This Filipino American Life

Surprise, surprise, TFAL talks about their favorite subject – FOOD – in this episode! Specifically food criticism. The team talks about the rise of Yelp reviews to which one of us wanted to be a food critic? Could you guess who that might be? If you suspect a TFAL food appreciator, you might be correct! In this episode, the team talks story with Annabelle Tometich, a Florida based writer who revealed that they wrote under the pen name of the long established food critic Jean Le Beouf for The News Press and Naples Daily News. Annabelle shared her story in The Washington Post with the Opinion piece “What pretending to be a White guy taught me about privilege.” The conversation covers Annabelle’s journey from line cook to food writer and everything in between.  Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on this page, find us on Mixcloud or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. And for folks on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here. Who are some of your favorite food critics? Are you Yelp Elite? Let us know by leaving a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or emailing us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com!

Monuments, statues, street signs, plaques, memorials, murals.  Our communities are filled with tributes to the people, places, and things that hold some sort of significance to the people who live there, and this holds true in past and present Filipino Communities throughout America.  Jose Rizal Bridge, Larry Itliong Village, and the upcoming gateway arch in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown are all signifiers of the impact of Filipinos here and abroad… and yet, do people outside of our community understand the significance?  Are we properly honoring these moments in our history and educating people about them?  Are there people and moments that we should be recognizing, but haven’t yet? Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on this page, find us on Mixcloud or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. And for folks on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here. Is there a Filipino American monument in your community? What kind of monuments would you like to see?  Let us know by leaving a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or emailing us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com .  

Oh SPAM…the delectable, delicious soft pink slab of pork meat so ubiquitous to Filipino and Filipino American weekend breakfast meals. You love it fried, crispy, maybe with a sprinkle of sugar, served with a warm heap of garlic rice and egg. It tickles our taste buds and tummies with such delight, but also clogs our arteries with fat and cholesterol…one of the sinful contradictions our Filipino American lives deal with constantly. How did this beloved processed part the pig become so commonplace in the Philippines and many other parts of the world? The US military, of course, is the short answer. Introduced to many parts of Asia as a result of US military occupation, SPAM is also synonymous with American imperialism. The story of SPAM goes deeper and in many directions. In this TFAL episode, we spoke to Gabrielle Berbey, a journalist with WNYC who recently did an podcast series on the history of SPAM. We talk about SPAM’s rise with and for the US empire, labor disputes and global migration, and the unhealthy, yet alluring, consumption of it in our communities. Beforehand, of course, we discuss our complex relationship with SPAM as well as our other favorite canned foods. Check out The Experiment’s podcast series on SPAM here. Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on this page, find us on Mixcloud or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. And for folks on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here. How much do you love or hate SPAM?  Let us know by leaving a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.  

  It’s no secret that TFAL Producer Mike and Elaine love a good video game from Animal Crossing to Uncharted to Final Fantasy.  Role Playing Games (RPG) are a favorite pastime. If only there was a Filipino inspired one we could explore? Well turns out there is!  In this episode the crew shares their experiences with video games and speaks with Patti Umali, creator of The Girl Who Sees, a video game set in World War II Philippines. The game is a point-and-click adventure and turn-based RPG hybrid that explores WWII history and Philippine fantasy. Players learn about Philippine folklore and mythology, while the game also shares history and Tagalog language lessons.  What video games are you playing? What was your favorite video game growing up? Let us know by leaving a voicemail or text message at (805) 394-TFAL or emailing us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com!    

On this episode, the hosts reveal 'Secretly Filipino' things like Chinese restaurants with Filipino influences, Filipino markets in different locations, and the prevalence of Filipinos in the accounting industry. They also discuss the importance of vaccination, particularly during the holiday season, and explore examples of Filipino establishments that don't overtly brand themselves as Filipino.

Baybayin, the pre-colonial written script of the Philippines, is a major foundation of our cultural heritage.  The alphasyllabary script consisting of 17 characters was understood and used by communities throughout much of the archipelago prior to colonization.  Spanish missionary Pedro Chirino, who lived and studied Philippine society in the early years of Spanish colonization, documented in 1604 that “there is hardly a man, and much less woman, who does not read or write in the letters.”  However, as the Spanish expanded its rule over the Philippines, Baybayin fell out of favor among the locals and replaced by the Roman alphabet. However, Baybayin has experienced a cultural revival over the last few decades largely due to the work of artists, historians, and practitioners based in the diaspora.  In fact, the script is relative easy to learn (quick tutorial here).  You can see Baybayin on artwork, logos, tattoos, and other branding that serve as a cultural identifier for Filipinos. One of the major cultural workers who has rebranded by my end and brought it back to the forefront of Filipino and Filipino American culture is Kristian Kabuay. In this TFAL episode, Joe and Kristian discuss his work in promoting Baybayin, how it is used and its functionality in today’s world, and the myths and misconceptions of the script. We also talk about other projects that he’s working on as well as his opinion on cultural appropriation. Hope you enjoy this episode and that it inspires you to do your part in reviving our cultural writing. Example of increased use of Baybayin on signage in Manila. Note: I mentioned the use of the danda on the episode refers to the single or double line “punctuation” that locals used in pre-colonial times separate words or phrases. However, Kristian misunderstood my question and it was never addressed.  A more deeper discussion of the danda and its function on writing/reading Baybayin can be found on this lecture here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIx8iu-BVOk

In this episode, we shout out some of the many Filipino Small Businesses that we are personal fans of, ones that you should definitely support this Holiday season!  Here is the list of who we mentioned on the show, along with some other ones that are also near and dear to our hearts: Jewelry         Honey My Heart –  honeymyheart.com / @honeymyheart         Maaari – maaari.co / @maaari_co         Cambio & Co. – shopcambio.co / @cambio_co Clothing         Illa Manila – illamanila.com / @illamanila         Pineapple Industries – pineappleind.com / @pineappleindm2m         Emortal – emortalshop.com / @emortal_brand         Crooks & Castles – crooksncastles.com / @crooksncastles         Kampeon Co – kampeon.co / @kampeonco         Beatrock Music – beatrockmusic.com / @beatrockmusic Art         Le Petit Elefant – lepetitelefant.com / @lepetitelefant         Bayani Art – bayaniart.com / @bayaniart         The Map’d Project – themapdproject.com / @themapdproject         Janelle Quibuyen – janellequibuyen.com / @phatlip         Patrick Ballesteros – patrickballesterosart.com / @patrickballesteros         YellowStainedBlue – www.etsy.com/shop/yellowstainedblue / @yellowstainedblue         Tree – www.etsy.com/shop/KrystalTREE / @tre3art Food         Kombucha Kat – kombuchakat.com / @kombuchakat         Kuya Lord – @kuyalord_la         Abaca – restaurantabaca.com / @restaurantabaca         Magna Kusina and Kantina – magnapdx.com / @magnapdx         Petite Peso – petitepeso.com / @petitepeso         Lasita – lasita-la.com / @lasita.la         Spoon and Pork – spoonandpork.com / @spoonandporkla         Ensaymada Project – ensaymadaproject.com / @ensaymadaproject         Philippine Sea Salts – philippineseasalts.com / @xroadssalts         Eat Delishaz – eatdelishaz.com / @eatdelishaz         Batchoyan Illonggo Restaurant – @batchoyan         Kusina New Orleans –  @kusinanola Desserts         Oodaalolly – oodaalolly.com / @oodaalolly         Kasama Chocolate – kasamachocolate.com / @kasamachocolate         Romeo Chocolates – romeochocolates.com / @romeochocolates         Wanderlust Creamery – wanderlustcreamery.com / @wanderlustcreamery         Café 86 – cafe-86.com / @cafe_86         Meryienda – meryienda.com / @meryienda         Brown Baked Desserts – brownbakeddesserts.com / @brown.baked         Treat Yourself Cookies – treatyourselfcookies.com / @treatyourself_cookies         Salamat Cookies – salamatcookies.com / @salamatcookies Books         Arkipelago Books – arkipelagobooks.com / @arkipelagobooks         Bel Canto Books – belcantobooks.net / @belcantobooks         Now Serving – nowservingla.com / @nowservingla         Prospect – prospect.la / @prospect.la         Philippine Expressions – philippinebookshop.com / @philippineexpressions Other         ANAK toy KOmpany – anaktoykompany.com / @anaktoykompany         Para Sa’yo – shopparasayo.com / @shopparasayo         Herbalaria – herbalaria.com / @iamherbalaria  If you’re in the LA metro area, we even have a map of small businesses throughout the southland that you should check out:  tiny.cc/tfalmap And don’t forget, we also have our own storefront and Patreon page, both of which you can check out on our website at thisfilipinoamericanlife.com.  Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on this page, find us on Mixcloud or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. And for folks on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here. Is there a small business you want to give a shout out to?  Let us know by leaving a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com. Thank You, and Happy Holidays!  

Gotta have faith! Freedom Like many Filipinos and Filipino Americans, the TFAL crew grew up around Christianity, specifically Catholicism. We speak of our upbringing in our podcast, mainly about how it’s shaped not just our adult selves, but the continued practices and traditions of many family, friends and listeners alike. Although we all look at religion differently today from when we were younger — some practicing religiously and others traditionally — we may be able to agree that we believe a higher power, whether we call them God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Allah, or Buddha. What if that “higher being” was not a Christian or Muslim God, but rather, science and reason?  Does religion get in the way of good government policy? When Rodrigo Duterte and Donald Trump were elected as president of the Philippines and the United States respectively, TFAL released a few episodes talking about how to deal with those results. Our collective disappointment did not equate to shock that these results happened during a time when political sides became more and more polarized. Although “separation of church and state” is included in both constitutions, one can argue that religion and religious beliefs have always played a crucial role in the determining the outcome of the elections, policy-making, and governance. On this TFAL episode, we talk to Red Tani, founder of Filipino Freethinkers, a civil society organization that has been promoting reason, science, and secularism in the Philippines since 2009. They are considered the largest and most active organization for freethought in the Philippines.  Brace yourselves as we talk about atheism and agnosticism; challenging dogma and tradition; creating reasonable policy separate from the Church; thinking freely; and regardless of religion, being good humans to each other.

Oh, the dad joke. We all know it. We all love it. And for Filipinos it gives us life. While Dad jokes can be a myriad of things, dad jokes to Filipinos are especially punny (get it?). For one Filipino American, dad jokes have become a way to learn Tagalog words. In this mini-episode, the TFAL crew joins forces with Geoffrey Ocampo of the Remembering the Tagalog Podcast. As is the usual set up for his podcast, Geoffrey helps the TFAL crew create funny mnemonics of Tagalog words to help us all remember them better. (A mnemonic is a device that assists in remembering something).  While not all of them end up being crowd-pleasers, I promise you this is a very funny (and punny) episode that can’t be missed! Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on this page, find us on Mixcloud or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. And for folks on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here. Do you have a funny mnemonic based on a Tagalog word?  Let us know by leaving a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.

In this episode the TFAL crew is short one Ryan Carpio but is happily joined by Kat Carrido Bonds on this episode about Filipino Americans in Hip Hop. Mark Villegas shares his wealth of knowledge as an academic scholar in this field bridging his previous collaborative work with DJ Kuttin Kandi and Dr. Roderick N. Labrador, Empire of Funk: Hip Hop and Representation in Filipina/O America, to his latest book Manifest Technique: Hip Hop, Empire, and Visionary Filipino American Culture. Listen to or download the episode through the embedded player on this page, find us on Mixcloud or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. And for folks on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here. When did you fall in love with hip hop? Let us know! Leave us a voicemail or text message 805-394-TFAL or email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com. === Mark Redondo Villegas is an assistant professor in American Studies at Franklin & Marshall College. He received his Ph.D. in Culture and Theory at the University of California, Irvine and M.A. in Asian American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.