Happy Birthday JianCarlo!

-

Jian's 1st Birthday flashback.

We had just moved into our new house three months earlier so it was also our house blessing party.

Location: Vallejo, CA, USA

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

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

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

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

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

Negros 19: Massacre or Legitimate Encounter in Toboso?

-
Image
Negros Occidental • April 2026. Negros 19: Massacre or Legitimate Encounter in Toboso? negros 19 toboso, lyle prijoles filipino american, alyssa alano up diliman, rj ledesma altermidya, bayan usa, lfs sfsu, fil-am activist killed, philippine insurgency 2026, red-tagging, npa clash. Negros Occidental • April 2026 Negros 19: Massacre or Legitimate Encounter in Toboso? A 40-year-old Filipino American from California was among 19 people killed in a 12-hour firefight in Negros Occidental on April 19, 2026. The Armed Forces of the Philippines calls it a lawful encounter. BAYAN USA and rights groups call it a massacre. Here is what is verified, what is contested, and why this one should matter to every Fil-Am household. Northern Negros Occidental, where the 12-hour firefight in Sitio Sinugmawan, Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, left 19 people dead on April 19, 2026. The first shots were fired at 3:58 AM. By ...
Read more