Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Pinoy Pod 28

Overcoming domestic violence in the Filipino community

Cherie Querol Moreno is known to many Filipinos in the San Francisco Bay Area for her work as a journalist and community advocate. Four years ago, she took on a new challenge: focusing attention on the problem of spousal abuse in the community.

She is currently the coordinator of Kumares/Kumpares, which is part of the Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse, or CORA, in San Mateo County. In December, Kumares/Kumpares will receive a Philippine Presidential Outstanding Overseas Filipinos Award in Manila.

In this interview with Pinoy Pod, she talks about the cultural and social issues involved in the battle against domestic violence in the Filipino community.

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Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Pinoy Pod 27

Oasis for Girls in San Francisco's SoMa

For seven years, Oasis for Girls has provided a haven for girls and young women - ages 10 to 20 - in San Francisco's South of Market Area.

With its after-school and community programs, Oasis provides a place for girls to discover and develop their strengths, dabble in the arts, learn life skills or simply take a personal moment along the journey to womanhood.

Founded in an area that has become a home to many Filipino newcomers, Oasis now serves girls and young women from SoMa, several San Francisco neighborhoods, Oakland and Daly City.
Oasis for Girls' Executive Director Rachel Paredes Paras talks to Deputy Managing Editor Leslie Guevarra about how the organization has made a difference.


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Thursday, November 16, 2006

Pinoy Pod 26

Chronicling the Filipino diaspora

This week on Pinoy Pod, The Chronicle's Michelle Louie interviews Jeremiah Opiniano, president and founder of the Overseas Filipino Workers Journalism Consortium, a non-profit group of journalists who aim to cover the stories and the issues affecting Filipinos who have migrated far from their homeland.

Opiniano touches on issues such as whether the exodus of millions of Filipinos has diminished Philippine nationalism, the country's reliance on remittances from overseas workers and the practice of parents refraining from teaching their children Tagalog to ease assimilation in their a new land.

Opiniano is also the first journalism fellow of the Yuchengco Philippine Studies Center at USF and executive director of the Institute for Migration and Development Issues. He has also authored the book "Diaspora Philanthropy: Good News for the Poor."

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Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Pinoy Pod 25

Sheila Coronel takes on new challenge in Big Apple

A chat with Sheila Coronel, the first director of the just-opened Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University. She talks about her career in Manila and her views on investigative journalism in today's world.

In 1989, Coronel was already a highly respected reporter, but gave up her full-time job to start a non-profit organization: the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.
Under her leadership, the PCIJ exposed cases of government corruption, political abuse and human and civil rights violations and became a model for journalists in other Southeast Asian countries.


Coronel talks about why she decided to move to New York City to take on the challenge of heading up a new teaching institution established by the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.

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Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Pinoy Pod 24

Singer Carlos Zialcita's passion for blues

This podcast spotlights blues singer and harmonica player Carlos Zialcita, who has spent the last three decades entrenched in the Bay Area blues scene. He is one of the artists featured in the "Filipino Musicians Through The Generations" exhibit on view through Dec. 23 at the International Hotel in San Francisco.

The Manila-born Zialcita, a teacher at Alameda's Encinal High School, spoke with The Chronicle's Michelle Louie at a recent performance with another Filipino Bay Area jazz and blues veteran, Ben Luis, and newcomer Joel Del Rosario.

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Monday, November 13, 2006

Pinoy Pod 23

Filipina Women's Network takes on the future

The Filipina Women's Network, a leading organization for career-minded Filipinas, is reaching out to a cross-section of Filipino and Fil-Am organizations.

The goal: Develop a game plan to elevate the presence and participation of Filipinas in leadership positions in corporate America, public service and government.

Marily Mondejar, president of the Filipina Women's Network, talks to Chronicle Deputy Managing Editor Leslie Guevarra about the ambitious project.


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Thursday, November 09, 2006

Pinoy Pod 22

Lifting the Veil on War Brides' Struggles

Norma Vega Castillo, a newlywed still in her teens, was among the first war brides to leave the battle-torn Philippines after World War II.

Her husband was a Filipino American officer in the U.S. Army and she hoped their shared ethnicity would make it easier to adjust to her new life. But the reality was different than her dreams.

Her struggles as a newcomer and those of war brides are the subject of "Strange Land," a new documentary by her daughter, Hawaii-based filmmaker Stephanie Jean Castillo.

Castillo gave Pinoy Pod a sneak preview in time for Filipino American History Month and talked to Deputy Managing Editor Leslie Guevarra about the project. "Strange Land" makes its world premiere on October 25 at the Hawaii International Film Festival.

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Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Pinoy Pod 21

FilAms embrace Reggae Spirit

Skateboarding brought Chris Cortez and Jose Pangan together, but the two Filipino Americans have become more well know for their music. Cortez is the drummer and Pangan is the lead vocalist for the reggae band Native Elements.

For more than a decade, Native Elements have been thriving on the Bay Area reggae scene, performing at musical festivals such as Reggae on the River and the Monterey Bay Reggaefest and packing them in at local clubs such as Pier 23 in San Francisco and the Shattuck Down Low in Berkeley.

And their song "World People'' was featured in The Debut the independent movie by Filipino American director Gene Cajayon.

In this interview with The Chronicle's Shelah Moody, Cortez and Pangan discuss their origins as a garage band in Daly City, Native Elements' eclectic sound, their spiritual connection to reggae music and the similarities between Filipino and Jamaican cultures.

This podcast includes the songs "World People'' and "Why'' from the band's Native Elements album.

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You can leave us a voice message on our special PINOY POD LISTENER CALL-IN LINE. That number is (415) 777-7782. Some comments may be played on future podcasts.
You can also send us an e-mail at
pinoypod@sfchronicle.com.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Pinoy Pod 20

The Forgotten Amerasians

More than 50,000 Filipino Amerasians fathered by military men stationed at former U.S. military bases in the Philippines are the "forgotten Amerasians." Only about 10 percent have proper documentation to prove their citizenship, but most do not have the money or the support of their fathers to come to the United States.

This week's edition of Pinoy Pod looks at the Philippine Children's Fund of America, which has helped 11 Filipino Amerasians come to the United States since 2005. The Sacramento nonprofit organization provides airfare, housing and job training for a year to help the new immigrants settle in their new home.

Chronicle reporter Cicero A. Estrella speaks with the group's founder, Erik Gomez, and recently-arrived Amerasians Tracy Young, Christopher Smith and Sydney Lee Lucas, whose training in the American way of life includes learning English and the proper use of crosswalks.

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Thursday, November 02, 2006

Pinoy Pod 19

Dan Gonzales pushes his students to the head of the class
Meet Dan Gonzales of the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University. Musicians and other performers tip their hats to him in the liner notes for their CDs and in their bios. Writers, community leaders and educators count on him as a friend, colleague or sounding board. How did one guy manage to influence so many people? Hear what broadcast journalist Malou Nubla and comedian Rex Navarrete said about him to Pinoy Pod, hosted this week by one of Gonzales' former students, Chronicle Deputy Managing Editor Leslie Guevarra.