FIL AM · FILIPINO

✊This July 4, as Americans celebrate independence, thousands have joined the #NoKings protests across the U.S.—calling out authoritarianism, corporate greed, and systemic inequality. For us Filipino Americans, these calls echo something deeper, older, and personal. Before 1776, before George Washington and the Boston Tea Party, Lapulapu of Mactan was already saying “No” to empire. Published on: Friday, July 4, 2025 In 1521, Spanish colonizer Ferdinand Magellan landed on our shores with a flag and a cross, expecting submission. But Datu Lapulapu—tattooed, fearless, and free—stood tall and resisted. In the Battle of Mactan , Lapulapu and his warriors, with little more than blades and bravery, defeated Magellan and sent a message that still rings through time: No kings. No colonizers. No compromise. “Before America had its revolution, we were already resisting. Before independence was a holiday, it was our reality. We have been saying NO to kings since 1521.” 🇵🇭 ...

📍 From Bundok to Boondocks: A Filipino Word Trending in the Headlines If you've been on X/Twitter this week, you may have noticed that "boondocks" is trending—and not because of the animated series. Behind that internet slang lies a story of colonial history, language evolution, and—you guessed it—a Filipino word. 🇵🇭 The Filipino Root of “Boondocks” The word “boondocks” actually comes from the Tagalog word “ bundok ” , which means “mountain.” During the American occupation of the Philippines in the early 1900s, U.S. military personnel adopted “bundok” to describe remote, mountainous, or hard-to-reach areas. Over time, it entered American military slang as “boondock” , eventually pluralized to “the boondocks.” By the mid-20th century, the term had made its way into mainstream American English. Today, “boondocks” is used to refer to any rural, remote, or isolated area. It can carry a tone of condescension—implying backwardness or obscurity—but it also re...

Pinoybuilt.com May 8, 2025 at 10:36AM Cardinal Robert Prevost has been named as the new pope after being elected by the conclave. He is the first American to be the leader of the Catholic Church.  For more context and news coverage of the most important stories of our day, click here: https://nbcnews.to/3F4T5Da » Subscribe to NBC News: https://ift.tt/eBgC1UK » Watch more NBC video: http://bit.ly/MoreNBCNews NBC News Digital is a collection of innovative and powerful news brands that deliver compelling, diverse and engaging news stories. NBC News Digital features NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, TODAY.com, Nightly News, Meet the Press, Dateline, and the existing apps and digital extensions of these respective properties. We deliver the best in breaking news, live video coverage, original journalism and segments from your favorite NBC News Shows. Connect with NBC News Online! NBC News App: https://nbcnews.to/4312kw9 Breaking News Alerts: https://nbcnews.to/44tMwoc Visit NBCNews.Com: https:/...

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) hit back at House Republicans seeking to oust her from a prominent committee on Feb. 2, adding that “representation matters” in the democratic process. Read more: https://wapo.st/3WXpKNR. "Representation matters." Representation matters. We didn’t come to Congress to be silent. We came to Congress to be a voice for families who are displaced in refugee camps and those seeking justice around the world. Because that’s what this child survivor of war would have wanted. pic.twitter.com/BaLD5bZybV — Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) February 2, 2023

This Zodiac Killer video was #3 on Trending on YouTube. Ever since I moved to the Bay Area, the Zodiac Killer has always been a big topic. 2020 has had no shortage of surprises and just before the year wraps up another bombshell has been dropped as the FBI confirms the Zodiac Killer's cypher has finally been cracked! You can't miss this shocking reveal of what the Zodiac's secret message finally says! Will this insane discovery finally lead to the real identity of the mystery killer? You have to watch today's epic new video to find out! The Zodiac Killer (or simply Zodiac or the Zodiac) is the pseudonym of an American serial killer who operated in Northern California from at least the late 1960s to the early 1970s. The unidentified killer originated the name in a series of taunting letters and cards sent to the San Francisco Bay Area press. These letters included four cryptograms (or ciphers). The Zodiac murdered five known victims in Benicia, Vallejo, Napa County...

Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg (March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death on September 18, 2020. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton, replacing retiring justice Byron White,[2] and at the time was generally viewed as a moderate consensus-builder. She eventually became part of the liberal wing of the Court as the Court shifted to the right over time. Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman and the second woman to serve on the Court, after Sandra Day O'Connor. During her tenure, Ginsburg wrote notable majority opinions, including United States v. Virginia (1996), Olmstead v. L.C. (1999), Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. (2000), and City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York (2005). Ginsburg was born and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Her older sister died when she was a baby, and her mother died shortly before Ginsburg graduated from high school. She ea...

While you take your three day weekend, remember those who struggled to get Friday and Saturday off. Walked around the neighborhood early this morning with my 16-year old. Enjoy your Labor Day! New York infection rate stays below 1 percent for 30 straight days https://t.co/JOeMZy1Lji — JF 😷 🌊🌊🌊 (@JFPerseveranda) September 7, 2020 Register to vote at www.vote.gov . Already registered? Find out about state and local elections . Find your  state or locall election office website . Join us . For the latest comments on Pinoybuilt.com , follow our forum .

We decided to take a family hike through a trail in the woods about an hour from our house. We brought our 11 pound Maltipoo with us. Along the hike, we saw several other hikers with their dogs. Everything was fun and friendly. People were saying "Hello" and practicing social distancing by letting others pass when we crossed paths. After a long hike, we were headed back down the mountain to our car. A lady and her husband were coming up the trail as we were going down. We stepped off to the side to let them pass. The husband passed, but the lady just stood there. So we continued walking. Our 11 year old daughter was in front with our dog on the leash. The lady aggressively stepped in front of our daughter and blocked her path. She began telling our daughter that we were breaking the law . My wife, who was behind our daughter asked what was going on, and the lady told us to turn around and go back to where we came from ...more strangeness then ensues. In the video, be...

Kenny Rogers - The Gambler Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, record producer, and entrepreneur. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted more than 120 hit singles across various music genres, and topped the country and pop album charts for more than 200 individual weeks in the United States alone. He sold more than 100 million records worldwide during his lifetime, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. His fame and career spanned multiple genres: jazz, folk, pop, rock, and country. He remade his career, and was one of the most successful cross-over artists of all time.

BREAKING: Pro-equality majority secured in the House on #ElectionNight . That means we are one step closer to passing the Equality Act. pic.twitter.com/JSWs7o7P2I — Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) November 7, 2018 Follow @Pinoybuilt

#VoteToday #ElectionDay via @usatoday - You've seen the superheroes in comic books and movies. Now you can be one yourself. Vote, cartoonist Gary Varvel says. #cartoon #superhero #superheroes #comics #vote #electionday Follow @Pinoybuilt

The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting was a mass shooting that occurred at Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 27, 2018, while Shabbat morning services were being held. Eleven people were killed and seven were injured. It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the United States. Follow @Pinoybuilt

Follow @Pinoybuilt Fred Rogers “We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say "It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem." Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”

This week, Vargas released his new book titled “Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen.” "Dear America" is Vargas's memoir that dives deep into his experience as an undocumented immigrant, having come to the U.S. as a child. Jose Antonio Vargas: Not every day that a writer who happens to be undocumented gets a review in the NY Times Arts section of NY Times Not every day that a writer who happens to be undocumented gets a review in the @nytimesarts section of @nytimes #DearAmerica pic.twitter.com/roC50Bp4rV — Jose Antonio Vargas (@joseiswriting) September 20, 2018 [post_ads]

Don’t ask if your dreams are crazy. Ask if they’re crazy enough. #justdoit Huge Colin Kaepernick Nike billboard springs up in SF's Union Square Huge Colin Kaepernick Nike billboard springs up in SF's Union Square https://t.co/7gwAYLI3Hp pic.twitter.com/b2cIdBM2sH — SFGate (@SFGate) September 4, 2018 Colin Kaepernick's Nike billboard in New York City Nike is going all in. Here’s the new @Kaepernick7 ad right here in NYC. pic.twitter.com/obgjEp2yLf — Shaun King (@shaunking) September 5, 2018 [post_ads]

#NikeBoycott #DontBurn #Donate #homeless #veterans #WednesdayWisdom #JustDoIt Colin Kaepernick - Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt Follow @Pinoybuilt Nike releases Just Do It commercial featuring Colin Kaepernick Nike releases Just Do It commercial featuring Colin Kaepernick

Speaker Paul Ryan: "The Congressional Gold Medal is one of our oldest traditions. It is the highest civilian honor this body can bestow. Today, pursuant to S. 1555, we award this Medal to the Filipino veterans of World War II." Maraming salamat to our Filipino WWII Veterans. And congrats on your Congressional Gold Medals. #FilVetRepCGM ... https://t.co/U5bPV3Fdwr — FANHS National (@fanhs_national) October 25, 2017 This day is long overdue. On behalf of Congress, I am humbled to present the Congressional Gold Medal to the Filipino veterans of WWII. pic.twitter.com/xYgm7X4JHI — Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) October 25, 2017 It would cost about 0.007 F-35Bs to buy every living Filipino WWII Vet a replica gold medal. https://t.co/bv0B2Xau6F — Drew Heineman (@drewheineman) October 25, 2017

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Young Filipino-Americans in STEM and Medical Professions Most of my family members have occupations in the STEM fields or medical field or health care professions. STEM includes science , technology , engineering , and mathematics . When I was younger, my family pushed for me to go into these types of fields. I pushed back, saying that I wanted to go into the arts . They pushed back too. My dad would constantly remind me that “the money ” is in more “practical jobs”, urging me to look into becoming a computer engineer or a doctor . I knew that those types of jobs weren’t for me. While my eldest sister was pursuing a higher education at UCLA , she declared pre-med right after high school . It wasn’t until the end of her third year that she realized she did not have a passion for medicine . She switched her major to International Development and received a certificate in Interior Design. My family was disappointed when she decided not to pursue a medic...

The Spanish Speaking Asian and the Asian Looking Latino By Tabitha Reyes | contributor "Then why is your last name Reyes?" — Navigating the "othering" of the Fil-Am experience and the complex search for belonging in the California diaspora. "Are you Chinese?" "No, I'm not." "So are you Mexican?" "Nope." "Then why is your last name 'Reyes'?" Throughout my childhood, I've been asked these questions. My basic response was to explain that the Philippines was once colonized by Spain. People would respond with an apologetic "Oh". Since I was small, I've had issues with the way that I racially identified, being that I mainly ethnically identified with my Filipinx heritage. The question of whether the Philippines was located in Asia or the Pacific Islands followed me constantly, but I never even thought about iden...