posting my favorite song about filipina moms:
and a film about filipina women - that i just read/found out about via a tweet. thank you twitter!
currently it's only screening in dubai... hopefully, they'll screen it here in the US as well... :)
Check out this video trailer for the upcoming Silicon Valley Asian American Voices project:
The documentary follows the stories—the successes, hardships, and hopes—of three Asian American immigrants in Silicon Valley. Two seconds into the trailer, I could tell the first lady featured was Filipina. Her looks, her accent... she is so Pinoy!
Seeing my kababayan onscreen immediately made me sit up and pay attention. I haven't watched the film yet (it's going to be showing at the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, starting March 20th), but I know her name is Nenita Ibe, and she's a Filipina woman working as a room attendant in the hotel industry. She's a Filipina immigrant. Although I've never worked in the hotel industry (in the US at least; my nightclub gigs in Manila are another story altogether and a subject of future blog posts), I'm a Filipina immigrant too, so her story is a little like my story. And her story is a little like my cousins' stories and my high school buddy's story and your story. And if you're not a first generation immigrant, her story might be a little bit like your mother's story, or your father's or your grandmother's. It's a story that's been told and retold by hundreds and thousands of Asian Americans all across the United States, and it's a story worth hearing.
If you live in the Bay Area, check out the Silicon Valley Asian American Voices Facebook page for a schedule of upcoming screenings of this documentary. Hopefully watching this document will get more Asian Americans aware of the struggles that new immigrants still face.
This post originally appears on Bonggamom's personal blog, Finding Bonggamom. She also blogs for the Silicon Valley Moms Blog, Savvy Source, and Bonggamom Finds.
the young lady in the middle is my mom, leaning on a loaned jeep, somewhere in cebu, circa the 1960s. :) a while ago, i submitted the photo to the new(ish) website my parents were awesome. but, i don't think they're going to post it, so i'll post it here. :)
anyway, i just saw this photo this morning. in the background is manila international airport. in the foreground is a (i assume, filipino) family, looking like they're boarding a plane on the runway... the dad is laden down with baggage, tickets firmly grasped between his teeth. the mom is calmly carrying a toddler while watching an older child scamper alongside the dad.
the old photos of the awesome parents never fail to amuse and astonish me, but almost always leave me feeling bittersweet. my parents split up shortly after my youngest sister was born. most of my mothers pictures were lost in a house fire. and since most of my life has been spent here in the states, away from my father in manila, i have no photos of him as a young man. the only pictures we have of them, as a couple, are their wedding pictures. my parents rarely talk about their courtship, much less, their turbulent and relatively short marriage.
i love and deeply admire both of my parents. i really think they were, are and will continue to be AWESOME. but i am also glad that they found happiness in their separate lives. we all have the emotional bruises that resulted from their divorce, but i think, i hope, we're all "okay" now.
i hope that the "my parents were awesome" website is still around for my children when they're grown ups. and i hope that they think happily enough of my husband and me to submit pictures of us in our younger, fashionably victimized and possibly inebriated awesome days....
Have your heard of CNN Heroes? Every year, CNN gives $100,000 to the winner (from a field of ten finalists---winnowed from 9,000 nominees from all over the world) of its "Hero of the Year" award. This year, a 28-year-old Filipino, Efren Peñaflorida, made it to the top ten. (A panel of 12 well-known personalities from various fields picked the finalists. Colin Powell was among the judges this year). If Efren wins this year's award (based on how many votes he gets, which will depend on us), he will be able to expand his mobile school program, Dynamic Teen Company, for the children of the slums in the Philippines. What this young man is doing to improve the lives of the kids in the slums is truly inspiring, and I think his efforts are worth my vote.
Voting is open between now and Nov. 19, and it takes less than a minute to click a button to cast your vote. The more votes Efren gets, the greater his chances of winning the "Hero of the Year" award and the $100K. Let's all vote for Efren and help him continue to make a difference in those slum kids' lives! Please don't forget to pass this on to everybody you know---Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike----so more people can vote for this young man with an extra big heart.
This post originally appeared on Bonggamom's review blog, Bonggamom Finds.
Tonight, for the first time in decades, I said the rosary. Ironic that I said it tonight, Oct. 1, the month of the Holy Mother. I must admit, I was a bit rusty. I had to dig around for a crucifix, a candle, and an actual rosary. My altar is pretty pathetic. After I started, I had to stop, go to Google, and print out the words to the Apostles' Creed. I'd completely forgotten them. Then I went back to my makeshift altar with my printout and had to start over. Embarrassing, no? This from the girl who'd consistently received a 95 in religion class back in St. Scholastica's Academy.
After the Apostle's Creed, I tripped again, this time over the Glory Be. But not as bad. And I'm happy to report that the Hail Mary flowed from my lips like buttah. I did, before I started, look up the Sorrowful Mysteries (and since when did we have the "Light" Mysteries, now said on Thursdays?), and referred again to my cheat sheet at the start of my first set of ten beads.
So far so good. I was kneeling and the words were flowing. It actually felt good to say the prayers. Comforting. It took me back to grade school, when my entire class would say a set of ten beads between each period, and sometimes I'd lead the prayers. I had quick flashbacks when the statue of the Holy Mother would visit my house in Marikina for an entire week, making its rounds in the neighborhood, and my mom and I would say the rosary for every night that the statue was visiting our home. Saying the rosary was such a part of my childhood I'd taken it for granted. I'd even resented it. I wanted to play, to get a snack, to watch TV. Anything but say the rosary!
After I finished my first set of ten, the Glory Be came more smoothly. But then I tripped over the "Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins..." prayer. I don't even know what the official title of that prayer is. Anyone know? Anyway, onto my next set of ten.
I couldn't help but think of my own mother. I felt like she was saying the prayers with me. She was a devout worshipper of the Holy Mother, back in the Philippines and after we moved to the U.S. After saying the rosary at school, my biggest association with those set of beads is my mother.
After my second set of ten, and saying the Glory Be, the "Oh my Jesus" prayer surprisingly got easier. Maybe saying the rosary is like riding a bike. The next set of ten came even more smoothly, and the one after that even more so. Unfortunately all the words to Hail, Holy Queen didn't instantly come back. I had to improvise a bit. I hope the Holy Mother didn't mind. But my mom would've looked at me with disbelief.
I read somewhere that saying the rosary was meant to transport you to a different plane of existence. The prayers, chants really, are meant to be soothing and otherworldly. There is some truth to that. On the eve of the next big typhoon about to hit the Philippines, sometimes the only defense against 230 kph winds is a set of beads, especially when you have nothing else to fight with. Tonight, I felt some of the helplessness at not being able to help my friends and family, of being away from them, ebb somewhat. Not totally; I'm still keeping vigil over weather.com tonight. But as I said the familiar words, a sense of comfort wrapped around me, like a long-lost yet much loved childhood blanket.
Last night I got an email from a friend who was visiting London, containing just one sentence:
Is your family all right?
When I read it, I did a quick run-through of my family members. Nope, all present and accounted for. What did I miss? Was there an earthquake that I didn't feel? I wrote back and said we were all fine.
This morning I saw the headlines: Manila floods kill 106. Here's an excerpt from the Associated Press news release:
MANILA, Philippines – Rescuers pulled more bodies from swollen rivers Monday as residents started to dig out their homes from under carpets of mud after flooding left 140 people dead in the Philippine capital and surrounding towns.
Overwhelmed officials called for international help, warning they may not have sufficient resources to withstand another storm that forecasters said was brewing east of the island nation and could hit as early as Friday.
Authorities expected the death toll from Tropical Storm Ketsana, which scythed across the northern Philippines on Saturday, to rise as rescuers penetrate villages blocked off by floating cars and other debris. The storm dumped more than a month's worth of rain in just 12 hours, fueling the worst flooding to hit the country in more than 40 years. At least 140 people died, and 32 are missing.
We all know Filipinos are talented.
And we read more and more about how Pinoys are making waves in the fashion industry.
But I've just read about one Filipina who's done turning heads on the runway and is now attracting suitors with jewels.
Maritess Damian has crafted diamond studded pieces for clients like Lenny Kravitz and former first ladies of France.
Damian began jewelry making when her modeling career was halted because of a bout with cancer.
Want to know more? An ABS CBN News interview with Damian can be found here.
If your family is like mine, then you've been hearing for weeks about the 2009 Miss Universe Pageant and how fellow Filipinos were excited for this year'sMiss Philippines Pamela Manalo.
The last time a Filipina brought home the crown was in 1973.
So when the stunning Manalo took the stage Sunday, many Pinoys were rooting for her to represent our homeland.
How could you not? She's gorgeous.
It's a shame that the 22-year-old flight attendant did not make it to the top 15.
But there's still so many reasons to be proud of her.
I know as a Filipina Mom, I love that the pageant beauty had to lose 30 pounds to enter the competitions.
This makes her so real. Especially as I go through my own weight loss battle right now.
And to hear her sincerity during her public interviews makes me hope Amara will find more Filipina role models such as Manalo.
Manalo may have not won Miss Universe. But she's still our Miss Philippines.
Here's to you, Pamela! Congratulations from Filipina Moms!
my sister and i have been emailing each other a lot lately. email has been such a godsend - although i miss getting actual letters in the mail (on silly sanrio stationary with twin stars or my melody on them), it amazes me how close she feels even though she's half a world away.
she's (and her husband) getting ready for her move to canada and crossing off all "the things to do" on her growing list... it's sad to hear that she is leaving for the same reasons our mother left decades ago - lucrative employment opportunities, "better" living conditions, a "safer" place to raise future children, money to send home, etc... and now, somewhat closer to family...
it's not a move that she's eager to make, but one that she feels is the right thing to do for this time in her life. she's worried about our father who will stay behind in manila as well as our other sister and her family and the extended family. she doesn't mention her friends very much, i think saying goodbye to them will be just as heartbreaking as saying goodbye to blood relatives.
above is the video for "mama filipina" by apl.de.ap of the black eyed peas from his upcoming solo album "u can dream". i've been listening to it a lot lately. it's really been inspiring me to finish a book i've been trying to write about my mother and my childhood in chicago as part of an immigrant family.
i should really send a link to my sister. and come to think of it although my mom HATES "modern" music, i really think she'd appreciate the lyrics and nostalgia that apl.de.ap revisits in the song and the video.
i may not have been born there. but often, i miss the philippines as if i was. it seems like everytime i go "home", someone else is missing, having left for the states or canada or new zealand, or worse - passed away, etc... what will it be like, one day, when i don't know anyone there anymore and i am truly a tourist just visiting?
It's hard to believe that another summer is coming to an end.
You can almost taste the gingerbread and hot cocoa.
OK maybe that's taking it a bit far. But the school year is fast approaching for many of us.
Fortunately, my 6-year-old is looking forward to nine months of homework and reading.
But I know it will not always be that way.
A great suggestion I've come upon is from the PTA.
The organization is introducing School Year's Eve and inviting families to celebrate school's start.
Why not ring in the new year with party games, food, and banners?
We'd do it to welcome
And if you post your party pics online at SchoolYearEve.com, you could win $1,500 for your school or PTA!
Amara may be looking forward to first grade. But I'm not gonna pass up an opportunity to party.
Hope to see you living it up to!
Happy School Year!
Monina a.k.a. Mom2Amara typically passes on the fruit punch and can usually be found enjoying wine o'clock at her blog Being Mom2Amara.
photo credit: ADoseOfShipBoy by Creative Commons