Featuring the most noteworthy people impacting, inspiring, and empowering the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
TWO Filipina American commissioners have been reappointed to five-year terms on Los Angeles boards that handle critical infrastructure programs and utility services for the city’s 4 million residents. The LA City Council unanimously voted for Jessica Caloza to serve five more years on the Board of Public Works, while Susana Reyes will continue with the…
WHEN the coronavirus hit Los Angeles County, John Eric Swing, the newly appointed executive director of Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), led a food delivery project for seniors and families in Historic Filipinotown. Swing, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who joined the non-profit organization in 2015 and served as its director of small business…
BUSINESS tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. on Tuesday, June 16, passed away at the age of 85. The chairman and chief executive officer of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) died of pneumonia and heart failure before 11 p.m. at the St. Luke’s Medical Center. “San Miguel announces the passing of its chairman and chief executive officer,…
Stella Abrera, the first Filipino American principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre, has retired after 24 years with the classical ballet company. Under coronavirus-free circumstances, 42-year-old Abrera’s farewell performance would have been the title role of “Giselle” at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York on June 13. “I always thought my heart would…
ERIN Entrada Kelly is a product of 1980s pop culture, from having names for each Cabbage Patch doll to collecting sticker books to rewatching “E.T.” countless times. But what the author — who was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana to a Filipina mother and a white father — remembers the most from her elementary school…
The Filipino American student from Jacksonville, Florida who was accepted to all eight Ivy League schools will be part of Yale University’s class of 2024. Craig McFarland, 18, has committed to the prestigious university in New Haven, Connecticut, he revealed in a recent interview with the Asian Journal. In total, 17 colleges and universities across…
In its yearly roundup of the 100 most impactful Asian and Pacific Islanders (APIs), the nonprofit organization Gold House named eight Filipinos and Filipino Americans who have made significant contributions to American culture. Released every May in time for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the A100 list includes thought leaders, activists, politicians, entertainers, athletes and…
THIS Sunday, May 10 marks Mother’s Day — another major holiday that families will have to celebrate while sheltering in place and social distancing. While treating mom to a dine-in meal at her favorite restaurant or going to a church service may not be viable options, the Asian Journal asked Pinay moms and their children…
by Momar G. Visaya and Christina M. Oriel In honor of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the World Health Organization declared 2020 as the “International Year of the Nurse and Midwife.” The American Nurses Association followed suit by adopting the same observance for this year. Wednesday, May 6 marks National Nurses Day, the annual…
At 81 years old, Dr. Arthur Tayengco had no plans of retiring and continued seeing patients at his private practice along Charleston Blvd in Las Vegas. An obstetrician-gynecologist for over 50 years, Tayengco practiced until he physically couldn’t anymore after he contracted COVID-19, the disease linked to the novel coronavirus. “He loved medicine. He just…
For the past few weeks, we have seen small Filipino businesses and organizations come up with projects to send food and drinks to front-liners and first responders. Kabisera in the Lower East Side has its coffee runs, where they deliver caffeinated drinks to various hospitals. This week, they were able to log in their 30th…
LEILA Benitez-McCollum, Philippine television and radio legend, passed away on April 8 due to complications from the coronavirus disease. Her niece, Vivian Talambiras Cruz, an active leader in the Fil-Am community, told the Asian Journal that she spoke with Benitez the night before she died. “She was a bit lethargic and spoke about going to…
In a season five episode of NBC sitcom “Superstore,” Cloud 9 employees Mateo (Nico Santos) and Marcus (Jon Barinholtz) get into a heated argument in Tagalog, surprising many Filipino viewers to hear the language on American television. Mateo: “Tarantado ka talaga!” Marcus: “Narinig ko ‘yon, gago!” Mateo: “Kapal ng mukha mo, alam kong ikaw kumuha…
THE major holiday of the spring season is this Sunday, April 12, marking the end of Holy Week (Mahal na Araw). But instead of heading to church, participating in a neighborhood egg hunt or having a large fiesta with relatives, Filipino American families are navigating how to celebrate Easter in this era of social distancing….
AMONG the highest number of casualties in this global public health crisis are on the front lines and since the coronavirus outbreak across the globe began, over 100 doctors and nurses around the world have died. In the 10 states covered by the Philippine Consulate General in New York, the reported number is less than…
FIFTEEN Filipino tycoons landed on Forbes’ 31st annual ranking of the world’s billionaires, with former Senator and real estate tycoon Manuel Villar leading the pack. Forbes said this year’s roster was made up of 2,095 billionaires across the globe, noting that it was 58 fewer than those recorded in 2019, and 226 fewer than just…
Filipina-Australian chess champion Arianne Caoili died on Monday, March 30, two weeks after sustaining injuries from a car accident in Yerevan, Armenia. She was 33 years old. Her husband, Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian, announced her passing on Twitter. “I have no words to express my grief over my wife Arianne’s death,” he wrote. “She was…
For several Filipino American designers, the spring season usually brings in orders for wedding dresses, debutante gowns, and outfits for other special occasions. But amid the coronavirus pandemic, cities like Los Angeles have ordered the closure of nonessential businesses and put large gatherings on hold. Instead of sitting idly by, designers are re-shifting their focus…
FIVE Filipinos made it onto Forbes’s “30 Under 30 Asia” list for “challenging conventional wisdom and rewriting the rules for the next generation.” The 2020 roster, released on Thursday, April 2, includes skateboarder Margielyn Didal, The Cacao Project founder Louise Mabulo, PayMongo founder Francis Plaza, gymnast Carlos Yulo, and multimedia artist Breech Asher Harani. “This year’s…
A Filipina American detective of the Santa Rosa Police Department, who became California’s first line-of-duty death related to the novel coronavirus, was honored with a procession of patrol cars through the North Bay on Friday, April 3. Marylou Armer, 43, was a 20-year veteran of the department and succumbed to the illness on Tuesday, March…
FILIPINO American chef Rodelio Aglibot died over the weekend of an apparent heart attack and tributes and testimonials continue to pour. He was a man who wore many hats: as a chef, restaurateur, TV host and personality, entrepreneur and food consultant. “Our hearts are broken. We learned yesterday that my big brother, favorite chef, best…
Filipino American media professionals are paying tribute to veteran CBS News journalist and talent executive Maria Mercader who died over the weekend from the coronavirus. Born and raised in New York, Mercader, 54, spent over 30 years at CBS as a producer and most recently was a director of talent strategy. The Filipina American journalist…
As hospitals across Southern California run low on supplies for front-liners fighting the coronavirus outbreak, a Filipina American medical professional is using her connections to TV shows for donations to fill those needs. Mel Oliver, a cardiovascular perfusionist and emergency medical technician in Los Angeles, has helped secure boxes of masks, gloves and other gear from…
GOVERNOR Jay Inslee has named retired Navy Vice Admiral Raquel Cruz Bono as Washington state director for COVID-19 Health System Response Management. As the former chief executive officer and director for the Defense Health Agency, Bono led a joint, integrated support agency that enabled all branches of the U.S. military medical services to provide health…
A Filipina American pastry chef and entrepreneur from Southern California won a recent episode of Food Network’s “Chopped Sweets.” Ginger Lim-Dimapasok, the owner of ube-centric bakery Café 86, triumphed during the Monday, March 16 episode of “Chopped Sweets” entitled “Carnival Crunch Time.” “Chopped Sweets,” a spinoff of the network’s popular show “Chopped,” features four bold…
ONLY two hospitals in the city of Los Angeles received the highest five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this past January — and one of them is in the heart of Historic Filipinotown and is run by a Filipina American. Formerly known as the Silver Lake Medical Center, the Los…
“Pinalitaw ng Panginoong Diyos ang magandang ugali, magandang kabihasnan, magandang pagsa- samahan ng mga Batangueno. Salamat. Kahit kayo ay taga-ibang lugar, kahit kayo ay hindi Batangueno at tumutulong sa nagdurusa, sa mga nahihirapan dito sa Batangas, ipahintulot nyong sabihin ko ito sa inyo—kayo rin ay Batangueno! May pag-asa tayo,” said Cardinal Emeritus Gaudencio Rosales This…
It was a celebration of all things pork at Cochon555 on Sunday, March 8 as five of New York’s top chefs went head to head in a friendly competition for the title of “Prince of Pork” and a chance to represent the city in the grand championship later this year. Chef Louis Bayla, Chef de…
A Filipino American producer with nearly two decades in the entertainment industry announced the launch of a new multicultural public relations and marketing agency to uplift voices often missing and underrepresented in mainstream spaces. Jeremiah Abraham officially unveiled Tremendous Communications at the start of March with the mission of working with entertainment studios to promote…
WHEN Tif Marcelo first read “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton growing up, she knew she wanted to be a writer. “I told my dad and, of course, his reaction was not super excited because my parents were definitely more pragmatic and logical,” recalled Marcelo, who grew up in San Francisco after migrating from Quezon City,…
