This Filipino American Life

On the last week of Filipino American History Month, the TFAL crew was invited to share space with Sherry Younge, owner of the hair salon/community space, The Artform Studio, as part of their special FAHM edition of Wax Wednesdays – Gupitan. We talk about Sherry’s journey as an entrepreneur and mother, her vision for The...

In this episode the TFAL women have a conversation with returning guest Melissa Magsaysay. When we first talked to Melissa it was to discuss her clothing brand Duster. This time around Elaine, Gerlie, and Kat have a conversation about the rising trend of Pilipino Beauty products that are coming to market in the Philippines. Filipino...

In this episode, the crew comes together to catch up with Elaine’s favorite frenemy, rapper Bambu. Bambu is a father, emcee, community organizer and the Chairman of Beatrock Music Group. With a career that spans just over 2 decades and had released over a dozen bodies of work in that time. While a longtime friend...

Rafael Manuel’s debut film, FILIPIÑANA, has been one of the most discussed Philippine films in many years. The visually compelling film quietly (and loudly) interrogates the power dynamics in Philippine society through a normal day at a posh golf course outside of Manila. FILIPIÑANA hits so many issues – classism, racism, colonialism, sexism, regionalism, and...

Tibak, is a slang term for “aktibista.” Over the decades, there are more and more Filipino Americans working towards social justice as inequality rises throughout the world. How do Filipino Americans begin to become activists in the first place? Why should we in the diaspora care about what’s going on in the Philippines? How do...

Putang ina!!!!! Alex Eala has taken the Tennis world by storm! Over the last year, Alexandra “Alex” Eala has been a sports and popular cultural phenomenon. The 21-year-old Filipino tennis star has sparked an unprecedented wave of national pride and a domestic sports boom for Philippine tennis.  In this TFAL episode, Gerlie, Ryan (out of...

In this episode of the pod, Elaine and Kat have a kikihan (kiki + kwentuhan) with Mark Kaiklian of By and By. Mark is a talented graphic designer, artist, performer, and all around good human who shares his journey with us. We learn about his origin story from Tondo, Philippines to Eagle Rock, CA and...

We all have them in our lives. Friends and family who are not Filipino but sometimes we call “Honorary Filipinos.” But does anyone really deserve such a title? Does it become an invitation for more privileged folks to begin Filipino-splaining us and/or become culture vultures? Is this title that we should even dole out? In...

Sometimes, you just have to chase your dream, damnit. For Bernard Badion, telling stories was always an integral part of him and has been a life-long pursuit. Growing up in Sunnyvale, California, the acclaimed Filipino American creator longed to tell stories that people can relate to. And in so many ways, he has already written,...

Is hopia a dessert? What started out as a random argument Elaine and Producer Mike had snowballed into a whole TFAL mini-episode about random Filipino food questions. Listen as the TFAL crew discuss and debate questions like: What is the most overrated Filipino dish? The most underrated? Do you f-ck with Filipino fruit salad? Why...