Every family has one. The one who fills the silence, laughs the loudest, and finds a reason to celebrate an ordinary Tuesday. The one who insists that everything is fine, and makes almost everyone believe it. But what happens when keeping up appearances becomes a way of avoiding the truth? This November, “I Am Normal,” a...
Tag: family
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Who can serve as companions to Lolo and Lola?
As more Filipinos grow older, families need to address an issue that falls somewhere between looking after a parent themselves and hiring professional caregivers. A newly launched Metro Manila companionship service offers a glimpse of the possibilities, and the questions that come with them. Maria Lourdes Malipol, 27, began caring for her mother, Eleanor, after...
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‘Poon’: Jaclyn Jose and Ronaldo Valdez deliver a hauntingly vivid final farewell
Adolfo Alix Jr.’s horror-drama “Poon” (The Hallowed) arrives in cinemas this week (opened on Sept. 9, Wednesday) with all the makings of a major cinematic event, seamlessly blending whodunit intrigue with gritty atmospheric horror. On the surface, what’s driving its commercial potential is a multigenerational powerhouse ensemble. The film cleverly links respected icons like Gina Pareño and...
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A portrait of the Filipino as the eternal optimist
A lesser-known aspect of the Filipino diaspora is the phenomenon of older, relatively-successful, mid- or late-career countrymen and -women choosing to pull up roots and make a go of it in a foreign land, despite the uncertainty and hardship this might entail—all for the prospect of a better life for their families. You’ve probably heard...
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Making memories: Sticky rice and unfettered bonds
Among my vivid childhood memories is making bilo-bilo. I remember the sensation of rolling between my palms a dollop of cold malagkit (sticky rice) to about an inch round until smooth, putting the ball on a plate, and repeating the process, putting the balls one beside the others on the quickly filled plate, until there...
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Over a hot stove: ‘Ube halaya’ and love’s labors
I was born into a transnational extended family. My father, the eldest among his siblings, married before his brother (younger by only a year), was drafted into the US Navy. As a consequence, slowly, the brother and his parents and seven other siblings eventually came to live in the United States. We, the family of...
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When I was an OFW, I got detained in Saudi
Thirty-six years ago, I left my wife Malou and our two young sons to take a job in Saudi Arabia. Back then I was called an “overseas contract worker” or OCW, a term that has since morphed into “overseas Filipino worker” or OFW. From a college teaching job in the Philippines, I became a supervisor...
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Piolo Pascual returns to the ‘teleserye’
Cinema is transforming, and actor-producer Piolo Pascual hopes that Filipino filmmakers are ready for the changes. Unlike the naysayers who predict the death of the cinema, Piolo would rather view recent developments in the film industry as a transformation. Developments in technology, the economy, and the attitudes and habits of the movie-going public are dictating...
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Running on that track
NEW YORK CITY—I played sikyo when I was growing up in the Philippines. Each time the captains of the opposing teams chose their players, I was the last to be called because apart from my small build I did not run fast enough. But I always insisted on joining the play, so that the captain...
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My babies forever and always
I remember a rainy afternoon. I was sitting next to the window, drinking hot chocolate as an alternative to coffee because I was pregnant with my fourth child. I stared outside and watched the raindrops falling to the ground. I could hear my three other children laughing and playing in the living room. On some...