Filipino community welcomes, lauds Women & Media Café launch

By Marivir Montebon

New York – Fierce and compelling narratives woven with beautiful songs in the diaspora depicted the coming out of Women & Media (WAM) Café as a shared platform for women and media in New York. Many Filipinos in attendance loved the unique cultural presentation.

Dr. Connie Uy, retired medical doctor and president of the well-reputed nonprofit Philippine American Friendship Committee, gave a heartwarming message on Facebook to describe the launch on June 21, 2024, at the Philippine Center on 5th Avenue.

Weaving narratives and songs, the Women & Media Cafe way. (L-R) Marivir Montebon, Cielo Buenaventura, Justine Calma, Anne del Castillo, and Carla Mongado.

“Congratulations to Marivir and Crien. A very successful launch of your WAM! Well-orchestrated and excellent topics and impressive speaker. The entertainment presentation of the musicians was great. The food was delicious! I enjoyed the whole program.” Connie Uy

“A very substantial conversation,” said accountant Ledy Almadin of the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce.

WAM is a platform for mutual support for conversation and action of women leaders and media in New York organized by the Marivir Montebon of Awesome Media, Ltd., and Cristina DC Pastor, founding editor of The FilAm.net.

It is a project of the tax-exempt Women’s Immigration and Communications Café (WICCAFE) and the media companies owned and operated by Montebon, the Awesome Media Ltd. and Pastor’s The FilAm.

WICCAFE, born in 2018, is an NYS-registered nonprofit formed by Montebon to provide immigrants a platform for their stories and women’s rights advocates to offer professional assistance as needed.   

Performers Carla Mongado, Andrew Beall, and Mayu Saeki.

The WAM Café launch featured two events, a media forum, and a mini concert. The media forum had Atty. Anne del Castillo, senior legal advisor of the NYC Cultural Department, Ms. Cielo Buenaventura, assistant art editor of The New York Times, and Ms. Justine Calma, energy and environment senior reporter of The Vox’s The Verge.

Their narratives as immigrants and children of immigrants were woven into songs rendered by singer-actor Ms. Carla Mongado (The Clockmakers Daughter) with Andrew Beall, percussionist on Broadway, and Mayu Saeki, a multi-awarded flutist.

Vice Consul Cathe Aguilar

The evening ensued with the deep and insightful experiences of the speakers as media practitioners punctuated by songs curated by Mongado whose voice enthralled the audience.  

Vice Consul Cathe Aguilar welcomed the guests at the Kalayaan Hall on behalf of Consul General Senen Mangalile. Aguilar is the newest addition to the consular staff in New York.

Fierce and compelling messages

Buenaventura’s narrative dwelled on aging and how stereotypes of old people may have to be broken. “No one can stop the march of time. We all age,” she said.

Society, however, regards old people as useless and disposable, and Buenaventura offered ways of respecting and honoring ‘super-agers’ as a wealth of experience.

Calma acknowledged the power of the media to teach, such as her experience as a young child, learning the English language and science fast through children’s shows. But she also critiqued how media has portrayed women as one-dimensional - as vixen, villain, or victim.

“That lack of fair representation affected me too. It’s hard to become what you cannot see. Luckily, I saw something different. I admire Filipino women who are strong, smart, and challenging stereotypes.”

Fierce, compelling messages from Cielo Buenaventura, Justine Calma, and Anne del Castillo

WAM Cafe, a well-attended launch at the Philippine Center on 5th Avenue.

The ambassadors in attendance: Amb. Mario Lopez de Leon, Jr. and Amb. Virgilio Reyes, Jr.

Del Castillo offered support programs from the government for community organizations to thrive and be sustainable.  She acknowledged how the Filipino press made effort to reach out to her to amplify her position as then commissioner for media and entertainment in NYC.

“The topics were timely, especially on aging. The combination of narratives and songs made it easy and enjoyable for us to absorb the heavy discussion,” said Marlon Manalastas, a guest from Washington, DC.

The launch was supported by leaders in the Filipino community in New York: Dr. Romulo Aromin, Jr., Ms. Nora Galleros of Galleros-Robinson Accountants, Dr. Dely Go, Cely Deauna & Asian Pacific Travel, Carla Mayol, Nieva Quezon, Popsie’s Chocolate, Chocolates, Joebert Opulencia & Orientours, FGMM Crafts, Lumen Castaneda, Fiesta in America, NAFFAA, Likha Art Café, Eric Bustamante of Philippine National Bank New York, and the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce.

The WAM Café and WICCAFE logo is an artwork by Leani Alnica Auxilio and the masterpieces by Queens-based artist Luis Caraos made the program visually vibrant. #

(Photos by Edwin Josue, Jocelyn Bernal, Lindy Rosales, and Boyet Loverita)

Watch us on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRMniziJHpo