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For the past 20 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
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To tell us what you think about Filipino Express Online or to comment on the stories published here, E-mail us at Filexpress@aol.com
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NEW YORK CITY -- It was a germ of an idea that mushroomed into a high profile event in a less than a month.
Ramon Gil, a design and advertising industry veteran for 15 years, had been attending every seminar and networking event he could find in an effort to drum up business for his newly launch marketing company, Fresh Concentrate. And through it all, people kept asking him what his “niche” was.
It was while at a “networking” seminar that Gil realized that there was no Asian Chamber of Commerce in the city or any organization that served the needs of Asian American business owners in New York City.
After throwing the idea around with some of his friends and clients including Mark Anthony Agbuya of Collaborative Opportuties for Raising Empowerment, the idea just took off.
Several Filipinos were instrumental in setting up the group. Marni Chua, Branch Manager for the JPMorgan Chase Bank at Rockefeller Center, offered a venue and a date! Vicki Shu Smolin of VS Planning LLC, was ready to help coordinate logistics, and Phil Wong, restaurant owner of Vegetarian Paradise II in Greenwhich Village” was happy to donate food platters!
The group also got cookies from Karen Lowe of Six Persimmons, and raffle prizes from Glenda Villajuan of Great ExpectAsians Greeting Cards, Conlyn Chan of MEI Image Consulting and Julian Espiritu of ZipCar.
The first Asian-American Entrepreneurs Networking Night (AEN) was held June 5, at at Rockefeller Center sponsored by Gil’s company Fresh Concentrate along with JPMorgan Chase Bank. “We were hoping to get 30 people, but instead we got over a hundred RSVPs! And people are still e-mailing us for information on the next one,” said Gil.
The organizers are gearing up to launch a website dedicated to Asian American entrepreneurs in New York City. Features will include an events calendar, a bulletin board and a business directory.
For more information on future AEN events, please visit http://www.fcadv.com/aen.
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LOS ANGELES, California -- A Filipino author named Maria Veloso has written “Midwinter Turns to Spring”, the first-ever novel that comes with its own music soundtrack consisting of songs that she wrote in collaboration with another Filipino, Zendrik, who also produced and performed the songs on the music CD.
Veloso’s music-infused storytelling in “Midwinter Turns to Spring” has met with rave reviews from readers, as well as members of the media, who have called her work “phenomenally important “ and see it as “pioneering a next-generation genre in fiction .” (Tony Trupiano, host of the nationally syndicated Tony Trupiano Show).
Veloso seeks Filipino support to help put the book on the literary map. She is asking Filipinos residing in the U.S. , as well as in the Philippines to champion Filipino pride by nominating “Midwinter Turns to Spring” for Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club because all of Oprah’s picks have subsequently landed on the New York Times Bestseller List.
To this end, Veloso has created a website that enables Filipinos and other supporters to cast their nominations online at http://www.NominateMidwinterForOprah.com, and has opened up a text line that will enable people to use their phone to text the word midwinter to 47647.
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NEW YORK CITY -- At the Philippine Fiesta IN America, the organizers spare none to bring a wholesome, powerfully artistic and culturally deep presentation of entertainment for its thousands of annual visitors.
This trademark of quality has earned Special Edition Press, Inc., the organizer, as the corporation that has brought Filipino trade and cultural exposition to a higher level. The performers lined up are always well-thought of and the event well-planned.
This year, the Fiesta will present the hottest young stars of Philippine movie and television industries whose presence in the small and big screen has contributed to the colorful landscape of Philippine entertainment that has crossed oceans and reached audiences of Filipino heritage in Asia, USA and Europe.
This year’s selection of performers shows a line-up of predominantly young artists whose achievements have earned them celebrity status. TV Sensations Judy Ann Santos, Ryan Agoncillo, Diether Ocampo and famed vocalist Faith Cuneta take center stage this August 19-20th at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ, the venue of Philippine Fiesta.
The 1990s and beyond were smiling great fortunes upon the young Judy Ann Santos as her reputation as the Philippine television hottest soap star lead her to the big screen. The Nora Aunor phenomenon was seen in her several blockbuster movies. Among her most notable films included 2003’s “Till There Was You” and her most recent film “Don’t Give up on Us” with Piolo Pascual.
And how could any devout TFC viewer not know of the highly publicized romance between Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo? The love between the ever-popular soap star Juday and in-demand TV personality Ryan couldn’t be more widely known back home. But of course, their romance is only the icing of the cake; Juday’s successful acting career in both television and the movies shows no signs of slowing down. She is slated to do another movie with Piolo Pascual. A movie with Ryan Agoncillo is also in offing.
Diether Ocampo himself is certainly no stranger to the realm of Pinoy popular music. The young hunk owes his initial success to his starring roles in such Filipino TV shows as “Bora: Sons of the Beach” and “Ikaw Ang Lahat Sa Akin.”
He is also a member of the wildly popular singing group “The Hunks”. But many fans should be familiar with Ocampo’s presence in the Filipino rock scene, as he and his alternative band “Blow” have conquered the Philippine live circuit time and time again.
Aficionados of GMA-7 would definitely recognize the vocal charms of Faith Cuneta. Dubbed the “Telenovela Diva,” Ms. Cuneta’s claim for fame comes not her relation to Philippines’ megastar, Sharon Cuneta, but rather, from her own natural talents. The 22-year old pop-star first made waves when her song “Langit Ka” became the theme to the popular Filipino-dubbed Korean soap opera “Stairway to Heaven” on GMA 7, a move that catapulted her to great heights at the Filipino music industry.
Of course, the impact of introducing new blood wouldn’t be enough without the presence of an all-time favorite. Legendary singing phenomenon Celeste Legaspi will also be appearing as a special guest star. Her specialty, as most admirers would know, lies within original Pilipino music (OPM) songs, performing such classics as “Ang Abaniko,” “Limang Dipang Tao,” “Saranggola ni Pepe,” among countless others.
Legaspi’s experiences with OPM and Filipino musicals inspired her to form Musical Theater Philippines (MTP), the theater production group later more popularly known as Musicat.
To sponsor, exhibit, advertise or to order tickets in advance, please call 212 682-6610, e-mail: sepmgzn@aol.com or order on line at www.philippinefiesta.com. Tickets are $12 each if bought in advance; $15 at the door. VIP tickets are also available @$50.
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FRIENDS Indeed, USA was born out of a close friendship that existed among people whose main concern was service to the community. With the belief that true friends should encourage dynamic leadership and selfless service and generosity, the FIUSA decided to honor 10 businesses and non-profit organizations with Awards of Excellence, including the UP Alumni and Friends Rondalla.
UPA&FR, based in New Jersey, was established in 1992 to promote Philippine cultural heritage through indigenous musical instruments, to promote our native music and to propagate the rondalla as a native string ensemble.
For the past 14 years, they have been performing in various places and functions, including the NJ Performing Arts Center, at the Library of Congress, World Bank, Smithsonian Institute, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus in Virginia, the Lincoln Center and the Philippine Consulate in New York.
This rondalla figures prominently in Independence Day celebrations and heritage festivals in New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Texas. It has performed at Princeton University, Rutgers University, Lycée Français, the United Nations International School in New York, and other colleges.
The group performed at the World’s Fair Exposition in Portugal in 1998, at a diplomatic reception at the Philippine Consulate in Jordan in 1999, and at a cultural exchange at the Teatro de Havana in Cuba in 2004.
Last year, the Knights of Rizal NJ Chapter also presented the group with the Circle of Excellence Award for their continuous service of promoting the rondalla, not only within the tri-state area but also within the US and other key cities outside the US.
For those who are interested in learning to play a rondalla instrument, membership is open to anyone age 10 and above. For more information, call Amor McGuinness, UPAFR founder and president, at 973-335-7660 or 973-886-2796.
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