Barbie was hilarious, unexpectedly deep and in touch with today’s uneasy social reality - the subliminal power structure of gender that makes women invisible but overwhelmed with expectations to make other people better. The message ‘just love yourself’ slayed it.

There is a language-based inequity in the health care system of the US which is fast becoming a multi-lingual country. A study made by Stanford Medicine in California noted that “language barriers often occur when healthcare providers and patients do not share a native language and that patients and families with limited English proficiency (LEP) face exacerbated health disparities.”

Romeo ‘Ronald’ Cortez Jr., an employee at the Philippine Consulate in New York, has been an artist for several years now, garnering admiration and awards from various art groups and professionals. He is most comfortable in realism as an artistic expression.

“I found myself doing realism kasi self-taught ako. Yung nakikita ko sa surroundings ang nag influence sa akin, kung paano ko sila ipinta and I paint what I see. I believe that this is a God-given talent, kasi hindi naman ako nag-aral ng Fine Arts,” he said in an interview.

(I found myself doing realism because I am self-taught. What I see in my surroundings influences me on how I paint them. I paint what I see. I believe that this is a God-given talent because I have not even studied Fine Arts.)

Despite the robust growth of ethnic and community media in New Jersey before and during the pandemic, money is still the main problem of the majority of ethnic media organizations. A report of the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University found that “majority of ethnic media in New Jersey work on a shoestring budget and have small staffs.”

Ismael (Mike) and Josephine (Josie) Jampayas are known for their straight-up generosity and kindness as a couple. Now in their prime, nothing is ever enjoyable for them than to give back to the community in New York and in the Philippines their blessings after years of hard work.

The Philippine vodka (lambanog) is distinct from the English rum or Russian vodka, something which the world must taste.

Papo Js Philippine Lambanog vodka was created in 2018 by three friends - Filipino-Americans David Osmena and Mike Borja, and Hong Kong-based Jota Shohtoku, their American Japanese friend. It has taken an easy breezy glide in liquor stores and Asian food markets in California.

Eighty-proof and bottled in Quezon province in the Philippines, Papo Js has now reached the states of Virginia, Massachusetts, and soon, Arizona. Clear and crisp, Papo Js goes well with coconut water or with calamansi (Philippine lemon) and ice.

The 125th Philippine Independence Day celebrations in the Big Apple was capped by the raising of the Philippine flag at the Bowling Green Park in lower Manhattan on June 16, 2023. The mood at the park was convivial despite the overwhelming noise that’s typically NYC. The story shared by NYPD police officer Angelica de Leon Velez encapsulated the heart of the struggle and success of the Filipino in the diaspora, giving the ceremony a refreshing breath.

Media friends Cristina DC Pastor, Jen Furer, and Rachelle Peraz Ocampo celebrated the 10th anniversary of their baby, Makilala TV, the first and longest-running Filipino-American TV talk show in the NY Metro area on June 10, 2023 at the Sheraton La Guardia East in Flushing.

Makilala TV is a platform for showcasing the rich culture, stories, and voices of the Filipino-American community.

Lawyer Lorenzo Martinez brings to the table of US and international law his tacit legal experience both in the Philippines and the US. Philippine law education and practice is holistic and therefore enriching, he said. In the U.S., law education and practice are focused, which makes a lawyer ‘sharp’ or eagle-eyed. In both settings, he has so much to offer.

A hallmark in the celebration of the Asian American Pacific Islanders Heritage in the month of May is the significant increase in the New York State Fiscal Year budget for 2023-2024 of $30 million to AAPI communities.

Assemblymember Steven Raga, the first Filipino American elected official in New York state, said that this increase of $10M from last year’s allocation is a major victory for Filipinos and the broader AAPI communities.

Young people in the US have been dying at unprecedented increasing rates over the last few years due to suicide, homicide, drug overdoses, and car accidents.  The access to guns has primarily been seen as playing a major role in youth deaths.

Dr. Steven H. Woolf, MD, MPH, a professor of Family Medicine and Population Health at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine said that the number of children who were killed by guns has risen by 50 percent over the past two years. The staggering rate has undermined the US’s advancements in pediatric research that has curbed child morbidity and mortality.

“This is very unusual,” he said.

Muzaffar Chishti, director of Migration Policy Institute at the New York University School of Law said that there is a need for a flexible immigration policy to address the overflow of immigrants at the borders.

Citing New Jersey as an example, Congress needs to craft a policy that matches US need for labor and expertise with the surge of migrants.

At a media forum by the Center for Cooperative Media of the Montclair State University in New Jersey, Chishti said this flexible policy will respond to what he calls a crisis at the borders. The overflow of immigrants has now seeped into the interiors of the US, and bleeding states of their budgets.

To celebrate Women’s Month, the Women’s Federation for World Peace NJ accorded a film director, journalist, climate and disability activist, and a cultural worker its first HerStory Awards, each had deep experiences of transcending pain and embracing leadership.

I was honored to be alongside author and film director Ritu Chopra; climate reality and disability activist Priscilla Garces; Kamlu Gulrajani of the Seva Kendra Indian cultural organization; Estrella Cash of Cash Financial Resources; and one nonprofit, Josephine’s Place: A space for women which was represented by its executive director Sheila Casey.  

Thirty-five-year-old Domiko Ugarte, scion of the prominent Alegrado family in Cebu, walks the talk - that his family’s employees are the ‘it’ in their expanding Bluewater Maribago Hotel and Resort in Mactan island.  “It’s really the employees that make the place. Our edge is Filipino service. We take pride in that,” Ugarte said in our conversation.

FilAms do the catwalk in New York to raise funds for cancer warriors through the nonprofit FilAm Cancer Care, featuring the MUSA creations of fashion designer Carl Andrada. The FACC Walk for a Cause raised $1000 for 10 beneficiaries under the artistic direction of Buboi Asuncion.

So gently written, the novel 'Storm across my cherished bamboo bridge' (Austin MacCauley Publishers, 2022, 215 pages) is unputtable down as it emerges victorious against the harrowing brutality of murder, betrayal, and survival.

It's author Gene del Carmen's debut as a novelist. And oh my, I was touched by its transformational and relational value as a narrative of an immigrant family.

Years after the MoMA and Film Society of Lincoln Center chose Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros/The Flowering of Maximo Oliveros as its opening night presentation for the annual New Directors/New Films exhibition, Auraeus Solito's Pagdadalaga will make a rare return appearance in a New York theater on Friday, December 9, at 7:30PM. The film showing is free with proof of vaccination required.

First Filipino woman powerlifting champ in the Olympics Hidilyn Diaz visits New York and gears up for pre-qualifying training for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Although American politicians are quick to politicize immigration issues, the Franciscan friars have remained true to its vocation to take care of the needy. They took the initiative to solicit for jackets, strollers, clothes, and food for the immigrants.

I had an inspiring conversation with Fr. Julian Jagudilla, OFM, about this. He is the director of the Migrant Center at Church of St. Francis of Assisi Church.

Jagudilla sympathized with popular sentiment against ‘crossing the borders’ and jumping the immigration process. But as part of the church, how can you close your doors from the neediest and most vulnerable people when they are right at your doorstep? he asked.

Awesome at 10 is a curated collection of stories and essays about the Filipino American communities. It is all about surviving and thriving of FilAm immigrants and new generations. It speaks of our struggles and inspiration and fun. Makes for a good gift, actually. So please get your copy for history’s keeping and as a way to sustain OSM!’s awesome life as a local news and multimedia platform. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.