That's So Filipino! - Final Edition
By Leila Amerling
In this final part of the “That’s So Filipino” series, we’ll be talking about the stereotypes that my fellow Filipinos might have heard before and may actually agree with, especially when told by comedians like Happy Slip, Jo Koy, Rex Navarette, and Mikey Bustos.
Although considered stereotypical, we can’t help but agree with some of these comedy bits that identify a true Pinoy:
You know you’re Filipino when you point using your lips
“Mano po!” - take your elder’s hand to your forehead to “bless” him or her
You sniff kiss your kid or grandchild instead of kiss his / her cheek
You have an uncle nicknamed Bong, Boy, Ding Dong, Jun Jun, etc
You have an aunt nicknamed Girly, Baby, WengWeng, Lotlot, Pinky, Len Len, etc
You even have nicknames for household items like a “ref” is a refrigerator, the “aircon” is an air conditioner, or the “CR” is the restroom (aka Comfort Room)
You double the word in names and actions like Halo-Halo (“Mix Mix” - picture below), tabo-tabo (a small bucket to use in the shower), gabi-gabi (“nightly”), oo (“yes), or ukay-ukay (a type of Philippine second hand store)
You tend to mix up your F’s and your P’s - “I love Pilipino Poods!”
Mom’s solution to curing you of anything is by using Bicks Bapor Rab (aka Vicks Vapor Rub)
To summarize, here’s a musical rendition for your viewing pleasure. You may call these Filipino stereotypes but I call this reality.
Do you have any Filipino / Filipino-American experiences of your own that you want to write about? We want to hear from you. Contact us at info@bosfilipinos.com to join the BF gang and be a guest writer on our blog!
Did you miss out on Part 1 and 2 of the "That's So Filipino" Series? Check them out now!
Noche Buena - A Filipino Christmas Eve
© Matt Nagy
By Leila Amerling
Happy almost December my fellow BOSFilipinos!
Ah Thanksgiving… a time to sit around a glorious table full of food, with family and dear friends to celebrate life and be thankful for it. Did you have a good Thanksgiving feast? Did anyone out there try to make an Adobo-style Turkey instead? Any Pinoy sides added?
Growing up in the Philippines, even as an American, Thanksgiving wasn’t actually a thing we celebrated as a family. For us, the next holiday to look forward to after Halloween was Christmas (although even Halloween isn’t celebrated as much over there either). In the Philippines, starting in September, Christmas carols start to play on the radio, decorations are put up everywhere (at home, the malls, hotels) and everyone gets into the holiday spirit. Yup! September. My family was not that extreme, but we definitely had the tree up by the first couple of weeks of November.
For most Filipinos, Noche Buena (aka Nochebuena), translated as Christmas Eve, was one of the key components to celebrating Christmas. It is one of the best nights of the year. Sometimes even better than New Year’s Eve!
My fondest memories of Noche Buena are like Thanksgiving for most. It was a way to get relatives together for a feast, and even the hired help and their families were invited to join in on the fun! We were all together and we all savored the delicacies that our cook lovingly created and spent all day making. And the best part, this started right before midnight and kept going long after.
You see, in the Philippines, Christmas Eve was almost as important, if not more, than Christmas Day. Almost all of the celebrating happened on the 24th. For me, it typically started with our version of lighting the candles on the menorah (my dad is Jewish, so we were lucky to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas!). We would then go to mass (Simbang Gabi), and then wait until around 10 or 11PM to start eating. During all of this, fireworks and firecrackers were going off from neighbors’ homes. And finally no later than 12:01 AM, my little brother and I would rush to the artificial Christmas tree and start going through all of the presents. Of course, we would never rip our presents open like a bunch of maniacs! We had to carefully open them so not to ruin the paper for next Christmas! And after all of that exhausting unwrapping, we ended up sneaking another red hot dog on a stick with marshmallows from the Pineapple. Picture below if you have no idea what I'm talking about.
Oh yeaaah...you thought I was kidding?!
Have you ever watched the movie Hook? Remember the part when Peter finally starts to learn how to play with the Lost Boys and imagined a long table full of super colorful food, and then they had the most epic food fight? Well, that was pretty much Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) for us (not including the food fight). Noche Buena to me didn’t start until we were all at that long table, full of heaping piles of every food group, of every shape and color that you can imagine. The table was not meant to be sat around either. It was a grand buffet. We grabbed our plates and loaded it up until we couldn’t fit anything on it anymore. We sat wherever we could find a seat, usually the living room, and enjoyed our meal with whoever sat next to us. Of course with full intention to go back for more.
By the time Christmas Day came around, we were worn out from the night before, some families would go to morning mass again, I didn't have to. To be honest, Noche Buena was such a big deal in our family that I really don't remember much of what we did on Christmas Day. As far as I remember, we spent the day enjoying our new gifts at home, a few more relatives came to visit and enjoyed a plate of leftovers.
Clearly, my fondest memories of Christmas consisted of family, food, and more food. Similar to what many of us just experienced last week, I hope. And I look forward to more to come!
What are your plans for Noche Buena? We’d love to hear it!
Interview with Ray Hallare of Dowel Furniture
By Trish Fontanilla
Image provided by Ray Hallare
Last month I had a chance to catch up with an old friend of mine, Ray Hallare. Ray and I met about 6 years ago through MassChallenge, a global startup accelerator that’s headquartered here in Boston. We bonded over our love of startups, and at one point, I even suggested we start a Filipino food cart here in town. While that never came to fruition, we both did end up starting ventures with ties back to the Philippines. Check out the interview below to learn more about the business that sprung out of his family’s factory in the Philippines, his favorite things around Boston, and of course Filipino food.
Where are you from originally?
Pasig City, Manila, Philippines
And what do you do?
I am one of the co-founders of Dowel Furniture. We sell custom designer-created furniture online.
Image provided by Ray Hallare / Dowel Furniture
What inspired you to start Dowel Furniture?
My family has been in the furniture manufacturing business my entire life and it's something that my sister, who's my business partner, and I grew up with. We felt that people have become more savvy about finding quality furniture online over the last couple of years and felt that this was a great opportunity. It was the right timing for us to build on top of our family's manufacturing expertise, and start a vertically integrated digital furniture brand.
Image provided by Ray Hallare / Dowel Furniture
What's been your favorite, or one of your fave pieces of furniture that you've made?
One of my favorite pieces we've done so far from our designer created collections is probably the Parisienne Chair. I think it's a great take on a classic chair profile and can easily fit in a lot of rooms either as a dining chair or as a standalone accent piece.
Image provided by Ray Hallare / Dowel Furniture
On Boston...
How long did you live in Boston?
I’ve been in NY for the last year, but I was in Boston for 10 years before I moved to NY. I also go back and forth to Manila every 3-4 months or so to check on production.
What are your favorite Boston spots? Could be restaurants / parks / anything!
Hmm... favorite spots are tough, haha. I'll break it down I guess:
Restaurant would be O Ya, which is probably a once in 5 year restaurant though because it's so expensive haha
Boston Common because I like walking through it, despite it being cliche
TD Garden mainly because I love watching Celtics games
Image provided by Ray Hallare / Dowel Furniture
On Filipino food…
What's your all-time favorite Filipino dish?
It's probably a tie between kare kare with bagoong [a type of meat stew with shrimp paste] or lechon paksiw [a dish made with leftover roast pig]. I've always liked the day-after lechon made into paksiw better than day-of lechon.
What's your favorite Filipino recipe / dish to make?
It’s probably adobo [the unofficial national dish of the Philippines] because of value for time. It takes awhile to make but not because it's hard to make. It's super simple and tastes great.
How can people stay in touch with you?
Through our website: www.dowel.furniture
Via email: ray@dowel.furniture
Or @hallarer on everything
You can also check out their showroom in NYC or at the Eliza B Design Studio in Concord.
Thanks for taking the time to chat, Ray!
Of Cockfights and Adobo
by Bianca Garcia
© Bianca Garcia
This is an excerpt of an article I wrote for Offline Magazine (now shuttered down). I wanted to write about a controversial local tradition, and weave in stories about my family and food (of course). The entire piece is published on my blog.
--
I stared at the gates outside the arena, gray and rusty, paint peeling off. The scorching sun was beating down on us, bright and relentless, and on the ground there were clouds of dirt being kicked around by the flip flops that everyone wears. There were sounds of children playing nearby. It was a typical provincial scene, grand and quaint at the same time. We shuffled to the entrance, and then we entered a different world.
We were at the cockfighting arena in San Fernando, Pampanga, a province in the Philippines. Dark, humid, loud and thumping, I could feel a frantic energy pulsing in the air. It was my first time going to see a cockfight, or “sabong” as it is called in Filipino. Cockfighting is a blood sport so violent that it’s outlawed in many other countries, but it has been part of Filipino culture for centuries.
In the Philippines, cockfighting is a great equalizer, where the rich and poor come together without any class distinctions. It is a community activity that brings neighbors together and ignites the bonding of the townsfolk’s men. A common joke among the wives is that the roosters are luckier than they are, because their husbands caress and lovingly massage the roosters first thing in the morning. Up until the 60s, when most parts of the country started becoming more urbanized, almost every backyard had chicken and rooster coops, with every family being invested in the sport of cockfighting.
To read the rest of the article, please head over to Confessions of a Chocoholic.
That's So Filipino - PART Dalawa (Two)
Welcome to our second segment of “That’s So Filipino”! Also, happy last full week of Filipino American History Month!
Today we’re going to talk about some important people that put the Philippines and Filipino talent in the spotlight.
Did you know these 10 Hollywood superstars and artists are either full or half Filipino?
Allan Pineda aka APL member of the Grammy-winning Black Eyed Peas.
Bruno Mars - Received five Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, one Guinness World Record, and was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2011.
Dave Bautista - MMA fighter, aka Drax from the movie Guardians of the Galaxy.
Enrique Iglesias - Grammy winner for Best Latin Pop Performance.
Hailee Steinfeld - Academy nominee and best known as Mattie Ross in the movie True Grit (2010).
Nicole Scherzinger - lead singer of the Grammy nominee girl group, the Pussycat Dolls.
Rachel Bilson - best known as Summer Roberts from the hit prime-time drama series, The O.C.
Shay Mitchell - best known as Emily Fields in the hit TV series Pretty Little Liars. She is a distant cousin of Lea Salonga, a Tony Award-winning theater actress best known for originating the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon.
Vanessa Hudgens - best known as Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical film series.
Vanessa Minnillo - Lachey - Miss Teen USA in 1998 and TV correspondent for Entertainment Tonight.
Yes, I am as surprised as you are with some of these. And just as thrilled!
Although these celebs may not necessarily be considered a part of Filipino American History, yet, one thing is for sure, they are certainly making history with their talents and incredible work!
Filipino American History Month 2017
Did you know that October is Filipino American History Month (FAHM)? While it was established by the Filipino American National Historical Society in 1988, it wasn’t officially recognized nationally by Congress until 2009.
As I started to work on a FAHM post for the blog, I found the AARP / NextDayBetter video that came out earlier this month. For a video that’s only 7 minutes long, it does an incredible job of highlighting Filipino American contributions and history dating back to 1587! Most of which, I must say, was not in any of my history books growing up in New Jersey.
Some new things I learned from the video (including links to learn more) were:
- Filipinos have been in what is now known as the continental United States since 1587 -
- Many FIlipinos first formed settlements in Louisiana (Saint Malo) - link
- Some Filipinos were at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair… on display - link
- Filipino towns such as Stockton’s Little Manila served as a safe haven for labor migrants who were accused of stealing jobs… and women - link
- The 1934 Congress restricted immigration from the Philippines to just 50 Filipinos per year - link
- During WWII - 250,000 Filipinos served in the United States Armed Forces of the Far East - link
- Filipino veterans in the Philippines were promised US citizenship and benefits, but the passing of the 1946 Rescission Act broke that promise - link
- At one point, there were more Filipinos in the US Navy than the Philippines Navy - link
- In 1965, the Immigration Act greatly expanded quotas (right around when my parents came to the US!), and by 1970 the Filipino community more than doubled. Population stats: 1930 - 45,000; 1970 - 343,00; 1980 - 774,000 - link
- There are now over 4,000,000 Filipinos in the United States, and that’s just an estimation from 2011 - link
And those are just a handful of the stats that are in the video!
To watch the video in its entirety, click below and let us know what you learned!
BOSFilipinos and Milagros Project Pop-Up Dinner Recap
by Bianca Garcia
My heart was beating fast, my hands were sweating, and I smelled like adobo. I glanced around the cozy space at Saus and saw my team whirring around: Trish was going over the floor plan and putting last minute touches on the dining tables, Leila was prepping garnishes behind the counter, Saima was heading down towards the kitchen with a determined look on her face, and Chef Roland was laser-focused on the food, carrying big pots filled with deliciousness. I grinned wide and welcomed the first guest. We were ready to rock and roll.
Clockwise from top left: Leila, Roland, Bianca, and Trish
© Bianca Garcia
The next few hours went by in a blur. We were fortunate to have sold out both seatings for the evening, and there was a general buzz of excitement in the packed restaurant that sustained throughout the night. Once the food started coming out, we heard plenty of “oohs,” “ahhs,” and “mmms.” The diners were happy and satisfied, and so were we. The Filipino Food Pop-Up Event by BOSFilipinos and The Milagros Project was a success! Below are a few pictures from the evening:
scallop kinilaw
© Matt Nagy
ilocos empanada
© Matt Nagy
chicken inasal steeam bun
© Matt Nagy
pork ribs adobo
© Matt Nagy
leche flan
© Cathy Buena
Chef Roland talking to diners
© Bianca Garcia
happy diners
© Bianca Garcia
the night's menu (hapunan means dinner in Filipino)
© Matt Nagy
dried mangoes and bananas
© Bianca Garcia
We are all grateful for this incredible experience. The months of preparations and meetings (filled with food, no complaints) were worth it, and we are proud of our very first eat-up. Extra special thanks to: Chef Roland of The Milagros Project for sharing his talent and letting Boston have a little taste of the Philippines via his tasting menu; Chin, Lucas, Tanya, Aimee, Renee, and the rest of the team at Saus for their help and participation; our friend Saima for rocking out with us that night; my hubby Matt for designing our menu and branding; and of course to our attendees, family, and friends for the support and encouragement.
MARAMING SALAMAT PO! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
the team post-event
© Bianca Garcia
2017 Boston Asian American Film Festival
The Boston Asian American Film Festival is October 19th - 22nd! If you haven’t heard of or attended BAAFF before, it's produced by the Asian American Resource Workshop, a member-based organization that seeks to document the diverse Asian Pacific American histories, experiences, and social conditions.
There will be 25+ films screened over the course of 4 days, and this year we are co-presenting two short films by Filipino-American filmmakers!
The first is Distance directed by Craig Nisperos, which will be screened on Friday October 20, 2017 at 7:00PM.
From the BAAFF website:
“Distance is a modern day immigration story that focuses on a man’s struggle with being away from his family, his home.”
For $1 off Friday’s screening of Distance (6 other short films will be shown as well!), use the code BOSFilipinos2017. Tickets and film summaries can be viewed by clicking here.
The second film is The Second Province directed by Zorinah Juan, which will be screened on Saturday, October 21, 2017 at 3:15PM.
From the BAAFF website:
“Two estranged Filipino-American siblings are forced to reunite when their offbeat mother elects death with dignity.”
For $1 off Saturday’s screening of The Second Province (5 other short films will be shown as well!), you can also use the code BOSFilipinos2017. Tickets and film summaries can be viewed by clicking here.
If you’re as excited as we are, and you can’t wait two whole weeks, there is a FREE preview party tomorrow night (Thursday, October 5, 2017). There will be trailers, treats, and a chance to win screening tickets! Click here for more info.
For the full BAAFF schedule, click here. It’s going to be an incredible festival!
BOSFilipinos' First Eatup is Monday!
Hi BFers and Friends!
Our very first eatup is just around the corner! We're so excited to share this meal with you all at one of our favorite places - Saus. You can still buy tickets here (link) for the 6PM or 8:15PM seating. Check out the menu below, and let us know if you've got any questions!
If you can't make it, you can still spread the love by sharing our ticket link on social media through Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
Thanks for the support as always, and we hope to see you soon!
Tasting Menu Preview*
Scallop Kinilaw
local scallops marinated in coconut vinegar, chili, and herbs
Ilocos Empanada
fried empanada made of rice flour and annatto with vigan style pork sausage, green papaya, and egg
Pancit Molo
savory wonton dumpling soup with shrimp, pork, and garlic
Chicken Inasal Steam Bun
grilled chicken marinated in lemongrass annatto and garlic in a steam bun with scallions and aioli
Pork Rib Adobo
braised pork ribs in soy sauce, spiced vinegar, palm sugar, bay leaves, and peppercorn
Sinangag
a Filipino meal wouldn’t be complete without garlic rice
Leche Flan with Lavender Ube Halaya
sweet egg custard with lavender scented purple yam sauce
*Unfortunately, for this event, there will be no substitutions available.
*Menu subject to change based on availability and seasonality of ingredients.