Penguin Classics/Rizal's El Filibusterismo new translation

From Elda Rotor at Penguin Books:

Dear writers, teachers, students and Classics readers,

I’m very happy to share that Jose Rizal’s El Filibusterismo is now available in a new translation by Harold Augenbraum published by Penguin Classics, as a highlight of our 65th anniversary year. The Fili is now in the Penguin Classics series along with Noli Me Tangere also translated by Harold Augenbraum. For those of you in the NYC area next Thursday June 16th from 6-8pm I hope you can join us for the book launch event at the Consulate cohosted by CORE. Details and rsvp info below.

If anyone is interested in writing a short article on why you teach Rizal’s Noli and Fili as a “Campus Classic” feature for the Penguin Classics online newsletter, which goes out to thousands of professors and educators, please email me directly. We hope to grow the course adoption for Rizal’s classics for years to come and broaden his readership in the US and abroad. El Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere are available wherever books are sold, will be distributed worldwide, and in the Philippines, will be available at National Bookstore, Powerbooks, and Fully Booked, starting June 1st.

Thank you for your support. From an industry perspective, the more sales we can grow for the classics of the Philippines the better it will be for Filipino writers and books in general. – Elda

http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780143106395,00.html?El_Filibusterismo_Jose_Rizal

ELDA ROTOR
Editorial Director, PENGUIN CLASSICS
elda.rotor@us.penguingroup.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Inquiries, please contact:
John Entrada, Director – READ Philippines, CORE: read@core-nyc.org; 646.714.2885
Mark Habana, Immediate Past Chair, CORE; ipc@core-nyc.org; 646.801.2673
Marievic Dimaculangan, Philippine Consulate; pcgnyevents@gmail.com; 212-819-9655


HONORING JOSÉ RIZAL’s 150TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY WITH A NEW TRANSLATION OF EL FILIBUSTERISMO

May 24, 2011 (NEW YORK, NY) – Penguin Classics, the Philippine Consulate General in New York (PCGNY) and Collaborative Opportunities for Raising Empowerment, Inc. (CORE), proudly present a book launch event on Thursday, June 16, 2011 (6pm to 8pm) featuring the new Penguin Classics release of José Rizal’s El Filibusterismo, translated with an Introduction and Notes by Harold Augenbraum.

This new translation comes in time for the 150th birth anniversary of José Rizal, who was born on June 19, 1861. Known as the hero of the Philippines and the largest champion of Filipino nationalism and independence, Rizal traveled extensively throughout the world in pursuit of knowledge and education. He mastered twenty-two languages and practiced various professions, including journalism and medicine. His first novel, Noli Me Tangere, was published in Berlin in 1887, to the ire of the Spanish civil and religious servants in the Philippines whom it satired. Its sequel, El Filibusterismo, further angered the Spanish authorities, and, when the revolution broke out in the Philippines, Rizal was captured and imprisoned for sedition and rebellion. Rizal was executed on December 30th, 1896, at the age of 35.

Picking up the story of Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) thirteen years later, the sequel El Filibusterismo presents a gripping tale of obsession and revenge. Gone are the Noli’s themes of innocent love, its hero, Ibarra, a man of great integrity and vision, replaced by the mysterious jeweler Simoun and a venal—and reprehensible—cast of characters. The result of Rizal’s growth as a writer and influenced by his exposure to international events, El Filibusterismo is a riveting and suspenseful account of Filipino resistance to colonial rule that still resonates today.

This collaboration brings together the national spirit of the Philippines, as represented by the Philippine Consulate General, the Filipino American young professional community, through CORE, and the literary world through Penguin Classics, all to honor the influential work of the Philippine national hero, José Rizal. It also helps to mark 65 years of Penguin Classics, the leading publisher of classic literature in the English speaking world, as well as CORE’s ninth consecutive literary discussion since the revitalization of the READ Philippines Book Club in the summer of 2009. This will also be the fourth consecutive book club related event that allows members to meet the author/translator/publisher of the featured novel, following previous sessions with authors Miguel Syjuco (Ilustrado), Rafe Bartholomew (Pacific Rims) and Luis Francia (The Eye of the Fish). Finally, it opens the series of June events at PCGNY honoring Dr. José Rizal.

The event will be held at Kalayaan Hall at the Philippine Consulate on 556 Fifth Avenue, between 45th and 46th Streets in New York City on Thursday, June 16, 2011. It is scheduled to begin at 6:30pm, featuring an interview and Q&A session with translator, Harold Augenbraum. A special reading in both Spanish and English will be performed by Sir Joe Ramos, a member of the New York chapter of the Knights of Rizal. In addition, a wreath-laying in honor of José Rizal’s 150th Birth Anniversary will be conducted by the Knights of Rizal, New York Chapter, at the Philippine Center lobby at 6:00 pm, just preceding the formal program.

Both Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo by Penguin Classics will be available by Mobile Libris for purchase and book signing. Light refreshments will be served.

To RSVP for this event, please contact CORE at rsvp@core-nyc.org (646.801.CORE) or Marievic Dimaculangan at the Philippine Consulate at pcgnyevents@gmail.com or 212-819-9655 by Friday, June 10, 2011.

Call for Submissions: Philippine Speculative Fiction 7

From Kate Osias at Wishcatcher:

Philippine Speculative Fiction is a yearly anthology series, which collects a wide range of stories that define, explore, and sometimes blur the boundaries of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and all things in between. The anthology has been shortlisted for the Manila Critics’ Circle National Book Award, and multiple stories from each volume have been cited in roundups of the year’s best speculative fiction across the globe.

First-time authors are more than welcome to submit; good stories trump literary credentials any time.

Submissions must be:

1. speculative fiction—i.e., they must contain strong elements or sensibilities of science fiction, fantasy, horror, magic realism, alternate history, folklore, superheroes, and/or related ‘nonrealist’ genres and subgenres

2. written in English

3. authored by persons of Philippine ethnicity and/or nationality

Submissions are preferred to be:

1. original and unpublished

2. no shorter than 1,000 words and no longer than 7,500

3. written for an adult audience

Call For Entries: WAZAK! An Anthology Of Contemporary Philippine Poetry

There isn't enough chamomile tea in the world to quell the rage in your heart. Or the poetry in your veins.

Send in your most wazak poem for possible inclusion in WAZAK!: An Anthology Of Contemporary Philippine Poetry (Edited by Khavn De La Cruz & Joel M. Toledo) that will be launched this September 2, 2011 during the 4th .MOV International Film, Music, & Literature Festival.

There are no hard and fast rules on what's wazak or what's a poem. Send in your left foot if you think that qualifies (your right foot's already included).

Please provide the English translation of any poem that is written in Filipino or other Philippine language. Open to all Filipinos in the archipelago and beyond.

Email your works (maximum of three poems per author) to literature@movfest.org, subject heading "ANTHOLOGY" on or before June 12, 2011.

In the name of the revolution.

4th .MOV International Film, Music, & Literature Festival
September 1 to 3, 2011
www.facebook.com/movfest
www.movfest.org

Germinate. Word!

And oh, Wong Kar Wai will be in town.

Thanks for the early bird submissions: Gemino Abad, Ricky Torre, Karl De Mesa, Ricardo de Ungria, Bienvenido Lumbera, German Gervacio, Easy Fagela, Joseph Saguid, Vim Nadera, Pete Lacaba, et al.

Mark Villegas: Lyrical Empire Movie

From Hip Hop Lives:

"The movie serves as an eye-opener as to the struggle of Filipinos involved in Hip Hop in the Philippines. A must see movie..." -Jerome B. Smooth (Manila radio voice)

Lyrical Empire: Hip Hop in Metro Manila
(2010, 23 mins., Philippines/USA)

Please visit the Lyrical Empire label for more information about this project, including past screenings. Screenings and discussions are continuing in classrooms all over the country!

Check out my Evil Monito Magazine article on Philippine hip hop here.

View more FilAm Funk Productions projects and become a fan on Facebook. 

Keep rising!


[Read more at his blog.]

Patty Rivera: Fil-Canadian publishes third volume of poetry

From The Manila Times:

By Jun Medina

FILIPINO-CANADIAN poet Patria Rivera of Toronto is a late bloomer: She did not write poetry until the early 1990s, after she was done parenting her brood of four girls—Ran, Kim, Isobel and Jenny.

Rivera—Patty to family and friends—just published BE (Signature Editions, Spring 2011), her third volume of poetry. A mass communications graduate of the University of the Philippines, Patty and her family immigrated to Canada in 1986 in search of the proverbial greener pasture.

“Migrating to Canada was a hard decision for us, knowing that it would take us out of our comfort zone,” said Rivera, who left a fairly secure and established job as director for information of the National Economic and Development Authority. “It was fuelled by a romantic notion that we could achieve happiness in careers that we back in Manila we had aspired to but could only dream about.”

Well, she found the hard way that the transition was not quite easy as she and her husband Joe, a vice president for human resources development of Ford Philippines had “to start at the bottom” to gain local experience. With perseverance and hard work, the family slowly but surely achieved their dream of professional growth and relative financial freedom.

Rivera has worked as a writer and editor while pursuing her passion for poetry. She is currently the editor of Catholic Missions in Canada magazine. Her husband Joe, a UP public administration graduate, went back to school to study and later practice law. He retired from being a barrister in 2010 but continues to provide free legal services to Filipino immigrants.

Rivera started writing short stories in English and in Filipino in her youth but motherhood and full-time work kept her from pursuing her literary interests.

Read more.

Review: Verbal Arts in Philippine Indigenous Communities: Poetics, Society, and History

From Journal of Folklore Research (thank you to Jean Vengua for passing this along):

Verbal Arts in Philippine Indigenous Communities: Poetics, Society, and History
By Herminia Meñez Coben. 2009. Ateneo de Manila University Press. 402 pages. ISBN: 978-971-550-583-3 (soft cover). Reviewed by Oona Paredes.

Coben brings in the texts belatedly, only after the reader is shown how to experience them. In this manner she is able to effectively show the dynamism of oral literature and why it remains relevant even in this century of dizzying global mass communication. Thus she brings it to life on the page: these verbal art forms are clearly not a fossilized ancillary to present iterations of “traditional” cultures but something actively reconfigured at every turn to respond to modern, everyday realities. She in fact compares them to jazz, which manages to be both structured and freeform in performance. This, in turn, supplements our understanding of the relative lack of interest of such groups toward converting oral traditions to written forms, even after the advent of widespread literacy. Their orality persists, she convincingly argues, not because they lack the literacy to write down their stories but because orality itself is a vital, culturally meaningful medium, its dynamism entirely appropriate for, perhaps even required by, their specific social, political, and emotional needs. 

Read more.

Poets & Writers: Rachelle Cruz, Angel Noe Garcia, Kamala Puligandla, and Community Engagement

From Poets & Writers:

For six weeks this past winter Rachelle Cruz, Angel Noe Garcia, and Kamala Puligandla led John W. North High School students through creative writing and performance exercises to develop their understanding of character, persona, voice, sensory detail, and revision. Their interactive workshops were lively with theater games, and during some sessions, well over fifty students showed up to class.

The workshop was inspired, in part, by UC Riverside professor and novelist Susan Straight, who emphasized to her students the need for community participation through the arts. When her graduate students approached her with an interest in teaching in the Riverside community, she recommended her alma mater, North High.

“As newcomers to Riverside, it was a great way to connect with the neighboring high school and other local community establishments, like Back to the Grind, an incredibly supportive coffee shop in the downtown area where we held our students’ final reading,” said Cruz.

Angel Noe Garcia said, “As a writer, I was particularly excited about working with students again. It took me out of the ‘bubble’.”

Read more.

Review: Tall Story by Candy Gourlay

From the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program:

"From crumbling ceilings to magic stones to rabid dogs to sleeping giants to a surprising rogue teacher willing to break a few rules, Candy Gourlay has definitely concocted one remarkable tall story that just might make you believe in magic."

Read more.

06/12/2011: Aimee Suzara, In this Skin Workshop

Workshop: In This Skin
Sunday Jun 12, 2011 2:00 PM

$40.00 - $50.00

Oakland Asian Cultural Center
388 Ninth Street, Suite 290
Oakland, CA 94607

In This Skin, writing/performance workshop. When it comes to body image, what is the importance of skin? Join Aimee Suzara, writer/performer and director of the Pagbabalik (Return) Project, for a writing workshop that allows you to explore attitudes around skin color, body image, and beauty. Develop gesture and text through guided writing and movement exercises. This workshop is a part of the development phase of the the multidisciplinary piece, A History of the Body, written by Suzara, which debuted a work-in-progress in residency with Kularts, Inc. in November 2010. A History of the Body fuses poetry, theater, dance, and visual projection to examine the impact of conquest and racial stereotyping on the body, with special focus on Filipino history. No experience necessary; all ages and physical abilities welcome. Price is $30 (students/seniors)-50; $40 discount for lower-income and $30 discount for students and seniors require codes, so please email us at booking@aimeesuzara.net to request.

Minimum Age: 15
Kid Friendly: No
Dog Friendly: No
Non-Smoking: Yes!
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes!

Contact
Workshop Registrar
booking@aimeesuzara.net
http://www.aimeesuzara.net

Call for Submissions: "Women in Red" Multicultural Literature and Art Magazine

From Femministas:

Women in REDzine is the first multicultural literature and art magazine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While we are proud of this legacy, we wish to emphasize that our focus has always been, and will remain, the continued celebration and uplifting of ALL women and our multicultural heritage. Women in REDzine works to increase the visibility and interaction of artists, writers, musicians and dancers within diverse cultural communities.

The reading period for both the October, 2011 and the December, 2011 issues of Women in REDzine, is now open!!

Submit to Women in REDzine

This is an open call for ALL artists, writers, dancers, musicians, poets, photographers, journalists, breakers, rhymesayers, activists, video artists, capoeiristas, fire spinners, storytellers, world travelers, spoken word artists, and revolutionary thinkers. If you can make it creative, we want to see it, read it, hear it, or experience it...So SEND it.

Women in REDzine embraces all art forms. If you're unsure where to send your submission, write to us and enquire about how you should submit. We love getting mail! Women in REDzine does accept simultaneous submissions, however, in the event that the work is accepted for publication elsewhere, please do us the courtesy of informing us promptly. Only previously unpublished, wholly ORIGINAL works will be considered for publication.

Our reading period is currently open. Cover letters should include a word count and indicate whether the submission is fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.

Note: While other journals and magazines encourage writers to read their back issues to get a sense of what it is that they are looking for, and what they like to publish, we at Women in REDzine encourage you to read our back issues to get a feel of some of what we don't want; the previous aesthetic, while wonderful, is completely different from the one that we are now exploring and does not reflect the direction that we wish to go in...besides, it's never good to repeat yourself. We strive to be continually evolving and improving the magazine!

Instructions for prose submissions...

Please submit only one story, or essay, at a time. Multiple submissions may be overlooked/discarded. Include your full name, telephone number and email address in your cover letter, or the body of your email. Writing must be 4000 words, or less.

If you have a piece exceeding 4000 words, it may be submitted for publication on the website, unfortunately, we would not have sufficient space in our print issues to publish such a lengthy piece. We do our best to respond within four-six weeks, however, in some cases this period may be longer. If you have not received a response from us within two months, we will be happy to respond to your e-mail inquiries. We do ask that you please wait until you hear back from us before submitting new work for consideration.

Instructions for poetry submissions...

Please submit three poems, or less, per submission at a time. Multiple submissions may be overlooked/discarded. Include your full name, telephone number and email address in your cover letter, or the body of your email. The same maximum length of 4000 words still applies to poetry submissions.

If you have a poem that exceeds 4000 words, it may be submitted for publication on the website, unfortunately, we would not have sufficient space in our print issues to publish such a lengthy piece. We do our best to respond within four-six weeks, however, in some cases this period may be longer. If you have not received a response from us within two months, we will be happy to respond to your e-mail inquiries. We do ask that you please wait until you hear back from us before submitting new work for consideration.

Contact Information:

For inquiries: The.Women.in.REDzine@gmail.com

For submissions: click here

Website: http://www.womeninredzine.com

Kindly mention that you saw the announcement/ ad on Femministas.

06/25/2011: Joe Bataan in a Rare Bay Area Appearance at Yoshi's SF

From Carlos and Myrna Zialcita:

Joe Bataan - King of Latin Soul

Saturday, June 25 · 8:00pm - 11:30pm

Yoshi's Jazz Club San Francisco
1330 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA

Joe Bataan – King of Latin Soul, Boogaloo, Latin Soul, Rhythm and Blues, Salsa, Disco, Latin Funk, Latin R&B Latin Jazz, Rap .... What didn't Joe Bataan sing? Joe Bataan was born and raised in Spanish Harlem (East Side of Manhattan New York) in 1942 to an African-American mother and Filipino father.

His musical experience started in the street corner singing do-wops in the 1950's. Mr. Bataan didn't coin the phrase " Latin Soul " The phrase was used in the early 60's and perhaps late 1950's with La Lupe and Tito Puente. Mr. Bataan actually created the music as it should have sounded. By merging Latin music with R&B tunes in the late 60's, "Latin Soul" was officially born by the creator Joe Bataan.

Self taught on the piano, he organized his first band in 1965 and scored his first recording success in 1967 with "Gypsy Woman" on Fania Records. Other hits were "Subway Joe" and "I Wish You Love" on the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" LP. In 1974 Joe Bataan released the Latin Soul ballad "Ordinary Guy" (Afro-Filipino) where he proclaimed - for the first time his ethnic roots.

Mr. New York Joe Bataan returned to the stage in 1995 after a 20-year hiatus from the music industry. Mr. Bataan was amazed that many showed up to his show and and remembered his music. In 2005, Joe Bataan released a brand new album titled "Call My Name" on Vampisoul records. Mr. Bataan maintained his trademark, vintage sound with the use of instruments such as clavinette, Hammond organ, groovy bass, funky drums, and Latin percussion. Bataan's voice of course still has its trademark soulfulness.

It is wonderful to have our King of Latin Soul back on the scene performing and touring again. He just completed a tour of Germany where he was received by enthusiastic crowds. In 2010 he toured Japan where he is an extremeley popular star. After all these years - it's great to know that someone many of us associate with the "music of our youth" is just as popular as ever - with many new fans all over the world!

His show at Yoshi's San Francisco is a historical event - the return of the Latin Soul King to the SF Bay Area. This is a show not to be missed!

Tickets are available now!

http://www.yoshis.com/sanfrancisco/jazzclub/artist/show/1890
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119361511478395

06/2011: Adoption, My Voice, My Body Writing Workshops

From Lisa Marie Rollins:

Adoption, My Voice, My Body: A Writing Workshop
Sunday June 5th (for Adopted People) and Saturday June 11th (For Birth Parents), Saturday June 18th (for Adoptive Parents), 2011

Do you have a story related to adoption and family you have been wanting to tell? Something to celebrate? Something you have been struggling with? Do you have a memory you would like to start writing down? This is an excellent workshop for both those who will for the first time be trying to consider how adoption has impacted their life and for those who have spent a lot of time considering their relationship to adoption.

This workshop is for both experienced writers and those who have no writing experience. We will work from "where you are" to explore your stories, thoughts and ideas.

Week 1: For Adopted People (10 seats)  Sunday June 5th
This week welcomes all adopted people - same race, transracial / inter-country and kinship adoptees. We will spend time reading, discussing and writing our memories, our voices and our stories as adopted people and time focusing on our bodies as holding memory and histories that need to be spoken.

Week 2: For Birth Parents (10 seats)  Saturday June 11th
This week welcomes all Birth Parents, both mothers and fathers together to write. We will spend time reading, discussing and writing your stories, thoughts and ideas about your connection or disconnection to the children in your life who are also impacted by adoption and your body as it remembers the past.

Week 3: For Adoptive Parents (10 seats)  Saturday June 18th
This week welcomes adoptive parents to spend time exploring your stories. We will spend time reading, discussing and writing your memories, your voices and time with the concepts of family, mothering and fathering in a way that will focus on your own specific stories of the challenges and joys of adoptive parenting.

Other Workshop Details
Workshop Fee $80 general, $60 (students & seniors, email for discount code)
Space for 10-12 participants
Oakland, CA
Reserve your space NOW!
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/176831

Workshop Facilitator: Lisa Marie Rollins
Lisa Marie is a transracial adoptee and writer. She is the author of the long running "Birth Project" blog, and is a poet and playwright. She has been teaching & work shopping writing for over 10 years and is the 2010-2011 Poet in Residence at UC Berkeley's Poetry for the People and is most recently published in "Other Tongues: Mixed Race Women Speak Out".  If you have more questions about the workshop email her directly at lisamarierollins@gmail.com or check out her blog at birthproject.wordpress.com.

Minimum Age: 18 Kid Friendly: No Dog Friendly: No Non-Smoking: Yes!

Contact

Who:	Lisa Marie Rollins
Phone:	5108529673
Email:	thirdrootproductions@gmail.com
Web:	http://birthproject.wordpress.com/workshops

06/03/2011: Hyphen's Bittersweet Release Party (SF)

Hyphen is bringing the party back to the BAY. This is a duo celebration for the release of the Bittersweet issue + the official SF party for Angry Asian Man's 10-year anniversary! We will be rocking the night with an amazing lineup of DJs, performances, and live art.

Friday, June 3, 2011
9:30 pm - 2 am | 21+ | $10 cover
Click here for pre-sale tickets
RSVP on Facebook!
111 Minna Gallery | 111 Minna St. | SF

*LIVE PERFORMANCES*
The Like Me's
Michelle Martinez
Power Struggle
The Soonest

*LIVE ART*
Christopher De Leon
James gaNyan Garcia

*BEATS*
Citizen Ten
DJ Esquire
DJ Franchise
DJ Psani

*First 50 paid attendees will win a prize!

===

THANK YOU TO OUR MEDIA SPONSOR

Angry Asian Man

MYX
===
THANK YOU TO OUR IN-KIND SPONSOR

THANK YOU TO OUR IN-KIND SPONSOR

Bok Choy Apparel (www.bokchoyapparel.com/)

That Takes the Cake (www.that-takes-the-cake.com

Bok Choy Apparel
That Takes the Cake

06/03/2011: San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival Begins

 

[Parangal Dance Company]

The San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival was founded to present the diverse ethnic dance companies in the Bay Area. Over the years, the Festival has expanded its reach to include performers from throughout Northern California and has presented over 600 dance companies from over a hundred different genres. (Please see the World Dance Index, coming soon, for a list and information on the genres and groups presented in World Arts West programs since 1999.)

During its rich history, the Festival has celebrated and fostered appreciation for the diverse cultural communities in the Bay Area and Northern California, through an annual performance season of dance styles that have included traditional classical dance, sacred dance genres, vernacular dance forms, social dance and folk dance presentations.

Originally founded and produced by Grants for the Arts of the San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, the 1978 Festival was the first multicultural, city-sponsored ethnic dance festival in America. In 1982, following an RFP process, the contract to produce the Festival was awarded to World Arts West, then known as City Celebration. In recent history, three distinct programs have been presented annually in June at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, with three performances per weekend. In 2008, the Festival expanded to a fourth weekend to celebrate 30 years of the best in Bay Area world dance and music and will present five weekends of performances for 2011.

Read more.

Events and line-up are here.

Call for Artists: FPAC 20

http://filamarts.org/fpac/artist-callout

Applications can be submitted online at http://filamarts.org/fpac/artists/apply

The Annual Festival of Filipino Arts and Culture is Celebrating its 20th Anniversary on Sept. 10-11 at Point Fermin Park, San Pedro, CA, and the planning process is in full swing!  FPAC is the largest celebration of Filipino arts and culture, presenting over 1,000 artists and cultural bearers from all over the nation every year.  If you are interested in performing or displaying art at this year's festival, please apply online and upload the required documents. Submissions are due by July 5, 2011.

We encourage professional, amateur, hobbyist, and traditional artists to apply.  The festival is open to any form of art: Traditional Folk Arts, Dance, Theatre, Music, Visual Arts, Media Arts, Literary Arts, Arts Education, and Presenters.  A submission of your application is an opportunity to reach an audience of over 25,000 people during the FPAC weekend, and it is also an invitation to join the Pilipino Artist Network (PAN). PAN artists are connected to valuable resourcesin their respective disciplines and are identified within an emerging artist network.

All submissions will go through a Curatorial Panel. Each submission will be reviewed by field experts in order to highlight the diversity of the Filipino experience. Each year the festival receives more submissions than we can program. Therefore, this process will be based on artistic quality, potential audience draw and variety of representation of the community.

Artisan Exhibitor booths and PAN Pavilion consignment opportunities are also available, check back soon for these opportunities or call the office at 213.380.FPAC for more information.

For questions, or if you would like a paper application mailed to you, please contact:

Jenn Santos
Co-Director, Programming
jsantos@filamarts.org |213.380.FPAC

06/18/2011: Jazzmopolitan: Filipino Ladies of Jazz

Dear Friends,

Discover the Filipino spin on jazz! PAE Live!, having staged the awe-inspiring "Filipino Gentlemen of Jazz" last year at the Ford, now spotlight the ladies with headliner Pauline Wilson, former member of the jazz fusion group Seawind and a Grammy® Award winner with jazz guitarist George Benson. PAE Live! will also be introducing two up-and-coming jazz vocalists - Nicole David (daughter of London International Jazz vocalist champion Mon David) and Jaclyn Rose Millar, who mixes jazz with soul. The Jazzmopolitan "Gentleman of Jazz" from the 2010 show- smooth saxman Michael Paulo - returns with his own band to back up the ladies. 

We are happy to report that a portion of the show's proceeds will be donated to our Filipino American Library!  Go to www.tix.com  and enter the code FAL2011 to purchase seats.

THE DETAILS:

Saturday, June 18, 2011
8:00pm
John Anson Ford Amphitheater

Filipino American Heritage Institute & The Filipino American Library

Michelle Peñaloza's "Case Study: Beauty"

From A River & Sound Review:

"Case Study: Beauty"
by Michelle Peñaloza

Winner of the 2010 Duckabush Prize for Poetry
Final Judge, Rick Barot

Michelle Peñaloza grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. Currently, she is an MFA candidate in Creative Writing at the University of Oregon, where she also serves as Kidd Fellow for the Kidd Tutorials Program. Her poetry has appeared in Kartika Review, Mythium, Nashville Review and Lantern Review. She has work forthcoming in Birmingham Poetry Review and was recently awarded the 2011 Women Writers Fellowship by Oregon Literary Arts.

Peñaloza says: "'This began with the gift of a prompt: “Make your own case for beauty.” Around the time I wrote this, I read about Pliny the Elder's notion of a sentry crane: as the other cranes slept, it held a stone in its claws. If the sentry fell asleep, the stone fell, awakening it."

An excerpt:

A series of advances: echo upon echo upon echo.
And retreats: the plume of red that follows the hen.

Warm fingers on fogged glass,
fluent circles of concentric sound.

Novenas fallen from cathedral ceiling
like rain; a coy lover’s rising yes and no.

Velvet claret closing on the tongue—blackberries, port;
the opening of purple crocus in snow.

The quiet dust of flowers scattered on sepulchral floor.
Mushroom caps grown overnight, wide as the moon.

Necessity: saffron thread and cinnamon coil,
cardamom pod, coriander bead; pyramids of spice. 

Read more.

05/25/2011: Jay Legaspi, The Bitter End

From Slant Eye for the Round Eye:

May 25th marks the 1 Year Anniversary of Jay Legaspi's debut full length album, Picture Perfect. To celebrate, Jay and his band are having a homecoming show at The Bitter End, one of New York City's most legendary venues.

The info is below:

LIVE @ The Bitter End

May 25th 2011 8:00PM (arrive early for seats) 

147 Bleecker Street (between Thompson and LaGuardia)

New York City, NY 10012

$5 + 2 Drink Minimum

18+

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=183045631745030

The show features Matt Pana on Drums and John Violago on bass.

Additional info can be found on the new and improved http://www.jaylegaspi.com. The upgraded website is the best place to find updates on future shows and news on current projects. Jay will also be posting exclusive content on the site, so please visit and check back often.

Jay's album Picture Perfect is available for mail order through http://www.jaylegaspi.com and also digitally on iTunes

06/10 - 07/29/2011: Seaworthy (EFA Project Space, NY)

June 10 – July 29, 2011

Opening Reception: Friday, June 10, 2011, 6 – 8 pm

Michael Arcega (Visiting Assistant Professor), Rachel Bacon, Jimbo Blachly & Lytle Shaw, Matt Bua, George Boorujy, Adriane Colburn, Heather Dewey-Hagborg & Thomas Dexter, Amze Emmons, Jason Gandy, Richard Haley, Haley Hughes, Sarah Julig, Jonathan Kaiser, Marie Lorenz, Ciaran O’Dochartaigh, Anne Percoco, Natalia Porter, Duke Riley, Tod Seelie, Reid Stowe, Swimming Cities, and Waterpod.

Curatorial Committee: Jean Barberis, Benjamin Cohen, Dylan Gauthier, Michelle Levy, Georgia Muenster, Kendra Sullivan, and Sally Szwed.

EFA Project Space

323 West 39 Street, 2nd Floor

New York, NY

www.efanyc.org/sea-worthy

06/06 - 06/17/2011: Hadrian Mendoza, Bulol (Philippine Center, NY)

From thefilam.net:

The god of harvest is getting a makeover.

Stoneware potter Hadrian Mendoza is showing 15 pieces of ceramic ‘bulol’ at the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue from June 6 to 17 to coincide with the celebration of Independence Day on June 12. Opening night is June 8.

The traditional, wood-carved ‘bulol’ – or granary god — is an indigenous sculpture common in the northern Philippines, which is home to the world-famous Banaue Rice Terraces. The Ifugao people of Northern Luzon believed in carving their interpretation of the deity to ensure a good harvest for the season. Today, the ‘bulol’ is more of a decorative bric-a-brac found in many cosmopolitan homes.

“If you look at all the pictures of ‘bulol,’ usually in wood, as done by artisans in northern Luzon, the gesture of its face is minimal, its marks are minimal,” said Hadrian, a recipient of the Anne and Arnold Abramson award for Excellence in Ceramics courtesy of theCorcoran School of Art in Washington D.C. “From its shape, from the proportion of its head and body, you can’t seem to tell what’s going on in it in terms of emotions and feelings. Studying the faces of ‘bulol’ has given me a good feeling.”

Read more.

06/11/2011: Indie Cine Shack

http://www.songbirdfestival.org/wp/?p=362

06/05/2011: Out Of Necessity (National Queer Arts Festival, SF)

Out of Necessity
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
2868 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

Sunday Jun 05, 2011 5:00 PM

Prices $12.00 - $20.00

During the Winter and Spring of 2011, we've paired some of the finest emerging Bay Area poets with luminaries who span four decades of literary legacy to bring you Out of Necessity. Testing how artistic relationships support and sustain poets as they write as a means of political re-imagination and reclamation, Out of Necessity features award-winning and emerging poets, Regie Cabico, Najva Sol, Cheryl Clarke, Vanessa Huang, Achy Obejas, and Suzanne del Mazo.

Join us for a multi-media performance of these six writers' work, including video clips of queer poets from across the country talking about who's influenced their writing, and a discussion with Cabico, Clarke and Obejas about how mentorship influences their writing and commitment to producing work that speaks to communal stories and histories.

During June 3-5th, Regie Cabico, Cheryl Clarke and Achy Obejas will be hosting writing workshops. Stay tuned for more information!

Please make preparations to ensure this event is accessible and safe for people with chemical injury and environmental illness. We request you refrain from wearing hair and body products with fragrance or clothing washed in detergent with fragrance.

Co-sponsored by Mouthfeel Press
Poets & Writers, Inc. through a grant it has received from The James Irvine Foundation
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc.
VIDA: Women in Literary Arts

Out of Necessity is co-curated & co-produced by Cole Krawitz & Arisa White.

Non-Smoking: Yes!
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes!

Contact
Who: Elizabeth Pickens
Phone: 415-251-9935
Email: qccfestival@gmail.com
Web: http://www.queerculturalcenter.org

Interview: Bay Area Reporter Online Interviews R. Zamora Linmark

From Bay Area Reporter Online:

Gregg Shapiro: Zack, how much of you is in Vince, the main character of Leche?

R. Zamora Linmark: One of the things I had to keep in mind while writing the novel was that I was not Vince, that though we may share the experience of having gone back to our childhood home, the Philippines, after being away from it for so long, Vince was not me, and I was not him. The autobiographical route can be very tempting, but I was not writing a memoir. I was creating a story that is dependent on imagination. Once I liberated Vince from myself, and vice versa, another world as magnificent as mine opened up.

There's a lot of humor in Leche.

Humor is a necessary element in Leche, because humor – twisted, corny, playful – is an integral part of the Philippine culture. It is their way of dealing with this maddening world, with grief, love and other disappointments.

It's clear that Vince and others in the book have a love/hate relationship with the Philippines. Is that a commonly shared feeling?

I don't know if it's a shared feeling by all Filipinos. Perhaps for those who either have ties to or come from the Philippines but are no longer living there. Ambivalence, according to John Updike, is "the only kind of love worth writing about."

Read more.

Auditions Upcoming for Jeannie Barroga's Buffalo'ed

B U F F A L O' E D A U D I T I O N S

JUNE 25 (non-Equity) - JUNE 26 (Equity)

All roles are paid - Auditions and Production both are at San Jose Stage Company:
prepare 2 min. monolog; 30 copies of resume or for more info: dale@theatrebayarea.org for pdf 

Application form DUE JUNE 6

Download Actor Application (pdf)

first-come, first-served basis - SAT. 10am-5pm -- OR EMAIL headshot and resume to rsingleton@thestage.org to pass on appointments- NO CALLS

World Premiere APRIL 4-29, 2012 - rehearsals begin February 28, 2012
San Jose Stage Company, 490 South First Street, San Jose, CA 95113
Casting for BUFFALO'ED, Rick Singleton rsingleton@thestage.org

Description
BUFFALO'ED, African-American soldiers stationed in the Philippines, 1899 - Two couples, one separated, yearn for Connection, question Possessiveness, discover untapped Bravery - a sweeping, timeless tale mirrors today's personal upheavals challenging loved ones:

"...Fear? You and I know it only wears one Face, anywhere..."

Jessie Marinas: The 'Miracle Man' gets inducted in Manteca's Hall of Fame

From Asian Journal:

In 2009, I wrote about Jessie Marinas, who, in spite of his painful medical condition, was able to make a mark in the field of arts in the City of Manteca. Aside from winning accolades and awards for his murals and paintings, Marinas was inducted in the Hall of Fame in the City of Manteca/Lathrop—an extraordinary feat for someone who has only started to paint three years ago.

An electrical engineer by profession, he had to give up his dreams of being an artist being the eldest among 12 siblings. Marinas suffer degenerative spinal problems, something that also almost killed him. But his condition has given him the time to go back to his first love, painting.

He painted The Passion of Christ—a moving painting that became the defining moment in Marinas’ career as an artist. He also won first place for The Harvest Continues, in a mural painting competition in 2008, beating seven other accomplished muralists from Canada, Oregon, Colorado and California. The Harvest Continues continued to garner awards later on when Marinas allowed some friends to use it as a quilt and has won 2nd place and two Best in Shows in international competitions. This beautiful mural now hangs in the Manteca Senior Center.

Last May 14, Marinas was inducted into the Manteca Hall of Fame.

Read more.

06/25/2011: Joe Bataan at Yoshi's SF

Yoshi's in collaboration with SF Filipino American Jazz Festival Presents the King of Latin Soul!

Rare West Coast Appearance

8 pm $35 | 10 pm $28

Joe Bataan – King of Latin Soul Biography Boogaloo, Latin Soul, Rhythm and Blues, Salsa, Disco, Latin Funk, Latin R&B Latin Jazz, Rap .... What didn't Joe Bataan sing? Joe Bataan was born and raised in Spanish Harlem (East Side of Manhattan New York) in 1942 to an African-American mother and Filipino father. His given name was Bataan Nitollano.

His musical experience started in the street corner singing do-wops in the 1950's. During his teenage years, Bataan associated himself with street gangs. At the age of 15 he spent five years at Coxsackie State Prison for riding in a stolen vehicle. It is unknown if he was the driver of the stolen vehicle. In prison he learned music and six months after his release, he began to record music. Bataan visualized an incredible vision that perhaps several recording artist may have said it is impossible to do. His visual modality was to combine Latin music with Rhythm and Blues. As a result of this merger, Joe Bataan became known as the first recording artist to create authentically Latin Soul music. Although Latin Soul existed in the past before Joe Bataan 's merger, however these recording artists were actually Boogaloo singers. They sang English lyrics in a soulful doowop style along with Boogaloo music. Hector Rivera is one example with his Boogaloo hits in 1966 " I wanna a chance for romance " " At The Party" and " Drown my heart " Mr. Bataan didn't coin the phrase " Latin Soul " The phrase was used in the early 60's and perhaps late 1950's with La Lupe and Tito Puente. Mr. Bataan actually created the music as it should have sounded. By merging Latin music with R&B tunes in the late 60's, "Latin Soul" was officially born by the creator Joe Bataan.

Review: Jon Pineda's Sleep In Me

From Disability Studies Quarterly:

Jon Pineda. Sleep In Me. Lincoln: University Of Nebraska Press, 2010.

Reviewed By Laurie Clements Lambeth

Filipino-American poet Jon Pineda's first memoir follows the story of his own boyhood and growth into manhood, while it also attempts to give voice to his older sister Rica, unable to tell her own story after brain injury from a car accident alters her life considerably: once a popular cheerleader, she loses the ability to vocalize and becomes paralyzed on one side of her body, suffering other neurological damage after months in a coma. The title, Sleep in Me, comes from one of Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus, which Pineda uses as a fitting epigraph to the book: the sister "'made herself a bed inside my ear.// And slept in me, And her sleep was all.'" He feels both her indelible influence present in his mind, as well the responsibility to hold her "inside his ear," to represent what he knows of her experience echoed only through his own. He is both weighed down and strengthened by her disability.

In this, the book defies some of the expectations arising from typical illness memoirs, which often follow a first-hand narrative arc of disease onset, suffering, treatment, and "cure," or are told from the point of view of a caregiver, such as a parent, who absorbs and claims a second-hand experience of his or her child as authentic. While Pineda is asked to assist his mother in caring for his sister, lifting her from car to wheelchair, for example, he is not her primary caregiver but the younger brother, too small at under 80 pounds and too young to hold that kind of claim on her. He instead marvels at their mother's patience and devotion while he reluctantly learns that art. By carving out this younger brother's growing perspective on disability, mutability, and disfigurement, and doing so honestly and in his own skin, Pineda crafts a palpable and unflinchingly honest depiction of witnessing sudden and profound disability as a pre-teen and teenager. Pineda does not pretend to fully understand or accept his sister's condition, but throughout the book he forges new, meaningful connections with Rica, and his awareness grows.

Read more.

Bakit Why: Veronica Montes Introduces the Book she Co-Authored, Angelica's Daughters, a Dugtungan novel.

From Bakit Why:

Veronica Montes lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three daughters. She was the 2005 winner of the Ivy Terasaka Short Story Competition, and her work has appeared in the literary journals Bamboo Ridge, Prism International, and Maganda, as well as in several anthologies including Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, Growing up Filipino, and Going Home to a Landscape: Writings by Filipinas. Her essays have appeared in Filipinas Magazine and online as McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. She maintains a blog, Nesting Ground, at vmontes.blogspot.com.

A Landmark novel, Angelica's Daughters, a Dugtungan novel, is a collaborative work written by five established Pilipino and Pilipino-American women writers. The five authors came from different countries during the creation of the novel: Montes and Cecilia Manguerra Brainard from California, Susan Evangelista and Erma Cuizon from the Philippines, and Nadine Sarreal from Singapore. The five writers have been members of an Internet writing group since 2003. After a few years of writing exercises, the group sought greater challenges and decided to write a dugtungan novel. A dugtungan novel is a genre of Tagalog novel popular in the 20^th century, in which each group writer creates a chapter and hands it off to the next, who writes another chapter without direction. The result is a novel about a diverse group of modern Pilipinas – among them a PilAm whose marriage has disintegrated, an even younger Cebuana involved in a forbidden love affair, and a ballroom dancing Lola – who share a common ancestor, Angelica.

The novel has received praise from noted Pilipino critic, Isagani Cruz, who says: “This tale of two women living a century apart (and the women and men in their lives) told sequentially by five women is truly an ensemble performance worth a standing ovation.”

ETA: Bakitwhy.com has been posting a series of authors introducing their works. These authors include James Daos, Cecilia Brainard, Roseli Ilano and Lolan Sevilla. Check them out here.

NY's Deep Foundation and Philippine Forum Start Hip-Hop Writer's Workshop June 10

From Bakit Why:

Press Release

WOODSIDE, NEW YORK - In a collaborative effort between a community-based outreach group and a collective of MC’s bound by their love for music, a celebration of the innate cooperative spirit fostered by grassroots movements springs to life in Queens, New York. Deep Foundation, a long time staple in New York’s underground hip hop scene has banded with the Philippine Forum, a well respected not-for-profit organization that offers direct services to both the Filipino and the larger immigrant community.

In a consolidation of resources, the two are proud to announce the launch of The Hip Hop Writer’s Workshop, housed in the Bayanihan Filipino Community Center of Woodside Queens, to be instructed by Woodside’s own M.U.G. Shot and ILL Poetik, both members of Deep Foundation. The two hour workshop will be open to teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 on Fridays at 7PM starting June 10th, 2011. A requested fee of $25 will cover one-year membership of the youth participants to Philippine Forum and contribution to the use of space and maintenance of the Bayanihan Filipino Community Center, which has become a home to community organizations and different youth, workers', and many other programs.

"With respect to the Philippine Forum’s mission of social assistance and their endeavors to better the community through enacting positive and meaningful social change, Deep Foundation has taken up the parallel cause of educating, enlightening and motivating local youth through the use of creative expression. With the two entities tackling issues of poverty, social inequality and discrimination through their respective mediums, undertaking the creation of a workshop geared specifically towards the propagation of cultural, social and self awareness for the stalwart yet sometimes forgotten younger generation, can only be seen as a marriage between the spiritual and practical," says Rosendo Pili a.k.a. M.U.G. Shot.

The workshop also aims to prepare the participants for upcoming open-mics and the Sumisigaw Youth Festival, one of the festivals organized by the Philippine Forum and SANDIWA National Alliance of Filipino-American Youth, which will be held in October 22.

Through the poetic discourse of two home grown musicians and the stern awareness of an organization entrenched in the day to day community struggle, The Hip Hop Writer’s Workshop serves as a rally point, a beacon and a podium for those whom our future relies upon.

For more information on the Hip Hop Writer's Workshop, please email Anne Beryl Corotan, Philippine Forum Youth Coordinator, at aberylc@gmail.com or info@philippineforum.org or call (718) 5658862. (Written by: Rosendo Pili) ###

Curated Prompt: Jon Pineda – “Caesura”

From Lantern Review:

This May, in celebration of APIA Heritage Month, we have asked several respected teachers and writers of Asian American poetry to share favorite writing exercises with us. This week’s installment was contributed by Jon Pineda.

Once, for training purposes at my job, I had to practice setting up an extension ladder mid-span, into that near empty space between telephone poles. This space is usually connected by a cable lashed to a thin, metal strand. At the top of the extension ladder are swiveled hooks for resting on the strand itself, so that there will at least be some resistance when it comes time to ascend the rungs, and then—once at the top, roughly twenty feet up—to attach the leather harness belt. Then you simply lean back. Ahead, there is nothing but the sky in front of you.

Read more.

Congratulations to the Recipients of the Manuel G. Flores Prize Fund

Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc. (PAWA) is proud to announce the recipients of the Manuel G. Flores Prize Fund. Helene Achanzar and Matthew Olzmann have been awarded scholarships to attend Kundiman’s Asian American Poetry Retreat. Melissa Sipin and Jennifer Derilo have been awarded scholarships to attend the VONA/Voices Summer Writing Workshops for Writers of Color. The recipients were selected by each of the organizations.

Kundiman is dedicated to the creation, cultivation and promotion of Asian American poetry, and creates an affirming and rigorous space where Asian American poets can explore, through art, the unique challenges that face the new and ever changing diaspora. Kundiman sees the arts as a tool of empowerment, of education and liberation, of addressing proactively what legacy we will leave for our future generations as individuals and as a community.

VONA is the only multi-genre workshop for writers of color in the nation, providing developing writers a place where they can explore their craft in an atmosphere of support and understanding, where they can exchange with great writers ideas and inspirations, where they can gain empowerment to move from VONA to a writer's life with authority and confidence.

We are proud to support these artists and organizations.

About Manuel G. Flores and the Prize Fund

Manuel G. Flores expressed in his will a prize fund to the Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc. (PAWA) to be awarded to a deserving Filipino American artist/author.

Manuel G. Flores graduated from the University of the Philippines, (Zoology). After graduation, he worked for the Philippine government (Bureau of Mines) and taught evening courses in Zoology at Far Eastern University, Manila.

In 1973, He immigrated with his family to the US as a Research Biologist and worked as a Scientist at Industrial Biotech Laboratories, Chicago. In 1985 he completed graduate work in Micro Biology at the University of Chicago while serving as a staff at Chicago Osteopathic College of Medicine.

In 1990 he moved to San Francisco and founded his own company, Educational Multimedia Resources.

Manuel created his own personal art photo portfolio (black and white) that were initially published in PAWA anthologies. He also created book covers for PAWA publications. Manuel G. Flores gave generous donations to PAWA during its initial publications efforts beginning in 2000.

He passed away in 2007 and included in his will a prize fund to PAWA to be awarded to a deserving Filipino artist/author.

Ecopoetry: Beetle on a String by Vince Gotera

Video courtesy of WhyPoetryMatters.

Read text here.

05/31/2011: We Axe You to Speak (SFPL)

Join Kartika Review for our first ever poetry reading, featuring several emerging and established poets we've been privileged to publish.

Tuesday, May 31 · 6:00pm - 8:00pm

San Francisco Public Libarary
100 Larkin St
San Francisco, CA

Featuring:
BARBARA JANE REYES
EDDY ZHENG
MARGARET RHEE
SHELLEY WONG
KENJI C LIU

Co-presented with Philippine American Writers and Artists (PAWA) and the San Francisco Public Library's Filipino American Center.

FREE!

Please RSVP on Facebook and spread the word.

Call for Submissions: Issue 14 of A Gathering of Tribes (magazine on multiculturalism)

From Writers Afrika:

We are now accepting submissions for Tribes Magazine Issue 14.

A Gathering of the Tribes seeks submissions for its 14th issue. Our focus is on outstanding literary and critical work from emerging and established writers with an emphasis on multiculturalism and alternative viewpoints. All genres and styles considered though we generally do not publish “genre” fiction (romance, science fiction, children’s literature, etc.) or metrical poetry or rhyme unless it is exceedingly contemporary/experimental. Writers documenting alternative forms of experience or from diverse backgrounds strongly encouraged to submit. Submit manuscripts (under 20 pages) to: A GATHERING OF THE TRIBES, P.O. Box 20693, Tompkins Square Station, New York, NY 10009 or email your submission to info@tribes.org with “Submission” in the subject.

We publish poetry, fiction, essays and interviews on our website year-round. Please email us with Subject Line: Web Submissions with your attachment in a Word doc only.

General : Due to the massive number of submissions we receive, we do not guarantee response to, or return of work that is not accepted for publication.

You are guaranteed a response only if your work is selected for publication.

Contact Information:

For inquiries: info@tribes.org

For submissions: info@tribes.org

Website: http://www.tribes.org

Call for Submissions: Lantern Review Issue 3

Lantern Review aims to serve the literary community by providing a virtual space in which to promote and discuss the work of contemporary Asian American poets and artists. We seek to publish expertly crafted work in a variety of forms and aesthetics, including traditional and experimental pieces, hybrid forms, multimedia work, and new translations. We welcome pieces from anglophone writers of all ethnic backgrounds whose work has a vested interest in issues relevant to the Asian diaspora in North America, as well as work created collaboratively in a community context.

Our reading period for Issue 3 is currently open, and will close on June 1, 2011.

Submissions are accepted electronically via our online system. Please read our guidelines thoroughly before proceeding.