PinoyBuilt — Stories of Filipino America

New York City • May 1997. Maligayang Bati, Tony! Throwback to the Empire State Building, May 1997. tony palisoc, empire state building, nyc, hogan spartans, hogan high school, filipino american, birthday tribute, staten island ferry, woodside queens, little manila, kapamilya. New York City • May 1997 Maligayang Bati, Tony! Throwback to the Empire State Building, May 1997 My birthday tribute to my closest friend since Hogan Spartans '85 — and the NYC crew who made it to the top of the Empire State Building without me. Tony, Anini, Maritess, and AJ Santos atop the Empire State Building, second week of May 1997. Happy Birthday to my BFF, Tony Palisoc! 🎂🎉 Throwback to the second week of May 1997 — Tony, Anini, Maritess, and AJ Santos atop the Empire State Building. Somewhere below (and apparently missing from this photo 😂), I was off on my own adventure aboard the Staten Island Ferry. I may not remember the stranger who took this photo...

USA • March 2026. Filipino American Weekend Guide Bay Area Los Angeles New York Hawaii Canada events March 20 2026 Filipino community Lent Seafood City Jollibee Holi Chinatown UCLA Ifugao merienda. USA • MARCH 2026 Filipino American Weekend Guide: Bay Area, LA, NYC, Hawaii & Canada From San Francisco rooftops to UCLA lecture halls—and across the diaspora—here's where Filipino Americans are gathering this weekend. If you grew up Filipino in the Bay Area, you already know what Fridays in Lent feel like. The group chats light up, families start planning dinner, and by late afternoon, the lines at Seafood City and Jollibee stretch into the parking lot. But this weekend isn't just about tradition—it's about movement. Across the Filipino diaspora, from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, New York, Hawaiʻi, and Canada, our community is showing up in different ways: cultural, intellectual, and social. ...

Vallejo, California • March 2026. Green Meets Gold: How Filipino Americans Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in America's Top Cities. fil-am st patricks day, chicago filipino american, boston filipino, san francisco parade, new york filipinos, irish filipino culture, diaspora celebration, autumn durald arkapaw. Culture & Community • March 2026 Green Meets Gold: How Filipino Americans Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in America's Top Cities From Chicago's iconic emerald river to San Francisco's West Coast parade, Fil-Ams aren't just watching—we're walking in it. "Kiss Me, I'm Brownish" — Filipino Americans embrace St. Patrick's Day with Pinoy Pride. 📷 PinoyBuilt Every March 17, seas of green flood America's streets in honor of St. Patrick's Day — a celebration rooted in Irish history but fully embraced by the multicultural fabric of the United States. For Filipino...

New York, NY • March 2026. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Addresses the UN General Assembly: A Bid for Global Peace. ferdinand marcos jr, united nations, un security council, philippines, diplomacy, fil-am, filipino. New York, NY • March 2026 President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the United Nations Advocating for climate justice, peace, and a seat at the table for the Global South . In a historic address at the UN Headquarters in New York on March 10, 2026, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. positioned the Philippines as a vital bridge between the Global North and South. Speaking before the Special Plenary Meeting of the UN General Assembly , the President formally campaigned for the Philippines' election to a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the 2027-2028 term. Did You Know? New York City is home to one of the largest Filipino populations in the United States, with over 85,000 Filipin...

Lea Salonga makes “ herstory ” by being the first Filipina ever selected for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. By: KAPAGKAUNA-UNA SA KASAYSAYAN! She’s part of the Class of 2026 in the Live Theater & Performance category, to be enshrined alongside global icons like Miley Cyrus and Timothée Chalamet. Here are a few of my Lea Salonga favorites: 🎬 Sana Maulit Muli (1995) – Iconic Film with Aga Muhlach Lea Salonga and Aga Muhlach co‑starred in the 1995 Filipino romantic drama film Sana Maulit Muli , directed by Olivia M. Lamasan. She plays Agnes Sarmiento , a meek girl who migrates to California, faces the challenges of adapting to life abroad, and grapples with a strained long-distance relationship with Aga’s character, Jerry Morales . The film explores powerful themes of immigration, independence, cultural adjustment, and long-distance love—mirroring the experiences of many overseas Filipinos. Hmm, I think I know those themes well. LOL. Loved h...

New York City • July 2025. Tracing My Pinay Mom's Footsteps in 1960s Manhattan — With a Little Help from AI. filipina nurse 1960s new york, lualhati reyes perseveranda, 42nd street manhattan, exchange visitor program, fil-am heritage, chatgpt ai history. New York City • July 2025 Tracing My Pinay Mom's Footsteps in 1960s Manhattan — With a Little Help from AI A vintage photograph. A street sign. A Whelan's Drug Store. Sixty years later, AI helped me find the exact corner where my Filipina mother stood on 42nd Street — and what she was part of. Photo courtesy of Lualhati "Nati" Reyes-Perseveranda. East 42nd Street, Manhattan, New York City — circa 1960–1962. There is a photograph of my mother I have carried in my memory for decades. She is young — early 20s, radiant, dressed beautifully — standing on a busy American sidewalk. She is everything I would not meet until years later: Nati, before she became Nanay. The photo wa...

Time to Change the Training | Russell Ellis | TEDxSUNYGeneseo "One of the most revealing and honest TED talks I've seen." -- Ike Berenguer Thank you Ike for sharing on Facebook where I saw it. Russell Ellis was raised in the mountains of North Carolina where racism was “so casual it was culture”. Now he is a “reformed racist” who aims to teach other white people how to deconstruct their own racism. Listen to this powerful speech in which he talks about his childhood, the cycle of white supremacy, and what white people can do to “BREAK THE CYCLE”! Russell Ellis was raised in the mountains of North Carolina where racism was “so casual it was culture”. Now he is a “reformed racist” who aims to teach other white people how to deconstruct their own racism. Listen to this powerful speech in which he talks about his childhood, the cycle of white supremacy and what white people can do to “BREAK THE CYCLE”! This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but ...