Fil-Am Authors Move Audience at City Council Chambers

Filipino American authors shared a part of their lives with those gathered at the San Diego City Council Chambers on June 6. With moments mixed with tears and laughter, the emotional sides of their journey were unveiled. Common to all was pride in being a Filipino and the need for remembering their roots even to those born in the US. The event, "Celebrating Filipino Americans", was sponsored by One Vision One Voice.

The speakers are part of an impressive array of authors to be included in the books, Voices from Within: The Pearl of the Orient Seas and Voices From Within: The Land of the Free. The books will be launched in early 2008. There are over 20 chapter authors slated for each book. Co-editors are OVOV core team members Dr. Maria Lourdes F. Reyes and Dr. Manny Sevilla. The books will serve to bring its readers back to their roots and heritage, an educational eye-opener to the diversity of the Filipino as a people, shares Dr. Sevilla.

Voices From Within: The Pearl of the Orient Seas is a compilation of cultural traditions and heritage celebrations carried over to the US from the Philippines to include culture, language, music, dance, media, food, textile. Readings from the book chapters included: Dr. Juanita Santos Nacu's From Heart to Heart: The Journey of a Culture, Joseph Roley-Arzaga's For Richer or For Poorer, Amy Saroca's The Longest Grill, Dr. Ed Gamboa's Medical Missions: A Drop in the Ocean? and Dr. Manny Sevilla's The Butiki is a Botica (The Lizard is a Pharmacy).

Dr. Juanita Santos Nacu, an advocate for Filipino culture and language educator, related her cultural journey in bridging the communication gaps between the young and the old. 

Joseph Roley Arzaga, a proud stay-home Dad and web and graphics designer, engaged the crowd with his usual humorous side in relating the traditions at Filipino weddings of using the veil, cord and sharing of coins. 

Amy Saroca, regional director of the MILI Group and president of the Dagupan Club, showed how the milkfish bangus has become the symbol of sumptuous fish delicacy along with fish barbecued in the Guinness Book of World Records longest grill.

Dr. Ed Gamboa, who is the Chief Surgeon in El Centro, drove the distance to be able to share his journey of serving from 600-900 patients a day during medical mission trips in the Philippines. An emotional sharing was when he saw the happy face of a small girl who had just received a bottle of multivitamins thinking she was just given her Christmas present. 

Dr. Manny Sevilla, a practicing physician in National City for 22 years and a Tagalog poet, shared his early curiosity of the Butiki (house lizard), that intrigued him as a boy, has actual medicinal value, as earlier believed back home.

Voices From Within: The Land of the Free is a compilation of literary contributions from Filipinos of all background sharing their perspectives of life in the US. Readings from the book chapters included: Joe Mendoza's I Didn't Want My Kids To Be A Barber, Cecelia Linayao's For My Father, Michelle Mendoza's My Beautiful Flat Nose, Mimi Estrada's From There to Here, and then Back for a Moment and Captain Cesar Solis The Other End of the Law.

Michelle Mendoza with daughter Kristen lit a candle to symbolize the glow of allowing one's radiance and beauty to light the path for others. Relating her story of growing up without being noticed because she had a flat nose and dark skin, she just recently realized that she is beautiful. She dedicated her story to her daughter with hopes that she grows up without prejudice. Michelle wears a lot of hats: mom, wife, realtor but proudly says she is an ambassador of Christ. Matthew 5:16 says "Let your light shine that others may see your good works and glorify the Father in heaven." EVERYTHING I do is to glorify Him, she attests.

On the flip side, Mimi Estrada, shared her struggles as a mestiza (of mixed blood, in her case, Filipino and Caucasian) and the dilemma of leaving the Philippines with a vision of being on top of a mountain, knees to the ground and praying for this cup to pass. Mimi is a businesswoman who designs web presence and is an artist (charcoal portraitist), singer and mother of four.

Joe Mendoza, reminisced on his father's words when he graduated from College and on his road to success in the world of real estate and development, My Father was a barber, my grandfather was a barber and I don't want my kid to grow up as a barber, finally, just maybe there is hope.