Featuring the most noteworthy people impacting, inspiring, and empowering the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
A Filipino American educator will serve as the president of Anaheim, California’s Elementary School District Board of Education for the coming year. Jose Paolo Magcalas, an ethnic studies and United States history teacher at Loara High School, was elected to lead the school district’s board during its annual organizational meeting on Wednesday, December 11. He…
Rappler founder and CEO Maria Ressa was named one of Time magazine’s most influential people of 2019. Ressa joins notable international personalities like U.S. President Donald Trump, former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and musicians Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. According to Time magazine Editor-in-Chief and…
LOS Angeles Philippine Women’s Club board of directors member and historian Lorna Dumapias passed away on November 30, 2019. Lorna was one of the longtime members of the 58-year-old organization that brings together Filipina woman throughout Los Angeles to promote education, cultural and philanthropic activities. Photos show Lorna attending the Philippine Women’s Club meeting last…
‘Crazy Rich Asians’ breakout star nominated for his acclaimed performance on NBC’s ‘Superstore’ For the second year in a row, Filipino American actor Nico Santos is nominated for a Critics Choice Award (CCA) for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on the NBC sitcom “Superstore,” the Broadcast Film Critics Association announced…
The Trump nominee becomes the first Filipino American to serve on a federal appeals court and second openly gay federal circuit court judge The United States Senate on Tuesday, December 10 voted to confirm a President Donald Trump-nominated Filipino American prosecutor to the largest appeals court in the country. As the first Filipino American and…
Tony Award-winning musical on striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee runs until Dec. 8 IT doesn’t come as a surprise that San Francisco native Cassie Grilley has loved acting. Growing up, she watched musicals and even performed in her grandmother’s musical theater group, Young People’s Teen Musical Theater Company, which was founded in 1984. Fast forward…
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…
The genre-bending Filipina American Melina Duterte on authentic creative expression, listening to herself and overcoming the anxieties of our life and her latest album “Anak Ko” Melina Duterte would like to quash falsehoods regarding how she came up with her nom de plume, Jay Som. “This story gets asked about a lot because there are a lot…
The Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. wishes to reaffirm its full and unwavering support to the government’s intensified campaign against illegal drugs. We join the government and our law enforcement agencies in condemning and working towards eradicating the menace of illegal drugs as a moral scourge, a threat to public…
POPE FRANCIS NAMES ARCHBISHOP AUZA AS APOSTOLIC NUNCIO TO SPAIN Archbishop Bernardito Cleopas Auza has nothing but good thoughts and warm wishes about the Filipino American community in New York and the tri-state area which welcomed him warmly with wide open arms when he took his post in 2014 as the Apostolic Nuncio or the…
WHAT initially started as a business college project is now a social enterprise with a passion to help the community. It may sound so simple, but Paul Orpiada and together with three other group mates, started KARAW! Collections and Souvenirs as a hands-on application of what they learned while in their business course at Ateneo…
BEN Adams, the lead singer of chart-topping boyband a1 and now a prominent producer based in the UK, teams up with Filipina singer Morissette on “This Is Christmas,” a potentially timeless bop for the Yuletide season. Released under Sony Music, the song was originally written for a Dutch artist, but the BRIT awardee and multi-platinum…
The veteran community demands action from lawmakers to secure rights and compensation to Filipino World War II veterans In Hollywood, Los Angeles on Monday, November 11, dozens of Filipino veterans and their advocates once again came together in support for recognition and rights for Filipino World War II veterans. Monday’s demonstration was the 19th annual…
THE University of the Philippines is set to confer upon White House Executive Chef Cristeta Pasia Comerford the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, on November 11, 10 a.m., at Ang Bahay ng Alumni, UP Diliman. The conferment will be led by Commission on Higher Education and UP Board of Regents Chairperson Prospero…
Manila, Philippines – They are game-changers, rule breakers, and trailblazers. The country’s “Outstanding Men and Women of the Year” for 2019 were feted at a glittery gala in late November in Teatrino (“the biggest little theatre” in the heart of Manila’s shopping haven, Greenhills). This year’s batch of awardees was led by Isko Moreno who…
By Alice Sarmiento, NextDayBetter Storytelling Associate For many of us, school is like a home away from home, with our teachers acting as our parents. But in the United States, an ongoing teacher shortage is threatening these definitions. In 2018, it was estimated by The Learning Policy Institute that the country was lacking at least…
An organizer at heart who is honored to be part of the Nevada AAPI community, Phil Kim is the Nevada State Director for presidential candidate Senator Cory Booker. Having come from a working-class family of first generation immigrants, Phil grew up in California’s San Gabriel Valley and went on to be the first in his…
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…
ASSOCIATE Justice Diosdado Peralta on Wednesday, October 23, was named as the new chief justice by President Rodrigo Duterte, replacing Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin who retired from the tribunal on Oct. 18. “We are certain that with Chief Justice Peralta at the helm of the Supreme Court, the Judiciary will continue to be well-managed as…
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,…
LAS VEGAS — Four Filipino Americans have been appointed to the reestablished Clark County Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Community Commission on Wednesday, October 9. Fil-Am community leader Margie Gonzales will serve as chairwoman of the 15-person commission, which also includes Fil-Ams Allen Mallari, a pastor; Craig Valdez, regional program manager for New American Leaders; and…
Last Saturday evening, October 12, friends and family gathered at Mint Indian Bistro to celebrate Mike & Rita Vaswani’s 50th Golden Anniversary. The party was organized by Mike and Rita’s children, Sanjay Vaswani and Bindiya Mahabir. Notable guests included Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak & First Lady Kathy Ong Sisolak, NV Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske,…
Based on senators’ latest statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), Senator Cynthia Villar remains to be the richest member of the Philippine Senate, while Senator Leila de Lima is the poorest. As of June 30, 2019, Villar posted a net worth of P3,534,412,797 — a figure that is P185.52 million less than her…
I was on my way back to New York from a quick European jaunt when I saw a friend’s Facebook post about Premiere Classe at the Jardin des Tuileries in the heart of Paris. I had eight hours in the city of lights after my train ride from Brussels to catch my flight back to…
Interviews by Malou Liwanag-Bledsoe, Joseph Peralta and Christina M. Oriel /AJPress THE late Thelma Buchholdt paved the way for Filipino Americans to serve in public office, when she was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 1974, becoming the first Fil-Am woman legislator in America. She served four terms until 1980. Since then, Filipina…
Disney and Pixar veteran Josie Trinidad one of four filmmakers appointed to work on upcoming original features ON Tuesday, October 1, Walt Disney Animation Studios named four new directors to helm upcoming original theatrical features for the studio, including Filipina American filmmaker Josie Trinidad. Trinidad began as a Story Trainee at Walt Disney Animation Studios…
Filipino American History Month 2019 OCTOBER is the celebration of Filipino American History Month to commemorate the first recorded presence of Filipinos in the continental United States. The first Filipinos — “Luzones Indios” — landed in what is now Morro Bay, California on October 18, 1587. With this history, Filipinos are said to be the…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO), a joint initiative of the Philippine Embassy under the leadership of Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez, Consulates General in the United States, and the Ayala Foundation, Inc. (AFI), is pleased to announce the 2019 FYLPRO Delegates. Due to an overwhelming response in…
A new documentary about the Philippines’ former first lady Imelda Marcos is set to hit the big screen this fall, Showtime announced on Monday, Sept. 30. “The Kingmaker” by Emmy winning director Lauren Greenfield (“The Queen of Versailles”) will open in theaters at the Quad in New York City and Laemmle’s Royal Theater in Los…
