This Filipino American Life

Have you ever thought about doing a pilgrimage? Would you want to contemplate your life choices on a hiking journey through the mountainous regions of Europe? Do you just want to hear about someone else doing that and not deal with the physical and spiritual Olympics of it all? Then this episode is for you! The TFAL crew has an enlightening conversation with Kristine Jan Espinoza about their experience walking the Camino de Santiago. Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on ThisFilipinoAmericanLife.com, or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever your favorite podcasts are found. Have you done a Camino? Would you ever? Leave us a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com. This episode is brought to you by In Loving Memory | Undas | All Souls Edition. Join Oblivious Nerd Girl Services at Kubo Long Beach this Sunday, November 2nd at 3pm. Commemorate your loved ones and all the things you’ve lost since 2020. RSVP today: In Loving Memory | Undas | All Souls Edition. #tfalpodcast #tfal #filipino #filipinoamerican

In this episode we have tfal fan favorite Faith Santilla aka  “Tita Faith” in her fourth appearance on the pod! Joining Faith is the amazing and inspiring Martha Gonzalez of Quetzal. On this episode Elaine, Kat, and Producer Mike talk story about the exciting and upcoming show at The Ford Los Angeles, Labor of Love. Join us in Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Delano Grape Strike in this evening concert, which features the legendary Joe Bataan, the “King of Latin Soul,” alongside the Grammy-winning ensemble Quetzal, whose music uplifts stories of community and resilience. Hosted by poet and activist Faith Santilla, the event honors the historic solidarity between Filipino and Mexican farmworkers during the 1960s movement. Get tickets here: bit.ly/laborofloveford This episode is brought to you by  Oblivious Nerd Girl Services | RSVP today: In Loving Memory | UNDAS | All  Souls Day edition

https://thisfilipinoamericanlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/tfal-episode240.mp3   In this episode Elaine and Producer Mike have a conversation with singer-songwriter Stephen Ordonez also known as LABIT (@labitlabit). Stephen shares his experience growing up with Filipino American parents born in the States and how their love of music influenced his style. Fans of artists like Laufey and Jason LaPierre will vibe with Stephen’s style. Want to check him out live? Join Stephen on Saturday, October 18th at The Peppermint Club. Tickets available here: Labit – SOL Album Release Show. Listen to PARALLEL from the upcoming album SOL on Spotify! This episode is brought to you by Labor of Love is a soulful and empowering music experience featuring legendary Latin soul pioneer Joe Bataan and the Grammy Award-winning Chicano rock band Quetzal. Poet and community activist Faith Santilla leads a celebration of music and culture inspired by the solidarity formed between Filipino and Mexican workers during the California labor movement of the 1960s. Get tickets here: bit.ly/laborofloveford And Oblivious Nerd Girl Services | RSVP today: In Loving Memory | All The Things We Lost

In this episode of TFAL, Elaine and Producer Mike have a conversation with Los Angeles native (yes, they exist!) Chrissa Sparkles.  You may have seen Chrissa Sparkles go viral with her Barbie inspired content on @chrissasparkles. In this conversation we go through Chrissa’s journey as a local kid with no connections figuring out how to maneuver through auditions and the industry. The current state of the world inspired Chrissa to create the dance banger “F*ck ICE.” Play it at your next rally! National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) is calling for community members to hold rally’s in front of your local courthouses to send a clear message that we must protect our communities and hold the line where the courts have failed on September 18th. And while you are at it, if you are in Seattle, head to Chrissa Sparkles live show DELULU at Here-After (2505 1st Ave Seattle, WA 98121)!   Listen to “F*ck ICE” and “Don’t F*ck a Fascist”  on Spotify or wherever you get music! Buy tickets for the September 18th show in Seattle here: Chrissa Sparkles: DELULU  Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on ThisFilipinoAmericanLife.com, or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever your favorite podcasts are found. What would your resistance pop song be called? Leave us a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com. This episode is brought to you by Labor of Love is a soulful and empowering music experience featuring legendary Latin soul pioneer Joe Bataan and the Grammy Award-winning Chicano rock band Quetzal. Poet and community activist Faith Santilla leads a celebration of music and culture inspired by the solidarity formed between Filipino and Mexican workers during the California labor movement of the 1960s. Get tickets here: bit.ly/laborofloveford And Oblivious Nerd Girl Services | RSVP today: In Loving Memory | All The Things We Lost

Dear young people, How do we stay cool? Sincerely, Middle-aged TFALers There are many generations of Filipinos who live in the United States in this day and age. Immigrant generations, 2nd generations, 3rd generations, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and now Gen Z. Many have different experiences as Filipino Americans, and in many ways, some of those experiences are the same. In this TFAL episode, we discuss some of these intergenerational differences and similarities with two self-proclaimed Gen Zers. We speak to Skyler Gallarzan and Basilio Juachon about their experiences as 3rd generation Gen Z Filipino Americans. Listen as Elaine, Kat, and Joe feel very old hearing about their perceptions of Generation X / Xennial Filipino Americans. They also discuss how 3rd generation Filipinos try to retain their culture, the real anxieties of Gen Zers, and lasting impact of the “Swagapino.” We didn’t get through all of what we wanted to discuss, but perhaps this is the first of many ongoing conversations with Skyler and Basilio. Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on ThisFilipinoAmericanLife.com, or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever your favorite podcasts are found. Got a question or topic that we didn’t cover in the episode? Leave us a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.

Joe wrote a book! Well…kinda. After a few years of gathering photos and writing, Joe has published FILIPINOS IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, a pictorial history that traces the historical and cultural shifts of this quintessential suburb through the lens of generations of Filipinos who made the San Fernando Valley their home. This book is the newest edition of “Filipinos in…” books from Arcadia Publishing. In this TFAL episode, Joe talks with the TFAL crew about his book and the process of writing it. Listened as he discusses why he wrote it, his approach to the book (which may differ from previous Filipino Arcadia books), and why the San Fernando Valley is instructive to understand Filipino American history and culture. Also, listen to our bastos, yet hilarious conversation about the Valley’s once booming porn industry. This episode is especially dedicated to the people of the 818, Elaine and Joe’s home. ABOUT THE BOOK The majority of Filipino Americans reside in suburban communities, yet this history has been largely absent from both academic and popular narratives. FILIPINOS IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY offers a visual and narrative glimpse into the lives of Filipino Americans in the place some have dubbed “America’s Suburb,” from early immigrants to the post-1965 wave that helped redefine the suburban experience in Southern California. Many of the photographs and anecdotes spotlight how this community navigated the transformation of the Valley during the economic and demographic shifts of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. This book documents how suburbia shaped Filipinos, and how Filipinos, in turn, shaped suburbia in their own unique way, contradictions and all. Look out for more posts on how to get a copy of FILIPINOS IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY and other book events.

https://thisfilipinoamericanlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/tfal-episode236.mp3   In this episode the TFAL crew has a conversation with author Randy Ribay. The crew has discussed Patron Saints of Nothing multiple times, so this conversation was long coming. In fact, we thought we had already spoken to Randy Ribay! So glad we got to have this conversation with Randy about his journey as an author. For folks lucky enough to be at San Diego Comic Con, make sure to check out his panel at today at 6pm in Room 25ABC. Also make sure to check out some TFALpodcast fav vendors like @artofpao_official, @lepetitelefant, @patrickballesteros, @scottlost at @headlockedcomic, and everything that the @lumpiamovie crew is programming! Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on ThisFilipinoAmericanLife.com, or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever your favorite podcasts are found. What’s a story that you would love to tell? Leave us a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.

https://thisfilipinoamericanlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/tfal-episode235.mp3 In this episode Producer Mike and Elaine have a conversation with TFAL graphic designer Vincent Collyer and his brother Charles Collyer about Charles’ experience with a surprise diagnosis of lung cancer. Charles explains how a post Tough Mudder run lead to a rib injury which the X-rays lead to his lung cancer diagnosis. Post lung cancer surgery, somehow Charles decided to get back into running and began training for races.   Charles (bottom left) with Sick Step during their run on America’s Got Talent   Vincent & Charles at Producer Mike and Elaine’s wedding Emmy award winning visual effects artists Charles Collyer Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on ThisFilipinoAmericanLife.com, or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever your favorite podcasts are found. Want to share your experience with cancer? Are you a runner? Leave us a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.   This episode is brought to you by Oblivious Nerd Girl Services. If you need a mobile notary in Los Angeles County, you can reach out to Elaine and she can take care of it for you!

https://thisfilipinoamericanlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/tfal-episode234.mp3   In this episode the crew has a conversation with author and filmmaker, Jill Damatac, who shares her journey from the Philippines to the States to the UK all through the lens of an undocumented immigrant. Instead of a traditional cookbook, which predominantly focuses on recipes and then sprinkles in family stories, Jill does the opposite and weaves recipes in between Philippine mythology and family history. This timely conversation highlights the perils and resilience of what it means to not have the luck of being born in the States and afforded the luxury of citizenship. Pick up a copy of Dirty Kitchen wherever books are sold like your local independent book store, Bookshop.org, or Barnes and Noble. Are you or a loved one in need of support? Pilipino Workers Center has resources available: PWC Immigration Related Emergency. 24/7 Hotline. Call 820-777-4102 Request a Know Your Rights Card in English and Tagalog: Know Your Rights Card Join a PWC’s Community of Care: PWC Membership Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on ThisFilipinoAmericanLife.com, or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever your favorite podcasts are found. Do you have a similar story to Jill’s? Want a place to share your story anonymously?Leave us a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.  

Amidst the chaos, we still have hope. A couple of weeks ago, Ryan and Joe had a conversation about being relatively new dads. With Father’s Day approaching, the two TFAL dads discuss their experiences navigating fatherhood and all that it entails. Listen as they talk about how their identities changed as new responsibilities came, how they unconsciously emulate their own parents while trying to mitigate and stop generational trauma, and above all else, how they try to lead with love as much as possible. Parenting is difficult. Perhaps one of the most difficult responsibilities in life. Ryan and Joe don’t have all of the answers, but they try the best they can…which is all you can ask for. Please take a listen and let us know your thoughts. Do you have any advice for any dads out there? Email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com. This episode is dedicated to all the dads out there. Never stop learning and growing.