Maniolas

Last Saturday, August 1st, our paper, Balita Media participated as one of the media partners at the Filipinotown Festival in downtown Los Angeles. The festivity kicked off with a procession and parade around the grounds of the Silver Lake Medical Center, carrying the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary where the all – day event took place. The program was hosted by Benito Miranda and Anjanette Abayari. A Holy Mass was officiated by Father Robert Victoria and welcome remarks were made by Filipinotown Neighborhood Council President, Cecile Ramos and by the Honorable Consul General Leo Herrera Lim who’s always accommodating with his time and with a sense of humor, he said:  “it’s nice to know that we, Pinoys are known for our parties and pagkain,” so let’s start the “party!” An original Filipinotown song was sung by singer/composer Edmund Perlas and the patriotic hymn was sang by Pastor Adolfo Bugayong. The Cambodian Cultural Group were also among those who participated, bringing with them, Cambodian singer, Rithy Hahn. Historic Filipinotown Festival Fashion Show which featured Miss Philippines USA 2015 fashion models, wearing the exquisite fashion designs of: Mul Tayoba, Lou Razon and Carl Andrada (seated from left foreground). Photo: Louie Garcia A Kare-Kare cooking demonstration followed, shown by Chef Louis Esguaras and  sponsored by the vendors of Salad Master along with the popular Pinoy supermarket, Seafood City. As a festival showcasing Filipino culture, a couple of Filipino folk dances were performed by some officers and members of the Filipino American Community of LA (FACLA) and a young artists’ singing competition Read More …

Liza Soberano and Liza Soberano (MNS Photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Good news for LizQuen fans: the popular love team featuring Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano will once again star in a romantic movie. “They pitched it to us already. Basically it’s about a guy from Manila… I don’t know if there are going to be changes pa po… and a girl from the province again,” said Soberano. Gil, for his part, said: “I’m the guy who’s always busy, always working, not used to waiting, and impatient… Siya (Soberano) naman willing to wait habangbuhay dahil nga doon sa boyfriend niya. Then magtatagpo kami sa province.” Soberano went on to share that their film might be shot in Bacolod. “Bacolod was the one they pitched pero baka maiba pa po,” she said. Meanwhile, Soberano and Gil took the opportunity to thank all those who have supported their last two projects—the soap “Forevermore” and the movie “Just the Way You Are.” Aside from a new movie, Soberano will record an album and will hold a concert with fellow local showbiz “It Girls” Kathryn Bernardo, Janella Salvador and Julia Barretto. (MNS)

Bea Alonzo reveals adjusting her way of  living when she moved from condominium to stand-alone home.

By Abner Galino If you live in the US, can you really say that you are proud to be Pinoy? You should be because Filipinos are outstanding immigrants. Well, it may not be something that you can say everyday, but you could say it loud through the most part of the year. By the way, we are not tooting our own horn here. The affirmation about Pinoys being outstanding US immigrants was recently disclosed in an exhaustive report by the Migration Information Source (MIS), the online journal of the Migration Policy Institute. The report was written by Keith Mcnamara and Jeanne Batalova. The report was accompanied by tables and a graph that showed how we have been moving along here in the so-called “land of opportunities.” Interestingly, folklore character Juan Tamad (Lazy John), which has been used by foreign and local rulers to explain away the root of poverty in the Philippines, was nowhere near the description of Filipinos in the US. The MIS noted that Pinoys participated in the labor force at “slightly higher rates than both the overall immigrant and US-born populations.” In 2013, said the report, about 69 percent of Pinoys 16 and above were working in the civilian labor force. This is two percent higher than all immigrants which was determined at 67 percent, posting even higher than the employment rates among native born Americans which was pegged at 63 percent. Filipinos were likely to be employed in management, business, sciences and arts occupations. And of Read More …

RJ Dela Fuente, who was part of Team Lea in The Voice Philippines Season 1, signs a four-year contract with VIVA.