|
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.
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NEW YORK CITY — Due to a terrific turnout over the weekend, acclaimed independent film “Cavite”—directed by Filipino Americans Ian Gamazon and Neill de la Llana—has been extended on to a second week at the Cinema Village (22 East 12 St., off 5th Avenue, ph 212-924-3363). Daily showtimes are 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30 and 9:30pm. Tickets are $10, and can be bought online at www.cinemavillage.com or through Fandango.
The New York Times called “Cavite”, “Ingenious...a gripping political thriller....among the most striking American independent movies of the year”.
The Village Voice praised it as “brilliantly resourceful....a landmark in diaspora cinema.”
The Los Angeles Times calls it “an intimate political thriller that’s fresh and compelling to the end.” --Los Angeles Times
Other reviews for “Cavite”:
“A taut and clever thriller!Directed with impressive pluck and craft.” --New Yorker Magazine
“Quite a feat! A remarkably austere and impressively suspenseful action thriller.”-- New York Magazine
“A breathless, jugular thriller. Electrifying!” – LA Weekly
“Smart, tense, raw, and uncompromising!” – Austin Statesman
“A must see!” – Asianweek
“Fast-paced and grittily entertaining.”– Efilmcritic
“Guerilla Filmmaking at its finest!” –Hollywood Reporter.
A truly indie release, “Cavite” is currently playing in Los Angeles and is slated to open on June 16 in San Francisco and San Diego, and on June 30 in Seattle. To catch the trailer or more info, visit: www.cavitemovie.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- She now walks with a cane, but on May 12, the 81-year-old Filipino-American walked as proud as anyone else at the White House.
On that day, Virginia Ganzon Sturwold, a retired education specialist, received from US President George W. Bush the President’s Volunteer Service Award, the highest honor given by the White House to those who have contributed their time and talents to people in need.
A former professor at St. Joseph’s College and Adamson University in the Philippines, Sturwold was recognized for her tutoring of third- and fourth-graders at the Francis Scott Key Elementary School in San Francisco, where she has lived for the past five years.
As a member of the Experience Corps, a nonprofit organization of senior citizens who volunteer to address social problems, particularly literacy, Sturwold goes twice a week to the school and works one-on-one with children who are struggling to learn to read.
She also teaches knitting to boys and girls after school as a way of building confidence and a mentoring relationship with them.
“I created this award because I understand the great strength of the United States of America is not found in our military, and it’s certainly not because of the size of our wallets. It’s because the strength of America is found in the hearts and souls of generous citizens who answer to a universal call to love a neighbor like you’d like to be loved yourself,” Bush said in a speech during the Asian Pacific American Heritage month celebration on May 12.
Four other Asian Pacific immigrants were recognized this year.
“I am proud of the ... many achievements of our citizens of Asian and Pacific Island heritage. You really have enriched America by your contributions. You’ve made us a better land,” Bush said.
Sturwold, who went to New York in 1952 for postgraduate studies, is a survivor of domestic violence and breast cancer, both of which nearly killed her.
Sturwold said that during her volunteer work, she had never failed to be on the lookout for fellow Filipinos.
While with the American Cancer Society, she asked to be allowed to provide support to Filipino women undergoing treatment. And now in San Francisco, she likes helping Filipino children, even with their native Tagalog.
“I am, and always will be, a Filipino at heart,” Sturwold said.
“The White House Award was totally unexpected... I couldn’t believe it. With a nationwide search for volunteers they want to honor, I was completely overwhelmed that I was one of five chosen,” she said.
But this Filipino mentor of Americans, while flattered by the honor and attention, is more excited by another day of serving and sharing the beauty of lessons learned.
“I still subscribe to [the poet Robert] Browning’s words ‘Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be!’” she said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FREDERICK, Maryland -- Imelda Roberts was on her way to becoming a statistic -- one of poverty, of domestic abuse and of homelessness.
At the age of 12 she dreamed of seeing the Statue of Liberty. “It was the symbol of America to me,” said Ms. Roberts.
But as a young girl in the Philippines, she never dreamed her life would twist and turn, rise and fall in so many ways that she would have to leave her native land to save her life.
Ms. Roberts, a former human resources director and cabinet official for former Frederick mayor Jim Grimes, shares the soul-defining moments of her life in the pages of “Barefooted Soul” and in the songs of an accompanying CD.
Earlier this month, Ms. Roberts traveled to Ellis Island in New York, in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, to receive the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor for her book and songs.
Since 1986, the medals have been presented to American citizens of diverse origins “for their outstanding contributions to their own ethnic groups, their ancestral countries and to the United States,” according to information from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO), sponsor of the awards.
Among the 98 recipients joining Ms. Roberts at the 2006 Medal of Honor ceremony were Deepak Chopra and former Maryland lieutenant governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.
The two-day event included “lavish” ceremonies, a visit to Ellis Island, military honors from all branches of the military, a dinner gala, cultural shows and fireworks, said Ms. Roberts.
“As the lone Filipino American recipient of this medal, it is truly an honor for my family and my native land, the Philippines,” she said. “It is a timely tribute as Filipino Americans celebrate 100 years of Filipino migration to the U.S. this year.
“But most of all it is a true tribute to what America is all about -- a vast glorious land where everyone is welcomed and where opportunities abound for those who seize it and share their innate gifts to better themselves and contribute to this great country,” she said. “The Ellis Island event reminded me of the great contributions of immigrants in this country and a tribute to one humanity that crosses all religions, colors, genders and individual differences.”
Growing up in the Philippines, Ms. Roberts was one of eight children. The family business was successful and they lived in a comfortable home. After her father suffered a stroke, life began a downward spiral as her parents ultimately became bankrupt and homeless.
She grew up in one of the poorest places in the Philippines, near what is called Smoky Mountains. The name comes from the mounds of smoldering garbage that children would scavenge in search of food.
The family moved in with her sister and her children, who were living in a small one-room dwelling. Some slept at night on canvas chairs on the sidewalk. Ms. Roberts, a petite 5-feet tall, would curl up in the bottom of a vendor’s cart to sleep. The family income came from selling food to laborers in the fish market.
After high school, she was determined to go to college and managed to be accepted at the only university in the country that offered scholarships.
She graduated from college and landed a job at the largest corporation in the country, where she worked her way up to a supervisory position. She married and had two children, but her home life was shattered by spousal abuse that forced her to flee; leaving her children, temporarily, in the care of her mother and sister.
She arrived in San Francisco in 1984. While crooners sing of leaving their heart in San Francisco, Ms. Roberts says “I left my pain in San Francisco. That was my port of entry.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
THE Order of the Knights of Rizal, New York Chapter, in cooperation with the Kapisanan ng mga Pilipinang Rizalista of Tri-State Area will hold its spring/summer fund-raising event on June 16, a Friday.
The fund-raising will be held at the Yankee Buffet at 2660 Morris Avenue, Union, New Jersey. The event, a semi-formal affair, starts at 7:00 pm.
The organizers are requesting a $35 donation.
For more information, contact Pros Lim (718) 698-1092; Charito Cairme (718) 494-4502; Roger Alama 516) 791-8537; Amado Sy (516) 285-8280; and Rolly Abuyen (631) 587-8150.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
