Here’s a little known fact that you won’t get from Hollywood or a Steven Spielberg flick. Did you know that the Philippines played a role in saving hundreds of Jews from the gas chambers and mass graves of the Holocaust? In 1939, two years before World War II reached the Pacific, the Commonwealth government under President [...]
Archive for the ‘Awards & Recognition’ Category
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Obama names Fil-Am as Associate Judge of DC
August 27th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
President Barack Obama has nominated Fil-Am Maria Elizabeth (Maribeth) Raffinan to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. “Throughout her career Maribeth Raffinan has shown a commitment to justice and public service,” said President Obama in a statement released last month. “I am proud to nominate her to serve [...]
Venus Raj Takes on Miss Universe 2010 and then Falls Short
August 23rd, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Maria Venus Bayonito Raj (born July 7, 1988) is one of the three reigning 2010 Binibining Pilipinas winners. Upon separation of her parents, Maria Venus Raj was taken to Bato, Camarines Sur in Bicol, Philippines as an infant and was registered by an aunt as Philippine-born to Roman Catholic parents—a Filipino mother and an Indian father. It was her mother, [...]
J.J. Racaza’s Last Shot
August 18th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
Did any of you catch the last episode of Top Shot on Sunday August 15th? If you did, you know that Fil-Am contestant J.J. was one of the final three contestants on the History Channel reality show. Although, the show didn’t end with the results I wanted, J.J. proved to be a worthy contestant and [...]
Filipino Scientists: Alexis Belonio
April 20th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
I’ve realized that the content on this site has been heavily filled with arts, literature, and entertainment. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I just felt that I was not fulfilling my goal to make everyone aware of how many accomplished Filipinos there are out there that are paving the way for many [...]
channelAPA on East Coast Asian American Artists
April 12th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
I’ve been following channelAPA.com a lot lately after getting in contact with Steve Nguyen, who is one of the founders of the website. What is channelAPA? ChannelAPA is a site dedicated to increase the visibility of Asian Americans in entertainment. This channelAPA exclusive showcases Asian American artists in the East Coast for their promotional tour. [...]
FAHSI College Scholarship Program
April 11th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
I just found out about the Filipino American Human Services, Inc. (FAHSI), a community based non-profit organization dedicated to improving the social conditions and enhancing the self-reliance of the Filipino and Filipino American communities of New York City. FAHSI currently has their 2010 scholarship program application up on their page and for Filipino students who reside [...]
Meet Miguel Syjuco, Author of Ilustrado
March 14th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
It was my pleasure to interview Filipino writer, Miguel Syjuco whose debut novel is set to come out in North America on April 27. The novel, Ilustrado is very much about the Philippines and the Filipino experience. The manuscript of the book won the 2008 Palanca Award grand prize, as well as the Man Asian [...]
Tracy Espeleta on Dante’s Inferno
March 12th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
I’m not a big fan of video games meaning they don’t appeal to me and I don’t really play them at all. What attracted me to Dante’s Inferno was the fact that it’s based on one of my favorite pieces of literature, Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy. This video game adaptation is a third person [...]
Miguel Syjuco’s Ilustrado
March 5th, 2010 by Fil-Am Ako
I recently got in contact with Miguel Syjuco, author of Ilustrado a novel that won him the Man Asian Literary Prize. To my surpirse, Miguel Syjuco is a fan of Fil-Am Ako and wanted me to inform everyone of the upcoming release of Ilustrado in the U.S. The Filipino writer’s debut novel is set to [...]