October 25th marked the 104th birthday of the late Larry Itliong. In October 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill that would give the Filipino-American labor leader statewide recognition with the annual day honoring his contributions to the state’s farmworkers’ labor movement. California State Assemblyperson Rob Bonta, the first and thus far only Filipino-American […]
Riding in the El Cerrito Centennial parade
My town of El Cerrito, Calif., where I’ve lived since 1996, is celebrating its centennial this year. One of the major events for the celebration was the Showcase Parade, which featured 59 groups or distinguished individuals. I was invited to participate as a local award-winning writer. But the biggest honor was sharing the red convertible […]
El Cerrito Centennial Parade
This coming Saturday, September 16th, I’ll be in the El Cerrito Centennial parade, riding in a convertible – red, no less – with former El Cerrito resident and author Gail Tsukiyama (Women of the Silk, The Samurai’s Garden, Night of Many Dreams, The Language of Threads, Dreaming Water, and The Street of a Thousand Blossoms). I’m […]
Short story in Hair Trigger 2.0
An old story of mine, “We are thinking of you,” was recently published by Hair Trigger 2.0, the online magazine within Columbia College Chicago’s Creative Writing Department. Hair Trigger 2.0 is “dedicated to publishing works that are reflective of the diversity of contemporary fiction.” This issue was published in May 2017. You can read the story […]
Talking about the Filipino American experience at UC Davis
The University of California at Davis is my alma mater, and while I was an English major, I was one class shy of having a minor in Asian American Studies. So I was very excited to have the opportunity to do a talk for Professor Robyn Magalit Rodriguez’s Asian American Studies class 150: the Filipino […]
Celebrating Cesar Chavez Day, University of CA, Office of the President
On Wednesday, March 29th, I was the guest speaker at a lunchtime event sponsored by the Latino Staff Association/Asian Pacific Islander Association affinity groups at the University of California, Office of the President (UCOP). The event, entitled, “When Mexicans and Filipinos Join Together: The Farmworker Movement and Unity in the Making,” was in celebration of Cesar […]
Porterville College newsletter article
Porterville College’s November newsletter featured a short article on my October visit to my alma mater. You can check it out here.
Alumni Journal Q&A in Syracuse University Magazine
I received my fall/winter 2016, vol. 33, number 3 issue of the Syracuse University Magazine in the mail today. In late summer I was interviewed by associate editor Amy Speach for a Q&A in the Alumni Journal section of the magazine. The Q&A is in the current issue. The online version can be […]
Seattle book tour in review: Part 3, Yakima Valley
The last leg of my Seattle book tour, along with Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Marissa Aroy, was in Yakima Valley. Our tour was sponsored by numerous generous organizations, including Pinoy Words Expressed Kultura Arts (KWEKA), Alaskero Foundation, El Centro de la Raza, the Meaningful Movies Project, Filipino American Students Association (FASA) of the University of Washington, […]
Seattle book tour in review: Part 2
As part of Filipino American History Month, I embarked on a book tour in Seattle and Yakima Valley. Here is Part 2 of my chronicles of my time there. While in Seattle, I stayed with my good friends, John and Kris. My husband, David, and John have known each other since pre-school. John was one […]