PETER’S PATTER — NOVEMBER 2015
(Pictured above: FANHS President Mel Orpilla, Executive Director Dorothy Cordova, former Presidents Joan May Cordova, Vangie Buell, and Marina Espina with Jason Tengco, Deputy Director, White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders)
Bridge Generation News
Bridge Generation Filipino Americans Dorothy Cordova, Pio DeCano, and Tony Ogilvie of Seattle; Vangie Buell of Berkeley; and your humble blogger — all members of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) — were among the 250 guests of the first-ever White House Celebration of Filipino American History Month (FAHM) in Washington, D.C. on October 2. As the organization that established FAHM in 1992, FANHS received special recognition. A surprised Executive Director Cordova was unexpectedly asked to read a just-off-the-press letter from President Obama expressing the nation’s thanks for the many contributions of Filipinos to America. For the rest of the program, guests were treated to a surprisingly informative and entertaining day. Surprising — because from my past experiences, such government events are usually dull and bureaucratic. Informative — because of the helpful presentations of speakers Maria Contreras-Sweet, Administrator of the Small Business Administration; Leon Rodriguez, Director of the Citizenship and Immigration Services; Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General; and Nani Coloretti, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the highest ranking Filipino American in the Obama Administration. And entertaining — because of the participation of panelists: Cristeta Comerford, White House Executive Chef; Apl.de.ap (aka Allen Pineda), co-founder of Black Eyed Peas; Jo Koy, comedian; singer Cassie Ventura; Geena Rocero, transgender model/activist, and Ronnie del Carmen, Co-director, Pixar Animation Studios. Knowing of Pope Francis‘ love for fish during his recent breakfast visit to the White House, Chef Cristeta fixed a combination plate of bangus (milk fish) with fried egg and garlic fried rice. The Pope loved it. While Apl.de.ap demonstrated why he has been so popular as a rapper/singer, he also displayed a flair for comedy. This was particularly evident in his exchanges with rapid fire comic Jo Koy. Cassie spoke of her transition from a relatively short-stature model to singer, the statuesque Geena talked about the difficulties of breaking into modeling as a transgender woman, and Ronnie shared his experiences among Hollywood’s elite. The audience was further entertained by the Pilipino American Cultural Arts Society performing the beautiful Muslim dance number Singkil followed by the scintillating singing of Filharmonic, the six member a cappela group that currently can be seen in the movie “Pitch Perfect 2″……….. Speaking of Pope Francis’ visit to Washington, D.C. — did you happen to see the television close-up of Rosita “Daday” Amen with her son Alan and his family on CNN-TV as they waited patiently on the parade route to greet the Pontiff? And if this momentous occasion was not enough, the family followed the Pope on his subsequent trip to Philadelphia………….. Say it isn’t so, Jeanette! The irrepressible Jeanette Gandioco Lazam of Berkeley will be moving to Taos, New Mexico. We will miss her dedication to the arts and to fairness, and especially her humor………. The Seattle Chapter of FANHS recently honored two long time community activists for distinguished service: Bob Santos, former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Northwest Regional Representative, received the Lifetime Achievement Award; devotee of the arts Dolly Castillo received the Community Service Award……….. Demetrio “Buster” Villa of Manteca CA– currently immersed into helping the Filipino American National Museum get ready for its upcoming grand opening in Stockton — urges others to also help in the effort………… Check out Ernie Cabreana‘s oral history on You Tube. He was a major player in the establishment of the Morro Bay plaque commemorating the Spanish galleon landing of the first Filipino on mainland America in 1587. A successful boxer as a youth who became a motorcycle aficionado, Ernie is now known as the “Godfather of Filipino American Bikers”……….. After a long absence, Rita (Dublin) Privetera of Little Rock, Arkansas celebrated a reunion with old friends on September 26 in Modesto CA………… Joseph Velez of Stockton was posthumously inducted into the California School for the Deaf Heritage Hall of Fame on September 25…….. Filipino Advocates For Justice Executive Director Lillian Galedo‘s record of working on behalf of low income persons continues. On Oct 24 the Oakland non-profit sponsored free legal consultations for them with immigration and labor lawyers……….Oops! Last month’s boo-boos: (1) birthday honoree Angie Gamido‘s maiden name should have been Castro, not Beltran; (2) Alyssa is the grandniece, not granddaughter, of Bob and Jan San Jose…….. Happy November Birthdays to: Connie (Adlao) Suan, Frank Antiporda, and Gregg Bambo.
Pinakbet — News Across the Country
The standing room only audience at the 8th annual San Francisco Filipino American Jazz Festival on October 24 at the historic International Hotel demonstrates that straight ahead and Latin jazz continues to be a favorite of American pinoys. The electrifying performance of wide-ranging vocalist Mon David, whether singing ballads or scatting, was incredible; the Rey Cristobal Trio with Rey on piano, Rolly Quizon on drums, and Filipino Canadian Chris Trinidad was impeccable in its comping and soloing; and the bossa nova inspired renditions of the husband and wife team of Evelyn and Miguel Juteau were fantastic. Thanks to impresario Carlos Zialcita for bringing this excellent jazz event to SF. Carlos, an accomplished harmonica player, also joined in during the rousing finale. The event was one of SF’s many celebrations of Filipino American History Month……… But not all of the City by the Bay’s celebrations was well received. The October 28 celebration at the stately rotunda of San Francisco’s City Hall was panned by activist attorney Rodel Rodis for its absence of historical perspective. After noting the event focused almost entirely on Filipino traditional dance and music with scarce acknowledgment of the significant contributions of Filipinos to American culture, Rodel described it as “Celebrating FAHM Without Filipino American History”. He also noted that perhaps the event should have been called, “Philippine Cultural Day”………… Happily, other FAHM events across the country got better receptions. At Virginia Beach VA, community activist and dentist Allan Bergano led 358 dancers to establish a new Guinness world record for the largest tinikling performance ever. The old record of 344 dancers was set last year in Dallas; Los Angeles staged a parade focused on Filipino American history; Hawaii’s “Plantation Legacy” was the theme of the Filipino Community Center’s 13th Bayanihan Gala fundraiser on October 13 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel in Honolulu; under the leadership of Rosalie (Salutan) Marquez, Santa Maria area Filipinos celebrated FAHM at the Guadalupe Cultural Museum; California Assemblyman Rob Bonta sponsored the showing of the documentary “Delano Manongs” at the Oakland Asian Cultural Museum; the documentary was also featured in Sonoma County, thanks to the efforts of Karen (Mejia) Pennrich; The Filipino television program “Kababayan Today” hosted by Giselle “G” Tongi produced a month long celebration which featured daily accounts of FA history. Included were October 15-16 presentations on the Bridge Generation by yours truly. I was particularly pleased to discuss my generation since most Americans, including some Filipinos, have little understanding of the BG’s contributions to America…………… On October 24 the U.S. Census Bureau announced that effective in 2020, Filipinos will be classified as Pacific Islander, not Asian. Its reasons: Philippine weather is similar to other Pacific Islands; the Philippines are not attached to the Asian mainland, Filipinos use the ABCD alphabet, Filipinos don’t use chopsticks to eat…………. Eugene Amano, the 300 lb. former offensive lineman of the pro football Tennessee Titans, is thriving as the owner of five successful Hawaiian style restaurants — four in his native San Diego and the newest in Nashville TN……….Writer Abe Ignacio went on a well-deserved vacation/pilgrimage to Spain in September. Abe is the author of The Forbidden Book which uniquely covers the history of the Philippine American War through newspaper cartoons of the time………… Thurgood Marshall Jr., son of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice, is currently a partner in the prestigious international law firm Bingham McCutchen……………. The “Jeepney Restaurant’s” Chori Burger is the reigning King of Hamburgers in New York City. It beat out an impressive list of competitors, including “Five Guys”, in the Battle of the Burger contest sponsored by “Time Out New York”. The Chori burger consists of a longaniza and beef patty, smothered with banana ketchup, a bit of soy sauce mayo, and a serving of achara (pickled papaya)………… “Tapsilog Bistro”, in Campbell CA, was recently named sixth out of the nine Best Filipino Restaurants in the U.S. by “TABELogUS”. I went there for breakfast on October 25 and pigged out on sisilog. Rather than the usual sisig mix of minced organ meats, ears, head, etc. — sisilog featured prime pork steak pieces with eggs-over-easy atop of a heaping mound of fried rice. Yum, Yum!………… My boyhood home town of Livingston CA recently hired its first and only Filipino American City Manager. He is Salinas born Eddie Duque, formerly with the City of Santa Ana…………. Giving back: Mark Bustos, owner of a high end hair styling salon and hairstylist Lucile Javier of New York City, provide free haircuts to the homeless every Sunday on their off-days………….. Filipino American History Trivia: (1) Where is Manila Village located?; (2) Who is Eduardo San Juan?; (3) Who is the Filipina American married to movie star Kevin Kline?