Ten Things I Know About My Great Grandparents and Philippine history. 1. Apolonio Otanes Pascual (1887–1971) was from Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, a narrow strip of land in the northwestern coast of the Philippines. During the time of the Spaniards, his family was among many who left the town to…

In 2006 I took the Greyhound bus in winter and traveled from California to New York. One of my stops was to visit a friend in Indiana. I wanted to see the cornfields. My friend told me that it was winter so there was nothing to see. We went anyway…

Ang larawang ito ay kuha sa Isabela noong August 23, 2005, ilang buwan bago ako lumipad ng Amerika. Tinupad ko ang pangako ko sa aking sarili noong 19 ako na maglakbay at marating ang Palanan. Mahabang salaysayin kung bakit naging mahalaga para sa akin na marating ang makasaysayang lugar na…

I collect old photos from all over the world. I bought this 1978 photo in one of my trips back to the Philippines in the late 90s. I found it in a memorabilia store. The man holding the dead child is Dolphy, the late Filipino King of Comedy. I posted the photo on Flickr in June 2006. A year later, a man emailed me and introduced himself. His name is Alejandro Tagle. “I am the child in that photo,” he wrote.

Woody Allen ended his film Blue Jasmine with the camera closing in on Cate Blanchett in South Park, San Francisco. The background was a little out of focus but I recognized the exact spot right away when I read the sign behind Cate Blanchett. That’s Gran Oriente Filipino, I whispered…

Bernal Hill was created 150 million years ago when the Pacific plate and the North American plate collided and converged. Today, this hilltop is home to a remarkable urban ecosystem, including native wildflowers, raccoons, opossums, skunks, hawks, owls, and, at times, at least one coyote in the past. You also get a 360 degree view of San Francisco from here. In one place, I could show friends and point to areas where I work, where I live, go to play, be quiet, and where I came from.

During the relaunch of ABS-CBN in the late 80s, Ricky Lee opened doors for young writers to work with Behn Cervantes in a TV drama set in a sugar plantation. There were ten of us who wrote for Angkan, includingRichard Reynante, Boots SA Pastor, Ralston Jover, and Segundo Matias. We…

When I was eleven, a Franciscan nun shared in our class a startling insight that altered one of my most fundamental beliefs. — One day, Sister Mercedes Nicolas, the principal of Saint Joseph’s School, interrupted our class to “share a secret.” In a very gentle manner, almost confessional, she told us that heaven is not a place. Nope, she said, no pearly gates, no angels with trumpets. It jolted me. WTF was she…

Nagbakasyon ako last year sa Nueva Ecija at sa gitna ng mabilis na pagbabago sa bayan ng San Jose, naaalala ko pa rin ang mundong ginalawan ko noong bata ako. Lumaki ako sa tapat ng palengke at ito ang aking mga kapitbahay noong Dekada 70: 1. Ang Apartment Namin Ang…