Sonata for fatherless daughters
He left me with a houseful of daughters, who are very young and adorable with the world on their side. In the face of adversity, we are not permitted to…
Category: Life & Style
Covering the week’s most noteworthy life & style news stories impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
Read More
Fil-Am film documents struggles of Filipina transwomen
A new film produced and directed by a Filipino American looks to shed light on the transgender community and help viewers understand what they go through. “Shunned” tells the struggles…
Inside this great city of ours
LOS ANGELES—Every so often, a major Fil-Am celebration with so many great minds, descends on this city. It would be a fitting time to highlight an inspiring unique portfolio that…
Up-close and personal with Graham Russell & Russell Hitchcock of Air Supply
Just to think what I might have missed…looking back how did I exist…I dreamed, still I never thought I’d come this far…but miracles come true…I know ‘cause here we are…”…
PH cuisine ranks No. 2 in CNN poll on international food
In a Facebook poll conducted by CNN, Filipino food was ranked No. 2 out of 10 when respondents were asked, “Which destination has the world’s best food?” The Philippines secured…
Cali-Pino pop-up brings Filipino fine dining to LA
Will Filipino food finally have its moment to shine? It’s a question that many, including major publications, are asking. Back in 2012, Andrew Zimmern predicted that Filipino food would be…
The photo is the message
Words are mere grace notes. All my life I have dealt with words. They are adequate for many of our purposes, indispensable for most. They can be immeasurably beautiful and…
Kalayaan Incorporated commemorates Southern California’s Independence Day Ball
We have passionate adherents of the yearly Independence Grand Ball and precedents flash yearly increase of revelers from the Fil-Am Community…that represents, if not affects collective thoughts, ideas, in order…
The full-packaged musical-comedic triumvirate of Jam Morales, Fe Delos Reyes, & Jessa Zaragoza invades New York
Imagine this world (when) devoid of music and laughter… two of the paramount essentials of existence that free us from boredom while simultaneously injecting that proverbial dose of stimulant for…
Filipino American culinary collaboration hosts Philippine Independence Day Dinner
FKEDUP NYC: Filipino History in 5 Courses is a pop-up dinner held in celebration of Philippine Independence Day, June 12, at Court Tree, 371 Court St 2nd Fl, Brooklyn at…
Everybody is a story
All my life I’ve dealt with words. I live in a world of stories. Stories are not replicable because our lives are unique, which gives us value and meaning. Yet,…
Quiet angels with gentle hearts
THERE is a quiet army of gentle women who wear their tact like a uniform. They look after elderly people with long-term needs. Whether in a high-rise, multi-storey building, a…
Octogenarian Paraluman ‘Lumen’ Castañeda watches sunset like dawn
“The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole… her true beauty is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that…
Hot summer car care tips
• CHECK your fluids and perform regular maintenance. • Confirm proper tire pressure to avoid a blowout and improve fuel economy. • Keep yourself cool with a/c and your vehicle…
The 12 super foods
Oats and Grains Tested for centuries, and loved by billions around the world, oats and whole grains, high fiber cereals, are most effective in naturally lowering blood cholesterol and in…
Notes for a daughter who turned 50: It is called hormonal mischief
IT is a new perspective coming into view in every woman’s major life passage: A midlife agitation, literal and poignant. First, the gushing, like the reddening of a dying tree…
Celebrating 117th Independence Day Ball
June finds the Fil Am community gearing up for graduations, weddings, Father’s Day, vacation plans and the ubiquitous Grand Independence Day Ball—five of them, within almost a fortnight. At the…
Sal Malaki: Ensnared in a cocoon of classical ingenuity
“Music gives soul to the universe…wings to the mind…flight to the imagination…and life to everything!” – Plato WHEN prolific German composer Ludwig Van Beethoven said “Music should strike fire from…
Found Coffee starts brewing with the help of SIPA
Situated along Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock, a coffee shop has become the spot to “find” local, artisanal roasts and a sense of community. Stop by Found Coffee and you’ll…
The Power of God through science, technology and faith
“JESUS breathes the Holy Spirit into the disciples and by doing so he re-creates them. The life-giving breath poured forth at the dawn of creation is now the Spirit-breath, the…
Breathing the scent of May at Glendale Grand Santacruzan
The Flores de Mayo (also known as Flores de Maria), a month-long custom and celebration, which is steeped in history and religious beliefs culminates with the Santacruzan—the grandest and the…
One Sunday night at the emergency room
All of LA County’s sufferings come through the doors of the emergency room. Accidents, shootings, heart attacks, beatings, rapes, suicides—just as gory and heart stopping when I was covering the…
38th annual Samahang Pilipino Cultural Night
MAY 23, 2015 marks the Samahang Pilipino at UCLA’s 38th Annual Samahang Pilipino Cultural Night (SPCN). With a committee of 30 individuals, a cast comprised of over 200 participants, and…
‘Carolina: Cruising to an American Dream’
In 2004 Carol Carreon surprised many and retired from a prominent career in the Philippines. She was President and CEO of BayanTrade, Managing Director of SAP Philippines, Deputy Commissioner of…
Walking on a sacred ground
HE was a shy, timid, introverted young man who wanted to be a missionary. But his superiors did not believe that he could make it. “Out in the missions you…
The Grand Induction Ball of the Los Angeles-Makati Sister City, Inc.
THERE is little to compare with the excitement over the Los Angeles-Makati Sister City, Inc. Induction Ball on Sunday, May 3. What are we looking at beyond the choreography of…
Rolando & Diwata Macuja: A connubial relationship bonded by faith and mutual trust
“Mature love is composed and sustaining…a celebration of commitment, companionship and mutual trust.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr. During last Sunday’s Catholic Action of Mary’s (CAM) 37th Santacruzan Presentation Ball…
Hazards in sunlight
What in sunlight is beneficial and harmful to us? The sun and its light are not only beautiful but vital to our life and survival on this planet. Without the…
To be a mother
IN the legends I have read that males invented to explain life, it was said that the first human creature was a man called Adam. Eve arrived later, to give…