For about a decade, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao captured the hearts of millions of Americans and people throughout the world. He became a household name for even the casual American boxing fan because of his electrifying punches, religious humility, and off-tune singing. Even fans of his opponents loved the guy for his rags-to-riches story. Manny Pacquiao becoming synonymous with the Philippines. And for a brief moment, everyone knew what a Filipino was.

For Filipino Americans, he represented a hope of self-becoming in a society that deemed us “invisible.” Pacquiao sparked a sense of nationalist fervor rarely seen in a community prone to “assimilate.” Filipino Americans from all walks of life – radical, conservative, Catholic, Protestant, Californian, Midwesterner – succumbed to Pacquiao fever. In many ways, Pacquiao’s entry into American national discourse told us about ourselves and our place in this world as much as it told us about a poor skinny kid from General Santos City.

The TFAL Crew discusses Manny Pacquiao’s meteoric rise to stardom and his fateful downfall.  This episode is not so much an analysis of his boxing career, but rather an examination of his cultural impact on Filipino America. Nobody brought together Filipinos around the world as much as the Pacman. Love him or hate him, Manny Pacquiao is a significant part of our history.

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on iTunes here!

Let us know your memories about Manny Pacquiao!  Email us at  thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com or leave a voice message on (805) 394-TFAL.

Also, check out these awesome videos after you listen to the episode.

Apparently, cities are back. People are moving back into the inner core of cities. Coffee shops, bars, and artisanal eateries are thriving in certain neighborhoods. Millennials are ditching their cars for public transportation. Politicians are touting the brand new economy of “hipster-dom” that is reviving cities nationwide.

But what do these changes mean for families who live in these inner city neighborhoods? What happens to the demographics of the city? How does it affect young folks who are looking for a place to live or trying to buy their first home? How do these economic shifts impact the diverse Filipino American community who live in both the inner core and outer suburbia?

In this TFAL episode, the crew speaks with Jennifer Ganata, a housing advocate and community activist in Los Angeles, to discuss the economics of gentrification and how it affects Filipinos in Southern California and throughout the country. Whether you live in neighborhood likes SoMa Pilipinas, Beacon Hill, or Woodside or suburban areas like Rancho Bernardo, Bergenfield, or Skokie, gentrification has a major impact on all of us.

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on iTunes here!

Have you seen major demographic shifts in the place you grew up in or the place you live now? Do you have any opinions on gentrification? Let us know your thoughts on thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com or (805) 394-TFAL.

In this short bonus episode, TFAL presents a retelling of the short story, “The Filipino and the Drunkard.”  Written in 1935 by William Saroyan, this short story tells the tale of a young Filipino who is aboard a ferry boat in 1930s San Francisco.  While waiting to go across the Bay to visit his brother, he is suddenly finds himself followed and harassed by a drunk White bigot.  Truly relevant to today’s tense racial climate under the Orange Cheeto administration.

Anonymous letter send to the Chief of Police of Sunnyvale, CA in 1930.  Photo credit: http://www.personal.anderson.ucla.edu/eloisa.borah/filfaqs.htm. (Original picture found at James Earl Wood Photograph Collection, Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley).

This will hopefully be the first of a new series of audio short stories we will present on TFAL.  If you have a story (personal or otherwise) that touch upon the Filipino/Filipino American experience and you would like to produce it for the podcast, please email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on iTunes here!

Most of us have read “My Family’s Slave” on the Atlantic, written by the late Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Alex Tizon.  The article saddened us, angered us, and confused us.  What’s to make of the story of Eudocia Pulido, aka Lola, who toiled her whole life against her will and without pay for a family that wasn’t her own?

There are many angles and layers to this gut-wrenching story.  On this episode, the TFAL crew gives you our thoughts and reflections on the article as well as “katulong culture” in general.  It’s a tough issue to wrap our heads around, and we only scratch the surface. Give it a listen and let us know what you think in the comments below or leave a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL (8325).

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here, or subscribe to us on iTunes here!

For more opinions on this article, check out this compiled list of responses/reactions from TFAL listener Marnette Federis.  Also, for great insight on the Alex Tizon’s life, the history of enslavement culture in the Philippines, and the life of a trafficked Filipina woman in New York, listen to NPR’s Code Switch podcast episode on the story, featuring one of Joe’s grad school advisors, Professor Vicente Rafael.

Here are links to local organizations who are fighting for the rights of domestic workers and those who are victims of human trafficking:

• Pilipino Workers Center (Los Angeles)
• Filipino Migrant Center (Long Beach)
• Filipinos Advocates for Justice (Oakland)
• Damayan Migrant Workers Association (New York)
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice (Nation-wide)
• Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (Los Angeles)

If you’ve been listening to the show you’ll know that we love food at This Filipino American Life.  We love talking about it in our personal life, with strangers, and on the podcast.  TFAL resident reality checker Gerlie and graphic designer Vince join us for a bit as we share our favorite Filipino restaurants.

On episode 12 TFAL celebrates our one year anniversary with a super special guest Chef Dale Talde! We talk food, Dale’s experience as a cheftestant, and who would be on his NBA dream team starting five. You should also check him out on Eater’s premier episode of Cult Following. Eater explores the magic of Jollibee with Dale. Warning: you may want to have a full belly when you watch this video. Or at least a Chicken Joy ready because you will get hungry!

TFAL interviews Dale Talde

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here, or subscribe to us on iTunes here!

If you are in the New York, New Jersey, and Miami area make sure to check out these spots and give TFAL tips on what to munch and drink! Atlantic Social, Talde Brooklyn, Talde Jersey City, Talde Miami Beach

Thank you for listening to TFAL this past year. TFAL is a labor of love for the entire crew. Help us celebrate our first birthday! RSVP now at Happy Birthday TFAL. Join us at The Park’s Finest THIS SATURDAY, May 13th from 8pm-12am for an epic Filipino Family Party! What are some of your favorite TFAL moments from this past year? What’s your favorite Filipino restaurant? Let us know 805-394-TFAL 805-394-8325.

Photo credit: Ted Visaya Design

“You want palo??”

If you grew up in a Filipino household, you probably know what the word palo means.

Palo, a Tagalog word that means spank, which derived from the Spanish word palo or stick (those colonizers yo!), is a form of punishment used to discipline misbehaving children. To a kid, hearing that word from their parents elicited fear because it meant you did something wrong and it also meant punishment was coming.  Palo could have been done with a slipper, a belt, or a hand, to help us respect the rules of the home and understand authority.