San Francisco Belle off Sausalito

Vallejo, California • March 2026. Mel Orpilla: Historian, Martial Artist, and Keeper of Vallejo's Filipino Memory. mel orpilla, vallejo filipino history, filipinos in vallejo, balintawak arnis, island warrior fighting sticks, manong generation, mare island naval shipyard, fil-am history, ifugao, ilocano heritage, pamana, filipino american history month. Vallejo, CA • Filipino American History Month 2026 Marks of the Ancestors: Mel Orpilla and the Filipino Story of Vallejo Historian, martial artist, and cultural keeper Mel Orpilla has spent decades ensuring that the Filipino presence in Vallejo—one of the oldest in Northern California—is documented, honored, and passed on. Mel Orpilla — historian, Balintawak Arnis master, and keeper of Vallejo's Filipino memory. 📍 Vallejo, California In the city of Vallejo, history lives in unexpected places. It lives in faded photographs tucked into family albums, in stor...

5 Years Later: Wrestling, Resilience, and a Fil-Am Journey

- 1/31/2026 09:13:00 AM

Fremont, CA • January 31, 2026. Half a Decade of Growth: A Senior Year Reflection: Five years after the Mission San Jose Invitational, we reflect on the grit of the Fil-Am journey and building a future on Turtle Island. wrestling, benicia, high school, student-athlete, turtle island, fil-am, heritage, january 31 Fremont, CA • January 31, 2026 Half a Decade of Growth: A Senior Year Reflection Five years after the Mission San Jose Invitational: Building grit on the mat and a future on Turtle Island. Looking at this photo now, I don't just see a wrestling match; I see a pivotal moment in the journey from student-athlete to adulthood. In the Filipino-American experience, we often talk about "building"—building a life, building a legacy, and building a future on Turtle Island . "Wrestling is a metaphor for our collective experience. It’s about finding your footing, staying grounded, and facing ev...

Daku kaayo ang kalipay: Reunited in Valencia, Bukidnon (April 1, 2005)

- 4/02/2026 01:19:00 PM

April 2, 2026 at 01:17PM by pinoybuilt The April 1, 2005 Archive: Valencia, Bukidnon On March 25, 2005, the distance finally ended. After being separated since December 2004, I reunited with Tess and our girls in the cooler, quieter highlands of Bukidnon. This is a 30-second raw window into that afternoon, captured on an Olympus C3000z in the Barangay of Poblacion. You can hear the unedited "hiss" of 2005 technology, but more importantly, you hear my late wife, Tess. In the last third of the video, her laughter cuts through the decades—a reminder of the joy that anchored our diaspora journey. (I'll have to find video of her speaking fluent Bisaya). At PinoyBuilt.com, we analyze the news of today through the lens of where we’ve been. Sometimes, the most important "data" isn't a statistic, but a voice from 21 years ago. #PinoyBuilt #Bukidnon #Bisaya #FilAm #Diaspora #Legacy #2005Archive via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQZR7qkJx20

PinoyBuilt 2026 Update: 500% Performance Growth & New Contributors

- 3/13/2026 01:35:00 PM

Vallejo, CA • March 2026. PinoyBuilt Performance Update: The Secret Sauce and New Voices. pinoybuilt update, fil-am blog, filipino-american website, clarence mamaril, vallejo filipino, pinoybuilt growth, fil-am media. VALLEJO, CA • MARCH 2026 PinoyBuilt Performance Update: Finding the Secret Sauce Site performance is soaring, new contributors are arriving, and the PinoyBuilt vision is finally coming home. PinoyBuilt community — Fil-Am friends & family across CA, LA, SF & Hawaiʻi, 2011 Our site PinoyBuilt has been outperforming itself. Yesterday's AdSense earnings spiked over 500% compared to the same day last week. Our "Last 7 Days" metrics are also up over 500% versus the previous 7 days, and "This month" is already +351% versus the same period last year. I may have found the "secret sauce." Thank you to every visitor and reader...

Happy Sweet Sixteen, Kalea! | Vallejo Fil-Am Milestones | PinoyBuilt

- 3/09/2026 10:25:00 PM

Happy Sweet Sixteen, Kalea! By J.F.R. Perseveranda | February 28, 2026 | Gear: Sony a7III + Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Kalea, Paul & Keona at the Perseveranda Birthday Party © J.F.R. Perseveranda Event Highlights 📍 Location: Vallejo, California 📅 Date: February 28, 2026 📷 Photography: @PinoyBuilt Update : Proud to share that this story was featured on NewsBreak ! Explore More View related event photos — February 28 Archives More with the Sony a7III — Sony Alpha Collection J.F.R. Perseveranda Founder of PinoyBuilt. A Filipino-American writer and photographer documenting heritage and grit in Northern California. The Story Behind the Lens → Mabuhay! Join the Conversation. PinoyBuilt is more than a blog—it’s a living a...

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