Filipina Soul

The People Power Revolution of 1986 is being remembered through a production in Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille (TPM). The play, called People Power, started on April 12 and will run through May 11, 2008. It is a collaboration between Carlos Bulosan Theatre and TPM.
The production stars writer/performers Leon Aureus, Rose Cortez, Nicco Lorenzo Garcia, Christine Mangosing and Nadine Villasin.
People Power is perhaps, first and foremost, a lesson in the contemporary history of the Philippines… It is, needless to say, a complicated story in its scope and its breadth, rendered even more so by the fact that it is encapsulated here …read more

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Why is it that many Filipinos fear the English language? Students are intimidated by it. Graduates feel that they have to be perfect at it in order to be considered smart and educated.
We fear it, thus we elevate it. It has become a status symbol. Filipino beauty queens are expected to be able to speak perfect English to be considered worthy of their crowns. The children of the rich learn English as their first language. There is a linguistic divide between the have’s and have-nots. But why should this be?
Isabel Pefianco  Martin, president of the Linguistic Society of …read more

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April 9 is celebrated in the Philippines as “Bataan Day“. Yeah I know, that was one day ago. But remembering it should not only be for that day, once a year.
Bataan Day, also known as the “Fall of Bataan” or “Araw ng Kagitingan” (Day of Valor),  is an national holiday that relives the surrender of America to the Japanese occupation in the Philippines, on April 9, 2942. More than 12,000 American and 66,000 Filipino soldiers serving the Allied Forces surrendered to the Japanese. The next day, these prisoners of war began a 66-mile march from Bataan to Pampanga. …read more

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This is from Victor, one of the active participants in our most popular post.
Enjoy the humor! Here are some English-Tagalog (mis)translations:
01) Contemplate – kulang ang mga pinggan02) Punctuation – pera para maka-enrol03) Ice Buko – nagtatanong kung ayos na ang buhok04) Tenacious – sapatos na pang tennis05) Calculator – tawagan kita mamaya06) Devastation – sakayan ng bus07) Protestant – Tindahan ng prutas08) Statue – Ikaw ba yan?09) Tissue – Ikaw nga!10) Predicate – Pakawalan mo ang pusa11) Dedicate – Pinatay ang pusa12) Aspect – Pantusok o pandurog ng yelo13) Deduct – Ang pato14) Defeat – Ang paa (ng pato?)15) …read more

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Four workshops at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan are focusing on Philippine history, more notedly “the roots of its socio-economic problems and the Filipino progressive movement’s response”.
The workshop series, titled Philippines 101, began on March 24 and will continue for the next few weeks. They are offered by Ugnayan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Linking the Children of the Motherland) and the John Jay College Puerto Rican/Latin American Studies Department. Event times are 6:30 to 9:00 pm on each of the dates below. The topics are:
Workshop 1, March 24: Weaving Our Collective Story (Paghahabi ng Ating …read more

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Ready for more riddles? Try these!
1. Bahay ng salita, imbakan ng diwa. (House of words, storehouse of ideas.)
2. Bahay ni Ka Huli, haligi’s bali-bali, ang bubong ay sawali. (Ka Huli’s house has posts that are broken and a roof like a mat.)
3. Isang biyas ng kawayan, maraming lamang kayamanan. (One segment of bamboo with a lot of wealth.)
4. Hindi hayop, hindi tao, walang gulong, tumatakbo. (Not an animal nor a human, it has no wheels but it runs.)
5. Pagsipot sa maliwanag, kulubot na ang balat. (The first time it emerged into the light, it’s skin was already wrinkled.)
6. Kabayo kong …read more

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See if you can guess these!
1. Kung gusto mong tumagal pa ang aking buhay, kailangang ako ay mamatay. (If you want my life to be longer, I need to die.)
2. Kinain ko ang isa, itinapon ko ang dalawa. (I ate one, and threw away two.)
3. Bulak na bibitin-bitin, di puwedeng balutin. (Cotton that hangs up high cannot be wrapped.)
4. Nagdaan si Tarzan, nabiyak ang daan. (Tarzan passed by, and the road was split.)
5. Nung bata ay may buntot, noong lumaki ay nagkatuhod. (When it was young, it had a tail. When it grew up, it acquired knees.)
The answers are …read more

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Has it really been 22 years already?
My memories of the People’s Revolution at EDSA are still crystal clear. The events beginning with Ninoy Aquino’s assassination, my parents horrific reaction of that and the months to follow, the elections, the revolt, and what I was doing and feeling – I can still bring back the memories. And I was only a teenager then. I was only a spectator.
Others, much older than I was, were part of the battle. This ABS-CBN exclusive recounts the days surrounding the ouster of deposed President Marcos, from the eyes of Irwin Ver, …read more

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Here are the answers to the riddles I posted last week:
1. Hindi hayop, hindi tao, pumupulupot sa tiyan mo. (Not an animal, not human, it circles your belly.) – sinturon (belt)
2. Malaki ang tiyan, sinulid ang laman, Gumagawa ng tahanan, Arkitekta ng kalikasan. (It has a big belly that contains thread. It makes a home; it’s nature’s architect.) – gagamba (spider)
3. Kapag nag-iisa ay tamad, kapag marami ay masipag. (When alone, it’s lazy; when there are many, it’s hardworking.) – walis (native broom)
4. Lambat ay kanyang dala-dala, sa ilog at dagat nagpupunta. (He carries a net and goes to …read more

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I think I need a refresher lesson in Philippine geography. It’s been years since I memorized the names of the provinces of the Philippines in grade school. I know that much has changed since then. There is at least one province, Compostela Valley, that I know of that didn’t exist several years ago.
Yoyoy Villame (who passed away last year) did a great job singing about Philippine Geography. However, his ditty is no longer quite up to date.

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