SUMMER IS ALMOST OVER

It really hasn't been much of a summer - almost gone and I am still waiting for some warm weather.
Loved the USTA Choir presentation - so beautiful and so talented.  That was my first time hearing them in concert and I would definitely do it again.

In July we also celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the UPAA.  My husband and I were honored to meet the UP's President and his wife at a special brunch in his honor.  Jojo Ramos is a dear classmate of his wife. 

UP President Alfredo E. Pascual and his wife

UPAA Alumni

He gave a wonderful presentation at the dinner dance that evening which made his trip to the United States even more memorable.
At a recent PCCCF meeting we were given a first hand video report on how all the funds that we have sent to the Philippines are being utilized.  The presentations by Jo Ann Kyle from ABS CBN and by Renee Mondano were well done.  Both of these young ladies brought to the fore front the need to continue to help those that were affected by Typhoon Haiyan.

 And now on to my favorite part of the end of summer.  The PCCCF Golf Tournament.  I don't golf - which brings to mind my disastrous bout of golfing in college - I took a course - thought it would be an easy way to get a few credits in my senior year.  Well, we only had to golf 72 holes.  I left it until the final day thinking "how hard could this be?"  By the end of that day I was throwing the golf club just to get done with the whole thing.  OK, so why is it my favorite thing???  I love riding around in the golf cart taking pictures of all the foursomes - Ironwood Golf Course in Sussex is beautiful and on a perfect day it is gorgeous.  Great fundraiser - lots of fun to watch all the golfers enjoying themselves -

Manolo Mallilin -Happy Golfers - Raph & Gerry Ramos

MUSIC GIVES A SOUL.....

"Music gives a soul to the universe, 

wings to the mind,

flight tot he imagination and life to everything."    

Plato

Photo courtesy of Ed Escall

BUSY, BUSY

It has been an extremely busy time within the Filipino community.  One could be busy all the time with the amount of activities that have been occuring lately.  The highlight for me was the Munting Tinigs presentation at the closing breakfast for the MacArthur Memorial Week celebration.  After a lot of adult presentations their performance was so refreshing.  I just love watching all of them perform.  I am hoping that this choir continues to progress and that the children stay involved in this great opportunity to grow as performers and representatives of our Filipino community.  I can't say enough about all of the adults that make this happen.  Thank you Jojo, Dr. Singson, Manika, Noni and Amy for giving of your time to highlight these children.

I also loved seeing the Filipino dance groups perform at the Calatrava.  I kept thinking that wished the staging was better so that the guests in the back of the hall could have seen it better.  

Then there was a beautiful rendition of America the Beautiful by Sheila Jackson.  I keep forgetting that she is a multi talented lady and am reminded of that each time she takes the mike.  What a beautiful voice - I cried during her presentation.

Let's see, MacArthur week, picnics, the UPAA exhibits - keep it coming.  I keep learning more and more about our traditions and history the more I take the time to attend these events.  My latest learning experience, via Gerry Ramos, was finding out why the barong was made with the see through material - because the Spanish wanted to make sure the men weren't carrying weapons.   He also shared that the Filipino's then took the opportunity to embellish them with beautiful embroidery.  I always look at them and thing, aren't they scratchy???

UPAA is celebrating 40 years - what a wonderful exhibit they displayed at Zablocki.  Interesting, attractive, I loved it all.  Congrats UPAA.

Our future....singing at the UPAA Opening Event

Now that summer has finally arrived - well, so to speak - we will see more picnics, more golf outings and there is also the 2nd Zablock Health Fair on August 23rd.  At the recent FAAWIS picnic I caught some kids having a good time reading and painting.

Enjoy your summer and take in some more of the activities that are being held throughout the Filipino community.

THOUGHTS ON VOLUNTEERISM

I am thinking that service to the community is a way of life for many people.  The reason I say that is because our dear Jojo Ramos and Letty Cueto have added another project to their already full list of things that they do for our Filipino community.  This new project, New Threads, consists of distributing new clothing to those people in need in our community. 
A group of us went to pick up the items, and spent the morning cutting off the price tags and labels.  The first distirbution occured during a recent Free Medical Clinic and was met with appreciation.  One man even remarked that it was "his first new shirt in two years".  Imagine, so many things that we take for granted in this world.

How does one learn service???  Service has always been a part of my life.  I didn't learn it from my parents, but that got me thinking about how and when did being of use to the members of my school & community become a priority. Studies show that when students actively participate in service to their communities, they gain self-confidence, develop a sense of social responsibility, gain problem-solving skills, and learn to work effectively in team settings.  All that being said, it just makes me feel good and makes me feel involved.  If I have the time, I contribute, if I am backed up with things on a list I can also kindly say "no, not this time".  That is the great thing about being a volunteer or giving back, you did it on your own schedule.
I asked Jojo Ramos the same question - about service.  For her it was simple.  It was the need to help do something worthwhile.  When she was a child growing up in the Philippines her Great Aunt was their 1st Lady.  Jojo remembers watching her work on her projects, like giving gift bags to the children at Christmas time or when there was a rice shortage in the islands she remembers viewing her Great Aunt distribute that rice to the long line of those in need.  It opened her eyes.  She felt like the seed was planted early, to give back, and when she entered college became actively involved when her church choir would perform their own service projects.
I truly believe all of us have something special to offer.  Many can't afford to contribute monetarily, but we sure can give of our time.  I would love to hear your stories of how you became involved - time to share people.

New Threads leaders, Letty Cueto & Jojo Ramos with Activities Officer, Bob Prill at first clothing distribution.

10,000 KWENTOS NEEDS YOUR HELP

I am a native Chicagoan where my father was very active in the Rizal Center.  It is no wonder that I love the city and the fact that they have a very active Filipino community.  The Chicago community currently is enlisting help with their 10,000 KWENTOS project.  
The Chicago efforts started me thinking about what artifacts and stories (kwentos) we can generate from our own center.  Anybody have any stories that they want to share???  I know I have my favorite that was shared with a friend and I am going to ask permission from him before I share it with all of you.
Hope you'll take the time to support the KWENTOS project.

We have reached our initial goal, but still need your help in attaining our ultimate goal to get 10,000 signatures for 10,000 kwentos. Please encourage family members and friends to sign this petition. Thank you everyone for your help and support. Let's continue to be proud of our rich heritage and history. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas, mabuhay tayong lahat!

Petition by Filipino American community in Chicago

The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago is initiating a digital project called 10,000 Kwentos. Under the banner of an innovative concept called co-curation, this project will allow Filipinos to document and assist in the stewardship of their vast Philippine cultural collection at the Field Museum, which is currently in storage.  The collection includes 10,000 artifacts made and used by native peoples of the major islands of Luzon, Mindoro, Mindanao, Palawan, and Sulu. Each piece has a story, or kwento, to tell and we need to preserve these stories to share them with future generations.  The Field strongly believes communities must be part of the conversation around their heritage, as they were users and producers of these material objects in the past and may continue to use them today. The Filipino American community is the first to be invited by the Field Museum to showcase co-curation.

The Field Museum and members of Chicago's Filipino American community have an opportunity to digitally photograph approximately 8,000 artifacts from the Field's Philippine Anthropology collection and upload the images onto a custom web portal to allow the public to comment on collection items. In order to take advantage of this opportunity, we need you to show us your support for this project.  

Visit the petition website.

MAC ARTHUR BOOK RELEASE AT MARQUETTE LAW SCHOOL

I am not a history buff but the excitement and involvement in the Filipino community for the upcoming MacArthur Memorial Week in June has captivated me.  My husband and I, along with tons of members of the Filipino community attended the recent book release and launch of the programs that will be presented during the 5 day event.

Wow - look at all of the members of our community that came out to support the launch.

35 years ago the MacArthur statue was dedicated in Milwaukee's MacArthur Square.  This June it will be rededicated and moved to Veterans Park near the War Memorial in a ceremony that will include our own Munting Tinig Choir.  (I have found that each time the kids sing it brings tears to my eyes as I see the pride in their parent and grandparents faces.  Flashback to seeing my granddaughter in her first performance - loved it and yes, tears did form.)  Cream Pepito has played an important part in this event serving as the Filipino American Community Liaison.  The Philippine Vice Consul from Chicago was also present at the event.  I am hoping we will see the Filipino community come out to support the activities during the week of June 3rd-7th.

Vice Consul, Ricarte Abejuela III and his wife.

BOWLING FUN

How in the world can one become sore from bowling???  This is what I asked myself after the recent FAAWIS Bowling Tournament held at JB's on 27th in support of our Free Medical Clinic.  But as I hobbled around I kept telling myself how much fun everyone was having and that our clinic benefitted by the great attendance.

Dr. Violeta Singson accepts the $500 check from FAAWIS in support of the Free Medical Clinic
Ed Catacutan, Dr. Violeta Singson, Sol Yoder, Joyce Coury

I think what I liked best about the event is that it was for the young and the old and it was just fun to watch.  Congrats go out to the organizers as they did a good job.

The FAAWIS Ninette Santos Youth Service Award was presented to Francisco "Kiko" Ramos and he also was presented with the FAAWIS Scholarship.  Kiko took the time to read his essay which was one of the judging points for his award.

FAAWIS President ,Joyce Coury, Ferdinand Ramos, Kiko, Gloria Ramos and Isabel Piana.

THE FIRST BLOG

Welcome to PINOY CHATTER.  This is the launch of what we hope will be a fun way to share what is happening at the Philippine Civic & Cultural Center of Wisconsin.

First the PCCCF asked for volunteers to take on this task and it was picked up by Linda Ravelo and I.  That is the beauty of retirement - you can pick and chose the activities that you want to pursue and I guess Linda and I are going to see if this is something that all of you will enjoy and if we have the ability to pull it off.   Here goes....

If you haven't tried the cooking classes you are missing something.  I am not a cook - my father was the chef in our family and I guess I always thought that that was how it was in every family.  Imagine my surprise when I married and found out that it was one of the major tasks of a wife and mother.   So, these classes interest me because you can watch gourmet cooks and how they achieve their scrumptious  dishes.  
Our chefs are Dr. Henry Ravelo and Dr. Letty Cueto - the events are fun, no pressure and you even get to taste the end product.  Our last session featured shrimp in lobster sauce - again you will see that I need quite a bit of education - I love shrimp, I love lobster and I thought this is perfect for me - well, the lobster sauce I found out doesn't really have lobster as an ingredient.  It is just the name that they have given this sauce.
My star rating for this meal was ***** - for those of you that know me, this is the highest compliment I can give you Henry. 

If you frequent Zablocki you will now see that Jojo Ramos has started our children's library.  It is her dream to have children not only feel comfortable with taking the time to read in the Parcon room, but once they are finished with their book, to bring it back and exchange it for another one.    Potawatomi recently approved a grant for $10,000 for the PCCCF Literacy Program.  We can't wait to see what Jojo will create that will inspire our youth.

Our first event was the Literacy Workshop which was attended by close to 40 children.  The children were able to select a brand new book that they could take home.  The day also included crafts, singing, games and entertainment all centering around the "Frozen" theme that seems to be so popular with the kids these days.  

Raphael & Carisse Ramos (aka Hans & Elsa) pose for pics.

 

So, you can see that our center hosts a variety of events.  It has also been a great place to celebrate life events like the retirement of Zen Edralin after 49 years in the nursing profession.  Zen had been involved in so many different aspects of the Filipino community and friends and coworkers from each of these important parts of her life came together to let her know she was appreciated. 

Well that about does it for this posting.  I am off to the FAAWIS Bowling event in support of the FMC.  Let me know what you think about our blog.  Linda and I will be collaborating on more thoughts - pictures - happenings.  Hope you enjoyed the chatter and will a regular visitor.