Pinoy Ako, Pinoy Tayo

Jayson Atienza

2009-11-29T19:03:00.000-08:00

Jayson Atienza, Art Director/Creative Director was born in Batangas City, Philippines and raised in Jersey City, NJ where he began drawing at the young age of 5. Starting out as a design major at the School of Visual Arts, creating ads was where his passion resided. Jayson graduated from The School of Visual Arts in 1999 with a BFA in Advertising. Quickly landing a job at BBDO NY, his talents have resulted in award-winning work for high profile clients such as Guinness, HBO, FedEx, Pepsi, & Financial Times. Jayson’s creative work has been recognized by every major awards show including The One Show, Art Directors Club, D&AD, Cannes, Andy’s, and Clios. Career highlights include winning the Cannes Young Creative Competition, working on a music video for John Lennon, and more recently being selected as an Art Directors Club Young Guns 5 Honoree which honors top talent from around the world under the age of thirty. Jayson is credited for winning BBDO’s first One Show Gold Pencil for a non-traditional media concept created for Guinness in 2001. Jayson is also one of the charter members of BBDO’s Diversity Council. In 2007, Jayson formed a non-profit organization called P.A.I.N.T. (Philippine Artists Inspiring New Talent) dedicated to young Filipinos who want to get into the arts but don’t have a support system to get into the industry.

Official Website: http://www.jaysonatienza.com/

Anna Maria Francesca Perez de Tagle

2009-11-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

The grandaughter of Sylvia La Torre, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, who appeared in the new version of the 1980 musical film “Fame,” proclaimed that she’s a full-blooded Filipino. “I’m very proud to be Filipino,” Anna stressed. “In every interview ... I always say how talented Filipinos are

Anna Maria Francesca Perez de Tagle was born in San Francisco, California on December 23, 1990. Before Anna was discovered, she starred in local productions of 'Cinderella', 'Bugsy Malone' and 'The King and I'. She has guest starred on the hit Disney Channel show Hannah Montana as Ashley Dewitt the best friend of mean-girl Amber Addison. She was, once in 2003, a finalist on Star Search as a Junior Singer Finalist. She sung the song "Somewhere" from the movie West Side Story. She has also lent her voice to an episode of Higglytown Heroes. Anna had also and non-speaking role in the movie Bee Season. She is to play Ella in the new 'DCOM' entitled Camp Rock, which was released June 11, 2008. She is also to be in Bleachers as Amber which is due in 2008. A Forgotten Innocence is also a project of hers. Its is due in 2009 and she plays Alyssa.

Anna Maria lives in Los Angeles with her 2 brothers. She enjoys working with the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, and on her free time, likes to design and make her own clothes, as well as snow ski, dance, sing, play the piano.

Marc Alan Dacoscos

2009-11-01T18:39:00.000-08:00

"The Chairman" in Iron Chef America on Food Network, the fictional nephew of Takeshi Kaga, "Chairman Kaga" of the original Japanese series of Iron Chef programs.

Mark Alan Dacascos was born on February 26, 1964 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is an accomplished martial artist as well as an actor. Mark’s father, Al Dacascos, is a martial arts instructor which afforded Mark an exposure to martial arts at an early age. Mark won several Kung Fu and Karate championships between the ages of 9 and 18.His father, Al Dacascos, is from Hawaii and is a martial arts instructor of Filipino ancestry. His mother, Moriko McVey, is of Irish and Japanese ancestry.

He is married to actress Julie Condra who starred with him in Crying Freeman. Dacascos became an actor after being discovered walking down the street in San Francisco's Chinatown by two men working for director Wayne Wang. Though Dacascos' first scenes ended up on the cutting room floor, he has gone on to establish a film and television career mostly playing martial artists. His breakout role was in the 1993 film Only the Strong, in which he played Louis, a Capoeira master who takes a high school's potential failures and turns their lives around by teaching them the venerable Brazilian martial art. He also performed in three video games: voice acting in Stranglehold, live acting in Wing Commande IV: The Price of Freedom and digitally recreating The Chairman in the new Iron Chef video game for Wii. He was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2002 for his role in Brotherhood of the Wolf, which was a box office success in the United States. He appeared in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed television series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven which was a follow-up to the 1994 film The Crow. He has was also featured in an action film Cradle 2 the Grave, in which he squared off against Jet Li.

Michelle Malkin

2009-10-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

My husband is just one of Michelle's blog follower, they both have the same political opinions. I decided to include her in my blog as one of filipino famous personalities but I was hesitant because when I tried researching about her, I found out that some of our kababayans here in America don't really agree with her views. Anyways, I finally followed my husbands suggestion to include her just for the fact that she is famous.

Michelle Malkin is an Fil-American conservative commentator, blogger and an author. Her weekly syndicated column appears in a number of newspapers and website all over america. She started her newspaper journalism career at the Los Angeles Daily News in 1992, moved to the Seattle Times in 1995, and have been penning nationally syndicated newspaper columns for Creators Syndicate since 1999.

She's a Philly-born, South Jersey-raised alumna of Holy Spirit HS and Oberlin College. Lives with her husband and two children in the Colorado Springs, Col., area.

Michelle, is an author of the following books;

Invasion: How America Still Welcomes Terrorists, Criminals, and Other Foreign Menaces to Our Shores (Regnery 2002)
In Defense of Internment: The Case for ‘Racial Profiling’ in World War II and the War on Terror (Regnery 2004)
Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild (Regnery 2005)

Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies (Regnery 2009)

Charmaine Clamor

2009-10-19T13:47:00.001-07:00

Charmaine Clamor is the first Filipina jazz singer to find success on mainstream American radio. Her album, "Searching for the Soul," has been heard on more than 100 stations around America, and peaked at #1 on the CMJ jazz charts in several markets. Critics and disc jockeys have compared Charmaine's sultry alto voice to legendary vocalists like Nancy Wilson, Sarah Vaughan, and Cassandra Wilson, all the while recognizing her individual style and sound.

Efren Peñaflorida - Vote for CNN Hero

2009-10-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

Update: Efren Peñaflorida won as CNN Hero for 2009.

Click here to watch the video.
CNN Hero for 2009

Original Post:

Candidate for CNN Hero for 2009. Click Here To Vote

Pushcart classes help break gang chain

Story Highlights

Efren Peñaflorida was bullied by gangs in high school in the Philippines. Now his Dynamic Teen Company offers an alternative to gangs through education. Since 1997, some 10,000 members have taught more than 1,500 children in slums.

CAVITE CITY, Philippines (CNN) -- At 16, Rhandolf Fajardo reflects on his former life as a gang member.

"My gang mates were the most influential thing in my life," says Fajardo, who joined a gang when he was in sixth grade. "We were pressured to join."He's not alone. In the Philippines, teenage membership in urban gangs has surged to an estimated 130,000 in the past 10 years, according to the Preda Foundation, a local human rights charity.

"I thought I'd get stuck in that situation and that my life would never improve," recalls Fajardo. "I would probably be in jail right now, most likely a drug addict -- if I hadn't met Efren." Efren Peñaflorida, 28, also was bullied by gangs in high school. Today, he offers Filipino youth an alternative to gang membership through education. "Gang members are groomed in the slums as early as 9 years old," says Peñaflorida. "They are all victims of poverty." For the past 12 years, Peñaflorida and his team of teen volunteers have taught basic reading and writing to children living on the streets. Their main tool: A pushcart classroom.

Stocked with books, pens, tables and chairs, his Dynamic Teen Company recreates a school setting in unconventional locations such as the cemetery and municipal trash dump. Peñaflorida knows firsthand the adversity faced by these children. Born into a poor family, he lived in a shanty near the city dump site. But he says he refused to allow his circumstances to define his future. "Instead of being discouraged, I promised myself that I would pursue education," he recalls. "I will strive hard; I will do my best.

"In high school, Peñaflorida faced a new set of challenges. Gang activity was rampant; they terrorized the student body, vandalized the school and inducted members by forcing them to rape young girls, he says. "I felt the social discrimination. I was afraid to walk down the street." Peñaflorida remembers standing up to a gang leader, refusing to join his gang. That confrontation proved fateful. At 16, he and his friends "got the idea to divert teenagers like us to be productive," he says. He created the Dynamic Teen Company to offer his classmates an outlet to lift up themselves and their community. For Peñaflorida, that meant returning to the slums of his childhood to give kids the education he felt they deserved. "They need education to be successful in life. It's just giving them what others gave to me," he says. Today, children ranging from ages 2 to 14 flock to the pushcart every Saturday to learn reading, writing, arithmetic and English from Peñaflorida and his trained teen volunteers. "Our volunteers serve as an inspiration to other children," he says. The group also runs a hygiene clinic, where children can get a bath and learn how to brush their teeth.

Since 1997, an estimated 10,000 members have helped teach more than 1,500 children living in the slums. The organization supports its efforts by making and selling crafts and collecting items to recycle.

Efren Peñaflorida is Dynamic Teen Company offers Filipino youth an alternative to gangs through education. Through his group, Peñaflorida has successfully mentored former gang members, addicts and dropouts, seeing potential where others see problems. "Before, I really didn't care for my life," says Michael Advincula, who started doing drugs when he was 7. "But then Efren patiently dug me from where I was buried. It was Efren who pushed me to get my life together. "Today, Advincula is a senior in high school and one of the group's volunteers. Peñaflorida hopes to expand the pushcart to other areas, giving more children the chance to learn and stay out of gangs. "I always tell my volunteers that you are the change that you dream and I am the change that I dream. And collectively we are the change that this world needs to be."

Madventures Philippines

2009-10-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

I will be honest with you. When Andrew Zimmern of "Bizarre Foods" and Anthony Bourdain of "No Reservations" went to Philippines, I was happy but at the same time was not really contented of what they have shown in their shows, I feel like there is more about Philippines. Then, last week, Travel Channel advertised that Madventures is going there. I just knew that it's gonna be laughing out loud funny....I was not disappointed.

Riku and Tunna got into backpacking in the 90’s and traveled extensively for years with a very small budget and a very great curiosity. Back in 2002 they started filming in the developing countries on the grassroots level and their first TV-series grew organically out of those days.
The show became a runaway hit and garnered a cult following in Finland with it’s two seasons that covered such varied destinations as Nepal, Indonesia, Japan, Tonga, Malawi, Tibet and Ecuador among others.

Riku Rantala became a fan favorite among the audiences fed up with fake, banal and predictable television with his harsh, take-no-prisoners attitude towards TV reporting.
Tunna Milonoff is the director and the cinematographer of Madventures, whose twisted imagination and curiosity towards everything bizarre that is usually to blame for the often-unorthodox storylines.

I would like to give credit to DailyPalnet, MadventuresEN of youtube for recording these videos.

Palawan

Cebu

Manila

Monique Lhuillier

2009-10-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

She's the daughter of Michel Lhuiller, a successful businessman of mixed French Filipino descent, and Amparito Llamas, a society figure & former model of Spanish-Cebuano Filipino descent. Lhuillier's family is prominent in Philippine society. They own a chain of pawnshops currently operating in more than a hundred cities in the nation.

Lhuillier demonstrated good taste and great imagination at an early age. At 15, she was an outstanding student in Lausanne, Switzerland and hoped to become successful in the fashion industry. Her parents sent her to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), where she met the man she married, Tom Bugbee.

Now, Monique is one of most seek designers in America. Britney Spears wedding gown and Al Gore's daughter's wedding dress are just two of her famous designs but her breakthrough started when she designed her own wedding entourage.

Below is her New York Fall 2008 Runway Show.

DollMaker Noel Cruz

2009-10-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

It was when he re-painted Angelina Jollie that made DollMaker Noel Cruz famous. When it appeared on ebay, people made a buzz and people wanted to know who made the $3,500 worth doll.

Cruz arrived to the U.S. about 20 years ago, lost, broke and — more importantly — without the proper paper work to get a job. He was an undocumented immigrant who had left the Philippines so he could reunite with his wife and young son, who were already in the U.S.

Cruz encountered repainting dolls by accident. He said he was trying to locate a certain doll for his wife, an avid doll collector, when he ran into a repainted doll on Ebay. He decided that he could do better. That's where repainting comes in. Cruz starts with a factory doll, and then removes the painted makeup, hair, and clothes. He studies photos of the actor in question before meticulously repainting the figurine using acrylics.

Collectors have embraced Cruz and consider his work as a piece of art. Cruz has sold "well over 400 custom painted dolls" Below are some of his work.

Chef Cristeta Pasia Comerford

2009-10-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

White House executive chef Cristeta Pasia Comerford was feted at a special weekend reception at the Ambassador’s residence, receiving another award for culinary excellence. She received the Mama Sita Award for Culinary Excellence, which is named after the Reyes matriarch Teresita Reyes.

Comerford was born in the Philippines and grew up in Sampaloc, Manila. She studied at the University of the Philippines but her food technology education was cut short when she had to fly to the US, settling in the Obamas’ hometown of Chicago.

She was recruited in 1995 by White House executive chef Walter Schieb III but got her big break in 2005 when he resigned and First Lady Laura Bush promoted her to executive chef. When the Obamas moved into the White House in January, Michelle asked her to stay on.

Concluding her short acceptance speech, she reminded the audience about the plight of disaster victims back home.“Just keep the Filipinos back home in your thoughts and your prayers because no matter how resilient and strong Filipinos are, they still need our help.”

Father Leo Patalinhug

2009-10-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

It was during Food Network Channel's Throw Down with Bobby Flay, Fajitas Showdown that I have known Father Leo. At first I was doubtful that he is a Filipino even though he's family name sounds very pinoy, I really thought he is Mexican. But my doubt fade away when Father Leo started making jokes. I am a fan of this show and they have invited different races of chefs already so I know that what Father Leo was showing only belong to Filipinos.

Unfortunately, I only recorded part of the show and not in good quality. I tried looking online for that video but I can't find one. Don't get me wrong, the show was a success and here is one of the videos to prove it.People Are Talking: Father Leo Video .

Born in the Philippines and raised in the Baltimore area, Fr. Leo actually developed his love for cooking while attending the seminary at the North American College in Rome. There, he became friendly with several Italian restaurant owners and would often invite them back to the student kitchen to trade cooking secrets. They would teach him about rigatoni and lasagna; he would show them how to make hamburgers and ribs. Today, he is a skilled cook who still enjoys learning how to make new dishes, and loves the process of preparing a meal, as much as he does sharing it with a table full of friends.

Fr. Leo was ordained in 1999 and served as a parish priest for five years at St. John’s Church in Westminster, Maryland. He was often invited to his parishioners’ homes for dinner. To their surprise, he would turn the table and cook for them, using these opportunities to build friendships and engage in relaxed conversations in the kitchen. Those memorable and unstructured times spent making a meal together provided the inspiration for Fr. Leo’s first book, Grace Before Meals: Recipes for Family Life.

Currently, he is a member of the faculty at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary where he directs the Pastoral Field Education Program for future priests.

Before becoming a priest, Fr. Leo pursued degrees in writing and political science with the intention of studying law and journalism at the University of Maryland. He also taught high school speech, debate and drama. Along with his brother, he founded a martial arts school in 1988.

Fr. Leo studied philosophy at Theological College at Catholic University in Washington, DC. He holds advanced theological degrees from the Pontifical Gregorian University and Pontifical Maranium Institute in Rome.

A popular conference speaker with a growing national reputation for his ability to connect with teens and their parents, Fr. Leo has appeared at events across the United States and Canada. His enthusiasm has frequently earned him invitations to return and speak about topics like the theology of beauty, teen spirituality, spiritual combat and praying as a family.

Along with cooking, Fr. Leo’s hobbies include writing, singing and jogging. He especially enjoys traveling, viewing it as an opportunity to broaden his multilingual talents. He holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has won a national competition in Arniz, a form of full-contact stick fighting.

He also enjoys working with students in youth groups and on college campuses, as well as actively participating in prison ministry work.