The murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others at the hands of the police department has ignited outrage all around the world and once again, exposed the deep wounds of racism and inequality in the United States. While it’s easy to dismiss this unrest as somehow “outside” of the Filipino American community, it is impossible to ignore our role.

As Filipino Americans, we are certainly complicit to racism in the United States.  How many folks in our community make snide remarks about Black people?  How many Filipino parents send their children to private school because too many Black or Latinos attend the local public schools?  How many 2nd and 3rd generation adopt African American culture without paying homage to its founders or giving back to the Black community?

One of the calls from Black Lives Matter leaders is to help educate our own communities on how we perpetuate and reinforce anti-Blackness.  In this TFAL episode, we have an intra-community discussion on anti-Black racism in our communities and in our society.  We speak to long-time community advocates Kimmy Maniquis and Kalaya’an Mendoza.  Listen as we discuss how the Black Lives Matter Movement is important to all Filipino Americans, how we can talk to our friends and family who aren’t supportive of anti-racism, and how to support the Movement in multiple ways.

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.

Here is the video we referenced in the podcast about Kalaya’an, his faith, and talking with a Catholic priest:

Early in the TFAL podcast journey we discussed therapy and mental health in Episode 2. As time has progressed the TFAL community has asked to continue the discussion around mental health. In this episode the TFAL crew has a conversation with Alyssa Lia Mancao, a therapist based out of Sherman Oaks, CA, who also goes by Lia. She specializes in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy and Inner Child healing.

When quarantine began the concern over the physical toll of quarantine was not the only health crisis that was addressed. Mental health became a major concern for many due to  the increase of isolation. The CDC posted these guidelines on how to manage stress and anxiety under quarantine. The TFAL crew and Lia discuss her journey from a social worker in the justice system to her own private practice. Lia shares how therapy practices have changed because of the global pandemic and offers coping strategies like ‘Name it to tame it’ as a way of handling stress and anxiety. The conversation also delves into how mental health can manifest physically through somatic symptoms. 

Lastly, at the time of the recording several actions were taking place across the country in response to the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless Black Americans. The TFAL crew and Lia briefly discuss ways to participate in the Black Lives Matter movement and how to be allies in our communities. More info on Lia’s personal practice can be found here: Alyssa Marie Wellness. Follow Lia on instagram: @alyssamariewellness

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 has your mental health journey been like during quarantine? What coping mechanisms have worked for you? Let us know by emailing us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL.

TFAL is back with yet another edition of Hilaw Pa, the ultimate Filipino American brainstorm where the crew comes up with half-baked ideas related to our experiences.  In this episode, we discuss Coronavirus-related ideas.  Listen as we come up with ideas to hang out with our pals, respect our elders, and grab our food while still maintaining social distancing.  If you love Hilaw Pa, you’ll love Hilaw Pa, COVID edition!

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 half-baked idea related to the Coronavirus?  Let us know by emailing us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at (805) 394-TFAL.

As we continue our social distance series, we wanted to know what the Covid-19 experience was like in the Philippines. For that perspective the crew talks to Isabelle Lacson, a Metro Manila resident and friend of Producer Mike and Elaine. Isabelle shares what life is like under Enhanced Community Quarantine or ECQ. While there are similarities to our experiences (social distancing, working from home, businesses changing to delivery models), there are distinct differences like requiring residents to have a pass to leave their neighborhood, an 8pm curfew, and the use of VIBER as a community organizing tool.

Many thanks to Isabelle for sharing her story with us!

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.

Pilipino Cultural Night, aka PCN, aka PACN, aka Barrio Fiesta, aka Filipino Night, etc.  is an annual production performed by countless Filipino American student organizations on college campuses (and some high schools) throughout the country.  It is a night of acting, singing, and dancing that draws thousands of Filipino Americans any given year.  It has become an institution in Filipino America.

Unfortunately, so many PCNs have been canceled due to the current COVID-19 Crisis, disappointing countless Filipino American students who planned on participating this year.  This prompted the TFAL crew to look back to our experiences of participating (or not participating) in PCN.  In this episode, the TFAL crew discusses what is PCN, its popular even after 40+ years of existence, the genre’s critiques and controversies, and of course, its unbearable length.

Listen and find out who didn’t participate in PCN, who served as PCN coordinator, who was too dark to perform a Maria Clara dance, and which school had an 8-hour PCN!  This episode was recorded live on FB, with the master scholar, Theo Gonzalves, joining in on the chat.

To learn more about PCN, its origins, and its critiques, you can read the following scholarly works:

Theo Gonzalves’s The Day the Dancers Stayed

Dylan Rodriguez’s introductory chapter in Suspended Apocalypse

Xavier Hernandez’s article, “Behind the Curtain”

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 PCN experience?  Got an opinion on PCN?  Let us know by calling us at (805) 394-TFAL or emailing us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.

When we began our podcast journey several folks reached out to us about covering the multiracial Filipino experience. The question came to mind “What does it mean to be a multiracial Filipino?” This is a question that we knew we’d need an expert to share their experience and perspective.

In this episode we chat with Farzana Nayani, author of the new book ‘Raising Multiracial Children.’ Farzana shares her experience growing up in a Filipino and Pakistani household in Canada. How her upbringing combined with her University of Hawaii, Manoa graduate school focus on multicultural communications lead to her current path as an author, business and life coach, and diversity, equity & inclusion specialist. Farzana also shares how writing the illustrated guide ‘Being All Of Me’ with Multiracial Americans of Southern California transitioned into the book ‘Raising Multiracial Children’ with independent publisher North Atlantic Books and national distributor Penguin Random House.

Many thanks to the Instagram audience who participated in our book giveaway by providing their questions on what they would like to know about the multiracial Filipino experience. Fatima Gloria Shahzad was our lucky winner! We’ve got exclusive news that makes our TFAL audience winners. Use the code “TFAL35” for 35% off the book and free shipping from North Atlantic Books. (Code is valid only on the NAB site: Raising Multiracial Children). After you purchase and read the book, make sure to rate and review ‘Raising Multiracial Children’  on Amazon and Goodreads.

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 a tease!

In the midst of this doomsday-esque reality that we are experiencing through the coronavirus pandemic, we thought it would be nice to travel down the world of… you guessed it—Burlesque!

Although the roots of “burlesque“ range from parody stage shows to performances in a variety show format, it gradually transitioned into what it’s most commonly associated with today: a stage dance performance that incorporates an exploration of sex and sexuality through a slow reveal striptease.

In this episode of TFAL, we talk to two Pinay burlesque artists, Di’ Lovely and Mizon Garde. In addition to learning about what burlesque is, we get a glimpse of their background, explore complexities of sexuality, as they slowly reveal their own unique journey from discovery to success in this anything-but-typical provocative art.

For more on the growing art of burlesque in the Filipino American community, check out this LA Times article.

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.

On this episode of our Social Distance Series we were able to live stream via our Youtube Channel and on Instagram. The TFAL crew chats with Therese Golingay Donnelly, a nurse practitioner based in Los Angeles. Therese shares her journey going from Founding Mother of Kappa Psi Epsilon at California State University, Long Beach to transitioning from wanting to be an FBI agent to working in the healthcare field. She shares encouraging words to her fellow nurses who are going back into the field.

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.

Are you working on the front lines of covid-19? Want to send a message to front liners? Leave us a voicemail or text us at (805) 394-TFAL (8325) or emailing us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.

Also a PSA to folks who want to help healthcare frontliners! In addition to PPEs that folks have been gathering and sending to local hospitals, buy them a bottle of laundry detergent. Frontliners must wash their daily scrubs when they get home. That’s a lot of laundry! Help them out by sending them a bottle of laundry detergent.

Continuing the California mandate of social distancing the TFAL crew hosted another virtual live podcast with special guests Eugene Cordero & Mitch Narito. Initially we meant to host our live stream on Facebook, however technical difficulties lead to us hosting on our YouTube channel. In this episode we share one thing that we have learned about ourselves this week. We also get to know first time guest Mitch Narito and learn about his journey as an actor. Rounding out the show we also check in with TFAL alum Eugene Cordero. Mitch and Eugene share about their experiences on The Good Place  which we encourage you to stream while you stay at home during this type of social distancing. If you’ve finished that series you can follow it up with tonight’s season 2 premier of Tacoma FD on TruTV. 

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 have you learned about yourself this week? Let us know by calling or texting us at (805) 394-TFAL (8325) or emailing us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.