Filipinos are notorious for their sweet tooth.  We put sugar in almost all of our dishes.  So much so our spaghetti would be a dessert in Italy.  And of course, who can forget our traditional desserts?  Bibingka, turon, halo halo, Cebu torta, tupig, puto bumbong, ginataan, buko pie…the list goes on and on.  In almost every region in the Philippines, desserts are the sweetest part of our lives (diabetes be damned!).

For this holiday season, the TFAL crew decided to dedicate this episode to Filipino desserts.  We discuss our favorites growing up and how desserts have evolved throughout the history of the Philippines.  We also dive into the different ways Filipino Americans create new desserts here in the U.S.  Who better to discuss the evolution of desserts than Ginger Lim Dimapasok, owner of Café 86 and recently crowned Champion of Food Network’s Chopped Sweets competition?  Listen as Ginger discusses how she started baking, what she thinks of the increased attention to ube, and the need to run businesses communally rather than competitively.  We need more Gingers in our lives, so I hope you all take something away from this fun episode!

Listen or download through the embedded player, 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.

What are your favorite Filipino desserts?  Let us know by leaving a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com!

Visit any locations of Café 86 to get some of the sweet ube goodness that we describe on the show!

P.S.  This is the last episode of the dumpster fire year 2020.  Despite the pain and heartache many of us have endured this year, we wanted to end on a high (and sweet!) note.  We hope you enjoy this episode as you continue keeping as safe as possible.  Please have a happy holiday and we’ll see you on the other side!

Election season in the US has come and not quite gone, and regardless of who you voted for (and how you feel about the results), a noteworthy aspect of this year’s Elections were the sheer number of Filipino Americans running for office throughout the country.  From Hawaii to Virginia, California to Georgia, and even Utah and Texas, there were a number of Filipino American candidates running for local and national offices this year.

In fact, Filipino Americans have held public offices in the US as far back as the 1950s.  And even amongst the TFAL crew, many of us have worked on electoral campaigns and worked for elected officials.

But what are the implications and the opportunities for Filipino Americans in seeking and winning these public leadership roles?  What roles can and should the Filipino American community play in both driving these campaigns and holding these leaders accountable?  How does community organizing in general fit into the picture?  And how have the political divides that exist in this country manifested in our own communities and families?

Listen or download through the embedded player, 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.

Have thoughts about the election and the role of Filipino Americans in public office?  Leave us a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL

Filipino humor.  You know what it is.  Super corny one-liners your mom or dad, aunt and uncle might have said.  It may be a play on words.  May include using an accent.  On Filipino TV shows, it may include a high-pitched, solo laugh track.  Some Filipino Americans might find it hilarious.  Some may not.  Non-Filipinos may not get the joke.  Some may.  Whatever the case, Filipino humor is distinct, tickling the funny bone of so many kababayans everywhere.

In this TFAL episode, the crew dissects what makes Pinoy humor Pinoy.  What is the anatomy of Filipino humor?  Do other communities laugh when hearing a Filipino joke?  Is it only for Filipinos of a certain class?  Can Filipino humor manifest in other ways beyond accent jokes, one-liners, or punchlines?  We discuss the humor we adopted growing up in Filipino households as well as popular comedians like Dolphy, Tito, Vic, and Joey, Rex Navarrete, and JR De Guzman.  We also talk about what we think of Fil Am YouTube comedians and the need for humor to dig a little deeper.  Hope you enjoy this episode and share a bit of laughter with one another.  With the world in a constant state of crisis, laughter will always get us by.

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

Got any good Filipino jokes?  Let us know by leaving a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL.

Dance off!  Dance crews and line dancers, dance fanatics, and dance contest watchers – gather around for another episode of TFAL as we discuss hip hop dancing and Filipinos’ proclivity towards the art form.  We reminisce about our abilities (or inabilities) to follow a dance routine, our love for dancing, and of course, Pilipino Cultural Nights (PCNs).  We also get into the nitty-gritty and take a look at hip hop dance through the lens of race, gender, and immigration.

In this episode, TFAL dives deep into dance and choreography as we talk to scholar, choreographer, and instructor, Dr. J. Lorenzo Perillo, Assistant Professor of Theatre and Dance at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.  He’s also a former PCN coordinator at UC Berkeley when Ryan was a young college student (Go Bears!).  In his new book, Choreographing in Color, we begin to discuss not just the craft of dance, but how participation and choreography in hip hop dancing is a window into Filipino and Filipino American cultural politics.

Listen as we engage questions such as: Are Filipinos just natural dancers and good mimics or are there deeper historical conditions that gave rise to this Filipino hip hop dance phenomenon?  How does dance shape Filipino dancers’ migration from the Philippines?  How do Filipino Americans express “Filipino-ness” through dance?  Most importantly, what are Joe’s favorite dance moves??

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

Were you part of a dance crew?  Do you have aspirations to be on a dance contest?  What do you think about Filipinos’ place in hip hop dancing?  Let us know by leaving a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL or email us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.

To purchase a copy of Perillo’s Choreographing in Color, go to the Oxford University Press’s website here.  Use Discount Code:  AAFLYG6 for 30% OFF!!!

You can check out the film, THE CELINE ARCHIVE, at its world premiere in the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.  Buy tickets here: https://laapff2020.eventive.org/passes/buy.  You can also check out the film as part of CAAMFest later this month.

Finally, check out TFAL co-host Elaine Dolalas as she moderates an online panel to further discuss THE CELINE ARCHIVE with Celine Parreñas Shimizu as well as members of Celine Navarro’s relatives.  The panel happens on Friday, October 2, 2:00pm PST.  Link here:  https://festival.vcmedia.org/2020/special_events/c3-the-celine-archive/.

“Call out” culture, an inevitable part of online conversations, has become a bigger part of public discourse over the past few years. While critique and criticism have been around forever, social media has perhaps accelerated confrontations and further deepened divisions between people as online identities increasingly coalesce with personal identities. And the Filipino American community is certainly not immune from its ethos.  There have been many instances over the past year where “call out” culture has called into question both Filipino Americans’ privilege and marginalization.  While there is certainly backlash against calling out, there are certainly moments when it is justifiable and necessary for progress in our communities.  But where do you draw the line between accountability and petty drama?

Join the TFAL crew as we discuss our thoughts on “call out” culture. We discuss where it’s appropriate, and where it devolves into noise.  We discuss issues of “call out” culture in our Filipino American community (albeit vaguely because we don’t want to get into any legal trouble!).  And we even bring some scripture into the episode.  Yoooo!!!

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

Got a hot take on “call out” culture?  Let us know, leave us a voicemail at 805.394.TFAL (8325), tweet at us at @tfalpodcast, or tag us on instagram @tfalpodcast.

Note: We didn’t decipher between “call out” culture and “cancel” culture in the episode.  Apologies if we used them interchangeably.

Can you believe it’s been six months of quarantine? The TFAL Crew, including sleep deprived new dad Joe, came together this past Wednesday night for a TFAL Live where we engaged in a lively discussion about hustles. We talk about how quarantine and covid has impacted or inspired side hustles. The conversation also delves into the world of multilevel marketing “luxor shaped” enterprises.

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

What is your hustle? How has covid impacted it? Let us know, leave us a voicemail at 805.394.TFAL (8325), tweet at us at @tfalpodcast, or tag us on instagram @tfalpodcast.

In this episode the TFAL crew, with Kat Carrido Bonds filling in as a guest host, have a discussion with Isabel Sandoval, the artist behind the lyrical and delicate drama LINGUA FRANCA. LINGUA FRANCA follows Olivia, played by Isabel Sandoval, an undocumented Filipino trans woman, working as a caregiver to Olga, an elderly Russian woman, in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. When Olivia runs out of options to attain legal status in the US, she becomes romantically involved with Alex, Olga’s adult grandson, in the pursuit of a marriage-based green card. 

LINGUA FRANCA made history as the first film directed by and starring a trans woman of color to screen in competition at the 2019 Venice International Film Festival. The film continues to make history by being acquired by ARRAY, Ava DuVernay’s media company, joining DuVernay’s impressive slate of film and docuseries projects by BIPOC creatives.  
LINGUA FRANCA is available on Netflix. Watch the film and join the Cinema Sala x Array: #LinguaFrancaWatchParty Weds, August 26th, 5pm Pacific Time and participate in the live discussion with @isabelvsandoval and @ARRAYNow.

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.