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For the past 20 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
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To tell us what you think about Filipino Express Online or to comment on the stories published here, E-mail us at Filexpress@aol.com
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Clark, NEW JERSEY --- The sought-after Philippine Chamber Rondalla of New Jersey is teaming up with the Sampaguita String Quartet for its May 13th concert entitled “Fusion: A Musical Feast – East Meets West.”
“We are thrilled to perform with these musically gifted teens,” remarked Clarita Ramos, PCR-NJ President. “They have inspired us with their dedication and sincere interest in learning the music of their heritage. The combination of their Western instruments with our Philippine rondalla yields fresh and fascinating sounds.”
The quartet consists of 17-year old Francis Garcia on first violin, 14-year old Vincent Garcia on cello, 13-year old Joanna Garcia on viola, and their cousin 17-year old Vincent Lopez on second violin.
Each member plays more than one musical instrument. Each also consistently earns academic honors on top of volunteering with various civic and cultural organizations.
For the May 13 concert, the ensemble will be performing Vincent Lopez’ transcription of Filipino love songs as arranged by Joy Spainhower for Regino Madrid’s Mango Quartet at Cleveland Institute of Music in 1999.
The ensemble is also busy preparing for a benefit concert on May 6 at Mount Saint Mary in Watchung, NJ. The proceeds are earmarked for the survivors of the February mudslide in Leyte Province in the Philippines.
“Fusion: A Musical Feast – East Meets West” is not the first foray by PCR-NJ into working with young Filipino-Americans. PCR-NJ has been teaching rondalla to teens in Princeton, NJ and Philadelphia, PA since late 2005.
This collaboration with the Sampaguita String Quartet is a natural offshoot of the group’s mission to promote appreciation of the rich musical legacy of the Philippines.
The music for “Fusion: A Musical Feast – East Meets West” will feature special arrangements for chamber by renowned composer and ethnomusicologist Bayani Mendoza De Leon. Champion bandurria player Leonor Llorin Paliguin has been coaching both PCR-NJ and Sampaguita String Quartet for their joint numbers.
Concert tickets may be obtained by calling 908-359-3297, 732-846-0204, or 973-716-6886, or by e-mailing philchamberrondalla@yahoo.com. Advance ticket price is only $10 ($5 for children aged five and younger); $15 at the door. The concert will start at 3 p.m. and be held at Zion Lutheran Church in Clark, New Jersey (559 Raritan Road, off exit 135 of the Garden State Parkway).
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Minneapolis, MINNESOTA --- MoneyGram announced that consumers in New York City sending money to the Philippines using Home Delivery or ATM options through Getz Travel & Tours will receive a free 15-minute phone card to call their friends and family. The promotion begins April 29 and runs through May 14, 2006.
In addition, consumers who sign up for the home delivery or ATM delivery option when sending money to the Philippines will receive a free gift during the promotional period. Promotion dates are April 29 and 30, May 6 and 7, and May 13 and 14, 2006, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Getz Travel & Tours is located at 69-11 Roosevelt Avenue, Woodside in Queens, New York.
“We wanted to kick off spring by reminding our customers of the home and ATM delivery options when using MoneyGram to send money to the Philippines,” said Nelly Chang, marketing manager. “This promotion will give consumers the opportunity to try the service and follow up with their family and friends using the free phone card.”
Through an agreement with LBC, an international cargo and courier service, MoneyGram is able to provide its customers with the option of door-to-door delivery of funds to most residential locations in the Philippines, as well as the option to receive funds deposited to the recipient’s LBC-branded ATM card. Receive customers will also have the traditional option of picking up the funds at one of MoneyGram’s many agent locations.
MoneyGram International, Inc. is a leading global payment services company with approximately 89,000 global money transfer agent locations in 170 countries and territories.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.moneygram.com.
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THE Teodora Couples for Christ’s (CFC) social ministry for the empowerment of women will hold a Mother’s Day Festival on Saturday, May 13, at the Bishop Rodimer Community Center in Paterson, N.J. from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm.
The day-long activity will feature food fair, dance, music and talks by a Muslim mother on women, marriage and family life, a representative from the National Organization of Single Mothers, Inc. who will speak on how single moms could meet the challenges of daily life, and a CFC mother who will talk about the organization’s service to the poor as well as about its ministries.
A mass at 5:00 P.M. will close the day’s activities.
The Bishop Rodimer Center is at 387 Grand Street, Paterson, NJ 07505. The center’s telephone number is 973-345-4070. The festival is open to the public.
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NEW YORK --- The Filipino American Human Services, Inc., (FAHSI) will be producing a Philippine Cultural Fashion Show on May 13 in celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month.
Entitled, “2006 Estilo Filipiniana; Fashion Through Our Eyes,” the show will feature Philippine cultural costumes and Fil-Am Apparel designed by the FAHSI community. The fashion show will honor and feature designs from Anthony Legarda, a Filipino-American fashion designer from San Francisco and Albert Cabrera of Pinoywear, a Filipino American apparel designer from New York City.
Proceeds from this fund-raising event will be used to finance the senior programming for the Filipino American community. The main sponsors of the event are Materials for the Arts and Verizon.
Members of the FAHSI community, which include the FAHSI Board of the Directors, staff, youth, and friends have volunteered to serve as fashion models.
The cultural part of the fashion show will feature four various cultural influences in the Philippines. These are the Rural/Barrio suite, Mountain Province suite, Muslim suite and the Spanish suite. It will then conclude with Filipino-American apparel and Philippine fusion designs of mixing Filipiniana wear in the contemporary world.
The fashion show will be from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at the Queens Museum of Art located in Flushing Meadow Park. Special guest include New York State Senator Frank Padavan of Queens.
Philippines Cream Silk model Pamela and TV newscaster Hazel Sanchez will serve as the co-emcees, along with FAHSI’s Board Chair Mary Ann Nepomuceno.
Seats are limited and RSVP is required by May 10 with a suggested donation of $25. For more information or to RSVP please contact Ted Martinez at 718-883-1295 or visit our website at http://www.fahsi.org.
FAHSI is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization established in 1993 to bridge the gaps in social services for the Filipino American community in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area.
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NEW YORK --- The Philippine-New York Junior Chamber’s (JAYCEES) Outstanding Young New Yorker (OYNY) candidate Ruben Rafaelov won first prize at the New York State Junior Chamber competition on April 22, 2006 in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Ruben Rafaelov, a senior from Thomas Edison Vocational School (Jamaica, Queens) won first prize of $1,500.
He is currently ranked #1 in his high school senior class and will pursue a degree in Pharmacy at St. John’s University (Queens, NY) this fall. He is a National Honor Society Inductee and is the recipient of the Stars and Stripes Forever award and the Prudential Spirit Award Certificate of Merit. His extracurricular and community activities include Walk America, Global Citizen Corp of Net Aid, Student Council and the founder and president of his school’s Global Outreach Club.
The second, third and fourth place winners, Michelle Conroy (Batavia High School), Elizabeth Fox (Johnson City High School) and Roslyn Joinvil (Erasmus Hall Campus for Science and Mathematics) were also awarded cash prizes from the New York State Junior Chamber. They were sponsored by the Batavaia, Johnson City and JCI Caribbean Junior Chamber chapters. The candidates were judged on essay writing, interview and speech performance.
Major sponsors included Anheuser-Busch, Caribbean Voice, and Shaklee Independent Distributor.
The Philippine-New York Jaycees is a local chapter of the Junior Chamber International, a worldwide leadership training organization that offers individuals between the ages of 18-40 the tools they need to build the bridges of success for themselves in the areas of business development, management skills, individual training, community service and international connections. Visit website at http://www.philnyjaycees.org
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