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Cassie making waves with hit single "Me & U"
Cassandra Ventura, better known as Cassie, is a 19-year-old half-Pinay, half 
African-American model who has recently exploded onto the music scene with her single "Me & U."
Cassie was born in 1986 in New London, Connecticut. She attended the preparatory Williams School on the Connecticut College campus in New London, graduating in 2004. Cassie is best known for her single "Me & U," which is ascending the Billboard charts. She is of African American (mother) and Filipino (father) descent.
Cassandra Ventura became a recording artist unexpectedly. Shortly after being introduced to music producer, Ryan Leslie, her mother requested that Cassie record a song for her as a birthday gift. Cassie approached Ryan about producing the song, and Ryan put together a duet for them called "Kiss Me". 
As it turned out, Cassie's mother wasn't the only one who loved the song. Ryan played "Kiss Me" for Tommy Mottola, former chairman of Sony, and the record mogul behind the careers of Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, and most notably Mariah Carey. He offered Cassie a management deal, and weeks later she struck a deal with Ryan to produce her debut album. Cassie signed with Sean Combs's record label Bad Boy Recordings, after he heard her track "Me & U" played in a club.
Before the launch of her music career, Cassie was a model for the Wilhelmina modelling agency, where she worked with Adidas, Complex magazine and Abercrombie & Fitch campaigns among others. As early in her modeling career as 2002 Cassie modelled for local department stores, the Delia's fashion catalogue and the popular magazine Seventeen.
Me & U
In the months that followed, Cassie was invited on a promo tour to Germany for "Me & U", which had been leaked onto the internet and became a club hit. It quickly received nationwide attention from radio in the United States and was ranked #26 on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart. It also debuted at number 49 on the Pop 100 Airplay chart. In May 2006, shortly after the single's release on the iTunes music service, "Me & U" rose and peaked at the #3 position on the iTunes Top 100 Downloaded Singles Chart, helping the single to rise to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. ("SOS" by Rihanna kept it from #5 and thus from top five status) An interesting part of this success is the single rose to #6 with no official video released, a key part of promotion in today's music industry. As of June 29th, Me & U has charted at #6 for the second time, held off from top 5 status by Gnarles Barkley's "Crazy." Cassie's next single, "Long Way 2 Go", is 
slated for a mid-July release. Other songs that have been leaked include "Can't Do It Without U" and "Just One Nite".
Her single "Me & U" has spawned three official urban remixes, the "YoungBlaze Remix" produced by and featuring rapper YoungBlaze, the "Ryan Leslie" produced remix, and the more recent "Bad Boy Remix" featuring Diddy and rapper Yung Joc. Un-official remixes of "Me & U" can be found on the internet with versions such as featuring Ray J and R. Kelly. "Me & U" also has two videos - the older, lower budget video featured Cassie driving to a club, meeting a man, and taking him to an apartment. His face is not visible throughout, as it is filmed so the viewer is "in his shoes." It is extremely suggestive and leaked on to the internet not long after the release of the song, to the distress of Cassie (according to her myspace blog). It has since been deleted from most internet media websites, such as YouTube.com. A higher-budget video was later made featuring Cassie singing & dancing infront of a mirror in an otherwise empty room. On her blog, she stated that there was no man in this new video because it would seem "tacky." This music video is receiving heavy rotation on music video channels and programs, such as MTV and MTV2.—Cassie's biographical info from Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia
More info on Cassie may be found at her myspace page, her official website, her blog and at cassie-source.net
Rachel Grant, "Pinay 007 Bond Girl"
Grant Us Beauty
Guys and gents meet Miss Rachel Grant – today’s hottest bombshell in the world of glitz and glamour. Call her Miss Bond. That is, Miss James Bond!
An international celebrity, Grant first graced our screens opposite Pierce Brosnan in the James Bond film Die Another Day appearing as the Bond girl Peaceful Fountains of Desire - Bond’s would-be assassin posing as a masseuse in his Hong Kong hotel suite. (Opposite Brosnan and Grant in this film starred, of course, another hot shot leading-lady Halle Berry).
As well as a body double for Angelina Jolie in the film Tombraider, Grant has worked on Richard Jobson’s martial arts feature film The Purifiers playing the character Li, head of the martial arts gang, and opposite Kevin Mckidd (Trainspotting) and Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings, Lost). She stunned audiences in the French Film Double Zero. Her TV credits include Emmerdale, Masters of Combat, ITV1’s Blue Murder (where she appeared as DC Jenny Chen in the drama which stars Caroline Quentin), BBC1’s Casualty (she played a student doctor Marie Webster), Channel 4’s Zero to Hero (she played the masked villainess Nemesis in this superhero comic style series), Murder in Suburbia, Brainiac and a new sci-fi comedy Starhyke in which she plays a warrior princess and martial artist. A martial arts expert herself, Grant took on the role of Wu Off, an warrior from an alien species and head of security on board the spaceship Nemesis 2005 on the spoof sci-fi series Starhyke. Putting her skills in making people laugh to a test, she appeared as Hypno Girl in the comedy sketch show Rajan & the Evil Hypnotists.
Most might remember this head-turner goddess however in her first regular TV 
show as Nina, the amusing horror hostess on the Sci-Fi channel every Friday night presenting Sci-fright.
Other Plums
Gorgeous Grant has travelled the world through dance and film jobs and beauty pageants. Collecting pageant crowns seems to be her hobby. Her beauty titles include Miss Philippines, Miss Hawaiian Tropic and Miss United Kingdom (2nd runner-up) and has represented both the UK and the Philippines in previous rounds.
Just Like Angelina
Her help with various charities include Cancer Research UK, World Society for the Protection of Animals and Sports Aiding Medical Research for Kids. She also presented her own art and travel show on board Cathay Pacific Airlines.
Recently, Miss Grant has taken up residency in Los Angeles but has kept her place in North London and Nottingham in the UK. She visits Manila once in a while, when time permits and touches base with family in Moonwalk, Paranaque (where her late grandfather Ceferino Padua was a government official) next to the Salvador showbiz family.
Gigs galore
In addition to her increasingly-growing popularity, she has been shooting movies left, right and centre. She just returned from filming in Bulgariafor the feature Till Death starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Oscar nominee Sephen Rea. She plays a supporting role of a tough policewoman called Maria.
Earlier this year, she finished working on the horror film Brotherhood of Blood alongside Jason Connery (The Wild) and Sid Haig (The Devil’s Rejects).
Later this year, she is set to shoot the lead in two new most highly anticipated feature films The Tournament (starring as Lai Lai, a sexy but deadly assassin) and the comedy Lady Vampire Killers where she has been cast as the lead role of Baroness Eva MacLaren.
Naturally sensual and electric
Seducing audiences is her forte, not just on the big screen but elsewhere where viewership runs in the millions. She has recently guest-starred as Sandra Foy in episode 4 titled Salsa on UK’s new and popular drama/comedy television series Murder in Suburbia on ITV1, similar to Desperate Housewives.
She leads an active lifestyle being a martial artist, cross-country driver and stage combat professional. She has participated in the UK Bull Run, appeared as a celebrity for Formula One and supported Cancer Research participating in the World Record Abseiling Attempt. Currently, she is on the roster to drive in the USA Bull Run in 2006.
She continues to jet set to and from fashion shoots to movie sets and Tinseltown’s martial arts challenges at the Cannes Film Festival. Never complacent about her rise to fame, she has starred in several high-profile TV advertisements, most recently, the Carlsberg campaign, and the Lynx ad Make Luv which started a whole new dance craze and spawned a massive No.1 hit in the UK and Europe.
Despite her frenzied schedule, she is booked to do a gazillion commercials, print and broadcast following successful endorsements for Lynx Pulse Deodorant Worldwide 2003, Galaxy Chocolate - UK 2001, Gouda Cheese - Germany 2001, Anadin Tablets - UK 2000, Vicks Menthols - Germany 2000 and Bank of Bangkok, Asia 1998.
Her Majesty Rachel Grant
Sit tight and hold your breath for a minute. For our very own Mestiza stunner indeed has a fascinating background, a real honest-to-goodness amazing lineage.
Born Rachel Grant De Longueuil on the island of Luzon, northern Philippines to Isabel Padua and Dr. Michael Grant De Longueuil -- the current Baron De Longueuil. He is of English-Scottish, French-Canadian descent.
Her paternal grandfather is the late Baron de Longueuil, a professional artist from the South of France. His mother was Lady Ernestine Maud Bowes-Lyon, the first cousin to the Queen Mother. She, like Queen Elizabeth was born in Glamis Castle in Scotland. They grew up in the same household. Rachel Grant then is the forth cousin to the Princes William & Harry.
Now, My Turn...
If Filipinos and Britons can be nothing but proud of Miss Grant, imagine myself, her aunt. Yes! Rachel Grant, lovely Bond Girl is my NIECE. My very own niece.
In our last chat, of course she told me about her latest flick. My niece wrote, “I have just come back from Bulgaria after filming with Jean Claude Van Damme and Stephen Rea (who has been nominated twice for an Oscar)."
Rachel Grant - YOU make me one proud Tita! You go girl! That is Bond Girl, Your Majesty, my dearest niece.
Are you proud to be a Filipino?
In the light of what's happening in our country today, we believe that there is one crucial moment when we inevitably take a moment to look deeper into our hearts, face our fears squarely and analyse our self-worth, because we are Filipinos.
What really makes the true Filipino? What ideology should we stand for to keep us closest to the reality of our identity? Who among us could still proudly say that we still take pride of our Filipino heritage while in the midst of the worst political condition, poverty, economic instability, irreconcilable convictions, worst calamities, etc.
Introspection is inevitable. Here below are nuggets of wisdom from some of our biggest celebrities who have responded to our forum, "are you proud to be a Filipino? Why, and how?"
Some answers made us take a harder look at our condition, some made us even shed a tear of frustration, but overall, the forum satisfied a deeper longing of the soul to take pride in being a Filipino. Hope is there because there is a just God who is in control of our very situation.
Read on:
"In spite of how the Filipino is deemed by many nowadays, yes, I am proud to be a Filipino. I am not proud of how some of my countrymen have been conducting themselves, especially some in government. But I love my country and have faith in the Filipino's strengths, abilities, resilience, and faith in the Almighty. Kahit saan sa mundo, magaling tayo. We are basically a caring people. Our smiles and warmth are genuine. And we are smart and talented. Kulang sa bansa natin nga lang opportunities, kaya madaming magaling sa atin ang umaalis. Sayang. We should get down on our knees and pray." - Sharon Cuneta
"Yes, I'm proud and confused. I'm proud simply because we still have a world boxing champion like Manny Pacquiao. I'm proud we are the only third world country to have a great huge number of shopping malls. Strange though. By the way, we are third world, two steps more and we are No. 1, first and champion. Ha ha ha! I'm proud because Filipinos are so flexible. We can make any profession turn into a Nurse. Even doctors become nurses. Sad though. Lastly, about 70 percent of us 80 million Filipinos seem to know how to run this country. But I am still confused. Apparently, nobody is qualified." - Cesar Montano
"I am definitely proud to be a Filipino. Many view our passion and zeal in a bad light but these traits are in fact our greatest assets. They contribute to our race's resiliency that got us through the colonization of three superpowers, and the various trials we continue to face. Without a doubt, I am sure the Philippines will emerge triumphant in our goals." - Sen. Bong Revilla, Jr.
"I am extremely proud to be Filipino! I have always been. Why? Because never in my lifetime I have ever met a people that strive on surviving. People who know more about politics than the politicians. People who can turn garbage or memories of a calamity into a commodity. People who can sing, dance, act, model, punch, knock out, win, lose, win again, paint, sculpt, write, design, build, tear down, and build again. No one does it, takes it, fixes it, tolerates it like the Filipino. I am proud to be but ever prouder to be amongst Filipinos. Throw it our way, I dare you, we will survive. We will prevail. We will be the envy of the world if I had my way!" - Martin Nievera
"Of course I am proud to be a Filipino because of the few I've had the honor to encounter who at all times strive to make their country a little better, their fellows a little happier. It shames me that the supposedly best and brightest in power, as exemplified by the incumbent president that I voted for ceaselessly strive to elevate self and kin to the ranks of the fabulously rich and unabashedly corrupt. I am ashamed of having as a countryman the prayerful widow who deigns to ask the President to make the supreme sacrifice by stepping down, while she can't even begin to relinquish an hacienda to its rightful owners. I'm ashamed of the unrepentant gangster who in his arrogance and power-drunkenness had the gall to blatantly blow our taxes and loans on mistresses and high living. I'm ashamed even as I still harbor hopes for my country. I know there are good ones out there." - Director Lore Reyes
"I am very proud to be a Filipino. Ours is a blessed race with rare talents and gifted with intelligence. We are hardworking and we are great survivors of very testing times. We are resilient. I take pride in beautiful places our country has and our incomparable hospitality." - Kuh Ledesma
"Our country has gone through a lot all throughout history but we are still here, standing proud. We are a very loving nation even if we don't see eye to eye on some issues. Despite the problems, we all still manage to enjoy life and we know that we can get over all the trials. I am very proud to be a Filipino! No matter what happens, the Philippines will always be home for me. I know that God will bless our nation and redeem us." - Franco Laurel
"YES! And I will always be proud to be a Filipino. However, I am so ashamed of those people whose life's ambition is to make the government fail, ruin the country, topple the president, and grab power in the guise of prayers and democracy. They do not deserve to be called citizens of the Republic." - John Lesaca
"I sincerely want to, but I don't know how and why." - Arnel Ignacio
"Yes, I'm still proud because we always survive. I think that is something to be truly proud of." - Regine Velasquez
"Yes, I'm proud to be Filipino. Because even the strongest blows that hit us, still they can't stop or put us down. We're very resilient." - Diether Ocampo
"When I remember the stories of Lapu-Lapu, Dagohoy, Diego and Gabriela Silang, Gomburza, Rizal, Ninoy Aquino, yes I am proud to be a Filipino. When my daughters (ages 4 and 1) and I, put our lives at stake on Edsa 20 years ago, yes I am proud to be a Filipino. It's the only country where I am a first-class citizen. Now, after joining Edsa 2 and being governed by Mrs. Arroyo and all her sipsips, I'm having second thoughts. Should I still be proud of being a Filipino having helped install an administration that has become even worse than Marcos? But listening to Susan Roces, Guingona, Binay, Escudero, Cayetano, JV Ejercito, Joel Villanueva, Randy David, Satur Ocampo, and other so-called left-leaning-pro people representatives, I believe again in what Ninoy said, "the Filipino is worth dying for." I am once again proud to be Filipino, one of the many children of the true living God who is destined to serve Him here in Asia; the country where He planted the seed of Christianity 400 ago. Ang tagal lang nating magising sa ating tunay na tungkulin sa kanya." - Director Boots Plata
"Yes, I can say with candor that I am a Filipino and to deny and defy that because the country is in the midst of trials can be considered a monumental fiasco." - Evangeline Pascual
"To be honest, I am no longer sure if I could be proud of being a Filipino. As a part-time expat, the two People Power gave me pride and the whole world saluted us! But the events that took place recently somehow erased that feeling. Why can't our leaders live up to the promise of Edsa? How come personal ambitions are more important than the lives of the downtrodden Filipinos? Cry The Beloved Country!" - Director Gil Portes
"Yes, I am very proud to be a Filipino. In fact, I surrendered my green card because I want to be a Filipino forever. We're very adaptable race. Kahit saan ilagay, magsu-survive. Hindi katulad ng mga ibang nasyon magrereklamo kaagad kapag hindi convenient. Pero tayo hindi. Para tayong bubble gum, kahit saan dalhin, dumidikit." - Ricky Reyes
"Yes, I'm proud to be a Filipino. I realize that because I enjoy the privilege of seeing other countries, nations. And I have ssen that there is a lot to be proud about being Filipino: Our color, our resilience, our language, our ability to adapt. If we can only stop putting ourselves down." - Ivan Mayrina
"Oo naman. Pinoy ako. From birth, til I die. We might be a third world country but there are 7,000 plus reasons to be proud of. Where else do you see a democratic country that exercises its rights everyday with the politics goin on her and all the protests. We exemplify freedom. It is a great reason to be proud or our country. Our history flows in our blood. In our hearts, makikita ang pagmamahal sa bayan natin. Jeremy Marquez for President!" - Jeremy Marquez
"After heading the Philippine delegation to the World Championship of the Performing Arts Competition where the Philippines bagged a total of 16 awards including the world champion award with only two contestants besting 51 countries, I cannot but be proud to be a Filipino. I have always believed in the Filipino talent and will continue to find avenues that would catapult the Filipino artist to his rightful place in the world." - Ida Henares
"I am proud to be a Filipino which is why I chose to live in Manila even if most of my husband's family members are in the USA. There are many struggling Pinoys and I want to be able to contribute in anyway by inspiring them through songs we produce or concerts that reach out to lost souls. As I heard the laments of the 'Wowowee' victims in Medical City and the victims and orphans of the Leyte landslide, I felt my Filipino blood surging because they were such simple loving, poor people with few needs, who only want to be cared for. There is much to be done in this country and I want to be one of the catalysts who could be part of bringing out the best in my fellow Filipinos. Truly it is the poor provincial Filipinos that make me proud because through their poverty and simplicity, they still manage to smile, work industriously and thank God and have faith that the best is yet to come for us. Before the resurrection, crucifixion, I am proud to be Filipino because we have wonderful countrymen whose gifts and talents are just waiting to be harnessed through responsible and honest leadership of our supposed 'public servants'." - Angeli Pangilinan-Valenciano
"Yes, I am. Because there are no other people in the world who struggle so bravely to provide for their families. Overcoming trials and difficulties no matter how hard they are." - Melanie Marquez
"I'm proud being a Filipino. I'm proud of my heritage. We are the most creative people in the world. We adapt easily and do you guys ever notice all Filipinos know how to sing? Sing along with me folks. Pinoy Ako! Woohoo!" - Asia Agcaoili
FilAmerican girl dances her way to the stars
by Janet Susan R. Nepales, Mar 01, 2006
LOS ANGELES - "I am so elated! I still cannot believe it. I am still in shock!"
Those were the words of 21-year-old Filipino American choreographer and dancer Cheryl Burke to Inquirer when she and her American dancing partner Drew Lachey of 98 Degrees won the popular ABC dance competition "Dancing with the Stars" which is now on its second season.
Lachey went up to Cheryl's mom, Sherri Bautista Burke who was also in the audience, and said, "Thank you for everything!" Mrs. Burke explained in an exclusive phone interview with Inquirer, "He meant thank you for all the support and to all the Filipinos who voted for both of them."
The winning couple went straight to a Hollywood party held in their honor.
Monday at 4:00 am, they will be interviewed via satellite on the New York-based "Good Morning America." Then they will fly to New York to appear again on Tuesday, this time live. From there, they go to Tony Danza's TV talk show. They will also guest on Jay Leno and Oprah Winfrey's top rated shows.
After all the guest TV appearances, Burke will fly to the Philippines for a much needed vacation. "But it will not be all vacation because she received some offers to do some endorsements," revealed Mrs. Burke.
Mrs. Burke attended the show with her husband Dr. Robert Wolf, her daughter Nicole and Cheryl's choreographer-friend Wendy Johnson. She admitted that when they saw all the 9's (out of a possible score of 10) from the judges on Cheryl and Drew's final number, they thought Burke and Lachey would lose. "We were so disappointed. When those numbers came up, we were ready to call it a day and get it over with," she said.
But when another favorite candidate, pro wrestler Stacy Keibler was eliminated first, they became hopeful again.
Cheryl's mom, who is based in Daly City, prayed hard Sunday at a church in Los Angeles. "I went to St. Brendan Church today to pray for Cheryl and Drew. I told Cheryl this morning, no matter what happens today, you are already a winner to me," she narrated.
She said that when she met some Filipino churchgoers, they all went up to her and said, "We voted for Cheryl and Drew. We are supporting our fellow Filipino."
Mrs. Burke, a nurse who now runs three health-care related businesses, said that her co-nurses told her, "Drew is lucky because he had Cheryl as his choreographer." She said, "Isn't it the other way around?" To which the nurses said, "No, because Cheryl is a Filipino. A lot of Filipinos in America voted for them."
"So, as you can see, Cheryl and Drew's victory is also a victory for the Filipinos," she noted. "There are 3 million Filipinos in the U.S.!" she added.
This morning, she disclosed, Cheryl was calm. "She even asked me to buy presents for her make-up artist and stylist. She said she had been so busy she didn't have time to buy presents for them," Mrs. Burke pointed out.
Mrs. Burke said of her daughter, "I am so proud of her. I am so elated. I am floating right now on cloud nine." After learning that they won over NFL great Jerry Rice and Stacy Keibler, Lachey gave out a loud "Whoooooooa!" while Burke started jumping up and down several times.
Asked how she felt, Burke replied, "I feel so good! I cannot believe it! I am in shock!"
The couple, who did a jive number to the music of Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog," received a total score of 27 out of 30 from the judges for their finale number that was combined with the Thursday night pre- finale judges' score. Judges described their finale number as "the most exciting. You guys always take risks and you always deliver beyond expectations." Fifty percent of the votes came from the viewers via phone and online polls.
In an exclusive interview with Inquirer the night before the finale, the dark-haired charming Cheryl Burke revealed, "I am tired but excited. Drew is feeling the same. We both want to win so badly and so we are going to give it our best performance. I have a lot of bruises already on my legs. But we are determined to go for it."
Burke and partner Drew received perfect scores of 30 out of 30 in their "favorite dance" portion last Thursday night where they enthralled the crowd with their fun and energetic paso doble to the music of Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
Then they got another perfect score from the judges in the "freestyle division" where they brought the house down with a hilarious, fun and energetic cowboy number to the music of "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)."
Burke and Lachey have been the couple with the best chemistry all throughout the competition that started with 10 couples competing.
Some of those celebrities eliminated were Filipino-American actress Tia Carrere and Imelda Marcos' friend, actor George Hamilton. The other eliminated celebrities who were present for a last dance in the Sunday finale were ESPN sportscaster Kenny Mayne, actress Tatum O'Neal, news personality Giselle Fernandez rap star Master P and talk show host Lisa Rinna. Special guest was Grammy award-winning singer Mary J. Blige.
During the finale, where all the former contestants were invited, Carrere danced the tango and Hamilton did a rumba.
In the TV interview, Cheryl Burke revealed, "people expect us to do a flawless performance so there is more pressure for Drew and I."
Even before the winners were announced, Burke was already teary-eyed especially after the video clip of how she and Lachey first met and how they reached the finals was shown.
"Cheryl has so much fire and determination to win. It is just infectious," Lachey said. The two have become so close that Burke said, "I know even after the competition, we will still be the best of friends."
She even surprised Lachey with a present for his coming baby. She gave him a baby outfit that said "Drew Crew." Lachey's wife Lea, who was in the audience, is eight months pregnant. Lachey' s brother, Nick, was also present.
Mrs. Burke revealed to Inquirer that after the finale, "for the first time, the fans were going to Drew and not to Nick for photos and autographs!"
Lachey, who earlier described with amusement the mirror ball trophy (it features a disco ball) as "ugly" but admitted in an earlier interview how he much he wanted to win, excitedly received the trophy and shared it with Burke. Then they both raised the trophy.
Burke disclosed to us in the exclusive interview that she and Drew rehearsed for the finale from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
"This is not the first time, though, that we practiced for a long time. There were days when we have rehearsed longer," she disclosed.
Burke described Lachey as "the celebrity who has impressed me most. He is the most down to earth guy I have ever met. We have become so close friends."
Burke, whose mom Sherri is a nurse from Nueva Ecija, was planning to go to the Philippines with her mother after the competition "to do TV interviews, endorsements and movies if there are any offers."
She added, "I have not been to the Philippines in the last seven years. I am looking forward to meeting my friends and relatives there again."
Burke, who was given the opportunity to be one of the professional choreographers in the show by a dance instructor who saw her in one of her dance competitions, revealed to Inquirer "if ever they offered me to be part of the dance competition again, I would readily accept it."
She admitted that she does not have a boyfriend but "my whole family and my close friends are always there in the show to give me moral support."
To aspiring dancers, Burke advised, "Work hard, be determined, have that passion, that drive and it will take you far."
"Dancing with the Stars," which had unprecedented two-fold full page colored ads in major US papers Sunday, ranked 7th in prime time, according to a recent Nielsen Media Research.
How Tagalog became the national language
Philippine News online edition
Tony Joaquin, Nov 02, 2005
The Philippine Archipelago is made up of many islands, big and small. The biggest island of course if Luzon, and clustered beneath its southern tip is known as the Visayan Islands. Then further down we find the big island of Mindanao where the Muslim Filipinos are situated living side by side with the Christian Filipinos, many of whom "migrated" from Luzon during the late fifties. The post war government of President Elpidio Quirino made a campaign of sorts to ask Luzonians to "Go South" and make their future in Mindanao, which was teeming with opportunities in the logging, fishing, and agriculture industries. While these Filipino transferees from Luzon brought their families into land that was good and fertile land rich with deposits of precious metals and arable land, the one problem that they had to live with were the Muslims. Somehow over the decades both Christians and Muslims coexisted but uneasily.
When the question on what the Philippines should adopt as its National Language the problem became an issue and a difficult one.
Teresito "Chito" Laygo, a Filipino mathematics professor who has migrated in California, and who now teaches Tagalog in the San Francisco State University, contributes this page in Philippine History.
When the Philippines became a Commonwealth, a constitution was drafted and ratified. One of its provisions was to develop a Philippine national language. It was stipulated in this constitution that the national language to be adopted must be based on one of the existing languages spoken by the people of the Philippines. (Researchers found that there are at least 85 languages and dialects in the Philippines) This constitutional mandate couched off a rapid succession of events toward its fulfillment. Consequently, the first national Assembly approved in a special session Commonwealth Act No. 184 on November 13, 1936, establishing the Institute of National Language and defining its powers and duties.
One of the duties of the Institute was to choose a native language, which is to be used as a basis for the evolution and adoption of the Philippine national language. (Take note that I mention a basis rather that the basis because there is a possibility that the proposed language may have multiple bases.) In proceeding to such election, "the Institute shall give preference to the language that is most developed as regards structure, mechanism and literature and is accepted and used at the present time by the greatest number of Filipinos."1
The original composition of the Institute was as follows: Chairman: Jaime de Veyra, (Waray); Members: Santiago Fonacier, (Ilocano); Filemon Sotto, (Cebuano); Casimiro Perfecto, (Bicol); Felix Rodriguea, (Hiligaynon); Hadji Butu (Muslilm); and Cecilio Lopez, (Tagalog(, Secretary. It took the Institute ten months to select Tagalog as the basis of the national language.
The Institute had their criteria as the basis for their choice of the national language for the following reasons:
1) the language should be the most developed as regards structure, mechanism, and literature;
2) the language must be accepted and used by the greater number of Filipinos.
Tagalog and no other native languages (or dialects) satisfied both conditions.
Tagalog, was the most developed. As early as 1650 Fray Domingo Navarette a Dominican friar, made the following statement: "I learned the Tagalog language without much difficulty. Within five months, we (Spanish friars) were confessing and preaching and in one year we were capable of both, and in discussing the affairs of the Indios with them."2
Padre Chirino, in his 17th century Relacion de las Islas Pilipinas wrote:
I found in it (Tagalog) four qualities of the best languages of the world - Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Spanish; of the Hebrew, the mysteries and obscurities; of the Greek, The articles and the precision not only of the appellations but also the proper nouns; Of Latin, the elegance; and of Spanish, the good breeding, politeness and Courtesy.
Professor Laygo further states that the extraordinarily rich system of affixes of Tagalog has a great deal to contribute to the unusual linguistic possibilities of the national language.
He adds that the official potential of Tagalog far exceeds those of the Malay language and other Filipino languages. Historically, the Philippine Islands formed part of the island chain attached to Indonesia and the Malay tongue is common to both Indonesian, Malaysians and early Filipinos. In fact, Tagalog grew out of the Malay language and alphabet.
The professor continues:
The versatility and function of Tagalog affixes can fully replace the combining and coining capacity of the neo-Latin and neo-Greek words for technical purposes.
Tagalog has a rich stock of indigenous and thoroughly assimilated root words for common non-technical use. The Vocabulario de la Lengual Tagala, compiled centuries ago by two Jesuit priests, Juan de Noceda and Pedro de San Lucas, has 20,000 root words of this mixed type.
Moreover, the Tagalog literature is full of studies supporting Tagalog as the best developed of all the native languages, from the Spanish era up to the period of the Commonwealth. In fact, in one of the earliest historical records available was a statement in 1618 of Spanish missionaries that "Tagalog is spoken and understood everywhere, not only by the natives of the island of Luzon, but also by the natives of all the islands."3
In one of the census of the Philippines, it was found that, in spite of the fact that the Visayan ethnic group was larger than the Tagalog ethnic group, there were more Tagalog speakers than the Visayan speakers.
It is for these reasons that the Institute chose Tagalog as the basis of the national language.
It is with much gratitude that I acknowledge Professor Laygo's sharing of this important historical perspective on Tagalog as our National Language in the Philippine Republic.
Pussycat Dolls lead singer is proudly Pinay
The Philippine Star 12/02/2005
She’s lead vocalist of The Pussycat Dolls. And she’s proud of her Filipino roots. Sultry, outspoken Nicole Scherzinger was born in Hawaii, but traces her roots to Batanes Islands.
In a recent interview with MYX in Bangkok, Nicole says she’s a Lea Salonga fan and grew up listening to the music of the Tony award-winning performer.
Nicole adds that although she has never been to the Philippines, she’d love to visit the country and "be around people that kinda look like me." Her pride in being Filipina stems from the fact that just like her family, Nicole thinks Filipinos have a lot of heart. In fact, Nicole has taken it upon herself to represent the Filipinos in the States, where she grew up. Aside from Nicole, other members of the song-and-dance group are Jessica Sutta, one-time captain of the Miami Heat dance troupe; Carmi Bachar, the La Vida Loca girl on Ricky Martin’s world tour; Hollywood dancers Ashley Roberts and Kimberly Wyatt; and stunning singer Meloy Thornton.
The Pussycat Dolls have just released their debut album under MCA Music. Their album boasts of two chartbusters, the carrier track Don’t Cha dominated the radio charts for months and the sophomore outing Stick with U is also doing well. It maintains its No. 1 slot in the countdown of Magic 89.9, RX 93.1 and Mellow Touch 94.7.
Pinay is Playboy's new PlaymateBy Franklin R. Cabaluna
People's Insider, December 7, 2005 issue
DON'T look now, but do you know that Playboy's latest Playmate of the Month is a Filipina?
Yes, indeed, the November 2005 Playmate of the top men's magazine is a Pinay. Her name is Raquel Gibson.
Raquel is only the second Pinay to make it to the internationally famous mag's
centerfold. The first was Pia Reyes exactly 17 years ago--that is, way back in November 1988.
The writeup which accompanies Ms. Gibson's 14-photo, 12-page (includingthe foldout) nude splash in the new issue of Playboy is titled "Raquel's World Party," subheaded "Globalization is a family thing for Miss November." It reads:
"When you have a family as large and culturally diverse as Raquel Gibson's, your passport soaks up more ink than a UN ambassador's. 'My mom is Filipino, and my dad is an Italian New Yorker,' she says. 'I'm the baby of the family -- the spoiled one -- and I have five siblings from the ages of 21 to 43. I have a niece whois actually older than I am, which means I was an aunt before I was even born.' Although the 20-year-old has always called Florida home, she often jets to the Philippines and Japan, where her oldest sister and her family live. 'I'm fluent in Tagalog, which is a language of the Philippines, and I know a little Japanese,' she says. 'I want to learn Spanish, Portuguese, Italian -- I have a whole list!' As she enthusiastically tosses some Tagalog at us, we can't help but notice her resemblance to another exotic beauty. 'It's flattering to be told that I look like Jessica Alba,' she says. 'It started when Dark Angel came out. I don't watch much TV, so I said, "Who is Dark Angel? I'm a what?" I figured it out when she became better known. My friends say I should sign autographs when people ask if I'm her, but I couldn't get into that.'
"Miss November had better keep that Sharpie in her purse, though, because she doesn't lack for admirers, and more are on the way. 'I have a ton of guy friends,' she says. 'That can be a problem when I hook up with someone, because they say, "You have a million and one guys calling you a day." But they're just my friends.' Raquel's taste in men is expansive, but she does have some firm ideas. 'I've dated every single type, from the beefy macho guy to the skinny, dorky-looking guy,but I don't want to be with a partier,' she says. 'I like someone who's into his mom and checks in on her -- not a mommy's boy but someone family-oriented.' He should also like a woman who has ambition, because Raquel -- who already has a culinary school degree and a real estate license -- plans to go back to school to become a pediatrician someday,with a practice someplace warm. 'I can't stand the cold,' she says. 'I can't see myself dressed like an Eskimo walking down the streets of NewYork, and I'd miss going to the beach and playing football.'
"Just don't ask Miss November to go into the water -- there are too many sharks. 'The news will show a helicopter flying over with 200 sharks in the water and people just swimming and playing around them. I think, Are you guys dumb? I'd much rather lay out and have a few tropical drinks. I want to enjoy my life and be happy instead of sweating something for no reason. You're going to look back and laugh, so why even worry about it?' "
One of the pictures in Raquel's peektorial package shows her pouring a drink for a female relative, presumably her mother. The pix is captioned: "There isn't much elbow room at the Thanksgiving table when your family is as big as Raquel's. Being a culinary school graduate, Raquel is skilled at making mouths water. Her specialty? 'Italian,' she says. 'The way to a man's heart is definitely through his stomach.' "
Pinoy 'capoeirista' trains Charlize Theron for upcoming film
XINGU, a 27-year-old Filipino, is currently training Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron (current film: North Country) for Aeon Flux, a film due to be released in December.
Xingu, whose real name is Neal Rodil, is an instructor in capoeira, a Brazilian martial art form whose music, dance, and acrobatic components separate it from all other traditional martial arts.
Xingu had the opportunity to train Theron as the stunt coordinator for the film, Charles Croughwell (coordinator for Men in Black, Planet of the Apes, etc.), heard about Xingu and the art of capoeira and asked that he teach Theron the acrobatic capoeira moves as she would be doing her own stunts in the film.
"Training Charlize was a pleasure," says Xingu. "She worked really hard and is a really humble person as with all the celebrities I've trained. They are usually very humble."
Capoeira is recognized as the national martial art of Brazil. Compared to other martial art forms, capoeira is playful as it is more of a game between two players who are inside a circle of fellow capoeiristas that play musical instruments like the birembau, sing, and clap to beat of the the music. The idea of the game is not to harm the person you are playing with, but to have a dialogue without speaking. Players do this by creating a consistent flow of movements that display an array of emotions from delicate moves to explosive ones.
The acrobatic flips, cartwheels and kicks in capoeira was a perfect match for the film as Theron exhibits gravity defying stunts.
Aeon Flux is a sci-fi thriller set 400 years in the future. Theron stars as Aeon Flux, the top underground operative at war with the totalitarian regime governing what appears to be a perfect society. Aeon is on the front lines of a rebellion that will reveal a world of secrets behind the perfect society. Aeon Flux is based on characters in the pioneering MTV animated series.
In recent years capoeira has subtly left its mark in the entertainment industry. Mazda used the capoeira song "Zoom Zoom Zoom," in its TV commercial. The films Ocean's Twelve and Helix Loaded, among others incorporated capoeira.
Xingu has single-handedly been involved in spreading capoeira to the entertainment industry world. He has been in numerous theatres, music videos (Shakira, Green Day, Prince, Yolanda Adams, Dj Looneytunes, etc.), commercials (Sears, Diehard Batteries, Epic Records, Citi Bank, Eastpack Back Pack, etc.), and films.
His clients include: Charlize Theron, Bill Bellamy (Def Comedy Jam), Lee Thompson Young (of the new UPN show produced by Jennifer Lopez, "Friday Night Lights"), among others.
Xingu started training celebrities and students in the year 2000 when his master gave him the title of Professor and gave permission to teach. He started to teach in the San Fernando Valley and was the only capoeira teacher in the area and is still to this day. Xingu teaches capoeira at the Tarzana Karate Dojo located in Tarzana California. He has also taught for many programs to help the youth of the community, Such as the Upward Bound Program, PS Arts, Music Center, Los Angeles Unified School District, City Of Beverly Hills and others.
Beside capoeira, Xingu is an experts in eskrima (Filipino martial arts), savate (Australian martial arts), yoga and weight training. He focused on the study of capoeira because he was attracted to all of the unique elements the martial art incorporates. Xingu has always said that capoeira helps a person get over his fears and understand who he is inside. For more information on Aeon Flux visit http://www.aeonflux.com/
Fil-Am chef to debut with royal dinner
Inquirer News Service, Associated Press
Nov 01, 2005
WASHINGTON -- The temperature is rising in Cristeta Comerford’s basement kitchen.
After two months on the job and plenty of meals served behind the scenes, the first woman White House chef -- an alumna of the University of the Philippines -- makes her official culinary debut in a very public way Wednesday: Preparing lunch and three dinner courses for Britain’s Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
It’s the royal couple’s first visit to the United States since they tied the knot in April.
But if pleasing the royal couple isn’t pressure enough, next on Comerford’s plate is the December holiday season. That’s when US President George W. Bush and his wife Laura throw open the White House doors to some 9,500 guests who file through 25 parties in search of some of the finest food and drink in town.
Other cooks may wilt like spinach under the stress, but Comerford is no stranger to the heat of the White House kitchen. She has been slicing and dicing there for 10 years, assembling meals big and small as an assistant to former chef Walter Scheib III, who hired her as a part-timer in 1995.
In fact, Comerford gets the credit for two recent White House dinners.
One menu of chilled asparagus soup with lemon creme, pan-roasted halibut, ginger-carrot butter, basmati rice with pistachio nuts and currants, and herbed summer vegetables was served to 134 guests at an official dinner in July in honor of India’s prime minister.
It helped the Filipino-American chef clinch the promotion.
One of the best
With such experience under her apron, dinner for the royals “should be, in many respects, old hat,” said Scheib, whose exit from the kitchen in February after 11 years of cooking for two Presidents cleared the way for Comerford’s appointment by Mrs. Bush.
“She is one of the best chefs culinarily that I’ve ever worked with,” Scheib said in an interview, describing Comerford as “basically a co-chef with me. Her input and her menus were used as often as not.”
Passion in every bite
Roland Mesnier, a former White House pastry chef, said Comerford was “extremely knowledgeable” about the cuisines of different cultures. That “helps tremendously when you’re the chef of the White House” and feeding many foreign visitors, he said.
In her statement announcing the promotion in August, Laura Bush said Comerford’s “passion for cooking can be tasted in every bite of her delicious creations.”
Comerford, 43, is a naturalized US citizen from the Philippines who studied French cooking in Vienna, Austria, and specializes in ethnic and American cuisine.
She was born Cristeta Gomez Pasia on Oct. 27, 1962, to Honesto, an assistant principal in a public elementary school in Manila, and Erlinda, a homemaker.
UP student
Her family said Comerford’s interest in cooking only became evident when she entered UP in Diliman, Quezon City, in 1979 as a food technology major.
She took several leaves of absence as a student and didn’t finish her course, but she was able to complete 84 units, enough for her to be considered a UP alumna.
A brother said Comerford never returned because she had already immigrated to the United States to join their parents.
Pleasing finicky palates
The appointment of a woman White House chef was strongly encouraged by Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, an advocacy group. Women represent half of all food service workers, but just 7 percent of executive chefs, said president Bonnie Moore.
Even fewer women hold the “clout” jobs, such as White House chef.
Comerford’s appointment “is exactly what young women thinking of a career in the culinary arts need set as an example before them,” Moore said in an interview.
Comerford now has the prestigious yet grueling responsibility of pleasing the palates of some of the world’s most powerful and, perhaps, finicky palates. She will design menus for everything from state dinners and other official functions, where the guest list can soar into the hundreds, to cozier gatherings hosted by the President and First Lady.
$100,000 job
The job pays between $80,000 and $100,000 a year.
Once the Prince and Duchess have been served -- preparations for the meal began several months ago -- Comerford will turn her attention to the holidays and such “must-do” items as making sure she’s lined up enough extra staff, equipment and, most importantly, food to feed the masses.
The White House kitchen feeds about 2,000 dinner and reception guests every month. But the figure grows almost fivefold in December, when work days of 16 to 18 hours become the norm for the staff.
In fact, Comerford already has begun to plan menus and hold tastings for holiday meals, “so she is definitely multitasking,” said Susan Whitson, spokesperson for Laura Bush. —Associated Press and PDI Research
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The White House Dinner honoring Prince Charles and his wife was held November 2. Cristeta Comerford's menu for her official culinary debut included buffalo tenderloin, shrimp-and-celery soup, salad and fall vegetables, with petits fours cakes and chartreuse ice cream for dessert. Among the 130 guests joining President and Mrs. Bush were designer Oscar de la Renta, former First Lady Nancy Reagan, former NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw, and actor Kelsey Grammer. After dinner there was music by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and dancing.
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Cristeta Comerford says ‘Thanks’
by Cristina DC Pastor, Philippine News Online
The Filipina who cooks meals and, presumably, counts calories for President George Bush had one word for the hundreds who drove up to Washington D.C.’s Marriott Hotel to congratulate her: Salamat.
“Thank you. I’m so grateful and overwhelmed,” said Cristeta Pasia Comerford, 43, glowing in an ivory dress and coat attire, strands of pearls framing her broadly smiling face.
Cristeta thanked Ambassador Albert del Rosario for hosting the reception and
introducing her to the DC-area’s Filipino American community. She thanked colleagues and familiar faces from the White House executive dining staff. She thanked NaFFAA’s Jon Melegrito who presented her with a pair of ampalaya grown in his backyard. She thanked the fruit & vegetable carvers from Laguna, as well as the kitchen staff at Marriott.
The person she was profusely grateful to was her father, Honesto (deceased), an elementary school principal who saw early on that his daughter was meant to be Chef Extraordinaire.
“My father instilled in us a sort of legacy, a gift that you pass on to the other generation, something that you nurture and share with others... Looking back, what brought me here was the legacy of my father, a legacy of tradition and hard work. I’m so grateful to him,” she said to prolonged applause from the ballroom.
An emotional Cristeta said she did not want to be a chef, but her father told her she had the makings of one good cook.
‘Cris, you must go to a culinary school and hone your skills,’ she recalled her father’s prophetic words.
In college, she majored in Food Technology at the University of the Philippines and developed an affinity for food and cooking. That’s when, her brother Dan recalled, Cristeta started cooking for the family and taking over the kitchen chores from their mother, Erlinda.
The first female and first minority chef at the White House arrived at the reception accompanied by her husband John Comerford, himself an executive chef working for one of the biggest food chains.
She was evidently overwhelmed by the warm greetings from the 200 or so guests who rushed to meet her, shake her hands, hug her and just take a closer look at what this woman is made of.
“As cold as it is outside, it is warm in this room and I can really feel the hospitality of the Filipino people,” she said in her short speech lasting all of five minutes. “This is both mind-boggling and heartwarming.”
After the reception, she nicely accommodated requests for photos and signatures, as well as questions from journalists, including some editors from The Washington Post.
NaFFAA’s Bing Branigin had asked if she wanted food brought to her table, and recalled Cristeta saying softly, “Ok lang po ako.” A glass of water was all she wanted.
“Humble” was an impression shared from one table to another, as they eyed the comely Manilena whose family immigrated to Chicago when she was in college.
Cristeta went to public schools in the Philippines – the Padre Gomez Elementary School in Sta. Cruz, Manila, and the Manila Science High School for secondary education, and U.P. for college.
“My dream was to become a food technologist, but I did not graduate. Though it’s okay, I think I did accomplish something,” she said, to burst of laughter.
For the position of Executive Chef, Cristeta bested hundreds of applicants. A White House statement cited her experience, “her artistic eye, and calm demeanor.” She was an assistant chef at the White House for 10 years and worked under former executive chef Walter Scheib III, who resigned in February.
Not bad, huh, for this humble and good-hearted woman who used to end her meals in Manila with a bar of Chocnut.
Giovannie Pico: From Tondo to Hollywood
