Events
Photo taken by my cousin after Auntie Milagros passed away on July 11, 2020.
My 89 year old Auntie Milagros Romero Alonzo died of covid last Friday. She was alone in the ICU because nobody was allowed to visit her. Her nurse held up a phone so that we could all say goodbye to her via Facetime. Now we are planning a Zoom funeral. Take this pandemic seriously.
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The Charles Theater in Baltimore, MD.
I’m often not a fan of a first-timer winning Best Actor or Best Actress without a proven track record of great work. Too often, they go on to be nothing more than one-hit wonders. The fact that the Academy has frequently awarded one hit wonders that have no lasting impact is what makes people think of the awards as culturally irrelevant.
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After a relaxing Friendsgiving weekend bonding with my kasamas, it’s time to get back to organizing! Here are a few things coming up this month. Please check back regularly as this page will be updated as more events are confirmed.
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With Randy Ribay, author of Patron Saints of Nothing, and a 2019 National Book Award finalist at the third Decolonize Your Bookshelves event!
Yesterday was my third Decolonize Your Bookshelves event and once again, I felt rejuvenated by doing my part to bring joy into the art of resistance. At this event, we celebrated the work of Randy Ribay, author of Patron Saints of Nothing, and a 2019 National Book Awards finalist. Randy is also a convener for Malaya Movement and based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His work--which is exhilarating, harrowing, uplifting and redemptive--is a powerful testament to so many of our experiences, and it is deeply resonant for me personally.
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With Kristian Kabuay. Read about Kristian and his work preserving the Philippines’ ancient script here.
This weekend was Malaya Movement Baltimore's Filipino American History Month event called 'Dia de los Ancestors.' We honored those who came before us, who forged paths in the struggle to defend human rights and the environment not only in the Philippines, but around the world. We hope to raise consciousness about the dire political situation in the Philippines and explore what we can do here in the U.S.
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L-R: Tracy Dimond of Enoch Pratt Library, me (duh!), Grace Talusan, Irene Batingue of Johns Hopkins Filipino Student Association and Greedy Reads.
Last night’s Decolonize Your Bookshelves event was a success! Thanks so much to Grace Talusan for coming to talk to us about her memoir, The Body Papers, and to Enoch Pratt Free Library for sponsoring the event! Books have been at the forefront of my own decolonization process. It started with The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid and Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn. Little by little, we change and grow as we read. And there are some significant books that change us substantially and put us on a new path. I’m privileged to say that Grace Talusan's book had a similar effect on me.
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Danny Nguyen and I cohosted the Charm City Night Market festival again! Photo by Justin Kovalsky.
This year’s festival was bigger, better, louder, wilder, and had close to 22k in attendance!
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Me and my superfun cohost, Danny Nguyen at last year’s Charm City Night Market Festival.
Charm City Night Market is back for its second year! On Saturday, September 21, make your way back down to Baltimore’s historic Chinatown to experience it all over again. Just look for the familiar paper lanterns that will stretch all the way to Center Plaza making the night market almost twice as big. The best part? I’m back as HOST.
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Malaya Movement is calling on all Baltimore/DMV Filipinos and our allies to join us in DC on Monday, July 22nd as a massive show of opposition against Rodrigo Duterte and his regime as he delivers his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA).
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Decolonize Your Bookshelves launched last night and was a success! This series of events is not just about diversifying your reads to include more Filipino authors. It’s about making our own voices dominant. It’s also about the intersection of literature and activism.
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That’s glitter on my face in case you’re wondering!
Where you can find me in June.
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It’s time to set the story straight. Not everyone who immigrated to the U.S. actually wanted to come here. My parents didn’t. They wanted to stay in the Philippines with their families and their friends. So why did they move here? It’s time for a brief history lesson…
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Photo c/o Bayan USA. If you’re the photographer or know who is, please let me know so I can give them proper credit.
Gut instinct, I knew that the 2019 Philippine midterm elections that took place on Monday, May 13th would be a shitshow. But I hoped for the best anyway. The day after the elections, I woke up to check social media and was disappointed and angry but worse…I wasn’t at all surprised.
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I grew up thinking that the most important books were written by white men and women. I was wrong. Entire generations of Asian Americans have been erased or misrepresented. It wasn’t that we were voiceless all these years. It’s that we weren’t being heard.
Read MoreLast weekend, I attended the National Summit for Human Rights and Democracy in the Philippines in Washington, D.C. More than 350 people from various organizations came from different cities across the United States to participate in one of the largest political summits gathering Filipinos to unite against the fascist Duterte administration and U.S. imperialism in the Philippines.
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With my mentor, Filipino American activist/journalist, Jon Melegrito, and Dr. Jennifer Marana at the Filipino American Studies (FAST) gala at University of Maryland - College Park last month.
Join me in D.C. from April 6-8 for the National Summit for Human Rights and Democracy in the Philippines. I will be a speaker at the Defending Press Freedom panel.
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Aesthetic Distance condemns the recent arrest of Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, co-founder and CEO of online news outlet, Rappler, and a vocal critic of President Rodrigo Duterte's regime.
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My friends and I got to meet Jose Antonio Vargas!
If you are in the Baltimore/DC area this month, here are some events where you can find me!
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With my fellow panelists and friends, Danny “Atomic Goofball “ Nguyen and Garrett Taira at the Renaissance Arlington Hotel for the 2019 AASLE Conference.
Yesterday was an amazing experience at the AASLE (African American Student Leadership Experience) conference in DC. I participated in a discussion panel about being an Asian American creative and facilitated a workshop with students from all over the country. I left feeling so inspired and motivated!
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White button down linen dress by Free People. Faux fur jacket by Patricia Field. Black patent leather belt by Bebe. Black bustier by Forever 21. Black stiletto heels by Colin Stuart. Blue nail polish by Sinful Colors. Photo by Kate Christofano. Hair color by Sarah Vitek for Artistic Edge Studio.
Happy New Year!! I can’t believe Aesthetic Distance is in its 5th year now! I hope everyone had a wonderful, restful holiday. I know I did. And now I’m ready to get back in action. Here are a few events that I’ll be hosting or am involved in this month.
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