EVER since the Disney movie “Frozen” came out in 2013, everyone has sung along and learned the words to songs like “Let it Go” or “Do You Want To Build a Snowman?” Six years later, one may assume that we’d collectively be tired of these tunes. The Broadway production of “Frozen” has made its way…
BEAUTY products are often considered individually beneficial as they are intended to make one look and feel good. But certain brands take it a step further and help others as well. With the season of giving in full swing, purchases from two Filipina-owned beauty and skincare brands in the United States support causes back in…
With “Frozen 2” now in theaters, viewers once again are transported to the world of Arendelle and accompanying sisters Elsa and Anna along their new set of adventures. After the success of “Frozen” in 2013, lingering questions remained, including: Why does Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel) have magical powers? Together with Anna (Kristen Bell), Kristoff (Jonathan…
A PHILIPPINE Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Los Angeles on Thursday, November 21 minutes following takeoff after one of its engines caught fire. Manila-bound flight PR113 left Los Angeles International Airport around at 11:45 a.m. and returned around noon after the Boeing 777 aircraft starting emitting flames from the right-side due to a…
AFTER nearly a year of anticipation, Pixar’s first-ever animated short featuring CGI Filipino characters is set to be released next week. “Float,” written and directed by Filipino American storyboard artist Bobby Alcid Rubio, will be available for viewing on streaming service Disney+ on Tuesday, November 12. In the roughly seven-minute short, a father tries to…
FOR the first time, Los Angeles City Hall was illuminated in yellow, blue, crimson red and white to represent the Philippine flag on Friday, October 25 during a celebration for Filipino American History Month. The momentous occasion was witnessed by over 200 Fil-Ams representing local government, businesses and community organizations who gathered at the City…
BY 2024, the skin lightening market is projected to reach $31.2 billion as the popularity of these products continues to soar in Asian countries like the Philippines, Korea and Japan. In the Philippines, products ranging from creams to pills still get smuggled in and have reportedly been found to have dangerous amounts of mercury, which…
Like most “1.5 generation” Filipino Americans, Paola Mardo learned about American life through pop culture, particularly by watching teen movies and romantic comedies. Though she was born in Los Angeles, she lived and grew up in Manila and Kuala Lumpur before moving to the Bay Area suburb of San Ramon at the age of 15,…
There’s a new police commander in Los Angeles, and for the first time in the department’s 150-year history, it’s a Filipino American. Donald Graham, a 24-year veteran of the LA Police Department, was recently appointed to commander rank and to be the department’s coordinator in tackling the city’s homeless problem. Timed with Fil-Am History Month,…
“EASY, safe and important.” Those are three words officials want the public to remember ahead of the 2020 Census, after various groups raised concerns about confidentiality and accessibility to the questionnaire at a recent event for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) media in South Pasadena, California. “Your answers are protected by law…and will not…
DURING a recent trip to Los Angeles, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez visited Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which is leading a research program into the health needs of Filipino Americans in Southern California and across the country. While it’s common to see Filipinos among the majority of health and care providers worldwide,…
Rappler CEO and Executive Editor Maria Ressa lamented use of social media to spread misinformation and contribute to the ‘erosion of democracy’ as evidenced in recent elections, such as those in the Philippines and the United States, during a panel for Los Angeles Press Freedom Week on Monday, September 16. Ressa, TIME’s 2018 Person of the…
IT’S often said that food is a form of storytelling with its dimensions of narrating our culture, identity, relationships, memories, decisions we make and much more. For Christy Cunanan, one of her fondest childhood memories was listening to her grandparents’ stories about their lives in the Philippines and the culture, which has shaped her identity…
With debate surrounding the public charge changes set to take effect in October, Covered California officials and navigators emphasize that individuals who receive subsidized health care will not be considered a public charge. The public charge rule expands the federal government’s ability to penalize immigrants who seek green cards if they use taxpayer-funded programs, such as…
For many people around the world — especially Filipinos — Spam is a beloved staple in their meals, whether served with egg and rice for breakfast or wrapped with seaweed as a snack. To celebrate the universal appeal and popularity of Spam, a FREE pop-up event in Los Angeles this September 14 and 21 takes…
IN recent years, Los Angeles has witnessed a handful of contemporary Filipino restaurants open up, typically the ventures of second-generation Filipino Americans who have cut their teeth cooking other cuisines and are circling back to the food they grew up eating. Journey some 40 miles down to Orange County and while the selection of modern,…
A Los Angeles-based Filipino artist recently completed a new mural in the California State University, Sacramento campus. Eliseo Silva’s “Magkasama Tayo Aangat (Together We Rise),” unveiled on Sunday, August 18, is a tribute to Filipino migration, particularly by Filipina women, in the United States and the merging of the Filipino and American cultures. “Like my…
WHILE the Philippine island of Cebu boasts some of the best beaches in the country, it has also gained international attention for its jail that features dancing as a recreational activity for inmates. Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), a maximum security prison, made headlines in 2007 after a video of around 1,500 inmates…
Filipino American veteran organizations are decrying the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announcement to terminate the pathway that reunited Filipino World War II veterans with their families. USCIS on Friday, August 2 said that it plans to cease the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole program in line with President Donald Trump’s 2017 executive…
IT’S quite an electrifying time for the Filipino American literary landscape as in the first eight months of this year alone, we have come across and devoured several books across genres — whether young adult fiction or cooking. Our editorial team has written about titles, such as poetry collection “Loves You” by Sarah Gambito, Grace…
A Filipina American meteorologist took home an Emmy at the 71st Los Angeles Area Emmys for her coverage on plastic in the ocean. Shanna Mendiola — the meteorologist for NBC4 Southern California’s weekday morning newscast “Today in LA” — received the Environment News Story award for a two-part report on “Plastic and Our Oceans.” She…
NEED something to add to your Hulu queue? The streaming platform has just added “Ulam: Main Dish,” the first feature Filipino food documentary on its roster. With Filipino cuisine’s popularity in the U.S. over the past few years, this distribution announcement is another testament to that. “Ulam” (Tagalog for main dish) by Filipina-American filmmaker Alexandra…
The Trump administration is terminating a program that expedited the process for family members of Filipino World War II veterans to come to the United States. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Friday, August 2 that it will cease the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole program following President Donald Trump’s signing of a…
THE heat is on at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, where the national tour of “Miss Saigon” has mounted for the next four weeks. Opening night was held on Thursday, July 18, which was attended by several Filipino American talent, such as Jennifer Paz (“Steven Universe” and first national tour of “Miss Saigon”),…
FILIPINO exhibition series Pulo Project is back until August with a new set of art, design and fashion from Filipino and Filipino American creatives. Born as a “passion project” by Filipina American curator and designer Michelle Aquino, Pulo Project popped up at the downtown Los Angeles flagship of luxury retail store Please Do Not Enter,…
IN her bid for the White House, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren released an immigration plan this week, a few days after meeting with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community members in Las Vegas who posed questions about fixing the broken system. “Our immigration system makes American stronger, not weaker. Part of that is keeping…
WHEN news spread that Filipino American chef Charles Olalia’s four-year-old Rice Bar was closing down in May, many loyal customers deemed it a loss for lunchtime eats in Downtown Los Angeles. But when one door closes, another one opens. The 275-square-foot restaurant along 7th Street was quickly taken over by Fil-Am chef AC Boral, who…
“WHEN I was growing up, my mom would always say: ‘You have to be better than us.’ She never explained what she meant by that. But I understood. I had to somehow rise above my parents’ life in America. But how?” Filipina-Egyptian writer and artist Malaka Gharib explores this idea of a ‘better life’ in…
There’s an adage that says, if you can’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin. These days, it’s much easier to follow that as a rule of thumb, given that there’s focus on products that use more natural ingredients that we can identify and reducing exposure to toxic chemicals. One such skincare line is…
GRACE Talusan recalls being drawn to books at an early age. Some photos from childhood show her reading or writing, which foreshadow a chapter in her life some three decades later. “I’ve always identified as a writer or wanted to be a writer,” she told the Asian Journal in a recent interview. With “The Body…
