Many Filipinos and Filipino Americans tend to identify as such without question or sense of history of how these categories emerge historically.  In this TFAL episode, Joe speaks to his advisor and mentor in graduate school, Dr. Vicente Rafael, about the various formations and iterations of Filipino and Filipino American nationalism.  Dr. Rafael is a…

What happens when a Marine combines their passion for coffee with their Veterans organized humanitarian mission non profit? In this episode the crew talks with Joseph Zoleta and learns how a humanitarian trip to the Philippines turned this marine/paramedic into an entrepreneur with Black 6 Coffee Trading Co. Joseph Zoleta is the President of Black…

During Filipino American History Month The Ripped Bodice, the only exclusively romance bookstore in the United States, hosted Pag-Ibig: Celebrating Filipino Diaspora in Romantic Fiction with Tif Marcelo, Mia Hopkins, Maida Malby, Sarah Smith, hosted by Ezrah Lasolah-Tuble. In this episode Elaine is joined by romance novel enthusiast and best friend Ivy Barrera. Elaine and…

In this special TFAL episode, we get to know two Pinay visionaries of Anthill Fabric Gallery: Co-founder and Managing Director Anya Lim and Team Performance Coach Elisa Estrera. Anthill Fabric Gallery creates beautiful, contemporary, handmade clothing and accessories by putting culture and communities first. Headquartered in Cebu, Anthill partners with various indigenous, rural, and working…

Death is a natural part of life.  All of us have experience with death, whether it’s among our family, our friends, or even folks we barely know.  With death comes customs and rituals associated with it that we, the living, perform and practice.  For example, many pre-colonial peoples of the Philippines believed that one had…

On Sunday, October 6th, the TFAL crew had the opportunity to be a part of the Beatrock Music 10-Year Anniversary Festival held at the Bootleg Theater in Historic Filipinotown. The crew revisited the fan favorite format of the TFAL Game Show which we introduced in Episode 27.5. On this episode we had Beatrock Music artist…

In early September, Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California (PWC) hosted an anti-human trafficking summit, bringing together survivors, advocates, and leaders from throughout the country.  After two days of workshops, panels, and performances, the participants launched the Baklas campaign (Filipino for dismantle / break free), a national effort to end human trafficking. Post-summit, TFAL got a…

Historically, police departments have had a history of tense and even hostile relations with communities of color, with the Los Angeles Police Department as one of the most notorious.  Looking back as far as the 1960’s and 1970’s, the LAPD has had police chiefs at the helm whose approach to law enforcement was not only…