Issue 55, September 2022 TabuebueFerdinand Jr. Once upon a time the Marcos name Founder Elton Lugay TOFA goes global NaFFAA The FilAmsgatheringbiggestofin3years
T hat is not a knock-down on Fidel V. Ramos. Neither is it fulsome praise. Ramos bent like a reed, adjusting his positions during his lifetime of being an army general-turned-politician. He finally served as president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998.He defected and dumped his cousin, Ferdi nand Marcos Sr., at a critical moment in 1986. Before he did that, he was chief enforcer of martial law. That is historical fact. The reason for doing what he did is less than salutary. He had lost influence to a rival general. The decision to defect had more to do with political survival. Love of freedom and democracy was conveniently part of the package.Evenin his run for the presidency, Ramos leaned heavily on President Corazon Aquino to eke out a two-percentage point victory over Miriam Defensor Santiago. When he assumed the presidency, he again relied heav ily on the tough spadework Aquino took to set up his economic renaissance. The job Aquino did was never recognized or acknowledged by Ramos’ people, downplaying her contribution. On a more up-to-date basis, Ramos was one of the first to endorse Rodrigo Duterte and was even named special envoy to China over the dispute in the West Philippine Sea. His mission to China came to nothing in the face of Beijing’s obduracy, but he never talked about that. When the stench from Duterte’s drug war became too toxic, he broke up with him and called the man a “disappointment.” Let’s face it. The former president is a typical Filipino politician. You always need to scratch beyond the surface to judge his record.
As one leader in 1944 said of another: his desire for power is clothed in idealism, and mythmaking.Onewouldhope that we can see our leaders with a less jaundiced eye. But that is not really possible and in the social media echo chamber we live in today, likely not in the realm of reality at all.
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The former president died on July 31, 2022; he was 94.
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Ramos was a more effective leader compared to the other occupants of Malacañang (see Joseph Estrada, Gloria Arroyo or even from initial performance Ferdinand Marcos Jr.). Ramos, warts and all, performed decently as the second president of the Republic in the post-martial law era. The economic gains attained by the Philippines were noted during his years in Historicaloffice.factis often cast aside for mistyeyed sentimentalism in judging the effectivity of our leaders, especially when looking at their historical performance or their crass political motives. Even Jose Rizal had his weak moments. He disowned the Philippine revolution of 1896 because he did not believe Filipinos were ready for the responsibilities of nationhood. There is also, as some astutely pointed out, the fact he looked down on the proletariat leadership of the Katipunan and Andres Bonifacio.Maybeit is time for us to recognize leaders like Fidel Ramos for what they are: all too human functioning in the milieu of our times, ruled by the same political calculation and passions of their era.
is a publication of A&V Editorial Letter from
Editor Contributing Writers
Tricia J. Capistrano
BY CRISTINA DC PASTOR THE FILAM | 3
This may include feeling out of place at school and facing cultural differences. Despite these challenges, I fought through it and managed to keep my culture close.’
The Kapunans, from left, mom Mary Ann, Sophia, sister Alexandra, and dad Sol. A freshman from Albany won Sentro Rizal New York’s Digi tal Art Contest, a competition organized by the Philippine Consulate, with the theme “Reimagining Rizal, the National Hero, through the eyes of today’s FilAm Youth.” Sophia Gabrielle Kapunan, 13, drew an image of the National Hero using her iPad. The image of Jose Rizal has the Philippine flag and his famous quote, “Ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan,” in the background. She said was moved to join the contest, so that “I could have the chance to strengthen my connection with my own culture.”“JoseRizal is my favorite Filipino hero,” said Sophia when reached by The FilAm. “I have high respect for him and his bravery is beyond compare. He stood his ground for his country and his morals, even if it risked him his life. His works have inspired Filipinos who were second-guessing whether their allegiance is for the Filipino people or the colonizers. His work has shaped and solidified Filipino Nationalism during his time.” Sophia is an incoming freshman at Niskayuna High School. Niskayuna is a suburban town Upstate, a 25-minute drive from Albany. It is known for its excellent school district and its golf courses. She was born in the Philippines, but moved to the U.S. with her family when she was 3 years old. Her father Sol Kapunan, a financial advisor, is a community leader in Albany. Her mother Mary Ann Kapunan is a registered nurse. Sophia said it was her dad who penned the petition addressed to the City Council, to annually hold the Albany Filipino Day parade and to include the Philippine Independence Day in the city’s annual calendar. She has an elder sister Alexandra who has just graduated from the Albany College of ProminentPharmacy.Philippine lawyer Lorna Kapunan is a relative.
“I am proud of my family’s contributions to the FilAm community (of Albany),” she said. “History was made when we were finally recognized by our city last July.”
The winning digital art. ‘Jose Rizal is my favorite Filipino hero.’
Albany teen Sophia Kapunan wins Jose Rizal digital art contest
Artist’s statement: ‘As a FilAm youth living in the United States, there have been different obstacles that came along with residing here.
While she is learning American history in school, she wanted to know Philippine history as well especially the heroism of its patriotic leaders and fighters. “I grew up learning American history in class, but hearing stories about Filipino heroism from my family made me want to contribute and do extensive research. This contest gave me the idea to research more on Jose Rizal,” she said. “In that process, my respect for him grew even more as I realized how remarkable his influence has shaped the minds of the Filipinos during his time and the generations that came after he made the ultimate sacrifice.”
The proud father likened her to a “diesel engine” who takes a bit of time before she warms up to people and forms friendships. “She’s a very warm and sweet person,” said Sol. “She is full of surprises. She is seen as a reserved person in class but always manages to turn in good grades every single year. Full of surprises indeed.”
“I was like, ‘Wow, what is this thing about Ethereum where, suddenly, you can program money to do things?’
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A very Filipino story: Meet the founders of Web3 education platform Proof of Learn
THE FILAM | 4 Kevin Yang and Sheila Marcelo: It all started with crypto.
“Over dinner we just hit it o ,” Yang says. “It was like we've known each other for some time. We saw eye to eye and just moved really quickly,” adds Marcelo.
"It's a very Filipino story," Marcelo says with a grin. When she shared her own plans of getting into the learn-to-earn space and mentioned looking for someone she could partner with, Dizon and Nolledo both men tioned only one name: Kevin Yang.
By December 2021, POL was born. The company quickly raised a seed round amounting to about $17 million (about P900 million) led by NEA and joined by Animoca Brands, GoldenTree Asset Management, gumi Cryptos Capital, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Arca, Wavemaker Ventures, Learn Capital and Rethink Education. It’s envisioned to become the leading educa tional Web3 platform in the world down the line, but for now, the company is focused on providing much-needed manpower—specifically, developers—for Web3. The next evolution of the internet, Web3 is centered around blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, DAOs (decentralized autonomous organization), and decen tralizedMarcelofinance.saysthere are roughly 32 million Web2 developers in the world today. Meanwhile, there are only about between 150,000 to 250,000 total Web3 develop ers. “And the largest number is probably the coders of Solidity, which is the Ethereum language,” she adds. But if we’re talking developers who are active monthly, the number goes down to only about 80,000 across the world, according to Yang. “If you take a (space) with a $2 trillion dollar market cap, and split it across very, very few developers, then
Photos: Esquire Philippines
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That got Yang started not just with collecting NFTs but teaching himself how to program smart contracts, or basically familiarizing himself with blockchain technology. When the pandemic hit, NFT games like Axie infinity exploded, which led Yang to thinking that the time was ripe to do something in that space. In 2021, he bought a ticket to NFT.NYC, one of the leading NFT events in the world. And that’s when his path crossed with Marcelo’s.
Birth of POL Marcelo was keen on meeting the person behind YGG. Luckily, she was friends with Filipino tech pioneer Nix Nolledo, founder of listed consumer tech company Xurpas, as well as with Manny Ayala, co-founder and managing director of Endeavor Philippines, which is part of a global network of high-impact entrepreneurs. It was through them that she got introduced to YGG co-founder Gabby Dizon at NFT.NYC.
BY PAUL JOHN CAÑA
But Marcelo knew she couldn’t do it on her own and that she needed help. Little did Marcelo know that, at that point, she would soon meet fellow Filipinos that would kick o a new journey that was focused not on play-to-earn (as Axie Infinity was), but on learn-to-earn.
And at the time, we were programming data, right? I thought it was the most fascinating thing. I started look ing into it more deeply, and I saw one of the first NFTs called Cryptokitties. For me, it was like, ‘Oh my god. This is just like my childhood collecting Neopets!’ But in this case, I actually own this collectible.”
One can argue that POL’s beginnings also stretch back to co-founder Kevin Yang’s days as the nerdy kid who was into computers. The son of Kenneth Yang and grandson of George Yang—both of whom are perhaps best-known as the president and founder, respectively, of McDonald’s Philippines—the younger Yang grew up in the Philip pines tinkering with his Macintosh desktop, teaching himself how to program and write simple code during a time when computer science education wasn’t as widely available as it is now. So, he applied and eventually got accepted to Stanford University’s computer science program, zeroing in on HCI or human computer interaction and artificial intelligence (AI). “It was this magical place for me to learn the most cutting-edge things in technology,” he says. “I ended up becoming an app builder.” Yang helped build over 30 di erent mobile apps, and even helped develop the McDonald’s’ McDelivery app. In his senior year of college, Yang’s friend told him about Ethereum, a decentralized platform powered by blockchain technology. Of course, it’s probably bestknown as cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.
To be very technical about it, Proof of Learn (POL), a tech platform that uses blockchain technology to educate developers on Web3, was founded in December 2021. But one can argue that the seeds for this fledgling com pany were planted years or even decades ago, especially when you consider the background of its founders. | From Web1 to Web3 Co-founder Sheila Marcelo has been dipping her toes in technology since the days of Web 1.0, or when the internet was simply read-only; a place where people were passive consumers of whatever information was on it. Born and raised in the Philippines, Marcelo graduated with an MBA and Doctor of Law degrees from Harvard University. The Filipino tech pioneer went on to teach at Harvard Business School and founded Care.com, the groundbreaking online marketplace for childcare, senior care, special needs and other forms of caregiving. Marcelo ran Care.com for 14 years. An example of a Web 2.0 company—or one that made possible more inter actions, social networking, and user-generated content on the internet—Care.com made Marcelo a household name in the world of tech. After the company was bought by holding company IAC in February 2020, Marcelo thought she and her husband would go on sabbatical, take a year o to travel, and basically spend some time just taking it easy. But then the pandemic hit. “Instead, our year o became all about crypto,” Marcelo tells Esquire Philippines. “When you're quaran tined, there's not a lot of other things to do. So, we started investing in crypto and reading a lot about it. We really got smarter about crypto.” About a year later, Marcelo got an invitation to work with global venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) as a venture partner. That got her started looking at investing professionally, particularly in cryptocurrencies. It was then that she heard about rising Filipino gaming startup Yield Guild Games (YGG) and came upon a documentary that showed regular folk in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija earning money from playing a relatively new online NFT (non-fungible token) game called Axie Infinity. “I was very impressed by that,” Marcelo says. “It just made such an impression on me that you can have a grandmother who was under-educated in a rural area of the Philippines get smart about crypto. And here I was trying to figure out Axie Infinity myself. I said, ‘What if we can improve the user experience overall?’ Because that's my background—user consumer applications globally, getting wide adoption, and mass market to solve social problems. That's what spoke to me.”
Computer nerd
Lazo said he believed the false narrative that the 2020 presidential election was characterized by mas sive fraud and that Donald Trump should have won. He stood out in the riot because of what he wore: He was draped in a Superman cape and carried a Philip pine broom called ‘walis tambo’ with a Captain America replica shield at the tip of the broom handle. He wore a Rodbustars helmet. Rodbustars LLC turns out to be the name of the building construction and repair business owned by Lazo and his wife, according to tips sent to law enforcement. Filipino Americans on recognizing the ‘walis tambo’ immediately -- and correctly -- concluded the man was a Filipino.
He faced four federal crimes: “Knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds or in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building,” according to the criminal com plaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Lazo was arrested May 28 at his house on Herbert Street. He is one of more than 800 mostly Trump supporters who have been charged with instigating a riot by forcing their way into the Capitol building, overwhelming security and ran sacking the legislators’ o ces. Many of them, including Lazo, arrogantly posted pictures of their participation in the attack.
You can check if your answer is correct. You can take a screenshot of your code terminal to see if the code that you've provided was the correct output. So you're really going through this very engaging learning experience.” Yang adds that what makes the game interesting are the rewards for those who complete the course. “We really want to boost core course completion,” he says. “Engineering is hard, and programming is di cult. So, we want to make it, first, this community-based experience where you can go on our Discord when you get stuck, ask questions, and talk to other people. And you can also have this incentive or reward as well.”
Yang adds that he was shocked to learn that the Philippines had actually become one of the world’s top countries in terms of crypto adoption.
A court statement says Lazo entered the Capitol after members of the House and Senate, meeting in a joint session to certify Biden’s victory, were evacuated from the Senate Chamber.
“I think Sheila and I share this mission that not only can Pinoys be the leaders in consumption of crypto but also in the creation of crypto itself. That's why we feel that grooming and educating the talent here in the Philippines is so important.”
“I would see lolas, farmers, tricycle drivers, they would onboard to something very complicated like crypto wal lets,” Yang says. “It’s not simple, right? And they would start to learn all about these very technical nuances in crypto, by being onboarded by play-to-earn.”
45 days in jail for Walis Tambo rioter K ene Brian Lazo, the ‘walis tambo’ brandishing rioter who was at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C, on Jan. 6, 2021 was sentenced to 45 days in jail after pleading guilty to participating in the insurrection. He was also ordered to pay $500 in restitution, according to reports.
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The rewards come in a “loot box” filled with goodies that can include actual income in the form of credit.
This article originally appeared in Esquire Philippines and is being published here with permission. At left, Lazo minus the Superman cape and the Philippine broom.
Photo: WAVY.com
“As a Filipino who has been so used to seeing Silicon Valley leading and everyone following, I thought it was amazing that we're the leaders in the adoption of a new frontier. So, I knew we had to do something here.
Introducing Metacrafters If POL is Sky Mavis, Metacrafters is its Axie Infinity. Built on the idea of gamified learning, Metacrafters is a multiplayer, learn-to-earn game with a curriculum designed by Silicon Valley Web3 developers and where players are students who can earn crypto-based rewards as they progress through the courses.
THE FILAM | 5 Kevin Yang is the grandson of the founder of McDonald's Philippines, George Yang. Sheila Marcelo was born and grew up in the Philippines before she flew to the U.S. to study. you begin to see this huge supply demand, where each developer can make a potential of maybe as much as $50 million in market value, just by being a productive engineer in the Web3 space,” Yang says. “That's why it's such a huge pain point in the industry. There's no shortage of capital and no shortage of demand from customers. And yet there’s no one to build it. They're all fighting for the same developers and so that's why we feel that this is such an important problem to address.”Thisisessentially the raison d’etre of POL. While both Yang and Marcelo have displayed a keen interest in par ticipating in this new virtual world, they understand how di cult the mission is if there aren’t enough builders. “So, I think our first duty is really to the developers being part of this, we call it a creator economy,” Marcelo says. “And the developers power the creator economy, but they themselves are creators. How do we make them feel valued? Educating them first and then others can fol low, is really the way we view it. That's why Metacrafters is our first project.”
“Let's say you want to learn a new chain,” Yang explains. “You take this introductory course where you'll be greeted by an instructor. We'll walk you through how to program certain parts of the blockchain. And as you continue, you get greeted with assessments.
“You get this digital diploma, which is the POL NFT,” Yang says. “And then you get this treasure NFT, which is like rare items in our game.” Metacrafters was launched during a splashy event attended by Marcelo and Yang, as well as their part ners and friends that included Dizon and Nolledo at Green Sun in Makati in May 2022. (At the time of this interview, the game was already going into testing with Filipino developers and should be launched soon, if it hasn’tBothalready).Marcelo and Yang say it’s no coincidence that POL is being launched here in the Philippines by Filipinos. They point to the mass adoption of something as seemingly technical like NFT gaming (Axie Infinity) in rural places in the country that helped paved the way for play-to-earn to evolve into learn-to-earn.
“The Filipino-American community has been at the forefront of many things, and that is why we need to celebrate everything that had happened before us,” Flores remarked. “We celebrate the lives of our great leaders like Alex Esclamado, one of our founders who drove across the country to gather Filipino-Americans from every aspect of life and realize the need to build a united national organization that will stand the test of time. We are grateful for our dear founders, and we are inspired by their resilience. Our founders’ vision and dedication despite the many unknowns during the early years of NaFFAA inspire us to move forward with hope as we move towards our next 25 years.”
In addition to the great contributions of Esclamado, NaFFAA would be remiss to not acknowledge the great accomplishments of the Chairpersons since.
‘We can’t move forward unless we remember the past’
The Chairs truly made their mark in their own unique ways, whether through prioritizing the development of new leaders, leading the charge on national advocacy issues, or encouraging Filipino-American civic engagement. Regardless of their di erent strengths and opinions, the Chairs were able to find solutions and answers to tough questions that confront our community.FormerChairs
The 14th National Empowerment Conference and 25th Anniversary was themed “Navigating the Present, Shaping the Future.” Despite the conference’s focus on shaping the future and dealing with current issues, it also became a special tribute to the organization’s great founders, who were present during the conference. As Gloria Caoile, one of NaFFAA’s co-founding members present during the event, emphasized, “We can’t move forward unless we remember the past.”
BY MARK POLO EYO
State of NaFFAA under Brendan Flores’ leadership
Loida Nicolas Lewis, Alma Quintans Kern, Greg Macabenta, Eduardo “Ed” Navarra, Jose Teodoro “JT” Mallonga, and now Brendan Flores dedicated hours of support to the organization and there is no doubt that NaFFAA, as the voice of Filipinos and the Filipino American constituency in the United States, has benefited from it.
The 37-year-old Flores, together with his executive board, sta members, board of trustees, regional chairs, national chairman’s councils, and other state leaders, spent the last six years focusing on empowering Filipino Americans and ensuring FilAms get their seats on the important tables.
After three years since its last convening, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations’ highly anticipated 14th National Empowerment Conference (NEC) was nally held on August 4th - 6th at Harrah’s in Las Vegas, Nevada. The three-day conference was the largest a ssembly of Filipino Americans since the pandemic. The conference was attended by some of the biggest names in the dynamic FilAm community: National and local leaders, elected o cials, celebrities, influencers, business leaders, and community advocates. NaFFAA’s NEC also coincided with the organization’s 25th anniversary celebration, highlighted by the Anniversary Gala. Over the course of three days, NaFFAA gathered nearly 600 attendees.
The three-day conference celebrated the heroes of the past who paved the way for NaFFAA to be the organization that is the voice of the four million Filipino-Americans today. They gave tribute to the late Alex Esclamado and recognized other co-founders present during the event, such as Loida Nicolas Lewis, Michal Dadap, Rodel Rodis, and incorporators Gloria Caoile, and Jon Melegrito. Co-founders and incorporators/ founding members participated in a Founder’s Panel that was hosted by National Chair Brendan Flores.
THE FILAM | 6
The attendees of the National Empowerment Conference representing various regions and states across the nation: A willingness to work together in shaping the future of Filipino Americans.
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For the past 25 years, NaFFAA has grown tremendously in becoming the united voice of Filipino Americans across the nation in matters of national advocacy, leadership development, and civic engagement. The last six years under Flores’ leadership became a great test to the organization dealing with several di cult issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of Anti-Asian Hate crimes, FilAm population growth to more than four million, natural calamities, civil unrest in international countries, issues in FilAm representation, and many other challenges.
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NaFFAA celebrates 25th year, elects new set of o cers
The defendant was arraigned in Westchester County Court on July 19, and is being held without bail.
The attack was described in a YPD press statement: “On March 11, 2022, in an apartment building on Riverdale Avenue in Yonkers, Esco approached an Asian woman inside the vestibule of the building. Esco was captured on security cameras punching the 67-year-old Asian woman more than 100 times, repeatedly stomping on her, then spitting on her, all while yelling racially o ensive slurs at her.”
Two doormen witnessed the attack. But instead of rushing to Kari’s rescue, they closed the door of the building ostensibly to protect its guests. They were later fired. Elliot is charged with two counts of felony assault as a hate crime.
“That’s a start. Putting people in jail will make people hesitate,” said one member of the community who requested anonymity. “I’m not saying it will deter every body, but word will spread around.”
Attackers of FilAm women arrested
NaFFAA National Chair Brendan Flores (far left) with NaFFAA co-founders (from left) Loida Nicolas Lewis, Michael Dadap and Rodel Rodis. Photos by Vic Esquivel.
Brandon Elliot; Tammel Esco
A great e ort was also made to maximize the 2020 Census registration of 4 million Filipinos in America, now the third largest among the Asian population. NaFFAA, under Brendan’s leadership, together with other FilAm organizations working together, led to President Joe Biden’s naming of a ship after a Filipino American hero of WW II – USS Telesforo Trinidad.Aftermany years of absence, a national o ce in Washington DC is once again operated by fully paid Executive Directors Jason Tengco and Carissa Villacorta previously and is now operated by Kelly IlaganNaFFAAColdiron.co-founder and first female national chairperson Loida Lewis highlighted, “Brendan’s most significant contribution is the coming and working together in NaFFAA, of the young and the old FilAms, the Baby Boomers and the Millennials, and Generations X, Y, and Z. As a millennial, he believes that anyone with a willing heart and willing mind could lead such an organization. He hoped the younger generation would step up to such prominent roles.”The three-day conference topics were divided to discuss in each day one of NaFFAA’s three pillars: National Advocacy, Leadership Development, and Civic Engagement. The conference was highlighted by speeches and workshops from FilAm community leaders, the 25th Anniversary Gala with pop singer Martin Nievera as a special guest performer, and the election for the new NaFFAA national executive lead ership team. Mariela Fletcher was elected president to succeed Flores. The event was a collaborative e ort from the whole Filipino-American community with help from several generous sponsors such as GoFundMe, RFL Foundation, Civic Leadership USA, TAAF, AT&T, Verizon, the Jurani Family, the de Joya Family, AARP, NaFFAA Michigan, Brighthouse Financial, Wells Fargo, ITO Solutions Inc, and many others. Mark Polo Eyo is the Communications Lead for the National Federation of Filipino American Associations. He is a native of Gapan City, Philippines, and currently resides in Orem, Utah. A graduate of the Brigham Young University Marriott School of Business Master of Public Administration Program, he is currently a project manager for a tech company in West Jordan, Utah.
The Yonkers Police Department announced on July 20 the indictment of Tammel Esco, 42, on hate crime charges, specifically for hitting his Filipino neighbor -- a 67-year-old woman from the Ilocos region -- in the Bronx 125 times as she was about to enter her apartment. The charges include attempted murder in the second degree as a hate crime, assault in the first degree as a hate crime, and three counts of assault in the second degree as a hate crime.
There is some sense of relief and a feeling of cautious optimism within the Filipino American community following reports that attackers of two Filipino women have been identified and locked up.
THE FILAM | 7 During the last six years, significant milestones were accomplished, including getting Congress to grant the Congressional Gold Medal to FilAm veterans of World War II, which was signed into law by President Obama during Brendan’s term of o ce. Flores’ team also emphasized empowering more FilAms to run for public o ce in their ‘Run for O ce’ campaign. Flores’ administration was also responsible for assisting several FilAm celebrations at the White House with various organizations to honor their rich history and contributions to the United States.
Kari who harbors the trauma of that day and is still recovering from her injuries, said she prays for Elliot. “I pray for him, because I felt he needed prayers.”
“He will now have to face the justice system to answer for his actions as the courts hold him accountable for this violent crime. The Yonkers Police Department does not tolerate violence in our city, especially not acts of violence rooted in bias,” said Yonkers Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza. Esco is known to law enforcement as having a long rap sheet that includes more than a dozen arrests and convictions. | Vilma Kari’s mugger Brandon Elliot, 38, the suspect behind the attack of Vilma Kari was arrested in New York City on March 31, 2021 or two days after the March 29 assault. Kari was on her way to church in midtown Manhattan when she was beaten and kicked to the ground by Elliot as shown in surveillance videos around the building on 43rd Street. He reportedly made anti-Asian statements while committing the attack. Police described Elliot as a convicted murderer who has served time for stabbing his mother to death 20 years ago.
Marissa, second child before the youngest, expressly designs children’s stories to entertain, to teach and to share her Filipino culture.
Like the farm worker’s wife who became an artist at a late age, Marissa pictures herself as the “Glam-ma Moses” of kids’ books. – Cristina DC Pastor
While “Hope and Fortune” may be her first pub lished book, this is not Marissa’s first time writing for children.“When my daughter was young,” she recalled, “I wrote many children’s stories for her and her friends just for the heck of it…because why not? Both they and I had great fun.” As her daughter grew up, she packed up those stories and re-focused on her legal career. Then, the pandemic lockdown happened. Work slowed to a trickle and boredom ensued. “I decided to dust off and modernize my stories, and sent them to publishers accepting unsolicited manuscripts. I had nothing to lose except the endless Netflix screen time I would otherwise be spend-ing,” she added.
Life, they say, begins at 40. Add 25 more years and for lawyer Marissa Bañez, her life as a children’s book author has only just begun. A litigator with almost 40 years’ expe rience, Marissa has written a children’s book “Hope and Fortune,” which will be issued by her Black Rose Writing publisher on February 2, 2023. While many see lawyers as non-stop talkers, the job actually involves copious amounts of writing which may have given her the ample skills of patience, discipline, and lots of grammar exercises. “Indeed, my favorite thing about lawyering is the writing. And, it’s a way for this almost 65-year-old Boomer to enjoy speaking to and connecting with young children,” she said when reached by The Fil-Am.
THE FILAM | 9
“She’s wearing a green terno top, which of course is the quintessential Filipina dress. I also wanted to represent the aboriginal Filipino groups by giving her a red-and-black skirt reminiscent of the Igorot or Ifugao style of clothing. I want to introduce at least a small part of our culture to readers,” she said. She sees her legal career at Greenberg Traurig “sun setting” freeing up time for her to write more books. She said, “The firm – and the world – needs to make room for the very bright and certainly more tech-nologi cally advanced younger attorneys. I don’t begrudge that. Still, I hope to stay at GT for as long as they will have me.”
She is currently Of Counsel in the New York o ce of the international law firm of Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Her experience with litigation involves pharmaceutical products, medical devices, asbestos- and tobacco-related exposure, coal-related black lung cases and liability in defense of Fortune 500 and For-tune 100 companies. She has appeared before state, federal and administra tive courts throughout the country. She also serves as Appellate Counsel in residential mortgage foreclosure litigations. “I have a winning track record,” she said. A strong diversity advocate, she has served as a men tor for minority students with the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity. She was previously Special Counsel and Vice-Chair of the Board of Di-rectors for the New York Asian Women's Center, an organization that helps battered Asian women and children.
The following year in 1999, her daughter Angelica was born. She is now a grad school student at CUNY, where she is pursuing a professional studies master's degree in Industrial and Commercial Psy-chology, having graduated with a double-major in English and Psychology from the University at Buf-falo, SUNY.
Late in life Marissa is married to a Cuban-American business man. Joaquin Boves fled to the U.S. when Fidel Cas-tro took over the country in 1959. “We met quite late in life – he was 49 and I was almost 40 – in a bookstore. Neither of us had ever married before and we got married within the year of our meeting.” As they were both no-longer-young, they did not expect that they would have a child. But one night, Marissa had a wonderful, extremely vivid dream and she remembers every detail to this day.
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Marissa wrote many children’s stories for her daughter Angelica when she was growing up.
The story of a lost girl and the dozen multicultural fairies who put her on the right track.
“I found myself in a beautiful, very colorful floral garden, feeling peaceful and happy. Suddenly, singing, laughing, and dancing angels and cherubim surrounded and enveloped me into their midst. Then, a dark-haired cherub kissed me on the lips. I immedi ately woke up and, still very much feeling the cher-ub’s kiss on my lips, told my husband that we were going to have a baby,” she said.
“Despite my age, I feel I still have a little bit more fuel in the tank, and I want to keep going…just in a di erent direction.”Butwriting about children and 12 fairies and a butterfly? That’s Marissa’s avant-garde imagination running wild. In her maiden book, she makes sure to include a rmations of courage, resilience and empow erment as the lawyer in her takes over. Born to a big family of 10 children in Baguio City, Marissa immigrated to the United States with her family in 1968. Following her graduation from Bel mont High School in Los Angeles, she attended and graduated from Princeton University in 1980 with a BA in politics and a teaching certificate. She sub-sequently attended the University of California, Hastings College of Law in San Francisco, graduating in 1983.
Lawyer Marissa Bañez’s Second Act: Writing for children
In “Hope and Fortune,” for instance, she attempts to show that the first fairy encountered by the girl protago nist, Esperanza, is the Fortune Fairy of Hope, a character inspired by her late Filipina mother.
How is it that Michael Cinco, a celebrated fashion designer based in Dubai, is being honored with a TOFA recognition?
O n September 16, the 12th Annual TOFA Awards will launch the TOFA Global Awards international category with Cinco as its first honoree. The Outstanding Filipinos in America, which began as an award-giving body that pays tribute to exemplary Filipinos in New York and later to FilAms all across the United States, is now setting its sights on Filipinos across the globe.
BY RASMIN DIAZ
Calling on Consul General Elmer Cato to invite him to the September 16 TOFA Awards at The Town Hall.
Cinco, who caught the attention of the fashion world after receiving the People’s Choice Award at the Dubai Fashion Awards in 2010, said coming to New York City to “express my passion” has long been his wish.
“I recognize TOFA Awards as the best award-giving body in America because it truly reflects the diversi fying character of the Filipino American community and the many ways Filipinos assimilate anywhere in the world. This is key to our resilience as a people,” said Abunda.
CEO Elton Lugay: ‘TOFA is evolving alongside the FilAm community.’
The September 16 TOFA celebration will be held at The Town Hall. It will be hosted by Dr. Boy Abunda, “Asia’s King of Talk.” Abunda expressed excitement at once again helming the 12th Annual TOFA Awards noting how the organization has truly raised the profile of Filipinos not only in America but all around theMoreworld.than 20 honorees have been selected for the 12th Annual TOFA Awards, including social media sensation Bretman Rock, Zumba Master Class trainer Deekee Gaerlan, COVID-19 warriors Dr. Alicia Almendral and Georgio Dano, RN, and UERM Medi cal Foundation founder Dr. Emilio Quines Jr. as TOFA 12’s Heritage awardee.
Filipina singer and actress Katrina Velarde, better known as “Asia’s Vocal Supreme,” headlines TOFA’s 12th Annual Awards. Velarde will share the stage with San Francisco’s Parangal Dance Company and the TOFA Performing Artists, all volunteers who share not only their talent, but also countless rehearsals and service hours.
Another highlight of this year’s festivities is the launch of TOFA’s Presidential Awards, which will be given to 10 individuals who have excelled in serving the community in their respective professions, earn ing the nod of the O ce of Presidential Volunteer Service Awards for a citation signed by no less than President Joe Biden. Since its launch in 2010, TOFA has honored more than 200 distinguished FilAms nominated by the community. Over the years, it has gained distinction for its community service and top-quality produc tions. It won the NY Mets Spirit Award for outstand ing community leadership, and the NaFFAA presi dential image award for outstanding commitment to uplifting the Filipino story/narrative. Last year alone it won the Bronze Telly Award for the “TOFA 100 Celebrating Filipinos in America” special and the Silver Anthem Award for its “Stop Asian Hate” campaign.“TOFAis evolving alongside the FilAm commu nity, and we are excited to transition from a NYC event to a platform for outstanding Filipinos any where in the world,” Lugay said.
As explained by TOFA Awards founder and executive producer Elton Lugay, “Michael Cinco’s star shines brightly in the global fashion arena, and it is high time for the Filipino American community to recognize his excellence and creativity.”
COVER STORY
From New York and beyond, TOFA goes global
“I can’t wait to express my passion in New York City, which is always in my heart. This is where I felt for the first time that all my impalpable dreams could come true. Thank you, TOFA, for selecting me as the very first recipient of your TOFA Global Awards,” he said.
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Island Gems members learn how to sing, dance and also motivate each other to know more about Filipino culture, says the group on its Facebook page.“It is exciting and nostalgic to behold how the members perform Philippine folk dances and the religious dance-offering of Sinulog in churches, social gatherings and in street parades. These affairs help us reminisce the valued traditions and cultural heritage of our fatherland and how we want to continue to keep them alive here, in our new home, USA.
When St. Adalbert Church in Queens was looking for a Filipino dance group to perform at a religious event, word got around fast. Helen Kwong-LaBarbera of Long Island responded quickly and gathered Filipino families who shared her excitement. Thus, was born Island Gems Philippine Cultural Group which became known for their devotional dances in honor of the Sto.Nino.
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The 12th Annual TOFA Awards is presented by Financial Rescue in cooperation with NYC PRIDE, Art Hearts Fashion, LX2 Entertainment, Resilient Care Physical Therapy, Dr. Dely Go, Ia’s Threads, Milestone Events, Vynz-Muzyk, and media partners NYC Mayor’s O ce of Media and Entertainment, GMA Pinoy TV, and Inquirer.net.
Lugay presents a copy of the coffee table book, ‘TOFA100: A Celebration of Filipinos in America,’ to New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
On July 12, 2020, Island Gems PCG became this spontaneously assembled group of dancers who would later form themselves into a not-for-profit organization based in Westbury, New York. Helen, with her ballet training and theater background in the Philippines, became the choreographer and costume designer. Another group leader Adela Inez, who worked for Catholic Charities, became the senior adviser. The two women geared the group into a path they now have taken.
Island Gems Philippine Cultural Group does a lively folk number to celebrate the 124th Philippine Independence Day. Photo by RJ Ensalada TOFA’s volunteers, previous winners and board members at the 1st Presidential Volunteer Awards.
The beat, the sparkly costumes, and the happy smiles of the dancers, led by psychiatric nurse Maricar Rondina, combine to deliver a loudly-applauded dance act. “PIDCI was our first parade,” said Helen. The Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. is the organization that mounts the annual parade on Manhattan’s MadisonInvitationsAvenue.came pouring in after that: PAFCOM on June 26, the Filipino Parade in Albany on July 9, the Filipino American Festival, Inc. on September 4 at Bergen County's Overpeck Park, and the Sinu log Festival on January 22, 2023 in Connecticut.
She hastened to add how the group welcomes donations that help finance the costumes, accesso ries, food, logistics and transportation. She said the group is “lucky and blessed” to have families that give of their time and resources and cooperate with each other. “We have an open communication and find ways to make things work,” Helen said. -- Cris tina DC Pastor
The dancers are not paid for their performances, said Helen, who acts as the group’s Mother Hen and Chief Worrier. “We are a voluntary organization whose members spend for their own costumes.”
Two years later, on June 5, 2022, 16 families – compris ing 36 adults and 17 children ages 5 to 16 – lorded it over Madison Avenue and gave a lively, bouncy folk number celebrating the 124th Philippine Independence. It was one of the most photographed segments of the parade.
Dance troupe dazzles on Madison Avenue
THE FILAM | 12 | September 4 Hawaiian Night of New York 2022 Astoria World Manor 2522 Astoria Blvd Astoria, NYC | September 16 12th Annual TOFA Awards: Celebrating the Global Filipino The Town Hall Times Square NYC | September 17 Jeepney sa Amerika (Highlighting local talents and Filipino-owned businesses) Radial Park Astoria Contact RJPVenture@yahoo.com | September 17 Katrina Velarde Live in New York Sheraton La Guardia East Hotel 135-20 39th Avenue Flushing, NYC | September 23 The U.S.-Canada Tour: Live in New Jersey with Angeline Quinto & Budakhel Margaret Williams Theatre/New Jersey City Jersey2039UniversityKennedyBlvd.City | September 25 Friends Indeed Charity Gala Marriott Newark Airport Hotel 1 Hotel RSVPNewark,RoadN.J.CelyDeauna 201-660-0155 | October 2 Festival of Faith: Celebration of Filipino Saints Holy Spirit Church 971 Suburban Road Union, N.J. | October 9 1st Filipino American Festival (in partnership with the Harvard Square Business Association) Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA Church Street parking lot | October 16 Aaliwin Kita: The Concert with Fe De Los Reyes, Joey Albert and Jam Morales White Eagle Hall 337 Newark Avenue Jersey TicketsCityatjctcenter.org | October 21 Rocktober Battle of the Bands (by International Women Artists) 58-02D’Haven37th Avenue Woodside, NYC | October 21 Klasical: An evening of traditional Filipino music with soprano Sweet Samaniego Buchanan and Miguel Braganza Kalayaan PhilippineHallCenter NYC | October 23 Gary V Reenergized Town Hall 123 West 43rd Street NYC | October 28 Celebration: FAHM with Raul Sunico and Mheco Manlangit Merkin Hall, Kaufman Music Center 129 W 67th Street NYC | November 4 Hip Hop Octoberfest U.S. Tour 58-02D’Haven37th Avenue Woodside, NYC For tickets & sponsorship contact Ivan 917-456-2990 | November 16 Lotus Ball 11: Maya’s Hope 11th Anniversary Gala The Players 16 Gramercy Park South NYC | November 22 Lani Misalucha: Live in New York! Town Hall 123 West 43rd Street NYC Calendar of Events
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Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s grandfather, Mariano Marcos, was born April 21, 1897, and officially registered as “Mariano Tabuebue.” The family reverted to the surname Marcos during the American colonial period ‘The Catalogo, Narciso Claveria and Thoughts on Filipino Surnames’. Published August 2020 In a parallel universe, last June’s presidential inauguration would have the Philippines welcoming a President Ferdinand Romualdez Tabuebue, Jr. This is because, according to genealogist, Todd Sales Lucero, after the Clave ria surname decree of 1849, the Marcos family adopted the name According“Tabuebue.”toLucero, President Marcos Jr.'s grandfather, father of President Ferdinand E. Marcos, born on April 21, 1897, was officially registered as “Mariano Tabuebue.” It seems that during the American colonial period, Sales writes in his website, www.Filipinogenealogy.com, “the family reverted to the name “Marcos.” Todd Sales Lucero, is a professional genealogist based in Davao and Cebu City. In 2018, he pub lished the book “The Catalogo Narciso Claveria and Thoughts on Filipino Surnames.” In the book’s notes, Lucero writes that his version is an answer to former Philippine National Archives Director Domingo Abella’s 1973 reprint of “Cat alogo Alfabetico de Apellidos” which is no longer in print. The original Catalogo Alfabetico is a list of surnames distributed by Narciso Claveria, the governor general of the Philippines from July 1844 to 1949. | Choosing a surname Before the Catalogo, naming practices in the Phil ippines varied. Pre-colonial writers observed that mothers chose the names of children–often inspired by nature or a trait–and then the child’s name changes once she or becomes a parent. For example, Ana, the mother may choose the name “Malacas,” in the hopes that the child will be strong. Ana then becomes “Ana Ynani Malacas,” to mean Ana, the mother of Malacas.
In some provinces, descendants of ancient Filipino nobility used the names of their clans, like Gatmaitan, Gatbonton. “Gat” meant “prince” or “great lord.” And then some families, because of their Spanish or Chinese lineage, followed their parents’ practices and adopted their parents’ last names.
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| The role of school teachers
The book is short but contains substantial infor mation. In the chapter, “Claveria and the Myth of Spanish of the Ancestors,” Lucero explains the repercussions of the decree and why even if we may have been told that we are descendants of a Span iard, that we may not be, or that even if a friend has the same last name–because our forefathers chose their surnames from a common list distributed across the country–that you may not be related.
The former chapter reprints instructions on how the list should be distributed. The third decree gives the following instruction: “Each cabeza shall be present with the individuals of each cabeceria, and the father or the oldest person of each family shall choose to be assigned one of the surnames in the list which he shall then adopt, together with his direct descendants.”
School teachers had a special role in the dissemina tion of the last name. The eleventh decree states that “School teachers shall have a register of all the children attending school with the names and surnames, and shall see to it that they shall not address or know each other except by the surname listed on the register which should be that of the parents. In case of lack of enthusiasm in compliance with this order, the teachers shall be punished in proportion to the o ense at the discretion of the head of the province.”
The instructions, reprinted in English, are thorough. And for those who can read Spanish, Lucero includes a photograph of the original.
In the chapter, “Dissecting the Claveria Decree and Answering Some Questions About It,” Lucero delves into the application of the 24-point decree. Although the decree says “the distribution of the surnames must be made by letters in the appropriate proportions,” Lucero includes the results of his research. He found that in certain provinces like Oas, Albay, 72% of surnames begin with “R” and other irregularities.
In an online seminar last March, Lucero shared that perhaps due to lack of resources, it was di cult to distribute across the islands the page and pages of surnames.Inthesame chapter, Lucero writes about how although the decree says “natives of Spanish, indig enous, or Chinese origin, may retain it and pass it on to their descendants,” many families, including the Philippines’ national hero’s family, changed their last name. Rizal’s Chinese ancestor was Domingo Lam-co. The family changed their name to Mercado. Lucero writes the family petitioned to change their name president’s name should be Ferdinand Romualdez Tabuebue Jr.: Book BY TRICIA J. CAPISTRANO
New
Also of special interest are the chapters on “Clave ria’s Surname Decree,” and “Dissecting the Claveria Decree and Answering Some Questions About It.”
In the decree, Claveria writes that the Catalogo’s purpose is to aid in “the administration of justice, gov ernment, finance and public order.” The composition of the list includes Spanish surnames and indigenous names collected by the Reverend Fathers Provincial of the religious orders. There are 53,517 surnames in the Catalogo. Unfortunately, there is nothing in the decree that mentions what one can do if she or he does not like the last name chosen by their parent or grandparent. Perhaps children truly did not disagree with their elders then?
BY ALLEN GABORRO
For Trump and his acolytes, this did not deter them from attempting to overturn the results of the election which came out in favor of the Demo cratic candidate, Joseph Biden. From proposing to illegitimately introduce replacement electors in strategic states, to pressuring local o cials into manipulating the legal vote count, to trying to coerce Vice-President Mike Pence into illegally de-certifying electoral votes, Trump would stop at nothing to remain president.
Award-winning journalists Robert Costa and Bob Woodward (the latter of Watergate fame) have taken in the sights and sounds of the Trump administration as it rode o kicking and screaming into the sunset in “Peril,” a New York Times bestseller.“Peril”is a work of nonfiction but it reads like a political thriller. For Donald Trump’s actions in the interregnum between the 2020 election on November 3, 2020 and the storming of the US Capitol building in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021 were amplified by his restive, moody, delusionary, and querulous way of looking at the Costaworld.and Woodward waste little time in their book in getting at Trump’s “impulsive” and “unpredictable” mind as they speak in “Peril’s” prologue to the threat he presented. The authors tell the story of how the Joint Chiefs of Sta Chairman General Mark Milley had to convince his Chinese equivalent General Li Zuocheng over long-distance telephone that the United States was not on the brink of collapse as a result of the Capitol attack. China feared that an electoral ly-defeated Trump might actually attack them in order to stay in power. Conse quently, its military was put on alert. “Peril” also tries to make sense of the Trump administration and its convoluted inner workings, especially in its e orts to overthrow the 2020 election. Costa and Woodward write that General Milley, as did others, thought that Trump “had gone into a serious mental decline in the aftermath of the election, with Trump all but manic, screaming at o cials and constructing his own alternative reality about endless election conspir acies.”Ithas been a mantra of Trump’s that the 2020 election was rigged against him. But the evidence has been by far to the contrary. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security publicly and unequivocally stated that “The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history.”
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‘Peril:’ Nonfiction that reads like a political thriller
Trump’s failed endeavor to elevate his schemes above the political facts set the stage for the violence done at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The assault, as General Milley states in “Peril,” was “a planned, coordinated, synchronized attack on the very heart of American democracy.”Thedeadly drama that took place at the Capitol has been labeled by Costa and Woodward as an “insurrection.” And indeed, it was as angry Trump supporters, incited beforehand by the president himself, hit the historic edifice with unbridled bellicosity and lawlessness, endangering in the process the lives of congressmen and congresswomen alike, not to mention those of Capitol security personnel and Vice-President Pence. To this day a disturbing number of Republi cans continue to deny the import of what happened at the Capitol. This despite the damning conclusions of the “United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack.”
As American democracy catches its breath in the wake of the Trump presi dency, it is important to go back and learn about the dysfunctional and at times frightening behavior of the 45th president.
“Peril” also covers other aspects of Trump’s administration during that fateful juncture such as his tumultuous relationship with his cabinet o cials and other ranking Republican politi cians. It also encompasses Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and the incipi ency of his own administration. Every subject-matter in “Peril” is highly-sa lient in its own right. But the biggest takeaway from Costa’s and Woodward’s book is that it is a cautionary tale. Donald Trump remains a daunting presence in US politics. As Costa and Woodward write, he will not be easily deterred: “Could Trump work his will again? Were there any limits to what he and his supporters might do to put him back in power?” The authors end on a succinctly worrisome note: “Peril remains.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley with Trump: The general noted the president’s ‘serious mental decline in the aftermath of the election,’ according to the book. ‘Peril’. Published by Simon and Schuster 2021. 512 pages
numerous times to Rizal but was denied. Jose was the first to use the family name, “Rizal,” when he enrolled at the Ateneo de Municipal in 1872. In the book, Lucero also includes the genealogy of several prominent Filipino families. He also shares tips on how to research your own family’s lineage. This request may be out of scope but Lucero has already whetted this reader’s appetite. With our current digitized and globalized world and for the readers of this community magazine, I wish that in a future reprint, Lucero would include recommen dations on how to research one’s family history online. | 173 years later According to Lucero, Claveria was a passionate and e ective administrator and his travels across the Philippines a ected his health. Claveria died in 1849 shortly after the decree. Historians note that because of the slow communications and travel during that time, the decree took e ect one year later. Claveria did not even live to see it promulgated across the archipel ago. One hundred and seventy-three years later, the Philippines is now a country of 110 million, and Fili pino people with Spanish last names have journeyed all over the world. I wonder if this was a possibility that crossed Claveria’s imagination. Tricia J. Capistrano’s essays have appeared in The Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Philippine Star, TheFilAm. net, and Newsweek. She is the author of “Dingding, Ningn ing, Singsing and Other Fun Tagalog Words.” Her essays were chosen as the Best Personal Essay by the Philippine American Press Club in 2017 and 2018.
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BY VICKY VITUG s there a formula for longevity?
I
Knowing that she would eventually run out of money she eagerly took on the first paying job she found as a secretary and immediately rented a small room at the YWCA in Brooklyn. Determined to be a teacher, she took the Teacher Certification exams while simultaneously working. As soon as she obtained her NYC teacher certification, she was hired as an elementary school teacher in Brooklyn. It did not matter where the school was located because she was mentally prepared for harsh realities. She said, “Being a teacher was a passion worth fighting for!” Her resolve was tested on her first day in school. She was headed towards her classroom when she met some aggressive kids on the school grounds. One brazen kid accosted her loudly exclaiming, “She looks like that tough lady character on TV!” with his finger pointed at her long waist-length black hair. Other rowdy kids joined in and asked her directly, “What is the color of your belt?”
Lola Virgie who is almost 90 years old, mulled over the question. Her response took me back a long trip down memory lane where 52 years ago she came to the U.S. in 1970 as a hopeful immigrant teacher. She brought with her a small suitcase, her BSE and master’s diplomas on Education, and a few dollars in her pocket.
With this question hanging in my head, I went to the Senior Center to see if any of my friends could give me an answer.
Virginia Del Rosario: Family is her ‘happy hormone’
Apolinaria Ramos-Tolang: Still kicking her heels at 92 Ate Nene from Leyte earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education from the University of San Carlos, and worked as a PE teacher in the Philip pines for 30 years. Widowed in 1990 with seven adult children and several grandchildren, she migrated to the U.S. in 1992 upon her eldest daughter’s petition. With deep sadness leaving her family, she adjusted to her new home in Queens with her eldest daughter’s family.Asthe days passed, she learned to appreciate NYC especially when she joined the Hillcrest Senior Community Center. There she found life again by immersing herself in their various activities. She made new friends. In this setting, this forever dancer found her “happy feet”. Her non-stop graceful dancing caught the attention of everyone especially the Senior Center’s director, who later on, hired her to teach a dance class. Ate Nene accepted and thus became a Hawaiian Dance instructor. Her unique teaching style made her class stand out. She has a way of making her students giggle as they sway their hips. Their dance also elicits friendly vibes as they wave their hands with graceful movements. Eventually her dance group became well received and very popular among seniors in the neighborhood.Her92ndbirthday will be celebrated at the Senior Center with friends and family.
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Though, a bit surprised and confused with their question, she didn’t flinch. Without thinking she confidently responded “black”. To her big surprise the kids reacted positively and exclaimed “Wow”.
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Forever young
Thinking back on the kids’ reactions, she recalled that their eyes even lit up and their mouths fell half open. She told me later that her only reason for responding “black” was because she was wearing black shoes at that time. As days passed, she learned from the rumor mill in school, that her quick response of “black” earned her the secret title of “black belt teacher” (as in karate black belt), a perception that worked to her advan tage. Interestingly, all her students, including the notoriously unruly ones, became well behaved in her classroom. With her smooth-running classroom, she came to be known as the “favorite teacher of problem kids”. Soon, many of the so-called “problem kids” were placed under her tutelage. She took on all of them and provided great education in a caring yet highly struc tured and disciplined manner. She said that teaching those troubled kids was extremely stressful but seeing them improve motivated her to work harder. Her e orts were apparently noticed and she was eventually pro moted as assistant principal of her school. Today, she is reaping the rewards of her retirement and is living happily with her extended family: stepchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. She said they make her happy. These caring family members are her reason for living longer. Their presence in her life was her longevity formula, her “happy hormone”. They are Lola Virgie’s dopamine.
Apolinaria Ramos-Tolang with daughter Riza: Dancing is her dopamine
Virginia Del Rosario: She was known as the ‘favorite teacher of problem kids.’
A proud mother and grandmother of profession als! Her seven children and their families are her main source of happiness! She credits them for her emotional stability and credits her active lifestyle as the reason she’s still kicking her heels on this earth! Dancing is, was, and will always be a part of her life. Food, supplements and medicines may sustain her but her dancing motivates her to wake up each day and look forward to another day spent with friends! Indeed, without consciously planning, she accom plished a feat for herself: a long, happy life through her positive attitude, her simple modest lifestyle and dancing!
THE FILAM | 17 Mayor Arvin Amatorio (3rd from left) leads residents on a walking exercise around the city. At far left is Council Member Salvador ResidentsDeauna.whoparticipate in Zumba and dancing report positive results in their weight, sleeping and eating habits.
Bergenfield residents report health improvements after wellness campaign
The Mayor’s Wellness Campaign is a statewide community health initiative that provides evi dence-based tools and strategies for mayors and community leaders to help their residents achieve healthier lifestyles. The New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute (NJHCQI) has been leading the campaign in partnership with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities since 2006. Through this partnership, Bergenfield will receive regularly updated tools and strategies to promote health and active living, connections to local partners and volunteer networks to share best practices, information about grants and funding for programs, as well as an opportunity to be designated as a “Healthy Town” by the NJHCQI.
I n a survey conducted of residents participating in the activities, 100 percent saw improve ments in their physical activity, 90 percent in their eating habits, 95 percent in their blood pressure and weight, 96 percent in their sleep ing habits, and 100 percent said they were satisfied with the program. “I am so pleased to hear that our residents are really utilizing this program and able to see notable improvements to their everyday lives,” said Mayor Arvin Amatorio. “The whole idea was to create better access to more healthy activities and it is great that people are using this opportunity and it is working for them.”
The Mayor’s Wellness Campaign 2022, a New Jersey state-wide, initiative that encourages active lifestyles and healthy living through education, fun activities, and community engagement, recently concluded with participating residents reporting healthy lifestyle improvements in their sleeping, eating, and physical activity habits.
Some of the highlights of the campaign included Zumba at Veteran’s Memorial Park, Tae Kwon Do classes for kids and all ages, walks with the Mayor and Council at Cooper’s Pond that started with prayers and praises, singing, fun games, and mental health awareness activities. There was also yoga and line dancing at Conlon Hall, and health education and COVID vaccinations by the health department.Sponsorsof the campaign included the Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, United Martial Arts UMA Taekwondo, Bergenfield H&R Accounting / Tax Corner E.G. Enriquez Accounting Firm, Sariling Atin Asian Grill, World Financial Group, New York Life Insurance, Alvear Tax Preparation & Bookkeeping, Bergenfield American Pinoy Food Mart, Dynamic Physical Therapy and Wellness Center, the Philippine Nurses Association - New Jersey Bergen Passaic Subchapter, the Jesus Lamb of God Church, the God’s Flock Church, the Jesus the Savior Church, the Filipino Apostolate of the Archdiocese of Newark, the St. Mary’s Line Dancers Group/ Bergenfield Mayor’s Wellness Campaign Line Dancers, Head liners Salon, Glacy’s Salon, Nova Salon, Bergen County BagUpNJ. com, Dello Russo Laser Vision and Eyecare Center, Tupperware by Lyra Roque, West Main Lun cheonette, the Jersey College School of Nursing, the Bergenfield Stigma-Free Committee, as well as the Bergenfield Recreation Department, Health Department, and Department of Public Works. Ilya Evangelista Amatorio is the overall organizer of the Bergenfield Mayor’s Wellness Campaign 2022. If you have any questions or need more information about the campaign, please do not hesitate to contact the Boro at (201) 387-4055 ext. 6, the Health Department at (201) 387-4055 ext. 5, or Councilman Marc Pascual at (201) 328-7516.
Evangeline Rose ‘Cherie’ Gil Eigenmann, June 21, 1963 –August 5, 2022. Facebook photos
There will always be ambivalence surrounding the Filipino word for performer: artista. The word it suggests in English is in many ways opposed to the notion of an artist, standing apart from issues of popularity and nancial success. This is why the rst lm star recognized as National Artist, Nora Aunor, underwent such a di cult process that two successive nal rounds regarded her omission as no big shakes. herie Gil, who died before she could turn 60, started as a star, became an active and reliable supporting actress, left the country to attend to her family, and returned when she found she wasn’t cut out to be the wife of Rony Rogoff, a glob ally renowned violinist. When news of her death broke recently, folks in my limited netizen circle were as shocked as I was that she was already more than the sum of everything she was before she first departed, during the preceding millennium. Gil belonged to the renowned Eigenmann clan of performers, where ironically only her parents and elder sibling, Michael de Mesa, remain after another brother, Mark Gil, passed away in 2014; both were admirably stoical about keeping their illnesses private. Before her mother, Rosemarie Gil, retired from acting, production projects that required a good-looking villainess only needed to decide whether she should be older or younger, then contact the Eigenmanns. Cherie Gil’s film appearances since her comeback were authoritative owing to a renewed seriousness, and radiant from the loveliness endowed by her mixed-race heritage; she opted to teach acting and study scriptwriting, signs of a restlessness of spirit; she produced her own dream project, a reworking of an earlier prestige project titled Oro, Plata, Mata (1982) with the same director, Peque Gallaga, in tandem with Lore Reyes. Sonata, her 2013 Gallaga-Reyes production, brandishes what on paper might seem like a fantasy figure: an opera diva traumatized by losing her voice, who returns to her rural estate and learns to overcome her reclusive state by taking an interest in the several munchkins who hang around the place. Only someone who underwent an equivalent process in real life and resolved to heal her heartbreak by plunging into artistic fulfillment would be able to display the full measure that the character required, and we will always be fortunate that Gil was exactly already that person. She had portrayed a similar role onstage a few years earlier, as an elderly Maria Callas in Terrence McNally’s Master Class. It was these theatrical forays of hers that the local cognoscenti looked forward to, and Gil accom modated the o ers whenever she could. The mass audience still had some catching up to do, but her pre-departure appearances proved iconic to di er ent kinds of people. Her role as lesbian drug dealer Kano in Ishmael Bernal’s Manila by Night (1980)
BY JOEL DAVID
THE FILAM | 18 COVER STORY
Photo: GMA News
Cherie Gil: Artist in a hurry
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With son Raphael Eigenmann Rogoff, one of Cherie’s three children.
Joel David is a professor of Cultural Studies at Inha University and was given the Art Nurturing Prize at the 2016 FACINE International Film Festival in San Fran cisco. He has written several books on Philippine cinema and maintains a blog at https://amauteurish.com.
THE FILAM | 19 Eigenmann showbiz royalty. From left, brother Michael de Mesa, dad Eddie Mesa, Cherie, mom Rosemarie Gil, and brother Mark Gil. Facebook photo combined a tough exterior with a movingly self-de structive faith in true love, while her performance in Bilanggo sa Dilim (1986), Mike de Leon’s exceptional video adaptation of John Fowler’s 1963 novel The Collector, presaged her triumphant collaboration with the same director’s Citizen Jake (2018), where she demonstrated how malignant damage could be delineated with a minimum of speech and gestures. It was her premillennial turn as nasty celeb Lavinia Arguelles, won over eventually by the humility of Sharon Cuneta’s loyal fandom in Bituing Walang Ningning (1985), that inspired generations of drag queens to memorize her single-sentence fulmi nation, glass of cold water at the ready. Cuneta posted the bittersweet farewell she was able to have with Gil in person – which led to the heavier realization that descended on observers: these were two chums who were able to mature together, in parallel but impressive ways, so we thought it may only be a matter of time before Gil could persuade her BFF to explore the legitimate stage together.That,and many other potential treats, will now only have to be relegated to the realm of specula tion forever. But the lesson that Gil modeled for her generation of pop-culture jobholders abides: that one can always upgrade one’s craft, and in so doing, leave this world a better place even ahead of schedule. Politicians will always make their self-serving claims and will die off in time, but real art is what will always be worth treasuring.
Issue 55, September 2022 ‘Walis tambo’ rioter 45 days of jail time Cherie Gil, 59 Artist in a hurry In Bergenfield, N.J. A wellness campaign residents welcome
