PinoyBuilt — Stories of Filipino America

On Tuesday, Jun 12, 2023, just 30 days shy of her 60th birthday, we lost a beautiful lady, my sister Cecilia. Her Celebration of Life was held in Colorado early last week, but her family and close friends were able to be present when we laid her to rest on June 29th in Livermore, with her beloved husband, Zig. … those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles." - Isaiah 40:31 Hello. My name is Eileen Beltran . I am one of Cecilia's siblings. Leslie , Cecilia , Alan and I were the four who were born in the Philippines. First the girls, then Alan. We immigrated to the US in 1968, where the last two were born... Diana and David .  She is one of my older sisters who I respectfully and affectionately called Ate Cecile .  As my sisters mentioned at the Celebration of Life in Colorado, Ate Cecile was the first of many. I know for me, she was also the first to get a stick shift car. So I, of course, had to do the same! But she al...

I've always wanted to attend an Eastern Orthodox mass. Christmas in Ukraine traditionally begins on the 7th January, as it does in Russia. But this year, many have chosen to celebrate with the West instead. There are different hypotheses regarding the date of Jesus' birth and in the early fourth century, the church fixed the date as December 25. [b] [13] [14] [15]  This corresponds to the traditional date of the  winter solstice  on the Roman calendar. [16]  It is exactly nine months after  Annunciation  on March 25, also the date of the spring equinox. [17]  Most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the  Gregorian calendar , which has been adopted almost universally in the  civil calendars  used in countries throughout the world. However, part of the  Eastern Christian Churches  celebrate Christmas on December 25 of the older  Julian calendar , which currently corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. For C...

We had a Teen Club in our parish that was 95% Filipino when we were in high school. This is one of the songs we used to sing. Ever have this in your mass? 🙏🏼❤️ Basil Salvador Valdez is a Filipino singer. He has received several Tinig Awards and the 1991 Tanglaw ng Lahi Award from Ateneo de Manila University. Like many Filipino singers in the 1970s, Basil S. Valdez started on a solo career as a folk singer. In 1972, he joined the Circus Band  and soon after it disbanded, he released his first solo album entitled  Ngayon at Kailanman . While in the Circus Band, he met  Ryan Cayabyab , who was then part of another band. When Valdez was preparing tracks for the album  Ngayon at Kailanman , he asked Cayabyab to collaborate with and write a few songs for him, which the composer did. Cayabyab then became Valdez's musical director for 27 years. In the 1980s, Valdez re-invented himself as a singer of movie theme songs. Among the most memorable were "Paano Ba ang Mangara...

I just watched 'Mary Magdalene' on Netflix. "According to Christian Gospels , Mary of Magdala was present at both Jesus' death and burial; and is identified as the first witness to the resurrected Jesus. In 591, Pope Gregory claimed that Mary of Magdala was a prositute, a misconception which remains to this day. In 2016, Mary of Magdala was formally identified by the Vatican as Apostle of the Apostles -- their equal -- and the first messenger of the resurrected Jesus." I didn't really know it was Pope Gregory who did that, and didn't know anything about him. Now, I must say, Pope Gregory was the Donald Trump of his day. I must add that I read The Da Vinci Code in less than 24 hours.