PETER’S PINOY PATTER — MAY 2016

Bridge Generation News

The Pasquil Family Foundation – “Giving Back”:  Cornelio “Corney” Pasquil grew up virtually in the very center of America — Junction City, Kansas to be exact — the son of a career army man. Constancia “Connie” Viernes grew up in the California Delta town of Walnut Grove — the daughter of a migrant farm worker.   Their whirlwind courtship and subsequent marriage resulted in five beautiful children: Mona Rogers, Appointments Secretary to Governor Jerry Brown; “Gigi” Ferarri, stay-at-home Mom;  Cornelio Jr. “Corky”, CEO of MyBarong.com; Danny, District Director, U.S. Department of Labor;  and Cris, high school history teacher.  On Corney and Connie’s first visit to the tiny island of Siquijor (Connie’s ancestral home) in 1985, they were appalled to find children not attending school, simply because their parents could not afford it. This experience helped them better appreciate the sacrifices their Manong Generation parents went through in traveling halfway around the world to find a better life.  Unlike the poor residents of Siquijor, Connie and Corney benefited from the economic advantages of America — thanks to their parents’ sacrifices. Thus began the Pasquil’s tradition of giving back.  Since then the family has regularly sent their own version of CARE packages to Siquijor — RICE.  Expenses were met with proceeds from periodic bus trips they sponsored to Nevada casinos and from the family’s own resources.  After Corney’s untimely death in 2012, the family established the Pasquil Family Foundation to benefit Siquijor children through a scholarship program.  Wednesday, April 27, at the Falls Event Center in the Sacramento suburb of Elk Grove marked the inaugural benefit event for the scholarship program.  The gala event was a typical fun-filled family affair.  Connie, the Pasquil children, their spouses and children all contributed to the event’s success.  The catered dinner featured sumptuous Filipino favorites.  There was wonderful music, with talented local groups and musicians donating their time to the festivities.  Honored as the first-ever Bayani Award recipients were: Cynthia Bonta, Director of the Outstanding Filipino Youth Awards Project of the Philippine National Day Association and Apl.de.ap, nee Alan Pineda Lindo, the internationally known rapper/singer of the Black Eyed Peas, record producer, and philanthropist who delighted the sold out audience with his life story and sense of humor.  Perhaps the highlight of the evening was when he made an unscheduled appearance to sing with a local duo, brothers Rylan and Teran Ladion.  Among the night’s luminaries in attendance were Chief Justice Tani-Cantil Sakauye, the highest ranking Filipina(o) American in California state government; Rob Bonta, the only Filipino ever to be elected to the CA Assembly; and Anthony Rendon, Speaker of the Assembly.  The next Pasquil Family Foundation event is scheduled for October.  Look for details on the Foundation’s newsletter — http://eepurl.com/bWrbFL.  For the foundation website please click on www.pasquil.org…………..  It was my privilege to participate in an unusual civil rights symposium on February 27 — “Lessons from our Man@ngs: The Struggle For Filipino American Civil Rights Yesterday And Today” — sponsored by the Greater Seattle Chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society and the University of Washington Filipino American Student Association.  The symposium brought present day students together with Seattle Filipino American activists from the exciting days of the 1960s-70s.  Among the Bridge Generation presenters: Dorothy Cordova, who with her late husband Fred co-founded the Filipino American National Historical Society for which she continues to  serve as executive director; Pio DeCano Jr., former president of the National Association for Asian Pacific American Education who advocated for the establishment of the Governor’s Commision on Asian American Affairs; Rosita Farinas, retired steward for the Seattle American Postal Workers Union and former chairperson of the local USPS Equal Employment Committee; Lois Fleming, ex-staff member of the Seattle Human Rights Commission and former chairperson of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; Tony Ogilvie, current president of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce, who led the 1969 demonstration that resulted in the inclusion of Filipino and other needy Asian students into UW’s Educational Opportunity Program; Bob Santos, long-time advocate for housing and health/human services for the Chinatown/International District and ex-regional representative for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Dolores Sibonga, who with her late husband, Marty, published the Filipino community’s major newspaper The Filipino Forum during the civil rights era, and who later served twelve distinguished years on the Seattle City Council; Andres “Sonny” Tangalin, co-leader of the 1960s-70s Coalition Against Discrimination and former public schools administrator/high school principal; and your faithful blogger who mostly appreciated the opportunity to reunite with old friends.  Students listened to the activists’ experiences during morning sessions and then reconvened in the afternoon to discuss the presentations’ relevance to current civil rights issues. At the end of the symposium, it was refreshing to hear students declare, “Bridge Generation activists still have much to contribute to today’s civil rights issues.”…………… Good to hear from Clem Morales who reports that he has moved back to his old neighborhood in Salinas CA after a long absence………. After skiing on the slopes of his home state in Utah, Gregg Bambo flew to the beaches of Mazatlan, Mexico.  Nice way to enjoy your 80s, Gregg………… RIP: lifelong Stockton resident Carol “Cookie” Espineda, 85, passed away on February 29………..  Happy May Birthdays to: Wilma (Bucariza) Aguinid, Irene (Plaza) Edralin, Jose Fidel, Plorenze “Jack” Hipolito, Frank Irigon, Bob San Jose, Jeannette (Castillano) Tiffany, Walter Yuponco.

Pinakbet — News From Across The Country

It appears Virginia Beach dentist, Allan Bergano, will finally find justice in his protracted battle with the City of Virginia Beach over relocation expenses. When he learned several years ago that the area in which his office of 32 years is located was scheduled for redevelopment, he and other business persons were told they would have to relocate.  He subsequently signed a lease to move to another site.  Unlike other businesses, however, the city refused to compensate Dr. Bergano for moving expenses.  Having no other choice, he sued the city.  Last month he was informed that the city would rather settle out of court and not go to trial.  Congratulations, Allan!………….  The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a plan on April 12 to designate a Filipino cultural heritage district in the South of Market neighborhood SoMa Pilipinas.  Community leaders hope the designation will not only recognize the Filipino presence there but also preserve it.  Resident Juvy Barbonio hopes the district designation will go beyond signs and murals and do something to help Filipinos worried about redevelopment and gentrification there. SoMa is home to 5,106 Filipinos, according to 2010 Census data.  The new district will encompass the historic I-Hotel, Gran Oriente, Rizal Apartments, Iloilo Circle Building, Bayanihan Community Cultural Center and other “cultural assets” identified by the Filipino American Development Foundation who spearheaded the effort…………. The veteran hard rock band Guns N’ Roses unveiled a new keyboardist, Seattle resident Melissa Reese, at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on April 1.  Also composing and songwriting since she was 14, Melissa’s music has been heard on television shows as diverse as Inside the NFL, Gossip Girl, and Keeping Up With  the Kardashians………… Karla Garcia, a native of Oxen Hill MD,  is a cast member of the Broadway smash hit “Hamilton”. The hip-hop musical about America’s founding fathers was recently nominated for a record-breaking sixteen Tony nominations………….. Oakland born David Requiro has emerged as one of today’s most promising young cellists.  Having soloed with the Tokyo Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the Seattle Symphony, he performed Dvorak’s Cello Concerto on April 20 at the Paramount Theatre with the Oakland East Bay Symphony………….. Next time you’re in Los Angeles, I suggest taking the unique Jeepney Tour of Historic Filipinotown.  To my knowledge this is the only tour in the U.S. that uses a Jeepney………..  On April 11 Mia Alvar of New York City, whose first book of short stories In the Country has enjoyed critical and popular acclaim, was named winner of the $25,000 2016 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction. The book recounts stories of Filipino migrants. Founded in 1922, PEN America is an association of 4,400 U.S writers working to break down barriers to free expression worldwide……………Texas native Gail Minglana Martinez, 41, was among the latest American victims to be identified as killed at the March 22 terrorist bombing in Brussels, Belgium.  She was travelling with her four children and husband,  Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Kato Martinez………….. Another Filipino victim of gun violence: The 2012 shooting and dismemberment of  Norife Herrera Jones, 29, in Monterey CA was mercifully concluded on March 30 with the murder confession by her estranged husband Lawrence Jones, 74, a former Naval Postgraduate School professor…………….. Answers To Last Month’s Filipino American History Trivia — (1) Name the Seattle civil rights activist whose father was a popular professional prize fighter during the 1920s-30s.  Answer: Bob Santos; father: Sammy Santos aka the Manila Mauler/Socking Sammy Santos. (2) Name one of two former SF Mango youth club basketball players who rose to the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.  Answers: Dixon Campos or Joe San Felipe. (3) What was the 1934 law that limited Filipino immigration to the U.S. to 50 per year? Answer:  Tydings-McDuffie Act (aka the Filipino Exclusion Act).