PETER’S PATTER — MAY 2015

Bridge Generation News

Have you ever seen so many BG octogenarians in one place at one time? This was on the occasion of Ray Paular‘s 85th birthday celebration in Sacramento on April 11.  (Ray can be seen wearing a blue cap in the middle of the picture.)  The party was initially planned by Ray to be a small intimate gathering of mostly family and a few friends.  However, it quickly grew into a fun event of mostly white-haired Filipino Americans — thanks to his children  who believed their father’s many community accomplishments deserved to be more widely recognized.  The guests, which numbered upwards of a hundred persons, were treated to a sumptuous dinner including lechon, lumpia, adobo, biko, and bibingka.  A four piece band played Hawaiian and popular music throughout the event.  Ray became visibly touched as testimonials were made, particularly when his eldest daughter Lori Aguila  talked about him as a husband, father and grandfather…………..  The naming of University of Oregon quarterback  Marcus Mariota as the first person of Samoan ancestry  to win the coveted Heisman Trophy — the best college football player in the nation — reminded me of one of the nicest introductions I’ve ever received.  San Francisco has one of the largest Samoan populations in the country.  In appreciation for my helping the Samoan community to receive government funding during the early 1990’s, the community honored me at one of its functions.  The emcee, Sulu Palagi, introduced me by saying, “Look at the face and build of this little guy; if he was a foot taller he would fit in perfectly as a Samoan.” As I looked around the roomful of men with pro football physical proportions, all I could say was, “I wish.”……… Rosemary (Quitiquit) Figueroa and her husband Dan, in the midst of their 59th year of marriage, were last seen strolling Stimson Beach CA.  Rosemary grew up in Stockton and now lives in the foothill community of Auburn……… For an enlightening account of Dorothy Cordova‘s early life in Seattle’s multiracial Central Area,  click on www.centralarea.blogspot.com.  Dorothy, founder and executive director of the Filipino American National Historical Society, received the Legacy Award from the Association of King County Historical Organizations on April 18………. Did you know?  Ben Cayetano of Hawaii is the only   Filipino American to ever serve as a U.S. state governor……… During two successive weekends in April I had a great time socializing with the following old timers who I haven’t seen for awhile: Betty (Resos) Gabonia, Pastor Engkabo, Ellie (Engkabo) Paular, Pat and Dolores Gemoya, Vince Reyes, Lynda (Maghanoy) Montano, Beverley (Cabalar) Bilge, Dolores (Ladaga) Abasolo, Andy and Jeanne Rembulat, Jean (Gouvea) Campos, Sleepy Caballero, Pas and Cathy Fidel, Joe and Jean (Galanida) Cabrillas, Esther (Navarro) Romero, Rich Tenaza, Bob and Joyce (Tibon) Balandra, Dick and  Dolores (Rosales) Supat, Eddie and Roni (Roslinda) Calibjo, and Paul Paular.…….This month’s proud mother is Teofila (Oyao) Hammett.  Her son, Kirk Hammett is the long time lead guitarist of the heavy metal band Metallica………. Happy May Birthdays to: Plorenzo (Flo) Hipolito of St. Louis MO, and Californians Wilma (Bucariza) Aguinid of Sacramento, Walter Yuponco of La Palma, and Janet and Bob San Jose, both of Seal Beach.

Across the Country

Alameda — home of the only Filipino American member of the California Assembly (Rob Bonta) and the only city with two city councilmen of Filipino ancestry (Tony Daysog and Stewart Chen) — has yet another distinction.  Three streets in a new housing development will soon have Filipino names: Larry Itliong (Itliong Lane), Philip Vera Cruz (Vera Cruz Lane), and Bohol Lane after the Philippine province. The only other American city that rivals Alameda is San Francsico which boasts five streets named after Filipinos — Rizal, Bonifacio, Lapu Lapu, Mabini, and Sora Streets……. The hectic schedule kept by the seemingly tireless Marisa Arroy, in promoting her documentary Delano Manongs, is paying off.  The documentary was just nominated for an Emmy……….  Jordan Clark, the 6’5″ Los Angles Lakers basketball guard, formed the first Asian American back court in National Basketball Association history when he started the March 24  game with Chinese American Jeremy Lin. Clark scored a season high of 30 points………… Another sign that Filipino food is beginning to be noticed in mainstream America — Guy Fieri of TV’s Diners, Drive In’s and Dives show recently visited the award winning Filipino food truck Senor Sisig in San Francisco………… Christine (Silverio) Balza of Dublin, whose works have been exhibited in Oakland, San Francisco, and San Leandro, was recognized for her work with babayin, a pre-colonial writing system.  She was featured in the April 16 issue of Asian Journal………. According to the First Annual National Filipino Health Equity Symposium on April 25, 7 out of 10 Filipinos living in California are overweight or obese……….. In winning the Farmers Insurance Open in Torrey Pines Country Club in San Diego, Filipino Australian Jason Day became the fourth highest rated golfer in the world…….. Movie star Vanessa Hudgens is starring on Broadway in the title role of Gigi at the Neil Simon Theater.  The role was originated by dancer Leslie Caron on stage and actress Audrey Hepburn in the movie version…………  Attending the investiture of Hayward Gillman, the new Chancellor of UC Irvine, on March 31 was Linda Revilla of Sacramento.  At the celebration dinner which followed, she enjoyed schmoozing with such Hollywood celebrities as Cary Elves of The Princess Bride………… Congratulations to Judy Patacsil, Professor at San Diego’s Miramar College and national vice president of the Filipino American National Historical Society, for her engagement to Herb Delute.