PETER’S PINOY PATTER — AUGUST 2016
Bridge Generation News
From all accounts, the June 25 Jamero-Madelo Family Sixth Quinquennial Reunion at Heavenly Valley, South Lake Tahoe celebrating five generations in America, was an unqualified and resounding success. Family members came from as far away as Okinawa, Louisiana, Utah, Texas, and Washington to enjoy and catch up with their cousins, nieces and nephews, uncles and aunties, moms and dads, and grandpas and grandmas. Fabulous food was endless — steak, pork chops, barbequed chicken, hamburgers, salmon, pasta, hot dogs, and assorted salads and desserts in addition to Filipino delicacies like pork and chicken adobo, lumpia, dinuguan, sarciado, and biko. There was a variety of games for young and old capped by a tug-of-war won by the 40+ Oldtimers that handily beat the Under 40 team for bragging rights. With the win the Oldtimers remained undefeated in the reunion series. Periodically, music filled the air from a bevy of singers accompanied by talented guitar and ukulele players. Family history and family stories were told through a reunion memory book, exhibits, and a trivia game. During the evening it was party time, gambling at the casinos, and dancing at nearby clubs. This was the second time the reunion was held in Lake Tahoe; the first in 1991 attracted 55 family members. This year’s reunion drew 125 celebrants — a 2 1/2 times increase. Thanks to hardworking reunion chairperson Danielle Jamero and her planning committee of 4th generation family members, the Sixth Quinquennial Jamero-Madelo Family Reunion was a most successful and memorable experience. Everyone is looking forward to the next reunion in five years………………. She did it! The intrepid Pauline Agbayani of Green Valley CA completed her month-long, 500 mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage on July 29 — on schedule. Congratulations, Pauline, for your fortitude and your faith! The 500 mile trek began in the French Pyrenees and ended in Santiago de Compostela, Spain — the burial place of St. James the Apostle. According to Pauline’s Facebook reports, she walked a minimum of 17 miles a day, wore out several pairs of walking shoes, partied in a grape field, enjoyed the solicitude of the countryside, and stayed in some hostels where she endured people snoring and Europeans who casually walked around in their undies………………. Your get-well wishes are requested for Bob Santos of Seattle who underwent surgery on July 14 for a heart condition and for Bob San Jose of Seal Beach CA who was hospitalized in late July to remove a tumor and left kidney………….. The anthology Filipinotown — Voices from Los Angeles co-authored by Carline Sobrino Bonnivier, Gerald Gubatan, and Greg Villanueva was lauded in a July 11 review by Reme Grefalda in the Los Angeles Review of Books. Wrote Grefalda, “The significance of the volume lies in its record of the memories of immigrants, now mostly gone, and their upwardly mobile progeny. The volume’s overall achievement? — the spirit of bayanihan.”.…………….. Just published by Carayan Press — Alaskero Memories, the autobiographical book of poetry by Bob Flor of his summer journeys laboring in a Filipino crew at an Alaska salmon cannery during the 1960s……………. Congratulations to Henry and Angie (Castro) Gamido of Seattle who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on June 6 and to Jim and Corrine (Artiaga) Fontanilla of Stockton on the occasion of their 58th………… Happy August Birthdays to: Beverley (Cabalar) DeToro, Carmen (Carido) Griggs, Mike Castillano, Terry (Cataag)Bautista, Connie (Dacuyan) Gin-Alcordo, Jim Fontanilla, Richard Gacer, Herb Jamero, Cathy (Monares) Bryant, Mike Nisperos, Tony Ogilvie, Nemisio Paredes, Oscar Penaranda, Roni (Roslinda) Calibjo.
Pinakbet — News Across America
Three events with World War II ramifications occurred within a month of one another. (1) On June 16 Filipino WWII veterans, friends, and family mourned the passing of Corporal Magdalena Estoista Leones, 95, who made history as the only Asian female to be awarded the Silver Star in World War II for “gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States.” Cpl. Leones’ Silver Star citation states that she was an intelligence operative in the Philippines who, on Feb. 25 to 26, 1944 “repeatedly risked her life to carry important intelligence data, vital radio parts and medical supplies through heavily garrisoned enemy-held territory.” Leones moved to California in 1969. (2) On July 13, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved S 1555, the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2015 that would grant the Congressional Gold Medal to more than 260,000 Filipino and American soldiers who served under the United States Army in the Far East (USAFFE). Only a fraction of the Filipino soldiers who answered President Roosevelt’s call to duty are alive today. A house version, HR 2737, with 172 co-sponsors must be approved before the plan to award the medals can move forward. But with the Senate’s overwhelming approval of S. 1555, it is expected to gather more bipartisan support in the House. (3) On July 14, nearly 75 years after America’s involvement in World War II, history was made when the California State Board of Education approved the inclusion of World War II in the Philippines in the revised history curriculum framework for the state. For 11th grade students, U.S. History will include the following topics: The Philippine Commonwealth; the creation of the United States Army Forces in the Far East comprised of Americans and a majority of Filipinos; the disruption of the timetable of the Imperial Japanese Army by the USAFFE Forces despite suffering from massive disease and starvation and fighting without any air support; the Bataan Death March and the thousands of casualties; the role of the Filipino and American guerrillas during the liberation; the American soldiers who were transported in hell ships to labor camps in Asia; the Battles of Leyte Gulf and the destruction of Manila. This will be the first time that WWII in the Philippines will be taught to high school students in California and perhaps the United States. Kudos to Cecilia Gaerlan, executive director of the Bataan Legacy Historical Society, who worked tirelessly to make it happen………………… To the many fans of the popular animated movie “Finding Dory”: Remember the name “P. Sherman” on the cap of the fisherman? The name, influenced by Filipino/a movie set technicians, stands for “fisherman” — with a Filipino accent……………. Nieves Villamin, co-owner of the Filipino owned winery I wrote about last month, emailed me to let me know that the winery should correctly be described as “the first Filipino American estate winery in America.” Incidentally, Villamin is the author of Bittermelons and Minosas: A Philippine Memoir in addition to a number of children’s books………….. I highly recommend Patty Enrado‘s online review of the recent Filipino American National Conference. You may recall that Patty is the author of the 2015 novel A Village In The Fields, which vividly describes the gritty, hard-scrabble migrant life of a Filipino farm worker, of family loyalties and betrayals, and of a tenacious hope for a better future despite racism, poverty, and vigilante violence………….. Filipino Americans are becoming more visible on Broadway. Currently pinoys/pinays are well represented: (1) In the diverse cast of mega-hit musical Hamilton; (2) In Ali Ewoldt who joined the cast of the long-running Broadway show, Phantom of the Opera on June 13. Not only is she the first Filipina to star in the lead role of Christine, she is the very first person of color to be cast in the part; and (3) In Joey Llana, currently playing the King of Siam in the latest revival of The King and I on Broadway, who was among the stars honoring LGTB month and the dead in the aftermath of the June Orlando shooting……………… Denise Dy, former star tennis player at the University of Washington, was named as assistant coach for tennis at her alma mater……………. For the first time ever the July 14 baseball All-Star game in San Diego featured two Filipino Americans. Addison Russell of the Chicago Cubs started at shortstop for the National League and Travis d’Arnaud of the New York Mets played catcher — also for the National League……………. Answers to last month’s Filipino American History Trivia: (1) Fred Cordova was the Founding President of the Filipino American National Historical Society; but who served as Founding Vice President? Answer: Your faithful blogger. (2) Where is the location of the only U.S. public school named after labor leaders Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz? Answer: Union City CA. (3) What was the motto of the U.S. Army First Filipino Regiment? Answer: “Laging Una” (Tagalog for “Always First”).