Philippines Independence Day & BF Founders Around Town

By Trish Fontanilla

Filipino trivia: On June 12, 1898 the Philippines celebrated their declaration of independence from Spain. Interestingly enough, that’s not when the Philippines gained its full independence. Spain had only ceded the islands to the United States as a part of the Treaty of Paris. The U.S. granted the Philippines their independence after World War II (yep, Filipinos fought alongside Americans during the war), and the Treaty of Manila was signed on July 4, 1946.  

For years the Philippines yo-yoed their celebration between the two dates. Today June 12th is a national holiday, but you still gotta go to to work on July 4th, which is now recognized as Republic Day / Philippine-American Friendship Day.

In Boston there’ll be celebrations throughout the month, but here are the events that the BF Founders will be attending:

Philippine American Mainstream Advocacy for Nonpartisan Associations, Inc. (PAMANA) will be celebrating the month with a few events!

The Parade & Festival are June 10th, 10AM ~ 3PM at La Salette Shrine in Attleboro. BF Co-Founder Bianca Garcia will be there partying at a BOSFilipinos booth, and she’ll be selling some of her homemade mini ensaymadas in addition to some flan from BF Co-Founder Leila Amerling!

The 2nd Annual Filipino Festival is June 23, 4:30PM ~ 7:30PM at the Malden YMCA. The Filipino Festival is independently run, and supported in part by a grant from the Malden Cultural Council. The event itself will feature food, performances, and activities celebrating Filipino culture. I'm super excited for this year’s festival because I know that the organizers have a deeper focus on inclusivity. I’ll be there reppin’ BOSFilipinos with a booth and language station!

If you’re heading to any of these events, let us know below or via Facebook / Instagram / Twitter!

And for more events this month, check out the BOSFilipinos Events page. We’ll see ya out there!

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We’re always looking for BOSFilipinos blog writers / subjects! If you’d like to contribute or have a suggestions, feel free to send us a note: info@bosfilipinos.com.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

By Trish Fontanilla

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and Boston is stacked with events! But before I share what’s going on around town (including our meetup on the 10th), I wanted to get into the origins of it. The month itself is epic when you think about how it’s an umbrella for the largest continent on Earth coupled with the Pacific Islands, and celebrating all of the cultures, people, and history that it includes. So not to overwhelm you too much, here are a few quick facts about the month:

• It started out as a Senate Joint Resolution for 10 days in May, which was shot down a couple times before it became a public law under President Jimmy Carter in 1978.

• It later extended from a week to a month, after President George H. W. Bush signed a bill passed by Congress in 1990.

• May was chosen because it commemorates the immigration of the first Japanese person to the US in May of 1843. And it also marks the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad in May of 1869, whose primary track workers were Chinese immigrants. 

Want to learn more? PBS has a whole collection of stories and videos on its website: http://www.pbs.org/specials/asian-pacific-american-heritage-month/

And without further ado, here’s what’s happening in Boston this month!

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2nd BOSFilipinos Meetup of 2018
Thursday, May 10, 2018
6PM - 8PM @ Globe Bar & Cafe

Join us for our second meetup in 2018! We’re bringing together some of the awesome folks in the Boston Filipino community for a happy hour in May. No agenda, just bring yourself and your friends! RSVP on the Facebook page to receive updates: https://www.facebook.com/events/496276400774813/

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2018 Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration
Thursday, May 17, 2018
5:30PM - 9PM @ Wellington Management Company

This Ascend New England event will have cultural performances, food from local Pan-Asian restaurants, and networking with professionals and students. For info: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2018-asian-pacific-american-heritage-month-celebration-tickets-45057305614?aff=es2

Taken from the Ascend New England event page

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Taken from the One in a Billion Productions event page

Live, Love, Laugh Storytelling Salon
Friday, May 18, 2018
6PM - 8:30PM @ 101 Main Street

This month's storytelling salon features Kira Omans, 2016 Pacific Miss Asian American and Zhao Qinghua, Founder & CEO of Chinese dating website, 2RedBeans. For more info: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/live-love-laugh-spring-storytelling-salon-tickets-44565374234?aff=es2

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Image taken from QSAC event page

Queer South Asian Collective Spring Bazaar
Sunday, May 20, 2018
12PM - 5PM @ Urban College of Boston

The Spring Bazaar will have food and shopping with your local queer South Asian community. This event is to help raise funds for QSAC to attend the National Queer API community organizing conference. For more info: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/qsac-spring-bazaarmarket-tickets-45209625206?aff=es2

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Taken from the WGBH event page

Celebration of Asian Pacific American Culture
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
7PM - 9PM @ WGBH

This celebration at WGBH is in its 10th year! "This year they'll be spotlighting Asian American entrepreneurs who have risen to the top of their respective industries and remain civically engaged in their communities." For more info: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/celebration-of-asian-pacific-american-culture-tickets-44947941503?aff=es2

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Taken from the USDLDF Dragon Dance event page

USDLDF Dragon Dance Competition
Sunday, May 25 - 27, 2018
3:30PM - 5PM @ Empire Garden Restaurant

"This 3-day event promotes the arts of dragon and lion dance as a cultural tradition and sport throughout the United States and beyond." For more info: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/usdldf-dragon-dance-competition-tickets-44936184337?aff=es2

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Taken from the Dealmoon invite

Dealmoon Asian Street Food Night Market
Saturday, May 26, 2018
6PM - 10PM @ Pine Manor College

This event will feature 15 local vendors who will be cooking and serving over 40 different kinds of Asian dishes and snacks! For more info: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dealmoon-asian-street-food-night-market-526-tickets-45398719793?aff=es2

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Taken from the BAAFF event page

Short Waves: Stories Shaping our Community
Thursday, May 31, 2018
6:30PM - 8PM @ Pao Arts Center

This event is being produced by the Boston Asian American Film Festival, and they will be screening submissions from their Short Waves Open Call for films. For more info: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-event-short-waves-stories-shaping-our-community-in-celebration-of-asian-pacific-american-tickets-44539749590?aff=es2

And for more events around town, you can stay in the loop by following our Events page that's updated weekly! 

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We’re always looking for BOSFilipinos blog writers! If you’d like to contribute, send us a note at info@bosfilipinos.com.
 

That's So Filipino! - Final Edition

By Leila Amerling

In this final part of the “That’s So Filipino” series, we’ll be talking about the stereotypes that my fellow Filipinos might have heard before and may actually agree with, especially when told by comedians like Happy Slip, Jo Koy, Rex Navarette, and Mikey Bustos.

Although considered stereotypical, we can’t help but agree with some of these comedy bits that identify a true Pinoy:

1. You know you’re Filipino when you point using your lips

2. “Mano po!” - take your elder’s hand to your forehead to “bless” him or her

3. You sniff kiss your kid or grandchild instead of kiss his / her cheek

4. You have an uncle nicknamed Bong, Boy, Ding Dong, Jun Jun, etc

5. You have an aunt nicknamed Girly, Baby, WengWeng, Lotlot, Pinky, Len Len, etc

6. You even have nicknames for household items like a “ref” is a refrigerator, the “aircon” is an air conditioner, or the “CR” is the restroom (aka Comfort Room)

7. You double the word in names and actions like Halo-Halo (“Mix Mix” - picture below), tabo-tabo (a small bucket to use in the shower), gabi-gabi (“nightly”), oo (“yes), or ukay-ukay (a type of Philippine second hand store)

8. You “open” or “close” the TV

9. You tend to mix up your F’s and your P’s - “I love Pilipino Poods!”

10. Mom’s solution to curing you of anything is by using Bicks Bapor Rab (aka Vicks Vapor Rub)

To summarize, here’s a musical rendition for your viewing pleasure. You may call these Filipino stereotypes but I call this reality.

Do you have any Filipino / Filipino-American experiences of your own that you want to write about? We want to hear from you. Contact us at info@bosfilipinos.com to join the BF gang and be a guest writer on our blog!

Did you miss out on Part 1 and 2 of the "That's So Filipino" Series? Check them out now!

Noche Buena - A Filipino Christmas Eve

By Leila Amerling

Happy almost December my fellow BOSFilipinos!

Ah Thanksgiving… a time to sit around a glorious table full of food, with family and dear friends to celebrate life and be thankful for it. Did you have a good Thanksgiving feast? Did anyone out there try to make an Adobo-style Turkey instead? Any Pinoy sides added?

Growing up in the Philippines, even as an American, Thanksgiving wasn’t actually a thing we celebrated as a family. For us, the next holiday to look forward to after Halloween was Christmas (although even Halloween isn’t celebrated as much over there either). In the Philippines, starting in September, Christmas carols start to play on the radio, decorations are put up everywhere (at home, the malls, hotels) and everyone gets into the holiday spirit. Yup! September. My family was not that extreme, but we definitely had the tree up by the first couple of weeks of November.

For most Filipinos, Noche Buena (aka Nochebuena), translated as Christmas Eve, was one of the key components to celebrating Christmas. It is one of the best nights of the year. Sometimes even better than New Year’s Eve!

My fondest memories of Noche Buena are like Thanksgiving for most. It was a way to get relatives together for a feast, and even the hired help and their families were invited to join in on the fun! We were all together and we all savored the delicacies that our cook lovingly created and spent all day making. And the best part, this started right before midnight and kept going long after.

You see, in the Philippines, Christmas Eve was almost as important, if not more, than Christmas Day. Almost all of the celebrating happened on the 24th. For me, it typically started with our version of lighting the candles on the menorah (my dad is Jewish, so we were lucky to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas!). We would then go to mass (Simbang Gabi), and then wait until around 10 or 11PM to start eating. During all of this, fireworks and firecrackers were going off from neighbors’ homes. And finally no later than 12:01 AM, my little brother and I would rush to the artificial Christmas tree and start going through all of the presents. Of course, we would never rip our presents open like a bunch of maniacs! We had to carefully open them so not to ruin the paper for next Christmas! And after all of that exhausting unwrapping, we ended up sneaking another red hot dog on a stick with marshmallows from the Pineapple. Picture below if you have no idea what I'm talking about.

Oh yeaaah...you thought I was kidding?!

Have you ever watched the movie Hook? Remember the part when Peter finally starts to learn how to play with the Lost Boys and imagined a long table full of super colorful food, and then they had the most epic food fight? Well, that was pretty much Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) for us (not including the food fight). Noche Buena to me didn’t start until we were all at that long table, full of heaping piles of every food group, of every shape and color that you can imagine. The table was not meant to be sat around either. It was a grand buffet. We grabbed our plates and loaded it up until we couldn’t fit anything on it anymore. We sat wherever we could find a seat, usually the living room, and enjoyed our meal with whoever sat next to us. Of course with full intention to go back for more.

By the time Christmas Day came around, we were worn out from the night before, some families would go to morning mass again, I didn't have to. To be honest, Noche Buena was such a big deal in our family that I really don't remember much of what we did on Christmas Day. As far as I remember, we spent the day enjoying our new gifts at home, a few more relatives came to visit and enjoyed a plate of leftovers.

Clearly, my fondest memories of Christmas consisted of family, food, and more food. Similar to what many of us just experienced last week, I hope. And I look forward to more to come!

What are your plans for Noche Buena? We’d love to hear it!

Of Cockfights and Adobo

by Bianca Garcia

© Bianca Garcia

This is an excerpt of an article I wrote for Offline Magazine (now shuttered down). I wanted to write about a controversial local tradition, and weave in stories about my family and food (of course). The entire piece is published on my blog.

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I stared at the gates outside the arena, gray and rusty, paint peeling off. The scorching sun was beating down on us, bright and relentless, and on the ground there were clouds of dirt being kicked around by the flip flops that everyone wears. There were sounds of children playing nearby. It was a typical provincial scene, grand and quaint at the same time. We shuffled to the entrance, and then we entered a different world.

We were at the cockfighting arena in San Fernando, Pampanga, a province in the Philippines. Dark, humid, loud and thumping, I could feel a frantic energy pulsing in the air. It was my first time going to see a cockfight, or “sabong” as it is called in Filipino. Cockfighting is a blood sport so violent that it’s outlawed in many other countries, but it has been part of Filipino culture for centuries.

In the Philippines, cockfighting is a great equalizer, where the rich and poor come together without any class distinctions. It is a community activity that brings neighbors together and ignites the bonding of the townsfolk’s men. A common joke among the wives is that the roosters are luckier than they are, because their husbands caress and lovingly massage the roosters first thing in the morning. Up until the 60s, when most parts of the country started becoming more urbanized, almost every backyard had chicken and rooster coops, with every family being invested in the sport of cockfighting.

To read the rest of the article, please head over to Confessions of a Chocoholic.

That's So Filipino - PART Dalawa (Two)

Welcome to our second segment of “That’s So Filipino”! Also, happy last full week of Filipino American History Month!

Today we’re going to talk about some important people that put the Philippines and Filipino talent in the spotlight.

Did you know these 10 Hollywood superstars and artists are either full or half Filipino?

Allan Pineda aka APL member of the Grammy-winning Black Eyed Peas.

Bruno Mars - Received five Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, one Guinness World Record, and was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2011.

Dave Bautista - MMA fighter, aka Drax from the movie Guardians of the Galaxy.

Enrique Iglesias - Grammy winner for Best Latin Pop Performance.

Hailee Steinfeld - Academy nominee and best known as Mattie Ross in the movie True Grit (2010).

Nicole Scherzinger - lead singer of the Grammy nominee girl group, the Pussycat Dolls.

Rachel Bilson - best known as Summer Roberts from the hit prime-time drama series, The O.C.

Shay Mitchell - best known as Emily Fields in the hit TV series Pretty Little Liars. She is a distant cousin of Lea Salonga, a Tony Award-winning theater actress best known for originating the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon.

Vanessa Hudgens - best known as Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical film series.

Vanessa Minnillo - Lachey - Miss Teen USA in 1998 and TV correspondent for Entertainment Tonight.

Yes, I am as surprised as you are with some of these. And just as thrilled!

Although these celebs may not necessarily be considered a part of Filipino American History, yet, one thing is for sure, they are certainly making history with their talents and incredible work!

Filipino American History Month 2017

Did you know that October is Filipino American History Month (FAHM)? While it was established by the Filipino American National Historical Society in 1988, it wasn’t officially recognized nationally by Congress until 2009.

As I started to work on a FAHM post for the blog, I found the AARP / NextDayBetter video that came out earlier this month. For a video that’s only 7 minutes long, it does an incredible job of highlighting Filipino American contributions and history dating back to 1587! Most of which, I must say, was not in any of my history books growing up in New Jersey.

Some new things I learned from the video (including links to learn more) were:

• Filipinos have been in what is now known as the continental United States since 1587 -
   
• Many FIlipinos first formed settlements in Louisiana (Saint Malo) - link
   
• Some Filipinos were at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair… on display - link
   
• Filipino towns such as Stockton’s Little Manila served as a safe haven for labor migrants who were accused of stealing jobs… and women - link
   
• The 1934 Congress restricted immigration from the Philippines to just 50 Filipinos per year - link
   
• During WWII - 250,000 Filipinos served in the United States Armed Forces of the Far East - link
   
• Filipino veterans in the Philippines were promised US citizenship and benefits, but the passing of the 1946 Rescission Act broke that promise - link
   
• At one point, there were more Filipinos in the US Navy than the Philippines Navy - link
   
• In 1965, the Immigration Act greatly expanded quotas (right around when my parents came to the US!), and by 1970 the Filipino community more than doubled. Population stats: 1930 - 45,000; 1970 - 343,00; 1980 - 774,000 - link
   
• There are now over 4,000,000 Filipinos in the United States, and that’s just an estimation from 2011 - link
  
  And those are just a handful of the stats that are in the video!
  
  To watch the video in its entirety, click below and let us know what you learned!

That's So Filipino - PART I

Happy Wednesday and welcome to the first installation of the three-part series called: That’s So Filipino! In this first part of the series, we’ll talk about several day-to-day things that we use, say, and/or do here in America, that are actually Filipino. 

Betcha didn’t know…

...the word ‘boondock’ known as ‘a rural area’ in English, was adopted from the Tagalog word ‘bundok’ (translated as ‘mountain’).

...the butterfly knife, aka the fan knife or Batangas knife, or ‘balisong’ in Tagalog, was first made in Batangas, Philippines.

...the word ‘cooties’, yes, the word that just gave me goosebumps, is adopted from the Filipino word for head lice, or ‘kuto’.

...whenever you hear Carrie Bradshaw talk about wishing she had as many pairs of shoes as Imelda Marcos, she’s actually talking about the former Philippine First Lady’s shoe collection. Mrs. Marcos was claimed to have owned over a thousand pairs of shoes. I’ve actually been lucky enough to see a part of her collection in a museum in Manila, and boy was I amazed!

...that although the karaoke machine was invented by the Japanese, a Filipino named Roberto Del Rosario was the first to patent and build the Karaoke Sing-Along System. It’s probably why it is now the Philippines’ favorite past time, and why Filipinos are also darn good singers.

...the phrase ‘Mani-Pedi’, the combination beauty regimen of a manicure and pedicure, originated in the Philippines.

...that time in P.E. class when you had to learn to step between two large poles without getting your feet caught, is actually a Filipino folk dance called tinikling. It originated from the Spanish colonial times.

...the yoyo is an ilocano word for ‘a toy’. It’s claimed that although the yoyo was invented in ancient Greece, the modern yoyo as we know it, was developed by a Filipino immigrant to the United States.

Congratulations! You are now an even better trivia partner than you were before you read this! It’s Wednesday! I’m sure there’s a trivia night somewhere near you. Enjoy your new found knowledge!

Don't forget to reserve your seat at our Filipino Food Popup Event on September 25th!