The Ateneo de Manila University Press recently released Michael Cullinane’s new book, Arenas of Conspiracy and Rebellion in the late Nineteenth-Century Philippines: The Case of the April 1898 Uprising in Cebu. According to the back cover blurb, Cullinane’s new title “explores various aspects of late 19th-century Philippine society in an effort to locate the major […]
My search for missing Chinese relatives have led me through winding paths and side trips to unexpected destinations. The journey has enriched my life, broadened my horizons, and put me in touch with many people. After my visits to the Calbayog cemeteries searching for Li Xianggu’s tomb, I learned of a survey done in the […]
I have a short memory. This is why memorabilia, such as old photographs, are so important to me. They help me recall yesteryears, however faint the memory has become. Without them I am lost. This story is about one search that took so long, traversed so many of my other-relative finder quests and even became […]
Hokkien, on the tongues of Tsinoys, has grown and evolved, taking on a life of its own. Sometimes words simply fail us. With some creativity, Tsinoys have strung together words to form colorful phrases that simply hit the bull’s eye. Here are some expressions unique to Hokkien as favored by Tsinoys. Idioms, expressions Hokkien pronunciation […]
Body odor can be an embarrassing problem. This unpleasant smell comes from a mixture of sweat and bacteria. Sweat should have little odor. However, bacteria on the skin causes perspiration to smell sour. Our bodies perspire to lower the body temperature and keep us cool. We sweat more during hot weather, when we exercise, and […]
My husband and I had a great laugh when we saw a series of signs – saying “Boycott China Products Now!!” – recently lining a street behind St. Luke’s Medical Center, Quezon City and ending at the barangay hall on Broadway corner E. Rodriguez Sr. Ave. We immediately looked at the tags of the clothes […]
For more than 40 years, we have lived by the meaningful credo of Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran: “The Philippines is our country. It is the land of our birth, the home of our people. Our blood may be Chinese but our roots grow deep in Philippine soil, our bonds are with the Filipino people. We […]
We huddled around a birthday cake of decadent chocolate and cups of siphoned coffee, notepads and pens scattered among the cutlery. Moist glasses of ice-cold water stood by on the coffee tables that Saturday high noon in the middle of May. Angela Yu, president of Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran, Jonah Martin of MGA GAWA Foundation […]
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 28, no. 3 (July 7-20, 2015): 9. This is a new generation. The generation Uy, Yu and Lao belong to is different. They are native-born. They are Filipinos. In 1970, I was a student at the University of the Philippines. One late afternoon, two men came to see […]
In a chance meeting at the sprawling outdoor gardens of San Agustin church in 1990, I discussed with Angelo King the work that I had been doing. I shared that working with a nongovernment organization rather than in the more lucrative corporate world was a deliberate choice for me. He listened intently as I shared […]