With 2011 coming to a close, The Asian Journal MDWK Magazine joins in the countdown in welcoming 2012 by bringing you our annual top ten MDWK cover stories this year, who were personally handpicked by the Asian Journal editorial board and staff. So with no further ado, here are the top ten personalities who made it to our MDWK Magazine best of 2011 list.
Ted Benito’s ‘Law of Affectivity’
He calls it the “law of affectivity:” when one action, one meeting begets another.
In December, we introduced you to Ted Benito, a well known Fil-Am producer and founder of TDRZ Productions in the Los Angeles area.
Benito has worked with several Fil-Am stars: from Jennifer Paz and Jon Lawrence Rivera, to playwright Jessica Hagedorn.
In A Closer Look at Ted Benito’s Artistic Acumen (published on December 7), Benito delved into how he got started in the entertainment industry and how from that one experience began the so called ball rolling in his career or what he calls the law of affectivity.
He said he first got started producing plays, when he was asked to work on the LA theatre premiere of Songs for A New World in 2003.
From there it was a “baptism by fire.” He dove into the work.
“I had to learn Equity, had to cast an ensemble, work on the sets, costumes, live music, theater, boom-boom-boom.”
The former UCLA graduate, who at that time only had limited experience performing and working on PCNs as an undergrad, didn’t know exactly what he was getting himself into.
But the more he learned about it, the more he loved being around the theatre environment.
The backstage work he did in that play gave him instant credibility and recognition. People began approaching him to help them with their project or fundraiser.
He’s worked on an Assembly for Justice fundraiser at the Sony Studios. He helped produce Hagedorn’s Dogeaters to inaugurate the new space at Search to Involve Pilipino Americans. Dogeaters was then shown at the Kirk Douglas Theatre.
When he looked back into his career and how it started, he explains how the “law of affectivity” related to him.
“So, with collective vision, and collective minds, the Filipino American Library’s Spirit Awards [in 2001] begat Songs for a New World. Then, from the Library’s yearly awards, I got exposed to ABS-CBN’s Raffy Lopez, who was honored at the Filipino American Library’s fundraiser. One thing led to another.”
“Without the Library Gala events done by Fritz Friedman and the Filipino American Library Board, I would not have been asked to do the SIPA dinner and I would not have met Lea Salonga, Lani Misalucha and Paolo Montalban.”
“Without the SIPA dinner, I would not have met Jennifer Paz, and I would not have done Dogeaters. Had Diane Rodriguez [of the Center Theater Group] not watched Dogeaters. Dogeaters would not have been shown and would not have gone to the Kirk Douglas [theatre].”
Benito said his main motivation for producing plays and concerts is to see more Filipinos make it into the mainstream.
“So, for me, my goal is to see Filipinos as members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, to see the Filipinos represented in the governing board of the Grammy’s, there are hardly any Filipinos out there nominated for Ovation Awards, Tony Awards and I am quite happy to see some Filipinos nominated for the Emmy’s and happy for our first Oscar-awardee, Stephen Dypiangco.”
Benito said he is currently working on a Jazzmopolitan concert at the Ford Amphitheater in August of 2012.
(Joseph Pimentel/AJPress)
Patricia Magdalena Laurel: Patriotism is in her blood
Patricia Magdalena Laurel proves the proverb that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Laurel, featured on the Asian Journal MDWK Magazine in June, is a children’s fiction writer and publisher. She’s also famously known as Dr. Jose Rizal’s, the Philippines hero and patriot, great grand niece.
You can call it curiosity or maybe instinct is what led Laurel to find out about her genealogy.
She did not know her genetic ties with the Philippine’s revered patriot until she became a teenager.
Rizal’s execution by the Spanish administration during the tail end of the 19th century was taboo for discussion in her family.
She related that she and her siblings used to gaze at the statue of the man with a long overcoat in the plaza of Calamba, Laguna, Rizal’s hometown. But she didn’t know that she is related to the national hero. When she found out, she was sixteen years old and was studying in Germany. The topic of Rizal’s execution was never discussed with them by their mother, a granddaughter of Maria, Jose Rizal’s sibling and the sixth child among the eleven children of Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado and Teodora Morales Alonso Realonda.
“The story of his execution was so sad that his siblings and their descendants never talked about Rizal,” Laurel told the Asian Journal. That explains why she had learned about her relationship to Rizal at a later age.
“I was bewildered when I learned the first time,” she revealed. “It was something that our family never really discussed because it would hurt too much to talk about their brother, who was executed.”
She was dumbfounded when she finally learned.
“It is not very often that you find that you are related to Jose Rizal,” she said. “I knew my great grandma was a Rizal, but I didn’t know that she had a brother.”
A forensics professor from the University of the Philippines recently visited Laurel and the other women descendants of Maria Rizal, and took DNA samples of each to enable them to track a singular trait which binds them. The project is being undertaken in collaboration with New York University.
Laurel, who grew up in Germany, felt a little robbed of her cultural identity growing up not knowing who she was and where she came from.
Laurel hopes to change that for the next generation. Her goal is to teach Filipino-American kids about Filipino traditions and culture through her magazine Art Insite (www.artinsitemagazine.com)
“I’m a writer and a storyteller,” she said. “I am writing adult fiction geared towards Fil-Ams and Filipino kids because they are losing sight of their identity here and there. It’s really sad...
“Look at your children; look at them closely; they are full of hope, innocence and uncertainty, not knowing what the future will bring. Don’t let them lose sight of their cultural identity. Don’t forget where you come from, and where they come from. Teach them to respect our traditions.”
(Joseph Pimentel/AJPress)
Bruno Mars: A Universal Donor
FILIPINO-American Grammy Award winner Bruno Mars is one of the hottest stars in pop music today. The singer-songwriter-producer is the first male act in over 13 years to take his first two charting radio singles as a lead artist to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. In fact, Bruno is the biggest act to come out of Hawaii in almost 40 years, according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser, which featured him in its cover last year.
The New York Times called him “one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop, with a light, soul-influenced voice that’s an easy fit in a range of styles, a universal donor.”
Born Peter Gene Hernandez in Honolulu, Hawaii, on October 8, 1985, Bruno comes from a musical family. His Filipina mother, Bernadette “Bernie” Hernandez, is a very good vocalist while his Puerto Rican father Pete is “an incredible percussionist” who has a band.
When Asian Journal featured Bruno at the beginning of 2011, he was ecstatic, having just been nominated for 7 Grammys for the 2011 February award show for his work as a recording artist, songwriter and record producer.
His song, Grenade, was at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 and stayed there for some time. He wrote on his website before 2011, “Grenade is the no. 1 song in the country. What a way to end my year! Thank you all for giving me the greatest year of my life.”
Amazingly, 2011 has been an equally great year for Bruno. His songs continued to be on the top best selling charts and have scored nominations and several awards. He was also able to perform in his mother’s homeland, the Philippines. Declaring himself “proudly Filipino”, Bruno captivated the hearts of millions of Pinoys when he had his Doo-Wops & Hooligans tour in Cebu and Manila last April. Bruno also collaborated with Charice for her single Before It Explodes.
A few weeks ago, when the Grammy nominations were announced, Bruno once more led the pack with six Grammy nominations in all the top three categories—record, album and song of the year. He was nominated for song and record of the year for Grenade, album for Doo-Wops & Hooligans, and best pop solo performance, among other bids.
At the top of the world at such a young age, Bruno says, “This is just the beginning for me, and I know that. But I have so much more to go and so much more to show.”
(Cynthia De Castro/AJPress)
Fritz Friedman: Trusting his instincts
He is his own best friend. When it comes to making a decision, no matter how crucial it may be, there’s only one person Fritz Friedman, a senior vice president at Sony Pictures, listens to—himself.
Don’t take what he says in the wrong way. Friedman is not a narcissist, far from it actually. Friedman is a self-assured, caring but relentless leader inside the board room and outside. And as the piece explores, there’s no greater person in the Filipino American community who has helped the community’s cause than Fritz Friedman.
“I trust my instincts. I am fearless, I am visceral. I continue to be visceral. I am not a pragmatist, I am not practical. I do think big. I don’t see why we should not do it. I don’t see why we should not be different. That is what I love about myself,” said Friedman.
Friedman was featured on the Asian Journal MDWK Magazine, titled Fritz Friedman: The Social Capital Builder with a Golden Heart, in July.
Friedman, a University of Pennsylvania graduate, has been working with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Worldwide Acquisitions for the past 30 years. His rank and title as Senior Vice President for Worldwide Publicity gives him a lot of clout and when it came to the plight of Filipino World War II veterans, he injected the community’s “spark” when the movement was at a low point.
“Our grandfathers fought bravely beside American soldiers during WWII. Why are they treated like they are invisible and insignificant? They are war heroes. That is not right. These civil wrongs have to be made right,” he said.
In 2003, Friedman worked with key Hollywood personalities of Filipino-American heritage: Tia Carrere, Lou Diamond Phillips, Rob Schneider, and Dean Devlin, to create a video, which became a cornerstone in educating members of the House of Congress about the plight of Filipino-American veterans.
He’s also credited with spearheading the creation of the Filipino American Library’s Spirit Awards and dinner benefit. It was aptly called the Spirit Awards because “the depth of the Filipino’s character is seen through the soul.”
Friedman has also raised funds for HIV/AIDS awareness. And when Asian American artists needed a support organization, he founded the Coalition for Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) with Wendy Fong and Chris Lee. These organizations are still running strong.
Friedman, not many people know, also personally accompanied Travis Payne, Michael Jackson’s choreographer, to work with 1,250 Cebu inmates, through Ernest Escaler’s production company.
The “dancing prisoners in the Philippines” became a very touching tribute to Michael Jackson and went viral on Youtube with over 50 million views.
Friedman’s accomplishment in his career speaks for itself. But when you ask him what his defining moment in his life, he’ll say his first job as an usher at Carnegie Hall.
(Joseph Pimentel/AJPress)
Shamcey Supsup: From Tomboy to Beauty Queen
FOR 25-year-old Shamcey Supsup becoming the Philippines candidate in the 2011 Miss Universe Pageant seemed out of place for her.
This was after all a young lady who admitted to growing up as a tomboy with her mother often teasing her by asking, “Are you a boy or a girl?”
“Pareho kami ni Papa,” she would candidly say.
As the years went by, Supsup became accustomed to wearing “just jeans, rubber shoes and my hair always in a ponytail.”
Now, you’ll be hard pressed to find her in anything but dressed up like a barbie in heels and make up.
That’s the life of a celebrity especially after finishing third runner-up in the Miss Universe contest in Sao Paolo, Brazil among 89 young women from around the world.
Supsup shared her life before and after the pageant in a September Midweek issue in the Asian Journal.
A native of General Santos City, Supsup received a Bachelor of Science in Architecture at the University of the Philippines—Diliman in 2008, as Magna Cum Laude of her class.
She entered the Miss Universe competition as a favorite, placing in several top 5 lists from former Miss Universe winners.
As the reigning Binibining Pilipinas 2011, Supsup said she will never forget her experience representing her country in Miss Universe.
She was in awe when she was called to be in the top 16. She was even more surprised when she made it to the top 5.
Despite not bagging the crown, Supsup said she hopes to use her new found fame to influence kids to study harder and to be obedient to their parents.
She wants to work on helping provide the basic needs of children, like food, shelter and education.
“It gave me inspiration to tell them that education is to be valued. Through education we can change our lives. We may not be rich and famous, but we can reach our dreams and know what our possibilities are,” she said.
And though she’s become a household name in the Philippines because of her strong finish in the Miss Universe pageant, she says she’s still the same girl she was growing up.
“Apart from faith, family and friends, to keep me grounded, I told my friends that my high heels and clothes may change but please, please tell me if I have changed and be the one to tell me I have changed. I will not change myself just to be famous, for what makes me who I am are my values, principles, my family, my friends,” she said.
(Joseph Pimentel/AJPress)
Gina Lopez: Bringing Pasig River back to life
Regina “Gina” Paz Lopez, Managing Director of ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI), has taken on a mission to instill pride in Filipinos for their heritage and their homeland by creating a better Philippines. This mission has motivated Gina to take on one gargantuan task after another—in the service of the Filipino.
Through AFI’s projects such as Bantay Bata and Bantay Kalikasan, Gina has been successful in generating support from various sectors. Bantay Bata, for the past ten years, has been instrumental in helping abused children, while Bantay Kalikasan has been successful in the past years in environmental projects like rehabilitating the La Mesa Watershed.
Because of her successful projects, Gina was asked by the Philippine government to take on the seemingly impossible task of cleaning up the Pasig River in 2008.
Gina led a multi-sector group to launch Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig—a massive clean-up and rehabilitation campaign to rescue the ailing Pasig River. After less than 2 years, Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig has more than a lot to show for its work than all the other past projects for the river. Several esteros have been cleaned and transformed into unclogged creeks with green plants and flora growing along its sides.
Gina shared, “what we have achieved as a confluence of effort, in a span of just almost two years, is truly remarkable. All we needed to do was look back and remind ourselves of what we’ve lost. We didn’t just forget the river, we also forgot to believe in ourselves, that together, the Filipino people can work miracles. Where once there was hopelessness, together we gave back hope. Where once there was despair, together we dreamed again. A river that once was dead, together we dare bring it back to life once more.”
As if cleaning up the Pasig River was not enough work, Gina has also embraced another project-enhancing and conserving the ecotourism sites of Palawan. Under AFI’s Bantay Kalikasan, Gina has been actively working to protect Palawan’s biodiversity from excessive rates of extinction. After three years, Bantay Kalikasan has managed to get several communities in Palawan out of poverty and into prosperity.
Believing that no problem is unsolvable, Gina is not one to be daunted by any task. Making dreams come true for the Filipino people is Gina’s passion. “I get a kick out of helping people,” she said.
(Cynthia De Castro/AJPress)
Mona Pasquil: A life of excellence
MONA Pasquil has surely come a long, long way from the little girl who was constantly bullied in elementary school for her brown color. Instead of becoming intimidated and insecure about being Filipino in America, Mona Pasquil overcame the tough challenges and passionately devoted her life to excellence, as she rose to the top of her profession.
She has soared to the second highest office in California government, serving as Interim Lieutenant Governor for parts of 2009 and 2010. On November 3, 2009, then California Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi was elected to the United States House of Representatives representing California’s 10th congressional district, leaving the office of lieutenant governor vacant. On November 4, 2009, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Mona Pasquil, Garamendi’s Chief of Staff, as acting lieutenant governor.
With that appointment, Mona Pasquil made history in California’s state government. She marked several firsts for the position: she became California’s first Asian lieutenant governor; its first Filipino lieutenant governor; its first female lieutenant governor; and the first California acting lieutenant governor not to succeed to the position from the President pro tempore of the California State Senate of the California State Senate.
Then, early this year, Gov. Jerry Brown entrusted Mona with the job of Appointments Secretary, overseeing whom he appoints to fill California’s vast bureaucracy.
For nearly three decades now, Mona has served as a senior advisor and strategist in numerous state and federal government offices, political campaigns and private companies. With a hands-on, open-door, can-do leadership style, she has lent her innovative leadership to presidential, gubernatorial, and local campaigns across the country.
“I am a product of your dreams,” said Mona during a dinner in her honor organized by Filipino-Americans. “I say this all the time. We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, on the shoulders of those who sacrificed, who have left their family to come to this country for a dream, for hope. We stand on the shoulders of those who endured more than what we talk about today. So, know your story. Know your story,” she stressed.
(Cynthia De Castro/AJPress)
Bishop Oscar Solis: A holy man of many firsts
TWO thousand Catholics filled up Our Lady of Angels Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles in 2004 for the ordination of Rev. Oscar Solis as the first Filipino bishop in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Born in San Jose, Nueva Ecija in the Philippines, Bishop Solis provides dynamic leadership to more than 4 million multi-cultural Catholics in Los Angeles.
Under his leadership, Bishop Oscar Solis convened the first ever National Assembly of Filipino Priests in USA at the Westin Hotel from November 8 to 11, 2011.
Bishop Solis entered the Maria Assumpta minor seminary in Cabanatuan at age 11. On his fifth year in high school, he moved to Christ the King Seminary in Quezon City, and obtained his Associate in Arts degree. He went to college at Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay, earning a Bachelor’s of Arts in Philosophy. He went to the University of Santo Tomas (UST), where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sacred Theology (cum laude), and his MA in Oriental Religions.
He was ordained as a deacon in 1978, and as a priest on April 28, 1979.
During a sabbatical leave to visit some relatives in America, he was offered to be an associate pastor of St. Rocco’s Church in Union City, New Jersey. He served there for four years. He then served several other churches in different parts of the US.
He served for five years as Vicar for Ethnic Ministry, three years as Director for the Office of Justice and Peace and four years as the Archdiocesan Liaison for Justice for Immigrants Campaign. He is the Regional Bishop for the San Pedro Pastoral Region since Sept. 2009.
Talking about his work, Bishop Solis says, “We see ourselves as servants, as there is only one Master. The talents we utilize all came from God. We are not the Master Builder. We are just the workers.”
(Cynthia De Castro/AJPress)
Sr. Mary John Mananzan, OSB: Truly inspiring
OVERWHELMED. That’s how Sister Mary John Mananzan felt when she was informed that she had been named one of the top 100 inspiring people in the world, alongside US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
A Missionary Benedictine sister, Sr. Mary John Mananzan is one of the extraordinary people who were honored on the international list that has been put out by Women Deliver, the leading global advocate fighting for women’s rights and maternal health.
Sr. Mary is the Prioress at St. Scholastica’s Priory and Founder and Executive Director of the Institute of Women’s Studies at St. Scholastica’s College.
According to Women Deliver, Mananzan delivers for women in the following ways: As a Missionary Benedictine sister, Mananzan has led the way in integrating feminist activism into Catholic faith. She was a pioneer in the field of women’s studies, founding the program at St. Scholastica’s College in Manila, one of the Philippine’s most prestigious and progressive colleges for women. She has been instrumental in developing a feminist and a third-world theology within the Catholic Church, criticizing the Church for being hierarchical and male-dominated.
In her writing, she has highlighted the particular oppression of third world women through violence and gender discrimination. In her groundbreaking career, Mananzan has worked to empower women and to combat injustice and oppression wherever she finds it—whether within the political system, or at the hands of the church. She has led the way in integrating feminist activism into the Catholic faith and pioneered in the field of women’s studies by founding the program at St. Scholastica’s College in Manila.
Mary John’s involvement in political militancy gradually evolved into a passion for the struggle of women against gender oppression, including oppression committed within the institutional church. She spearheaded the social and women’s orientation in St. Scholastica’s College. She founded the Institute of Women’s Studies, Life-Long Learning and Wellness Center, Women and Ecology Wholeness Farm. She also established the Benedictine Volunteer Program, and initiated the founding of the Consortium of Women’s Colleges (CWC). Mananzan also co-founded various organizations like, Institute of Women’s Studies, GABRIELA, Women’s Crisis Center, Citizens Alliance for Consumer Protection (CACP), Socio Pastoral Institute (SPI), Center for Women’s Resources (CWR), Institute of Religion and Culture (IRC) and the Women Historians of the Philippines.
A very articulate and dynamic speaker, Mananzan has been to at least 40 countries as facilitator and lecturer on the following topics: The Woman Question, Woman and Religion, Feminist Theology, Education for Transformation, Consumer Protection, Asian Religion and Spirituality, Globalization and Ecofeminism.
Mananzan said that the empowerment of a woman could not be complete without the spiritual aspect. “In empowering a woman spiritually, she must develop self-esteem in the sense that she is created in the image and likeness of God.”
With her life and her words, Sister Mary John Mananzan has truly shown how an empowered woman can live to her best potential.
(Cynthia De Castro/AJPress)
Hailee Steinfeld’s true gift in True Grit
There’s a reason why Hailee Steinfeld beat out more than 15,000 young girls for lead role of Mattie Ross in the Coen Brothers’ Western adaptation of True Grit.
She’s just that good.
The 14-year-old Steinfeld, who is part-Filipino (her maternal grandfather was Filipino), was one of the first persons featured this year in the Asian Journal MDWK Magazine.
Several Hollywood pundits and publications have lauded her performance as the Mattie Ross, a scorned young woman out for revenge.
In that kind of movie with so many big names attached to it, it’s easy to get lost amongst acclaimed heavyweight actors like Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper but Steinfeld held more than her own in the movie True Grit. Critics took notice.
“Hailee Steinfeld easily dominates the Coens’ faithful adaptation of the Charles Portis novel… She delivers the rotund dialogue as if it were the easiest vernacular, stares down bad guys, wins hearts. That’s a true gift,” wrote Time Magazine critic Richard Corliss, who listed Steinfeld’s performance as one of his Top 10 of the year.
Steinfeld received 27 nominations from film and critic organizations around the world. Among them she received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 83rd Academy Awards, Best Actress nomination for the 2011 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTAs) and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for best supporting actress.
Despite all the awards and accolades, Steinfeld just sees herself as a young teenager.
“I’m a normal girl. I get in trouble for texting too much and using the computer too late—all kinds of stuff like that,” Steinfeld recently told People at the 16th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.
Though she said in several interviews that winning the role of Mattie felt like “winning the lottery”, she proved that it was more than just luck that got her there.
(Joseph Pimentel/AJPress)
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
