If you are religious, faithful, care about other people, or know an OFW, you definitely should watch this movie called CABRINI. This stars Cristiana Dell'Anna, John Lithgow, David Morse and an ensemble cast of Italian-Americans, because this is mainly, a story about them.
Cristiana plays the role of Francesca Cabrini, a woman who after landing in New York's shores, saw the shocking plight of immigrants, their children, and the condition they live in. The story is TRAGIC right from the moment she stepped foot in Five Points, a place where she saw the orphaned children, the abused women, the people who live through unbelievable means. She was frantic, and wanted to do something about it.
Cabrini was also with other nuns, whom all worked from sun up to sun down preparing what's supposed to be an orphanage so they could house the kids, take them away from the streets and burrows, the sewers of the same city. They began feeding them, cleaning them up. They did sew a lot of clothes, they looked quite nice in dresses and suits which the nuns personally had woven, and sewn together. Though this was the time they began noticing, they needed funds in order to serve a lot of children (bambinis).
But just like the Philippines, the politicians had a different view. They felt there should be no funds, and they should never be seen as part of the city. It was disheartening to see how when Chrisitana was making headway together with the nuns and community, they began sabotaging, do unnecessary things to stop them from flourishing on American soil. It felt like when they already had a roof on their head, they begin throwing a ton of bricks on top, or burn them to the ground because they didn't like what they were seeing.
She started to device a way to put the spotlight on those who need help specifically the immigrants, Italians, and children. After getting displaced, lack of funds, she began believing she could do more for the voiceless, those who are quarantined and in the slums, the ones with dignity and still have the chance to live. She does ALL these while suffering from an incurable disease (back then). A woman who in spite of adversities, used art, a second language, her faith and love in order to make sure the women, children and people she serve gets adequate medical care, nourishment, and dignity they deserve.
Watch this trailer to get a grasp of the story
Her story based on real events is so inspiring. The dark treatment/color grading for this masterpiece by Director Alejandro Monteverde was apt for the mood they wanted to exude. Its excellent, and warrants you to definitely see and hear her story, on how this once sickly but feisty lady from Italy became the first American saint, and patron of immigrants.
It shows in the Philippines starting today, June 19 in theaters nationwide!
It must have been fate, least to say when Cedric Escobar was asked to perform as front act to the Introvoys' tour in the US. They were initially confused when he wasn't allowed to be "front act" and instead, asked to perform in the mid to test if he could sustain the energy of the crowd Introvoys were playing at a few years back. It was then when drummer, actor Paco Arespacochaga knew he had a gem in his hand, so he's mentoring him, his career together with record label Polyeast Records until today... as he releases his debut single called "Di Na Ba" announced in a press conference held at 12Monkeys in Estancia Pasig City. This is co-presented by B2B music distribution, tech and marketing corp FUGA. He has already performed in US tours of KZ, Jaya, JK and other Filipino artists and is excited for his first work being released locally.
Cedric says "I've been lucky to have been able to have Filipino fans because they really do support Filo artists like me. This has certainly been a dream, like a part of my vision board. I'm going to give it my 100 percent, really thankful for the opportunity!'
"He treats me as one of his sons and I do look up to Kuya Paco. Right now I am working on a lot of music, to hopefully release more this 2023."
Paco says "He really didn't want this song but when I invited him on stage, and at the end of the performance, everyone clapped. It's hard to mentor someone, but after that, it was just trust between us. I felt back then, he did do a lot of front acts already, so I didn't allow him to be front act, I put him in the middle of the set. It was to see the momentum of the crowd was going to be sustained and we did a lot of 90's songs. We did covers and he respects how the song was supposed to be sung, it didn't have vocal acrobatics. This is a two year journey, and I'm glad to see him here."
His single "Di Na Ba" can now be downloaded or streamed in all digital platforms, you can also check his performance video on Polyeast Records YT channel today. You can also follow Cedric Escobar's social channels to get to know him even more.
This was already launched through Polyeast's The LiVeRARY which was streamed on YouTube during the height of the pandemic where they let artists showcase their music on stream.
Saw this post from my nephew who is a flight attendant at Philippine Airlines about 2 days ago wherein celebrity Chef JP Anglo prepared island cooking in the skies. These are some of his personal favorite Filipino dishes and by far, fellow Filipinos and foreign guests enjoyed the meals served in this Manila-Los Angeles flight a few days ago.
This starts how Philippine Airlines Business Class meals will be created and crafted by JP Anglo that will be served in all their US and Canada flights which will begin this August. This includes nonstop flights coming from Manila to Los Angeles, Manila to San Francisco, stright flights from Manila to New York, plus Canada's well loved cities Vancouver and Toronto. This is part of PAL's efforts to elevate the fleet's dining experience as they service these routes in the US and Canada.
The B777-300ER aircraft has enough room for a stay at their concierge, flat laying beds, while you take a snooze for long haul flights with the flag carrier. If you want to experience this luxury flight, book it today via PhilippineAirlines.com. Because, why not right?! Imagine the things you can do with your family and friends behind you.
Won't these and the other dishes be good to showcase what our cuisine is all about? It's just the start, and I can't wait to see if all these meals be served in every Philippine Airlines flight. It's practically a taste of home. Congratulations Chef JP!
We all know the results of the Tokyo Olympics have been taking over TV and social media now, which is actually good because after almost a hundred years we got our gold medal, and possibly the largest medal haul for the Philippines. Now lemme tell you another good reason to hold on to that pride as our very own celebrities just got immortalized in several billboards in New York City and Los Angeles in the US. This is part of Pepsi's Hit Sa Sarap campaign showcasing our love for enjoying meal times with family and friends.
Imagine Teen King and Queen Daniel Padilla, Kathryn Bernardo, Internet Sensation Mimiyuhhh, baller cutie Ricci Rivero together with worldwide sensation SB19 (who recently landed in Billboard Music Awards) are all being shown on huge electronic billboards like these!
You too can achieve milestones like them, even if we're under ECQ these days, I'm still hopeful that we will one day going to get ourselves a nice family meal with all our loved ones around the table. Chowing down our favorite food, making it extra special with the banter, same old jokes we used to tell everyone. Then an ice cold glass of Pepsi to make us all cold and fuzzy.
Ain't nothing better than music, good food, friends and Pepsi. That's all I want to have these days. It's just a bonus to see Filipinos do good up on the world stage. We belong there!
Filipino Americans or Asian Americans in general have this bout of longing, innate part of their lives to feel that they belong somewhere. It happens now, in the US, Europe, even in Commonwealth lead states where mixed race individuals just become enthralled in loneliness, sad, but was mirrored in the film Empty by Design which recently received accolades in the 2019 SOHO International Film Festival, and praise at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival which Fil-Brit Director Andrea Walter dubs as a story not told enough.
Cignal Entertainment produced this piece, giving total artistic liberty to the director and mostly Asian crew and production. Jane Basas the CEO of Cignal Entertainment says “We felt joy it got recognition and awards it deserved and I hope this gets to more people, to touch the lives of Pinoys abroad. We want them to see themselves in Andrea’s story. So they could feel home, even as it’s daunting, is where the heart is.”
Andrea adds “We never expected to win, but heard about it when we got off the plane. After closing LA APFF, it was already a win for me. Things went wild after that. I knew we did something right! New York, LA and Austin appreciated it well. Nobody talks about this, but the story had to be told. It has to be understood.”
This film will be shown on Cignal Play via CignalPlay.com which you can download on Google Play. They’ve got a lot of titles, you should check it out!
Man's journey to find the best barbecue is just like looking for a needle in a hay stack. It goes on and on, trying steadfastly to satisfy your cravings to finally get that juicy, flavorful, perfectly grilled scrumptious piece of meat. However, we've found a worthy place that's been put up at SM Megamall's Fashion Hall serving the same quality as it is in New York City. New York style barbecue? Apparently, there is. Well their version is a mix of Texas, and that of real New York, which is a melting pot of all sorts of culture - and food. It's won several accolades in the US and this is their first branch in the Philippines. It carries the same name, and they promise to have the same flavor as any Mighty Quinn's you might see all over the world.
Barbecue that is made the old school way, wouldn't that be the lovely? Yes, and everybody seems to be dreaming about it. The man behind the restaurant, Pit Master Hugh Mangum has spent a number of years perfecting what every protein loving man has wished for. This guy knows how to cook it right and he has satisfied tons of people in his New York joint even as he started with a few cuts which he sold out since day 1. With roots coming from Houston, Texas and the skill and knowledge of having meat slow cooked and smoked - he honed his skills and enthusiastically started cooking these cuts and slabs over fire with wood made from pecan, apple wood and cherry. I experienced how that felt as soon as they placed a huge piece of meat on my table, I never looked back since then!
The place boasts of a cafeteria style serving station which patrons could just stand and line up then see your piece of meat sliced and prepared right in front. I never even bothered asking why they served things on stainless trays and wax paper because this is a man's place abd knew it was going to be a tad messy. I smelled the place and I could feel food served here had a little influence of southern cooking, even Korean as they've also got some pickled veggies in the mix (close to Banchan). I also like the salads they served particularly the Broccoli Salad made of raw veggies, bits of dried cranberry, roasted almonds, bacon and a light buttermilk bacon dressing (which had us and a couple other guests were raving about). I knew it was going to be good, but this was superb!
I then proceeded to order lunch that afternoon, and had a little fear in my eyes because I was trying so hard to cut on rice these days. I was lucky that they'd gladly got me a bun in lieu of the rice. Yes ladies and gentlemen, Mighty Quinn's knew that it might not work if they put up a restaurant that doesn't serve rice with it. They have researched well and made arrangements to make meal variants as they might meet Filipinos who would treat their food a light snack if it didn't have rice with it. This was interestingly brought about by the brains of Hugh Mangum and local partner chefs. They have produced a mean Dirty Rice, so don't fret if you would love to eat this with that.
I specifically ordered the Beef Burnt Ends. I like how it feels chewing on those lovely, crunchy and sweet cooked parts of the meat. It felt like what it's supposed to. Their sauce is another story, might I say legendary. You can literally have that bottle full and have it on everything except the chicken. I feel everything had the right amount of fat, so it was juicy as I started gnawing my way to the meat, from one piece to another. I got some of it placed in the bun provided and started layering other pickled veggies with it. Each had their own flavor profile, different textures even as each of those bits introduce freshness and tangyness as it cuts through those layers of fat in the meat. I knew they had in the restaurant, but by golly it was really good.
A word of warning, the Pickled Red Chilies isn't just there for display. It's there for a reason and I had it on all the slices of meat that I had that afternoon. It's going to provide that spicy kick you need. They've also got thinly sliced ginger, celery stalks, and the seedless cucumber which I think you'll love!
They've got really mean side dishes that you might find stealing the spotlight from from time to time. The Broccoli Salad would change your views about healthy, but it might be ordered a lot in your table so I'd suggest you opt for the Sweet Potato with Pecans so you and your friends get to taste everything on your first meal. The Potato Salad has got tons of bacon, egg, seeds and Dijon mustard. That's hella good with the meat too. If you're looking for something more filling, perhaps the baked beans could do wonders for you. That's lovely, smoky and comforting. It's the perfect thing to have with all these dishes, like having your own Aunt Jemimah slapping you silly about how they could cook barbecue this good.
This was when I was building my sandwich together with the pickled vegetables. It actually felt like I was using Banchan (one that they use in Korean meals that I mentioned earlier). It was like an adventure while I attempted to fit that all in together with the meat in one bun.
I can't tell you how important it is for a barbecue place to have really good sauce. This one is super good and savory. I suggest you indulge while the meat is hot and it'll just be even more awesome!
Here's our short interview with Hug Mangum. Listen in!
Mighty Quinn's is now open mall hours at SM Mega Fashion Hall. If you wish to have the best meat dishes from New York without spending a lot of air tickets, then visit them today and get the Brontosaurus Rib or my favorite Burnt ends (which I strongly recommend you order!). Everything there needs to be experienced by you. It's one of the best things I've tasted this year, you probably will enjoy it for sure!
It's so nice to see our country do so good in the arts, and this is another one. The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra is going to have a groundbreaking performance at the famous Carnegie Hall in the US with thanks to sponsors Philippine Airlines, Smart Infinity, Rustan's, One Meralco Foundation, PLDT, SMART, Federal Land and Metrobank Card.
"When I talked to MVP he said "I want to help PPO" so I came in sweating, nervous, but I believed in the project. This isn't just for PPO but for the Philippines. 6 years later, I'm so happy that is happening. TV5 is also documenting this, we're going to have a beautiful documentary of a historic tour. This is gonna be the pride of the Philippines. He asked me "How much would we need to make this happen?", it was very easy though. I think our dear media friends have been wonderful to bring this news to the Filipino people and they have been instrumental to have this be easy. We have two big acts, one by Diomedes Saraza (who graduated in Julliard) and Ms. Cecile Licad who are world class musicians. Aside from Carnegie, we'll have a few concerts too outside for charity but we're still finalizing that. Ticket prices would be around 25-120$US and Carnegie hall is expensive, we pay for history and the prestige so I'm excited to do this! I think I have done quite a lot on my list, not all but a lot. The one I'm also leaving this too is a good man, he's really good. This is my time to turn the page." says Olivier Ochanine the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra's Conductor.
Thanks to Smart Infinity, Smart Communications, the MVP group and their other sponsors, this dream of taking a world class Filipino orchestra is now a reality. All we need to do now is see them off and be proud that we now have marked that territory where tons of world class performers, musicians, playwrights and actors have also performed. We are there, and we'll surely make it anywhere. For tickets to the show, please monitor the availability online at https://www.carnegiehall.org or just look at their calendar here. Hurry before their tickets run out!
