Remembering Edgar Allan Rivera - Chicago 2014

-

March 6, 2014. Flew to Chicago with my sister for cousin Edgar Allan Rivera's funeral. Miss ya cuz.

Took a selfie to show all the snow.


My family left Chicago in 1979. Since 1986, this was home when I was in town. Thank you Tita Lita, Tito Narding, Jun & Allan!


View of the neighbors across Karlov St.


I moved back to Chicago in April 1989 (I thought for good). I can't imagine having to shovel snow today.



Comments

Post a Comment

Hi! Thank you for dropping by. Please leave us a comment. Sige na!

Popular posts from this blog

Balikbayan: Chesca vs. Rambutan, 2012 vs. 2026

-
Image
Valencia, Bukidnon • August 2026. Balikbayan: Chesca vs. Rambutan, 2012 vs. 2026. balikbayan, chesca perseveranda, valencia bukidnon, mama helen, garcia family, rambutan, tagalog, fil-am, filipino american, philippines Valencia, Bukidnon • August 2026 Balikbayan: Chesca vs. Rambutan, 2012 vs. 2026 Fourteen years apart, same rambutan, same house in Valencia, Bukidnon — and a text thread, half English, half hard-won Tagalog, that made a father's whole week. Chesca in July 2012, back at Mama Helen's house in Valencia, Bukidnon — her first visit was 2004-2005. I woke up before the sun rose per usual, and got her text around 6 a.m. in the 707 from my bunso. It was 9 p.m. in the Philippines, and Chesca had just gone back to Valencia, Bukidnon — back to Mama Helen's house from the farm, the house where her mommy grew up — and done something nobody asked her to do. She'd found the same spot, picked up a rambutan, and recreated a photo of he...
Read more

Join Pinoybuilt.com: a Filipino-American Community online

-
Image
What is Pinoybuilt.com? Pinoybuilt is a website built on "off-the-shelf" Google technology. I initially conceived of this site prior to the birth of Facebook, back when Friendster was a thing. Then life and Facebook happened. In 2011, while on vacation with family in Hawaii, I found out that they didn't sell "Filipino Strength" t-shirts as they did in Honolulu. My buddy Tony referred me to the local Maui Built apparel. I thought of a Filipino Built brand along the same line. My tita said that it was too long and suggested Pinoy Built. I bought the domain pinoybuilt.com. I worked with a couple of graphic designers in creating a logo, apparel ideas, but nothing really took hold. Eventually, I turned this back to the original concept of a community site. Marketing Tool Currently, all blog entries auto-posts to the Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/pinoybuilt and posts a tweet to  https://x.com/PinoyBuilt  (formerly Twitter ). The @Pinoybuilt Twitter account ...
Read more

The Memory Heist: How DreamWorks' 'Forgotten Island' Turns Filipino Mythology Into a Diaspora Reckoning

-
Image
Hiddenbrooke, CA • March 2026. The Memory Heist: How DreamWorks' 'Forgotten Island' Turns Filipino Mythology Into a Diaspora Reckoning. forgotten island dreamworks, filipino mythology animation, H.E.R. liza soberano, lea salonga manananggal, nakali island, filipino american diaspora, pinoy pride, fil-am identity, filipino folklore, dreamworks animation 2026, joel crawford januel mercado, filipino culture film. FILM & IDENTITY • MARCH 2026 The Memory Heist: How DreamWorks' 'Forgotten Island' Turns Filipino Mythology Into a Diaspora Reckoning The first major animated film rooted in Philippine folklore asks the question every immigrant carries: What do you lose when you leave? A PinoyBuilt analysis of the most important Filipino cultural moment in animation history. DreamWorks Animation's Forgotten Island features a voice cast led by H.E.R., Liza Soberano, and Lea Salonga in a story root...
Read more

Hiraya Manawari: The Ancient Filipino Phrase That Became a Generation's Battle Cry

-
Image
Vallejo, CA • March 2026. Hiraya Manawari: The Ancient Filipino Phrase That Became a Generation's Battle Cry. hiraya manawari meaning, ancient tagalog phrase, filipino manifestation, reach your dreams filipino, baybayin tattoo hiraya, decolonize filipino identity, pre-colonial philippines language, hiraya manawari tv show abs-cbn, filipino words of power, fil-am cultural reclamation. DECOLONIZE • MARCH 2026 Hiraya Manawari: The Ancient Filipino Phrase That Became a Generation's Battle Cry How an archaic Tagalog phrase meaning "may the visions of your heart come to pass" survived colonialism, powered a beloved 90s TV show, and is now reclaiming Filipino identity — one tattoo, one graduation caption, and one whispered prayer at a time. There are words in every language that carry more weight than their syllables suggest. In English, we have "freedom." In Japanese, ikigai . In ...
Read more

'Madonna of the Slums' by Vicente Manansala

-
Image
Manila, Philippines • March 2026. Madonna of the Slums: The Soul of Post-War Manila. Vicente Manansala, Transparent Cubism, Filipino modernism, post-war Manila, National Artist Philippines, Thirteen Moderns, heritage, art history, diaspora identity. Art History & Heritage • March 2026 Madonna of the Slums: The Soul of Post-War Manila Vicente Manansala's 1950 masterpiece reimagined the sacred Madonna as a Brown Filipino mother in the wreckage of post-war Manila — and in doing so, changed Philippine art forever. Seventy-five years later, it still speaks directly to us. Madonna of the Slums (1950) by Vicente Silva Manansala. Oil on Masonite, 86.5 cm × 61 cm. National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila. A cornerstone of Filipino Modernism. There is a particular kind of gravity that settles over you when you stand before a painting that refuses to look away. Vicente Manansala's Madonna of the Slums , complete...
Read more

The Laguna Copperplate Inscription: The Philippines' Oldest Written Record and What It Means for Every Filipino

-
Image
Philippines • April 2026. The Laguna Copperplate Inscription: The Philippines' Oldest Written Record and What It Means for Every Filipino. laguna copperplate inscription, philippine history, pre-colonial philippines, tondo kingdom, baybayin, decolonization, antoon postma, 900 CE, namwaran, kawi script. Philippine History • April 2026 The Laguna Copperplate Inscription: The Philippines' Oldest Written Record and What It Means for Every Filipino On April 21, 900 CE — 1,126 years ago today — a scribe inscribed Old Malay, Sanskrit, and Old Tagalog onto a sheet of copper in the Kingdom of Tondo. What he created is proof that Filipino civilization was literate, legally sophisticated, and globally connected six centuries before Magellan ever set foot on our shores. The Laguna Copperplate Inscription, dated April 21, 900 CE — the oldest written document ever found in the Philippines. National Museum of Anthropology, Manila. When I was a ...
Read more

Learn Filipino: How Cup of Joe's Record-Shattering 'MULTO' Teaches Us Pagharap — The Courage to Face What Haunts Us

-
Image
Philippines • March 2026. Learn Filipino Through Cup of Joe's Record-Breaking Hit "MULTO" — Tagalog Vocabulary, Grammar & the Value of Pagharap. learn tagalog, cup of joe multo, opm, filipino language, tagalog vocabulary, fil-am, filipino american, pagharap, grief, silakbo, baguio, billboard philippines. Learn Filipino • March 2026 Learn Filipino: How Cup of Joe's Record-Shattering 'MULTO' Teaches Us Pagharap — The Courage to Face What Haunts Us The most-streamed OPM song in history isn't just a love song — it's a Tagalog masterclass in grief, release, and the Filipino courage to confront what we've buried. 50+ words. One grammar lesson. One song that changed everything. Learn Filipino through Cup of Joe's record-shattering hit "MULTO" — the most-streamed OPM song of all time. (PinoyBuilt) There are songs you hear. And then there are songs that fol...
Read more