue 48, February 2022
‘The Hiker’ monument Should FilAms call for its removal?
Kinding Sindaw Telling the stories of Mindanao for 30 years
Jillian Robredo Not too thrilled about Malacanang
Letter from the Editor
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Playing God
e would very much prefer that in principle, a hospital or a doctor should not play God. But there is this man from Boston, whose resistance to vaccination left the hospital with no choice. Reports ABC News: “DJ Ferguson, who was diagnosed with arrhythmia four years ago, was admitted to Brigham and Women's Hospital after suffering heart failure this winter, his parents told ABC News. But after reviewing Ferguson's medical history, which showed he had not received a coronavirus shot, hospital staff told Ferguson that his vaccination status made him ineligible for a new heart, according to his parents. “National transplant associations recommend the COVID-19 vaccines before transplants, as do many medical centers, because after a transplant, the patient’s immune system can become compromised from medications necessary to keep the organ and the patient alive, making the individual at risk for severe illness and death if they become infected with COVID-19.” Ferguson, a father of two, was at the front of the line for a heart transplant. A donor has been identified and an organ was readily available. At the last minute, he was denied a
In many hospitals across the country, who lives and who dies is a judgment they make every day.
Contributing Writers Tricia J. Capistrano Ludy AstraquilloOngkeko Joel David Mariel Padilla Wendell Gaa Lindy Rosales Maricar CP Hampton Vicky Potenciano-Vitug Angelito Cabigao Danielle Vania Bonus
Founding Editor Cristina DC Pastor Address P.O. Box 8071 New York, NY 10116
Contact Thefilamny@gmail.com
The FilAm is a publication of A&V Editorial THE FILAM
functioning heart because has not been vaccinated against COVID-19. The vaccine is the best chance for a successful operation and also the patient's survival after transplantation, declared the hospital in defense of its decision. We do not know what the hospital did after stating that, but we are assuming the man’s slot has been awarded to another transplant patient who is considered fully vaccinated. Ferguson’s family is standing by their son who “doesn’t believe” in vaccines. “It’s kind of against his basic principles.” It’s a principle articulated by the family calmly and without resorting to histrionics like comparing the vaccine mandate to the Holocaust in Anne Frank’s time. It is also, from our reading of the news reports, a decision the family is coming to terms with, blaming no one – not the hospital who took “great care” of DJ nor their “principled” son. It is a decision where the hospital is forced to choose who lives and who dies. It may seem heartless to some, but the rationing of scarce body organs is a predicament medical facilities across the country find themselves in, a situation complicated by the pandemic. In this case it is hard to see how the hospital can decide otherwise.
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Harvard monument glorifies U.S. colonial rule over the PHL
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or many people, what puts Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the map is that it is the city where Harvard and MIT are located. As a Filipino student at Harvard, I can also say that there are not many Filipinos in this part of the country. As I walk from my dorm in the Radcliffe Quadrangle to my classes at Harvard Yard, I always pass by The Hiker, an 18-feet and 5-inch tall monument of a soldier. With his right foot forward, the soldier is on a pedestal armed with a rifle that he clutches with both of his hands. On the front of his pedestal is a bronze marker in the shape of a cross. The top of the cross says “CUBA,” then “PORTO-RICO” on the right, “U.S.A.” on the bottom, and “PHILIPPINE ISLANDS” on the left. At the center of the cross is a circle with the inscription “SPANISH WAR VETERANS 18981902” written on its circumference border. On the circle itself is a sculpted relief depicting a barefooted woman wearing a flowing, sleeveless dress. A stereotyped portrayal of an indigenous woman, she is kneeling with her arms outstretched pointing downwards in either direction. Her back faces us, the viewer. Her hands are fully open. Flanking the woman on both her sides are two armed, white men clad in military uniform standing straight. Their heads are in profile view facing each other. The man on the left wears an infantry uniform with both of his hands clutched to his rifle. The man on the right wears a navy uniform with both of his hands clutched to his sabre. Behind the men is the sea where a battleship sails not too far from the shore where the figures are situated. I was not expecting to find this Filipino American history connection in Cambridge of all places. The history that this monument depicts is a deliberate “Miseducation of the Filipino,” to quote the title of an essay by Filipino historian and thinker
By Jeromel Dela Rosa Lara
‘The Hiker’ monument. Should the FilAm community call for its removal? Renato Constantino. Given the lack of education on the extent of America’s 48-year colonial rule over the Philippines, this is to be expected. Because of this, I did a research project for class about Cambridge’s Hiker monument where I created a comprehensive, multimedia article. There are no Confederate monuments in Cambridge, but there is this monument that Harvard students would pass by that explicitly glorifies American (white) supremacy over the Philippines. The bronze marker. Similar to the well-visited John Harvard Statue, I show how The Hiker is also a “statue of three lies.” ument -– and much of the American From the plaque, it would appear that education curriculum today -– does not the Spanish War was fought from 1898 mention is the Philippine-American to 1902 even though the Spanish-Amer- War from 1898 to 1902. ican War was only fought between April The depiction of the indigenous to December 1898. What this monwoman kneeling to the white armed THE FILAM
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men disregards the fact that there was active resistance against American white supremacy. America had a hard time subjugating the Philippines, which they bought for 20 million dollars from Spain at the end of the Spanish War in 1898. They had to send in their best generals who were the “Indian fighters” who “brought to the Archipelago the genocidal mentality that accompanied their warfare against Native Americans in the American West” (Walden Bello 2020). And they fought for four grueling years. The back of The Hiker monument has another plaque that states that this was erected to celebrate the people who fought in this war that “defended the nation’s honor.” In my full research article, I include well documented accounts of American soldiers burning down villages, calling Filipinos “n…. rs” and “g..ks,” and military top brass justifying all of this because the Filipinos “are not civilized.” About 200,000 Filipino civilians died from the ensuing four years of targeted violence. In fact, Black soldiers who were deployed in the Philippines condemned these state-sanctioned acts of violence against the Filipinos and some even defected to fight with the Filipinos. This Filipino American history remains unspoken in the mainstream even with the national consciousness we are seeing today on systemic racism and Asian American experience. Yet it is not like American colonial rule over the Philippines was insignificant. The Hiker is “one of the most replicated statues in the country.” There are 52 of them all over America. The one in Cambridge was erected on October 12, 1947 where two to three thousand people attended its unveiling ceremony. I have sent my project to officials in the City of Cambridge and the Cambridge Historical Commission. By not being proactive in educating people on this particular history, it would be a monumental miseducation, which is not new in America.
Turning 30: What it means to Kinding Sindaw
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his year marks the 30th is one of the most important chants year of the inimitable that everyone had to memorize. and only indigenous Potri remembers these stories vivdance and cultural group idly as they became her refuge when called Kinding Sindaw, she was subjected to a situation that which means “Dance of Light”, from calls for resilience. Once, when she was the ancient Austronesian language: a young political prisoner during the Kinding meaning graceful movement martial law regime of then-president and Sindaw which means Light. To Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines, shed light to the unwritten stories she had undergone physical torture. of Mindanao through this graceful Potri in New York City became a movement. pillar of the folk arts. She is a New But its history began more than 50 York Foundation Arts Folk Arts years ago with the founder Princess Fellow, a master teaching artist at Potri Ranka Manis. Her father Datu Lotus Music & Dance, a playwright, Mamintal Dirampaten -Sultan a Gaus an award-winning poet, a practitioner sa Borocot, Maguing is the descendent of the Theatre of the Oppressed. She of the late Shiek Mohammed Nor has conceptualized, choreographed, Dirampaten, the Sultan of the 15th and directed 12 off-Broadway producPagawidan of Pat Pangempong ko tions, most recently Kinding Sindaw’s Ranao. Pagawidan means pillar and 2020 Pananadem (Remembering). In Pangempong is a Meranao word which addition to her artistic life, she is a means entire sultanate. board-certified registered nurse and Founder and Artistic Director Potri Ranka Potri, a tradition-bearer of the nurse educator. Committed to the Manis. Maranao people (People of the Lake), health and well-being of her commuis the founder and artistic and execnity, she created the healing modality, in the Philippines, I have to work to utive director of Kinding Sindaw. support a village,” she has said in Resilient Ancestral Nurturing KnowlBorn and raised in Mindanao, she is an artist statement. “When I was in edge and Arts. modern-day princess. As an artist-acNYC, I started to fear that my chil“I came to NY as a Registered tivist, she campaigns tirelessly for dren will not grow up remembering Nurse for my 3rd league of being the self-determination of the Muslim the noble ancestral heritage that a globe itinerant health worker. Moro and Lumad communities of the Because of economics and politics they have. I was then obliged to start Philippines. Potri grew up in a part of Lanao del Sur in the 1960s where there was no television, moviehouse or radio. When she saw the signs of dusk, with bats flying east and the leaves of the acacia tree and makahiya start to fold, it was a time for her to go home for maghrib prayers. It was followed by a gathering at the yard to listen to the chants of the epics and legends like that of Derangen and Rajah Mangandiri with other children around a bonfire that has kamote and cassava being broiled under those embers. These would become the snacks of the young audience. These epics were chanted during celebrations like weddings or enthronements, or the visit of important people or sultans from other places. Salsilah – the chanting of genealogy Kinding Sindaw is a community resource to help educate the FilAm community on the that goes back to the seventh generaunique history of the Philippines. tion -THE FILAM
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teaching the culture and tradition that I grew up with, which were passed to me orally by my elders. That is when Kinding Sindaw was founded.” “I brought my ancestral wardrobe and kulintang gong set with me (to NYC). This was my security armor, as if my amulet, for me to remember my ancestral culture chants, epics, ritual dances, court ceremonies and the stories that are told, not written. Especially the massacres, land grabbings and all the miseries that made me leave my birth land to find ‘greener pasture’ and refuge, due to war on the indigenous tribes and the stealing of our ancestral lands. With all I carry inside, I turn my dances, music, art and stories into choreographies and theater productions that will illuminate the unjust stories that are systematically erased.” Kinding Sindaw is a cultural performance troupe that has been in existence for 30 years, and is currently a resident artist group at La Mama ETC. The mission is to educate and enlighten communities about the complex history and cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines. Since its founding, Kinding Sindaw has actively performed and provided cultural workshops and educational programs at numerous venues throughout the city. These include presentation of full-scale dance dramas in venues such as La Mama ETC, Lincoln Center, The Puffin Room, Riverside Church, Mulberry Street Theater, Wave Hill and NYC colleges. In addition to these large-scale productions, Kinding Sindaw provides music, dance and storytelling workshops at colleges and libraries, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Asia Society, Museum of Natural History and other NYC institutions. “We serve as a community resource to help educate children, youth and adults to explore the unique history and traditions of the Philippines,” she said, and as Potri likes to remind young FilAms: “If you remember the resilience of your ancestors, you can never be conquered.”
Caregiver with COVID is fired; employer ordered to pay his wages By Cristina DC Pastor
For four years, Antonio has been taking care of an elderly man with a longterm illness in New York.
this report. He said further that his employer specifically forbade him from taking a sick leave to see a doctor, because, “who’s going to take care of the patient?” “I needed sick leave after catching n April of 2020 -- around the COVID,” he said in an email interview time COVID-19 was rapidly with The FilAm. spreading in NYC – the BataAntonio is now working for another an-born caregiver caught family. As a caregiver with seven years’ the virus. When he asked his experience, his job involves taking care employer for a sick leave to see a of mainly elderly and sick patients who doctor, she did not give her permisneed assistance in their homes. “I help sion. She wanted Antonio to continue with many kinds of assistance such as looking after her husband even though taking the patient to the doctor, adminhis caregiver had tested positive for the istering medication, preparing meals, infection. and any other tasks that meet the needs A year later in July 2021, Antonio of the patients.” A private caregiver in was fired. The reason? He took a day NYC earns anywhere from $14 to $20off to see a doctor for regular checkup. ‘Many domestic workers fear retaliation and often are hesitant to file a plus per hour depending on experience The couple and he were supposed to and assigned duties, such as lifting complaint’-- DCWP. Getty Images. travel to Florida, so he thought he heavy or severely impaired patients. might as well check in with a doctor about his The NYC Paid Sick Leave went into effect on post-COVID health because they would be gone for April 2014, said Agnant, making it the largest a while. He was, after all, almost 57 years old. jurisdiction in the country to enact a sick leave Antonio was fired for using his sick leave. In law. Under the law, according to the DCWP webretaliation for filing a complaint with New York site, covered employees have the right to use safe City’s Department of Consumer and Worker and sick leave for: Protection (DCWP), his employer subjected him to • health, including the care and treatment of harassing phone calls. themselves or a family member; and On January 12, DCWP Commissioner Peter • safety, including to seek assistance or take Hatch announced settlement agreements for two other safety measures if the employee or a family domestic workers to resolve violations of the NYC member may be the victim of any act or threat Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law: One is Antonio and of domestic violence, unwanted sexual contact, the other is a domestic worker of Caribbean origin. stalking, or human trafficking. Antonio’s employer was required to pay $18,000 in “Many paid care workers, especially domestic restitution and $1,000 in civil penalties to recover workers fear retaliation and often are hesitant to legal and other costs. file a complaint,” said Agnant. “But our laws have “Since 2017, DCWP has received more than 128 strong retaliation provisions, and immigration complaints about paid safe and sick leave from paid status does not matter so we encourage them to care workers, which includes nannies, caregivers, come to us, which they can do anonymously if they house cleaners and home health aides,” Carmel wish.” She said DCWP continues to educate workers—as Agnant, press secretary at DCWP, said in a statewell as employers and the public—about workplace ment to The FilAm. “DCWP has recovered nearly protections. “We partner with workers and worker $3 million in restitution for paid care workers.” organizations to ensure that workers know their DCWP’s Hatch noted how some domestic workers rights and can advocate for them.” are unappreciated for providing support to families. Antonio has since recovered and is now fully “Sadly, these invaluable workers often face vaccinated. He said his experience has helped him exploitative working conditions and abuses. We are you hire a paid care worker, you are an employer in to understand that domestic workers have rights committed to ensuring these workers are treated the eyes of the law.” under the law. fairly and will hold anyone—including private “It was difficult being abruptly and wrongfully fired for trying to seek help from a doctor,” said “I am proud to have been able to receive justice,” households— accountable if they violate their Antonio whose surname is being withheld for he said. “The settlement has been helpful.” workers’ rights. I want to remind New Yorkers, if
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Biden names 3 FilAms to Asian advisory board President Biden has appointed 23 commissioners to the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Three of them are Filipinos. They are Amefil Agbayani, Teresita Batayola, and Luisa Blue.
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n a statement, the White House said the commission will advise the President on ways the public, private, and non-profit sectors can work together to advance equity and opportunity for the AANHPI community. It is also charged with advising on policies to address antiAsian xenophobia and violence, ways to build capacity through federal grantmaking and policies to address the barriers faced by AANHPI women, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities. “The commission members reflect the rich diversity of AANHPI communities across the United States,” says the statement. Amefil ‘Amy’ Agbayani is an emeritus assistant vice-chancellor for student diversity and equity at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. Agbayani was born in the Philippines and received her
Agbayani
education from the University of the Philippines, East West Center and the University of Hawai’i. She is a former chair of the Hawai’i Civil Rights Commission, conducts research on AANHPI in higher education, member of the Patsy T. Mink PAC and The Legal Clinic for immigrant justice Hawai’i. For more than 40 years, she served as the founder and director of the Office of Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. (Photo: PBS Hawaii) Teresita Batayola is the president and CEO of International Community Health Services (ICHS), Washington state’s largest Asian and Pacific Islander non-profit health center providing comprehensive Batayola health care to all those in need, especially immigrants and refugees. community and international Batayola is an advocate for development, and strategic health care access, equity, and planning. addressing social determinants of Luisa Blue retired from the health. ICHS has received awards Service Employees International for its high quality of care, and Union (SEIU) in August 2020 Batayola has been recognized in after serving as an executive vicethe Puget Sound Business Journal’s president for four years, one of the Award for Outstanding Business highest ranking AAPI officials & Philanthropic Contributions, in the labor movement. During Woman of Courage Undaunted her term she was responsible for from the University of Washington the SEIU Asian Pacific Islanders Women’s Center, and the Filipino Civic Engagement and Leadership Women’s Network’s Most Influential program, a member of the Racial Filipino Woman in the World. Justice Task Force, chair of the She holds a Bachelor of Arts Environmental and Climate Justice in Public Affairs from Seattle Committee, and chair of the Ethical University and a Master of Culture Committee. She served Science in Urban Administration on the SEIU Executive Board from Bucknell University in prior to her election as executive Pennsylvania. Prior to entering the vice-president. Luisa continues health care field, she worked and to be active in the community practiced in economic development, and serves on the Asian Health
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Blue Services Community Board, a trustee on Alameda County Health Systems Board of Trustees, and vice-president of the AAPI Victory Alliance Board. In 1977 when she worked as a registered nurse at San Francisco General Hospital, Blue became a member of Local 400. In 1982, she was elected president of the Local after she helped organize a successful campaign that improved collective bargaining rights for county registered nurses. She was an outspoken advocate for compassionate care of patients with AIDS/HIV in the early 1980s, successfully campaigning for AIDS/ HIV education for healthcare workers. Blue is the proud grandmother of seven grandchildren. The other members of the commission are: Ajay Bhutoria, Kimberly Chang, Emily Chen, Kerry Doi, Grace Huang, Victoria Huynh, Mia Ives-Rublee, Kamal Kalsi, Michelle Kauhane, Daniel Dae Kim, Kevin Kim, Sarah Min, Simon Pang, Ai-jen Poo, Naheed Qureshi, Raynald Samoa, Sonal Shah, Smita Shah, Robert Underwood, KaYing Yang.
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Alfa Garcia: Indie musician in every way Born in Mindanao, raised in New York and New Jersey, and now living in sunny SoCal, singersongwriter Alfa Garcia has been creating music inspired by the constant shifts in her life.
and Pagadian cities. After her mother came to the U.S. to accept a nursing job, Alfa and her elder sister joined her years later. Their grandparents came with them on a separate pastor’s visa. They eventually built a church in Queens in 1992, she shared, recalling the family’s immigration journey. “The church they started is called the Filipino-American United Church of Christ, and it still stands to this day in Richmond Hill.” In the U.S., she spent most of her childhood in Bergenfield, N.J. where she attended public schools from elementary through high school. She got her B.A. in international relations and immigration studies from NYU's Gallatin School. In 2011, she moved to L.A. “so I could focus on my music more and get a fresh start.” Also, her mother had moved to SoCal after she remarried. Alfa recently completed her teacher certificate program at California State University and is now working as an elementary school educator and a music teacher.
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he has released three albums and several singles of original songs, some of which have been featured on film and television, including “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” and the Christian film, “Old Fashioned.” Two milestones in 2020 have seen her through what would be a difficult time for many. One, she was featured in the nationally-aired PBS program “Songs at the Center” by Eric Gnezda. Two, her Bisaya-English song, “Alindahaw” was a Grand Prize winner at the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the World Category. JLSC is an international competition co-founded in 1997 by Yoko Ono. Alfa started as an instrumentalist. She learned piano under Dr. Raul Sunico and studied violin with the Children’s Orchestra Society in New York City. She was drawn to the personal expression in songwriting and taught herself guitar at the age of 13, eventually moving to downtown New York to cut her teeth in the live music scene in the mid-2000s. She discovered singing mostly by accident, she told The FilAm when interviewed by email. When she was around 12 or 13, she realized she would need to sing in order for someone to perform her songs. “I was always terribly self-conscious about my voice. It's raspy and I was never properly trained on it.” For about three years, she took voice lessons with Don Lawrence, Lady Gaga's vocal coach. “This helped me get a better command of my voice to the point where I could finally consider myself a ‘singer,’” she said. Born in Ozamis City in Misamis Occidental province on Mindanao, Alfa spent part of her childhood in Dipolog
||John Lennon contest She taught herself guitar at the age of 13.
Alfa’s an instrumentalist who plays the violin, the ukulele, the guitar and the kazoo, a small pipe-like instrument that produces a buzzing sound when someone hums into it. THE FILAM
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“I had known about the contest for many years and had entered it in the past. I just decided to enter ‘Alindahaw’ because I'd never been able to enter a non-English song before. No one ever goes into these things thinking, ‘I'm definitely going to win.’ You just enter and hope for the best,” she said. She didn't think too much about it until she got the email saying that “Alindahaw,” a bouncy number about family love, had won the World Category. “That was definitely a nice validation, although it hasn't changed the way I feel about the song. It was one of my favorites before the contest and it still is now.” Alfa is an indie artist in every way, producing music and performing while on tours. She has done live solo shows in the U.S. and the Philippines where she got to accompany herself on guitar, ukulele, or keyboard. She has a YouTube channel -- youtube.com/alfamusic -- where one can listen to music in her deep, raspy voice and maybe swing along. – Cristina DC Pastor
Buddhakai: The rapper as spiritual warrior Hip hop is not exactly the route to model minority status for some Asian Americans but it gave direction to the once-turbulent life of Bernard Quisumbing. Born in Cebu, and raised in New Jersey since, he is now a recognized name in Denver’s hip hop music scene as the rap artist and songwriter “Buddhakai.” Now 43, a family man, a graphic artist and a rapper with multiple albums and a style garnering him comparisons to fan favorite Wu-Tang Clan, there was a time Bernard did not see a light at the end of his dismal future. He dropped out of school and for almost 15 years surrendered to coke and meth. “I was trying to find myself and fit in,” he said in an interview with The FilAm. A website confession told it like it is: “With money raised from selling cocaine, weed, and ecstasy, I built an awesome recording studio in my mom's basement. This became everybody's go-to spot. By the year of 2000, we independently launched an album called, ‘Trinity, the Second Coming,’ which gave us a ton of street cred and heavy local celeb status…Unfortunately, the drug dealing and the music business opened the doors to the dark side for me. I became a cocaine / meth addict and ended up using my music as a draw for fans and artists to fund my addiction instead of focusing on all of the amazing opportunities that came my way.” Substance abuse became a disruption to the family and his parents’ costume jewelry business based out of New York. Remarkably, he did not come up on the radar of law enforcement. His family moved to Denver where a cousin, a pastor, offered to help Bernard with his recovery. Through Faith, his family’s “devotion and encouragement,” and hip hop, he found his salvation. He applied his talents to mentor others and became a music teacher to inner-city youth. Rap was his weapon of choice, he said. It’s how he shares his trials and what it means to overcome and be a survivor. His music is meant to tell his life story. In the single “It Was You,” Buddhakai raps as if in prayer: Dying inside counting all the tears that I’ve cried People getting locked up and people have died I can’t explain my deranged way of feeling inside But if I can bet they’re feeling like I am, I’m all in Eighty percent of drug addicts wanna quit The other twenty of em just haven’t seen it yet But for the few that have, this stands true Dear Lord, Only You can do it!
Denver-based creative Bernard Quisumbing came to the United States from Cebu at age 5. coming out mid-January. His musical talent earned him a spot on the album D&D Project II, a compilation of various artists which features hip hop heavyweights like Big Daddy Kane and DJ Premier, among many others. “It all came from my love for poetry,” he recalled on how he knew he had a talent for rap. “I was a hopeless romantic growing up, didn't know how to talk to girls. I used to speak through my poetry... I had always wanted to be able to sing, so I can turn my poetry into love songs like Boyz II Men and Shai (did), but I can't sing to save His music tells how he overcame his addiction through Faith, family and rap. myself. That's when I realized I can turn them into raps!” His singles “Are You Even There? and “Take Me He just celebrated 15 years of sobriety and continues Back,” reflect his artistry. The single “Are You Even to write about overcoming struggles, choosing love over There?” begs the perpetual question is there a everything, and finding God. It’s what his rap name is god out there? He mixes messages of hope and rap about: Buddhakai, a “spiritual warrior.” intellectualism while still managing to satisfy the “What I've come to realize is that it's sort of streets’ hunger for lyricism. guided my life by its meaning,” he said. – Cristina He has a new album coming out in March 2022, DC Pastor entitled "Name Change," and a single "Take Off," Follow Buddhakai on Instagram @buddhakai13 THE FILAM
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COVER STORY
Jillian Robredo: ‘They’re underestimating my mom’
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By Cristina DC Pastor
or the first time, Jillian Therese Robredo is voting in a presidential election in May, and in a weird sort of way, her mother is on the ballot! “Exciting!” she giggled like a little kid. Now 21, and a senior completing her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Mathematics from New York University, Jillian is the youngest of three daughters of Vice President Leni Robredo and her late husband Jesse Robredo (former Naga mayor, Interior secretary). She has been largely distanced from the campaign last year because of school and a part-time job. But while in the U.S., she was able to join a “Pink Caravan for Leni” in Central Park. She also went to L.A. and met up with organizers there. “At least we have a U.S. presence,” she said in all good humor. On her last winter break, Jillian came home. She has been helping her two sisters Aika and Tricia who have been with the campaign from the beginning. Eldest Aika is the all-arounder having been by Robredo’s side almost full-time. Middle daughter Tricia is a doctor so she is the contact person for all COVID-related concerns, which is now becoming an important role. Jillian does weekly Zoom podcasts and steps in wherever she is needed. “Hopefully they’ll utilize me more,” she said. Jillian was 12 when her father died in a plane crash. He was traveling to Naga City where he usually spent his weekends. His body washed up the shores of Masbate. Jillian spoke softly recalling that fateful day in August 2012: “Growing up you would think you would lose a parent when you’re in your 40s. Hindi siya parang slow burn na he died because of an illness. It’s all of a sudden. Super gulat talaga ako.” The family, already a close bunch when Jesse was around, became even more inseparable. Robredo and Jillian who were living in Naga at the time decided to join Aika and Tricia who were studying in Manila. Leni took on both roles as mother and father and the girls saw how she juggled her parental obligations with devotion and grit. Growing up, Jillian and her sisters made a conscious effort not to give their mom any troubles. They all turned out to be mature, caring and responsible daughters. “My life revolved around my family,” she said. “If Mama was coming home early for dinner, sige maaga na rin ako uuwi. We made an effort to be with one
The Robredo women. Leni with daughters Tricia, Aika and Jillian. Already close as a family but father’s passing in 2012 made them even closer. Facebook photos
With mom, Vice President Leni Robredo. ‘The fake news and the bashing? It’s very tiring na.’ Facebook photo THE FILAM
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another. Kaming apat lang nakakaintindi how heavy it was when my dad passed away.” More of Jillian’s thoughts in the interview below: The FilAm: How do you think your life will change when you live in Malacanang? Jillian Robredo: Hopefully no big changes kung manalo siya. From Congress to VP transition, na-expose talaga kami magkakapatid to a more public life. Ngayong VP si Mama hindi kami nakikialam kung anong ginagawa niya. My Ate Aika is executive director of an NGO, Tricia is a doctor, I go to school. Hiwalay talaga yung work and family. Even after the elections we will be back to our regular personal spaces. TF: How’s the campaign? Any threats? I cannot imagine a campaign where you cannot shake hands with people. JR: COVID is a threat. Especially my mom, she goes out a lot, she likes ground level work. Buti na lang there’s Zoom. The second threat is fake news and misinformation. Magkasama yung dalawang iyon. Kami magkakapatid looking at our mom, and all the fake news and the bashers, it’s very tiring na.
TF: What are the polls saying? JR: I think the polls have been very interesting so far. Now, she is No. 2. For us it’s a good sign. Goes to show there’s a lot of work that needs to be done. TF: Do people in NYU know whose daughter you are? JR: The Filipinos know but my American classmates are not really aware of what’s happening in Philippine politics except probably my closest friends. TF: Your mother made a statement there should only be one member of the family in government at a given time. Why did she say that? JR: My mom is against political dynasties. When she was in Congress she authored a bill banning political dynasties. Before, it was just my dad. He was mayor and she was a practicing lawyer. When he passed away my mom ran for Congress. Now that she’s in politics ayaw niya na parang family business yung politics. But it’s not a family business because you don’t really earn a lot from it. TF: The idea of living in Malacanang. Is that exciting to you? JR: I never really thought about it. We try our best not to let politics affect our personal life. The way I look at it, it’s not like ‘ah we’re moving to a big house.’ It’s more like, ‘it’s part of Mama’s job.’ TF: There is this perception that your mom,
being a woman, may not be able to hold herself against the macho politicians and police and military generals. Are people underestimating her? JR: Yeah (laughs). In 5-and-a-half years of being VP napakita niya that she’s very capable. Ang dami niya nagawa. If she wins marami pa siya magagawa. In the 2016 campaign, she said ‘the last man standing is a woman.’ Hopefully in May 2022 ganun pa rin mangyari. TH: Did you ever have a conversation where she told you and your sisters how to behave when she becomes president? JR: No, never niya kami sinabihan na dapat ganito ka in front of the public or what to say in interviews. Ewan ko kung ganun lang ka grabe yung confidence sa amin ni Mama. Growing up, sanay na kami that our parents were into politics or in the public scene. Parang na-instill na sa amin how to be a good person growing up. TF: Do you think your mom will be a good president or a great president? JR: I think she’s the most capable, maybe the only capable candidate. Hindi naman nami tinatago na ayaw namin siya mag-run before she announced. Isa ako. ‘Mama done na; wag na 2022. Magpahinga ka na lang. Maba-bash ka na naman when you run again. You can help in other ways.’
The baby is now a college senior at NYU. With late dad Jesse. Instagram photo
No candidate reflects much of the values I believe in. Looking at what she has done in the last 5-anda-half years nakita ko siya magtrabaho sa office or even at home. After dinner magbabasa pa rin siya ng papeles sumasagot pa rin siya ng mga kailangan sagutin. We all deserve a great president.
Writer Grace Talusan named one of 16 Brother Thomas fellows The Boston Foundation and Pucker Gallery has announced that 16 Bostonarea artists have been named the 2021 class of Brother Thomas Fellows, bringing the total number of recipients to 72 and the total funds distributed to $1,080,000 since the program’s inception in 2009.
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rtists in this class, the largest in the history of the Fellowship program, will each receive a $15,000 unrestricted grant from the Brother Thomas Fund at the Boston Foundation. Fellowships— given without stipulation as to how the funds are spent—match the needs of artists as well as the wishes of the donor who wanted to help other artists as his friends had helped him. One of the fellows is Grace Talusan, a Philippine-born writer, teacher and author of the memoir The Body Papers. The book won the Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing, the Massachusetts Book Awards in nonfiction, and was a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection. Her short story, “The Book of Life and Death,” was translated into several languages, including Filipino, for the Boston Book Festival’s One City One Story pro-
Talusan’s memoir ‘The Body Papers’ won numerous recognitions including the Massachusetts Book Awards in nonfiction. Photo: Alonso Nichols THE FILAM
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gram. Currently, she is the Fannie Hurst Writer-in-Residence at Brandeis University, where she teaches creative writing and is working on her first novel. Talusan was raised in New England. She graduated from Tufts University and the MFA Program in Writing at UC Irvine. She is the recipient of a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship to the Philippines and an Artist Fellowship Award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The Brother Thomas Fund was established at the Boston Foundation to honor the legacy of Brother Thomas Bezanson, a Benedictine monk and world-renowned ceramic artist, who wanted the sale of his work to support artists at critical junctures in their careers. The 2021 Fellows are notable for their talent and diversity – 15 of the 16 fellows identify as people of color. They comprise a mix of literary, performance, and craft artistic media, and range widely in age and career arc. “Every two years, the Boston Foundation has the opportunity to recognize the creative works of a diverse range of artists with the Brother Thomas Fellowships. This group is no exception – a talented cohort of artists whose interests range from the written, spoken, and musical to mixed media and ceramics,” said Lee Pelton, president and CEO of the Boston Foundation. “But while their chosen media varies widely, they share a passion for their work and a track record of creative success worthy of the Brother Thomas Fellowship.”
Calendar ||February 10 to May 8
Carlos Villa: Worlds in Collision The Newark Museum of Art/Special Exhibition Gallery 49 Washington Street, Newark, N.J.
of Events
||February 19
||March 26
Boston Pinoys March Madness Starland Sports Complex 637 Washington Street Hanover, MA Contact Ronnie Ocampo: 516-582-7309
Mismatched Valentine's Date with Jo Awayan & Angel Bonilla Sheraton LaGuardia Hotel East 135-20 39th Avenue Queens NYC
||April 15
Jo Koy: Funny is Funny World Tour UBS Arena Belmont Park, Long Island N.Y.
||April 20
Lea Salonga: Dream Again Tour Town Hall 123 West 43rd NYC
||February 20 ||February 11
Jo Koy: Funny is Funny World Tour Prudential Center Newark, N.J.
Tawanan na Tayo (TNT) sa America with Rey Kilay Live at D’Haven 58-02 37th Avenue Woodside, NYC
||February 23 to March 27
Chinese Lady: A Ma-Yi production directed by Ralph Pena The Public Theatre 425 Lafayette Street, NYC
||February 27
Mad About Love with Morissette and Sam Concepcion Melrose Ballroom, NYC
||July 2 to 3
RJP Sports Festival Sportika New Jersey 150 Woodward Road Manalapan Township, N.J.
||July 7 to 10
43rd PNAA National Convention New York Marriott Marquis For details contact: Philippine Nurses Association of America
||February 22, 5 PM
||August 11 to 13
A Post-Valentine Hour with Cecile Licad in New York Via Zoom
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FANHS National Conference Seattle University
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‘Bari-Bari:’ Respect for the environment through dance, wearable art
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here’s a gargantuan amount of plastic that ends up in the seas and it is causing harm to birds, marine animals and fish…” “Bari-bari” (“We mean no harm”) is a dance series co-produced and co-directed by La Union-based artists Ea Torrado and Chino Neri on rethinking plastics and advocating for environmental sustainability and regeneration. The dancers donned wearable plastic art pieces made by Filipino contemporary artist Leeroy New. Torrado and New were 2017 recipients of fellowship grants from the Asian Cultural Council headquartered in New York City. Torrado is a dance artist and founder and artistic director of Daloy Dance Company. Her choreographic pieces reflect on body politics, social issues, cultural identity, Filipina feminism and spirituality. New is an artist-designer whose practice intersects with film, theater, product design, and fashion. Neri is a director, producer, and describes himself as a “purpose-driven creative entrepreneur.” Bari-Bari was the Philippine entry to the Environmental Dances platform (https://www. environmental-dance.com/) by Company Christoph
Winkler in December 2021. It is a collection of seven short pieces interpreting folk and ethnic dances in the Ilocos Region. These dances arose from the artists’ immersion with the land and waters of La Union, a province in the Ilocos region. Winkler is a Germany-based choreographer who seeks to explore how dance culture could contribute to achieve a less destructive way of dealing with nature and the ecosystem. Tapping various artists around the world, the Environmental Dance platform features dance pieces from Europe, Japan, Indonesia, Colombia, USA, Uganda, Burkina Faso, among other countries. The word “bari-bari” comes from the local expression uttered out of reverence and respect when passing through a place believed to be inhabited by mythological spirits. Torrado said, "Nature worship and eco-conscious reverence to nature, and environmental awareness are deeply part of our Filipino cultural heritage. Through this multimedia collaboration between film, visual arts and dance, we are helping to collaboratively channel or steer the attempts of local communities at environmental stewardship towards awareness, and through creative production."
Leeroy New's wearable art made of discarded plastic water bottles. Added Neri, “The saying ‘bari-bari’ represents the Philippines’ pre-colonial attitude of respect for nature.” The wearable art pieces in plastic were collected by La Union-based Dalumpinas Oeste Eco Rangers (DOERS) during their daily coastal cleanups. To learn more about Bari-Bari, click here: https:// www.daloydancecompany.com/
The fight for energy independence and Malampaya
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hilippines’ Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, businessman Dennis Uy, Chevron Philippines officials, and several others were charged before the Ombudsman last October 2021 for alleged violation of RA 3019 or the “Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.” According to the 48-page complaint, Chevron sold its share and rights in the Malampaya Project to Uy’s Udenna Corporation and its subsidiary, UC Malampaya in 2019. The complainants alleged that Cusi and other respondents conspired to give unwarranted benefits and advantage to Uy’s Udenna Corporation and UC Malampaya, “thereby causing undue injury to the Government,” leading to over P21 to 42 billion in total losses to the Philippine government. The questionable transaction, the complainants said, also violates Malampaya’s service contract executed pursuant to PD No. 87 which requires prior approval of the Department of Energy in the transfer and assignment of contractual rights and obligations. The complainants -- identified as Philippine-based geologist Balgamel de Belen Domingo, lawyer Rodel Rodis, and CEO Loida Nicolas Lewis – assert they are “concerned citizens who advocate for the Filipino people’s right to energy security, which includes the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project,
Malampaya platform. a major energy source which delivers a fifth of the country’s rapidly growing electricity needs.” In May 2021, Udenna Corp. also sought ownership of Shell Philippines Exploration’s (SPEX) 45 percent stake in the Malampaya gas field, making Udenna set to take over 90 percent ownership of Malampaya, while the state-owned PNOC has 10 percent. On October 25, 2021, Philippine Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said there was enough evidence to show that the sale of Chevron's 45 percent stake in the THE FILAM
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Malampaya gas project to the Udenna group was “defective and invalid.” The next day, October 26, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) issued a statement saying it was not notified of the deal between Udenna Corp. and Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX), which holds a 45 percent stake in the Malampaya deepwater gas-to-power project. In a Senate energy committee hearing held last December 15, 2021, PNOC-EC announced that it was withholding its consent on the sale of Shell’s share in the Malampaya gas project to Uy’s Udenna Corp. According to Shell Philippines Exploration (SPEX) legal counsel Atty. Kiril Caral, Shell could not proceed with the sale of its 45 percent operating stake without the consent of PNOC-EC. “We are grateful to PNOC-EC officials who withdrew their consent to the deal, in order to protect the interests of the Filipino People first,” says Rodel Rodis, a Filipino American lawyer residing in California. “The assets in Malampaya belong to Filipinos, and we hope our leaders will do their best to protect it for future generations,” he added. Rodis has called the transaction the “most incredible crony deal.” Uy is a known supporter and campaign contributor of President Duterte.
New York approves law breaking down Asian American demographic data Governor Kathy Hochul has signed a package of legislation aimed at addressing discrimination and racial injustice, according to a statement.
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t least two measures are of particular interest to the Asian American community: Legislation S.2987A/A.5679 which declares racism a public health crisis; and Legislation S.6639-A/A.6896-A which requires the collection of certain demographic data by certain state agencies, boards, departments, and commissions. "For far too long, communities of color in New York have been held back by systemic racism and inequitable treatment," Hochul said in a statement. "I am proud to sign legislation that addresses this crisis head-on, addressing racism, expanding equity and improving access for all." Senator Brad Hoylman stressed the importance of collecting demographic data on hate crimes. He said the measure will help authorities “understand the root causes of these pernicious acts and take steps to head them off, which is especially true since there's recently been a dramatic increase in hate crimes in New York," This view was echoed by Assemblymember Karines Reyes. He said, “The Hate Crimes Analysis and Review Act ensures that we collect accurate demographic data of perpetrators and victims to better protect the communities being targeted. Without data, the plight of many will remain invisible.” Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou thanked Hochul for signing this legislation she sponsored so that New York's Asian Americans are fully seen and represented in the state's decision making.
Governor Kathy Hochul: ‘Racism is a public health crisis.’
New York’s cultural groups, such as Filipinos, Chinese and Indians, have their own specific concerns that are not adequately addressed when examining large data. She said, “We cannot begin to address the challenges in our AAPI communities until we recognize the diversity within the AAPI commuTHE FILAM
nity itself. While some AAPI communities share traditions or connections based on history or location, the majority of Asian Americans and | 14
Pacific Islanders are members of distinct ethnic groups who have their own culture, languages, and needs. This law will allow our state to collect crucial data and information for each community, in order to help address the unique problems each community faces and better serve our AAPI New Yorkers statewide." Senator Julia Salazar also commented, "As New York continues to face the devastation caused by the COVID-19 public health crisis, it is essential that the needs of all of our communities be understood and met. For the diverse Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities in New York this cannot be accomplished without detailed data that recognizes and respects the experiences of the numerous groups that make up the AAPI communities. This law takes a bold step towards making that possible.” Asian American organizations have long advocated for “data disaggregation” because the community represents diverse groups with specific concerns that need to be addressed.
Hard to tell who is good, evil in ‘Cobra Kai’ By Wendell Gaa
The 1980s for me was a golden decade for film, including the “Karate Kid” series, a classic story of the underdog overcoming all odds, starring Ralph Macchio as the titular character Daniel LaRusso and the late Pat Morita as his beloved mentor the wise Mr. Miyagi.
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or me, these films which I have seen several times have been at heart all about finding inner strength and confidence to standing up to bullying in all forms, be it physical, emotional or otherwise. It is a sad reality that bullying still persists today in many societies all over the world. Having been a bullied kid myself well up to high school age, I can definitely relate to what Daniel LaRusso went through, especially in the first two movies. The prospects of how anybody can become a bully are addressed front and center in Netflix’s popular “Cobra Kai,” the sequel series to the “Karate Kid” films. This series takes place over 30 years after the original films, where Daniel’s lifelong mortal enemy Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), has now outgrown his “thuggish” ways and leads his own offensive-style karate dojo. His karate practice rivals that of Daniel’s, who is now passing on the disciplined form of self-defense taught to him by Mr. Miyagi to his own students, including his daughter Samantha. Although they still differ on many levels, both in terms of their karate teaching methods and their personal attitudes towards one another, Johnny and Daniel are both forced to try to work together and combine their respective dojos in order to counter the threat posed by John Kreese, the original sensei of the Cobra Kai dojo who is now training his own lethal force of karate students. A deal is struck between the three senseis that whoever wins the All Valley karate tournament in Southern California will retain operations of their dojos. Now in its fourth season, “Cobra Kai” is in many respects a fan service tribute to everything so iconic and appealing about the original movies. While many of the characters from past installments of the franchise are appropriately enough given their reference and tribute here, what I find so impressive is how the pop cultural legacy of the “Karate Kid” is passed on so effortlessly and believably to the series’ young cast members comprised of some of today’s talented Generation Z actors, including Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Peyton List, and Jacob Bertrand.
It is too early for me to judge if this is the best season of the series yet, but I can definitely say that the evolution of the young characters competing in the rival dojos is so skillfully displayed here that whichever dojo or karate team you may be personally rooting for, you cannot help but care about which direction everyone is headed here, for good or for ill. Arguably speaking, Peyton List and Jacob Bertrand get the best development this season, and I’m excited to see how they further grow. As for returning characters from the original films, I do hope to see real-life karate expert and fellow FilAm Darryl Vidal return in a future season. Vidal, who played a semi-finalist in the grand karate tournament towards the end of the first “Karate Kid,” was one of only three actual black belt martial artists in that movie. In 2012, he would go on to be promoted to the rank of GrandMaster Ju Dan (10th) degree! Whereas in the original “Karate Kid” films there was a fine distinction between the heroes and vil-
FilAm actor Darryl Vidal is a black belter in real life. lains, in “Cobra Kai” there is so much more nuance to the progression of the characters. Labeling one as “good” or “evil” becomes much more complex, something which has got me so hooked on the series.
‘Karate Kid’ 30 years after. Ralph Macchio (left) and William Zabka return to play their adult selves Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, respectively. THE FILAM
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Kumares, FYLPRO raise funds for Typhoon Odette relief From Paranaque City, Philippines to Boston, Massachusetts, Kumares Cynthia Julaton and Gretheline Bolandrina have started a fundraising effort for relief operations to support families and communities in Bohol, Surigao, Dinagat Islands, and other provinces affected by Typhoon Odette.
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umare” is a Filipino term of endearment for a woman. It’s what one would call the godmother of his/her child. The term had Spanish origins, comadre, literally co-mother. Gretheline is the godmother of Cynthia’s daughter, Cristhia Unika. The Kumares are inviting their families, friends, colleagues, and communities to support relief efforts by donating money or dropping off in-kind donations (for locals in Paranaque City). Donations may be sent through the GCash app in the Philippines through Cynthia. In Boston, Gretheline can facilitate donations through Zelle, Venmo, and Cash app. The Kumares created a public Facebook group. The Kumares have teamed up with the Jacky Robert Foundation, Inc., (Belmont, MA) and the Simon Says Pizza Chef (Southbridge, MA) for fundraising, and also partnering with various charitable organizations such as the Holy Infant Jesus Parish (Paranaque City) and through the office of Fenina (Nenen) Rodriguez, former CFO in PNOC EDC to support ongoing relief operations. “I thank the Almighty for generous people, God bless them more,” said Cynthia. “Great help being sent through Fenina Rodriguez allows for distribution of tarpaulins (bought in bulk, cut into 10-meter pieces given to families) where 70 percent of homes do not have roofs. There are even evacuation centers that do not have roofs.” Gretheline added, “I appreciate that help is brought faster with donations sent through Holy Infant Jesus Parish and Rodriguez because they have boots on the ground to mobilize. Although Filipinos are known to be resilient, I am sure the community support, local and international will be a powerful force to rise over this natural disaster.”
||FYLPRO raises $8,000 Another initiative has raised $8,000 for Typhoon Odette Relief. It was led by the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO).
FYLPRO President Leezel Tanglao and Treasurer Fred Docdocil.
Kumares Cynthia Julaton (left) and Gretheline Bolandrina. Typhoon Odette also known as Typhoon Rai internationally, slammed into the country on Dec. 16-17, 2021, leaving more than 300 dead and impacting more than 700,000 people across the Visayas and Mindanao. FYLPRO partnered up with the Ayala Foundation, Inc.'s direct relief efforts on the ground by raising money to help get food and water to the most devastated areas. THE FILAM
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“This devastating typhoon has upended so many lives. We are all connected to someone impacted by Typhoon Odette. So we knew we had to help,” said FYLPRO 2022 President Leezel Tanglao. “We hope that the money raised by our generous donors will help our kababayans rebuild and recover.” In December, FYLPRO launched a crowdfunding campaign which drew donations across FYLPRO’s alumni, members, affiliated networks and the general public. FYLPRO 2021 President Louella Rose Cabalona secured a $2,000 match from Marie Cunning, a 2022 FYLPRO board member over the holidays. "A big thank you to our FYLPRO family, our networks of friends, and our matching donor Ms. Marie Cunning for embodying the true spirit of bayanihan," said Cabalona. "I commend the quick mobilization of our long-term partners Ayala Foundation, Inc in providing food, supplies and water to affected communities in Visayas and Mindanao. Through them, we are able to let our kababayans know that, in these difficult times, they remain in our thoughts and prayers." FYLPRO, a network of next-generation FilAm leaders who connect with the Motherland and foster collaborative relationships in support of the global Filipino community, is a program of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. and the Ayala Foundation, Inc. © The FilAm 2022
Year of the Tiger campaign to support children with cancer
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EMPHIS, Tenn. – Gold House is partnering with several Asian and Pacific Islander-owned brands for its second annual Lunar New Year campaign for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to bring good fortune to St. Jude patient families and raise awareness and support for its lifesaving mission: Finding cures. Saving children. From February 1 through April 30, when shoppers purchase from participating brands, they will have the option to donate to St. Jude during the checkout process. Additionally, a portion of the proceeds from each sale will go toward St. Jude research and treatment of childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Pediatric cancer is a trillion-dollar, multi-year problem, requiring millions of supporters coming together to solve. The public and partnerships like this one make it possible for St. Jude to save children together. “Gold House is proud to once again partner with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to direct the collective power of API-founded businesses in the Gold House community toward supporting and advancing its crucial research and treatment of cancer and other catastrophic children’s diseases,” said Mikkoh Chen, head of Gold House Futures. Last year St. Jude launched its sixyear, $11.5 billion strategic plan – the largest in St. Jude history – to create a brighter future for children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases by delivering on its promise to triple its global investments and help more of the 400,000 children with cancer around the world each year. Thanks to generous supporters, St. Jude has pressed ahead with a vital collaboration with the World Health Organization to increase global access to pediatric cancer medicines, which will allow St. Jude to impact as many as 120,000 young cancer patients in 50 countries by 2027. Participating brands in the Lunar New Year campaign include Covry,
Dagne Dover, Duck Dane Books, Fly By Jing, Glow Recipe, Health-Ade, Neuro Gum, Nona Lim, The Qi, Sanzo, and Tochi Snacks. These companies offer a wide array of products, including food, condiments, beverages, books, eyewear, beauty and handbags. Several of them are members of the Gold House Founder Network, a cross-industry community of promising Asian and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs and business leaders. St. Jude patient families embody the strength and courage of the Tiger. Among the children who are thriving after receiving treatment at St. Jude are Calvin who had an aggressive, non-cancerous brain tumor called craniopharyngioma, Max who had retinoblastoma, a cancer of the eye, and Maelin-Kate who was diagnosed with a rare blood disease called Fanconi anemia. A limited-edition Tiger plush toy named after St. Jude patient Maelin-Kate is available via the St. Jude Gift Shop. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since the hospital opened more than 50 years ago.
St. Jude patient Maelin-Kate. Because of generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org.
Gold House is the leading API changemaker community, fighting together for socioeconomic equity. We transform the public narrative through innovative programs that champion authentic API representation and accelerate API success. To learn more, visit www.goldhouse.org.
ABCs of Cancer wall at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
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COVER STORY
Teaching artist Francis Estrada confronts his Filipino identity
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By Cristina DC Pastor
he last two years when the world broke out in waves of hate and fear have been, to a certain extent, hopeful years for visual artist Francis Estrada. Working from home may have scaled down his in-person classes at the Museum of Modern Art where he works as an arts educator, but it allowed him to do other things. In the last couple of years, he has been immersed in giving lectures, designing a stage play, exhibiting at Princeton, winning a City Artist Corp. grant, being awarded an artist residency at the University of Michigan, organizing pop-ups in his Brooklyn neighborhood where he and a friend serve up Filipino-Haitian food. “My wife and I welcomed our first child this past October. His name is Kannan Francis Viswanathan Estrada,” said Francis, 46, sharing with The FilAm a joyful narrative but coyly burying the lede. That is the kind of person Francis is: The unobtrusive way he moves around the community only calls An interest in Kali as an indigenous style of defense. attention to an artist for whom art is an earnest way to share experiences. At MoMA, he works with NYC’s K-12 student and teacher audiences to view and talk about modern and contemporary art and ideas. "It could be art they made or art made by artists whose works are displayed at the museum, or are part of the museum's collection,” he said. Students have a lot of questions, he said, and they are curious about an artist behind a painting or a sculpture. Once, they heard the story about the crazy guy who cut off his ears, children went into a more dedicated discussion about Vincent van Gogh’s impressionist style. He would also give talks before diverse audiences, including adults with disabilities and cultural institutions.
nous style of defense. He remembered how in the Philippines, Arnis was part of physical education curriculum, but the focus was on the technique and not so much the philosophy behind it. In NYC, he trained under Grandtuhon Leo Gaje and Tuhon Rommel Tortal, a descendant of Ilonggo Grandmaster Conrado Tortal, who developed the Pekiti-Tirsia Kali system in the 1890s. “I got interested in 2005 and did a lot of research. I found out that martial arts movements were used in the ‘comedias’ or the ‘moro-moro’ theater,” he said.
||Coming of age Francis’ family – his father hails from Pangasinan and his mother from Pampanga -- emigrated to the U.S. and began a new life in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, a rural town with a
||Martial arts A different kind of teaching is Francis’ practice of martial arts. Before the pandemic, he would spend weekends at a Brooklyn park where he taught Filipino martial arts Kali using bamboo sticks or just bare hands. “Kali teaching has slowed down a bit, as we have taken precautions (against Omicron),” he said. “We hope to start again soon.” Martial arts is a way for him to learn an indige-
A visit to Museo ni Jose Rizal in Fort Santiago in 2017.
With wife Rashmi. THE FILAM
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population of about 5,000 at the time. “In 1988, we were the only Filipino family that I knew of in Honesdale,” he said in an interview with The FilAm. His face beamed at the recollection. He was 13 and came of age in this lily-white coal mining town. “I was asked questions like, what’s it like wearing clothes? It offended me, but more than that, I was confused,” he said. “I began to ask questions about what does it mean to be Filipino and how do other people view us?” When the Estradas moved to California, he saw an abundance of cultures. More important, he saw Filipinos co-exist with Chinese, Koreans, Indians, and other Asian ethnicities. He discovered an explosion of diversity in Diamond Bar, a city outside of L.A. where the family made their home. His fascination with Philippine history and culture deepened. “I became interested in the influence of religion,” he said. “I questioned this fear of retribution when one violates the teachings of the church. I became interested in the ‘babaylan’ and the concept of idolatry.” As a visual artist – he has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from San Jose State University — his art forms initially revolved around painting, print-making and drawing. His religious images
reflected his ambivalence and conflicted feelings. One of his paintings, “Choice,” shows the devil and the angel looking like they are competing for the soul of a brown Divine Being. “I did visual elements of religious images and reconstructed and deconstructed them,” he said. “I like to look at the positive aspects of religion.” His “creative journey” has paved the way for him to explore different styles and techniques using “historical photographs, mass media, political propaganda, and personal archives (to) influence or inflect social or cultural narratives.” In NYU Prof. Luis Francia’s “Black Henry,” an online dramatization of the clash of cultures when Magellan landed in the Philippines in 1521, Francis was able to blend both passions for martial arts and the mixed media art he creates. He designed stage scenes and costumes and exhibited his masterful Kali in the fight scenes between Magellan and the Filipino natives. (“Black Henry” was one of the programs presented in April 2021 at “Sulo: Philippine Studies Initiative” by NYU’s King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center and the Atlantic Pacific Theater. It was directed by Claro de los Reyes.) “Teaching keeps me centered,” said Francis, for whom education is a process where he leads as much as he learns.
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An early oil painting. ‘I became interested in the influence of religion.’
Issue 48, February 2022
Bernard Quisumbing Hip hop was his salvation
Filipino caregiver
Forced to work while COVID-positive
Francis Estrada
Re-exploring religion and identity