Global wave of spectacular New Year pyrotechnics ushers in 2013
World cities from Sydney to Dubai rang in the New Year with a spectacular global wave of firework displays.
World cities from Sydney to Dubai rang in the New Year with a spectacular global wave of firework displays.
For 14th year in a row, the largest and most successful indoor gathering of Filipinos in the East Coast comes alive. Dubbed the Philippine Fiesta in America, this two-day Filipino-themed exposition celebrates the vibrancy of Philippine culture. The Fiesta consistently draws crowds of over 20,000 from far and wide. Over the years, guests have arrived [...]
How was it to celebrate the holiday season in the old way, growing up in the Philippines, and how they observe it now in their adopted country? I posed this question to some friends and relatives abroad, who have been absent from the homeland for many years. Here are some responses: Hermie Garcia, publisher and [...]
As early as September, Alex de Vera and his family had fixed up a Christmas tree in their living room. Like most Christian Filipinos in Saudi Arabia, the de Veras tuck away a Christmas tree ready to be set up for the season.
Our Christmas tree was made of wood, wire and strips of glittering green foil paper.
The Archdiocese of New York maintained its objection to the holding of Simbang Gabi midnight masses at the consulate building on Fifth Avenue, prompting the possible relocation of the Christmas tradition observed for 25 years by Filipinos in the New York Tri-State. “A mass can only be carried out in a consecrated location and thus, [...]
Raymond Marc tries to fight off tears as he watches a short video. He failed. “Coke has made me cry,” he posts on his Facebook, after watching the 4:27-minute “tearjerker” video of Coca-Cola that is now going viral on the internet.
The global economic crisis claimed yet another victim on Sunday—the storied tradition of normally starchy Apec leaders decked out in gaudy local dress.
NEW YORK—About two weeks ago, three Tagalog poets of note strode into town, fresh from an appearance at the first annual Filipino-American International Book Festival in San Francisco the beginning of October. Having been invited by the festival organizers I had met the trio there, where they were said to have delighted the largely Pinoy [...]
SAN FRANCISCO, California—Midway through a sunny Saturday afternoon filled with singers, dancers and comedians (notably still sexy octogenarian Elizabeth Ramsey) eliciting delight, and politicians soliciting votes, the crowd, estimated at more than 10,000 people, standing in the grassy knoll in front of the Yerba Buena center stage for the 18th annual Pistahan festival in San [...]
In Eddie Romero’s 1976 classic Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon? (As We Were), set during the confluence of the 1896 Revolution against Spain and the 1898 Spanish-American War, the question of who is Filipino pops up at certain moments, seemingly in casual conversation. But by the end of the film, the question has been transformed into a weighty meditation on a burgeoning national identity. Expressed mainly through the evolving proto-nationalist consciousness of its young and naive protagonist Kulas (played by Christopher de Leon), it reflects the growing aspirations of a Spanish colony now awakened to its potential place in the community of nations.
SAN FRANCISCO—In Manila and San Francisco, the debates are raging, heated public disputes — over people’s privates. The issues involved are serious, I know. But I can’t help thinking that, while Manila and San Francisco have long had strong ties, one city is now looking at the other with puzzled amazement, even amusement. For in [...]
