Filipino Community & Lifestyle News
Ah, Boxing Day—it’s that glorious day after Christmas when Canadians unleash their inner bargain-hunters and malls transform into packed arenas of discount-hounds searching for the best deals. But where did this peculiar holiday come from, and does it hold any relevance for the Filipino community in Canada? Let’s look at the history, find connections, and […]
What’s a Filipino Christmas without Monito Monita? This gift exchange game is a holiday favourite in the Philippines, but why not put a fun Canadian spin for your friends and family? Monito Monita is the Filipino version of Secret Santa, but it comes with a unique twist that reflects the warmth and playfulness of Filipino […]
What gift do you buy that bookworm tita who already has copies of the latest James Patterson, John Grisham or Stephen King books? Or that hard-to-please, unique-flavour-seeking, food-snob friend of yours? Grab a copy (if you can) of these Top 3 Pinoy books to discover this Christmas—they are all different genres ranging from food essays, […]
It’s the ultimate way to get noticed: craft a crown made from rare pearls and set it on top of the winner’s head of the world’s—the universe, rather—most prestigious beauty contest, the Miss Universe pageant. Held in Mexico last November, the pageant organizers unveiled the new Jewelmer crown: a Philippine-made stunner, with 23 large, rare-hued […]
From being featured on Google Doodle on July 31, 2020, painting an entire bridge in Singapore, to having a 100-piece exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), Pinay artist Pacita Abad has (almost) done it all. Abad is currently being celebrated at the AGO in Toronto, one of Canada’s best museums, from October 9 to […]
Maple Leaf Dreams is a classic Filipino-Canadian immigrant movie that will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions as it chronicles the journey of a young couple immigrating from the Philippines to Canada. Filipinos in Canada will surely resonate with Macky and Molly’s story (played by LA Santos and Kira Balinger)—a young couple struggling with […]
If you think you can knock door to door in the Philippines wearing your Halloween costume and expect treats, well, you’re in for tricks instead. (You may get a handful of rice.) Most Filipinos can’t afford to give out candy, or even buy costumes to wear. And forget about carving pumpkins, either. We have kalabasa […]
Picture this: a bahay kubo sits in the middle of lush, forest-like greenery somewhere in the northern province of the Philippines. Crickets chirp in the background as a tanned Filipino man wanders in, sharp bolo by his side, ready to clear his way through the dense shrubbery. He pauses occasionally, captioning the name of the […]
What does a Halloween-born Pinay author choose to write about for her debut novel? Haunted houses, of course. In “Celestina’s House”, Filipina author Clarissa Trinidad Gonzalez centres her story on a woman living in a house possessed by the spirit of her ghostly aunt. For the past few weeks, Gonzalez has been in demand as […]
It’s pretty obvious from the opening scene of “A Very Good Girl” that this isn’t your ordinary Pinoy movie. Kathryn Bernardo glides into an art gallery auction in a white, silky, robe-like gown with feather boa accents, black hair glistening, skin glowing, not a pore showing even in extreme close-up. She looks every inch like […]