Fil-Am Who's Who December 2014

fil-am who’S WHo DECEMBER 2014

Drs. Michael and Elizabeth Avaricio Treating babies to baby boomers

In This Issue. . .

Ollie’s Grapevine Rewind

5

3

A Word from The Editor

Oliver Oliveros

Back to The Shire, Back to the True Essence of Christmas

Cover Story: Drs. Avaricio

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13 The World Is My Oyster 14 Community Calendar

I am convinced it was a wise decision for Warner Bros. Pictures and Oscar Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson to move the official release of the first installment of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” film series, “An Unexpected Journey (2012),” from summer to Christmas, which the next two parts, “The Desolation of Smaug (2013)” and “The Battle of the Five Armies (2014),” followed suit.

The fantasy novel and the films’ main protagonist, 50-year-old hobbit Bilbo Baggins, accompanied by Gandalf the Grey and a company of militant dwarves, has only one true wish throughout his long arduous journey across The Shire to Erebor: to return home among his equally home-loving family and friends in the Hobbiton village, which I believe shares the same essence of Christmas: to return home—physically or virtually—for the holidays, and welcome back home Christ whose birth as a man more than 2,000 years ago is why we celebrate Christmas after all.

Welcoming back home Christ should be no less than festive, introspective, too. That is why we take time to dress up our houses with at least a four-foot-tall Christmas tree, adorned with colorful, glittery ball ornaments and small flickering light bulbs, in the living room—to accentuate our jovial spirits. That is also why Filipinos around the world attend a nine-day Christmas novena, often called Simbang Gabi or Misa de Gallo—to renew our faith in the infant Jesus, given birth by a virgin in a humble manger, whose main source of light came from the divinely bright, beautiful Star of Bethlehem.

Back at home, I made sure my family has an image of the infant Jesus as the centerpiece of our Christmas holiday decorations.

This year, my family has also placed a recycled parol, a representation of the Star of Bethlehem, made from used soft drink straws and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, on the main entrance door. Appropriately so because Christmas should be a reminder of Christ’s utmost humility and not of the world’s hedonism and extravagance.

On that note, please allow me to wish you a joyous, peaceful Christmas and a prosperous new year!

Fil-Am Who’s Who continues to invite its readers to contribute articles, letters, comments, or pictures. Please email submissions to filamwhoswho@gmail.com.

Please also like us on facebook.com/FilAmWhosWho. Oliver’s recycled parol at home We use information sources that we believe to be reliable, but do not warrant the accuracy of those sources.

Reasonable care is taken to ensure that Fil-Am Who’s Who articles and other information on the website are up-to-date and accurate as possible, as of the publication date.

fil-am who’s who 2 FIL-AM WHO’S WHO

DECember 2014

STAFF Editor-in-Chief Oliver Oliveros • Managing Editor Myrna Gutierrez • Layout Artist & Photo Editor Rolan Gutierrez • Marketing/Sales Director & Columnist Ollie David • Marketing/ Sales Executive & Columnist Prospero A. Lim, MD • Contributing Writer Maricar CP Hampton Contributing Writer Dennis Clemente • Publisher Fil-Am Who’s Who, Inc. Copyright © 2014 Fil-Am Who’s Who, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Fil-Am Who’s Who invites you to contribute articles, letters, comments, or pictures to the editor. Please email submissions to filamwhoswho@gmail.com. For advertising inquiries, please email adsfilamwhoswho@gmail.com or call (732) 499-7995, (917) 502-9887, or (917) 502-9891.

Christmas

Ollie’s Grapevine

Ollie David

hristmas is often seen as a magical time: a time for dreams and wishes; and a time of peace and joy, when everyone tries to be a little nicer to each other. It is also seen as a perfect time for buying new things: more gifts, more decorations, and more food--even more bins, bags, and boxes to store the things we have just bought.

C

And yet despite all that Christmas has come to mean in the world, the season’s commercialism has been unable to shake off completely the real reason for the celebration: Christmas is about God sending His one and only Son into the world, not to condemn us but to save us all.

The birth of Jesus is the most magnificent gift ever—period.

One of the most famous Christmas carols that we sing asks, “What child is this?” It then answer that question by saying, “This, this is Christ the King .. . . the babe, the son of Mary.” Those words capture a rather beautiful way to see Jesus who was born in a humble manger in Bethlehem.

So as we celebrate Christmas, we take a look anew at who was this baby in the manger. But why is that important? Because Jesus wants us to put our faith in Him; He wants us to trust him; and He wants us to follow him. The clearer we are about who He is, the more passionate and dedicated we will be.

! s a m t s i r erry Ch

M Some Amusing Quotes “...My other buried three husbands, and two of them were just napping.” – Rita Rudner “Organized crime in America takes in over 40 billion dollars a year and spends very little on office supplies.” – Woody Allen “Once you can accept the universe as a matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy.”

– Albert Einstein “The fact that no one understands you does not make you an artist.” – Unknown “People who never get carried away should be.” – Malcolm Forbes “When the ladder was stolen from a store, the manager said that further steps would be taken.” – Unknown “The shortest distance between two points is under construction.” – Noelie Altito “Honolulu—it’s got everything: sand for the children; sun for the wife; and sharks for the wife’s mother.” – Ken Dodd

DECember 2014

FIL-AM WHO’S WHO 3

MARISSA T. SANTOS, M.D. Board Certified in Internal Medicine

Affiliated with North Shore-LIJ Medical Center and New York Hospital of Queens

MARIO NOVA, Physician’s Assistant TATIANA PORTELA, Nurse Practitioner

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Drs. Rod and Elma Castillo

Miss Universe Cordaid Event at the Philippine Center

Miss Universe Gabriela Isler joined by Miss USA Nia Sanchez and Miss Teen USA K Lee Graham partners with Cordaid of Build Back Better in Coron, Palawan (Philippines).

November Rewind

Rolan Gutierrez

With Consul General Mario and Mrs. Eleanor De Leon

With Consul Khrystina Corpuz

With Erno Hormillosa

Knights of Rizal Long Island Induction

Ben Vigilia, Emilio Quines MD and Prospero Lim MD

Davaoeno USA Kadayawan Ball

Davaoeno USA Officers and friends pose with awardee Diosdado Ordonez

St. John’s University president Conrado “Bobby” Gempesaw

Filipino Social Club Coronation Ball Mrs. Philippines-USA 2015

(L-R) Linda de los Reyes, Bobby and Clavel Gempesaw, and Myrna Gutierrez

Rommel del Rosario and Beth Ramirez

PAMET-NY Awards Ball Philippine Association of Medical Technologists Mrs. Philppines-USA Marylou Gales is crowned by Nilda Trinchetta and Ambassador Mario De Leon Jr.

(Top) Joann Carman PAMET founding president Ismael “Mike” Jampayas (standing 5th from left ) and his guests

(Right) Lea Frain congratulates Mrs. Phil-Am USA Jocelyn “Joy” Aligarbes

Ihawan at Pulutan Philippine American Chamber of Commerce (PACC)

(L-R) Alex Esteban, Angie Cruz, Nelsie Prado, Loida Nicolas Lewis and Myrna Gutierrez (L-R) PACC president Michael Nierva, Ledy Almadin Ambassador Libran Cabactulan

Of chefs and pulutan Jeepney and Maharlika’s Nicole Ponseca

Eat to the beat!

Rolan Gutierrez and Roger Alama (L-R) Melissa Alviar, Don Tagala Monette Rivera and Felix Manuel

DR. MICHAEL AVARICIO

By Dennis

Clemente

Photos by Rolan

Gutierrez

Faithful altar server, exceptional in academics and athletics, award-winning compassionate physician

F

rom my first time meeting Dr. Michael Avaricio, I was impressed by the fact that he offered a car service to his patients who required assistance. A cardiologist who sits with his patients and listens attentively to their needs and aiding the patients get the necessary cardiac check-up and treatment.

When asking patients of Dr. Avaricio they too confirmed, “He cares about his patients”; he extends his services to everyone and for sure he sees to it that his patients get back home safely as well after he personally examines them. That’s a statement you wished your clinic could answer in the affirmative. Dr. Avaricio actually offers this personalized care at his medical facility, Advanced Cardiac Care on 95-11 101st Avenue, Ozone Park in Queens, New York.

Dr. Avaricio, 39, a formidable track, baseball, and basketball star at one point; a God-fearing cardiologist for more than a decade; and certainly the altar boy that he still is in words and deed—let this tiny detail almost go unmentioned during FilAm Who’s Who interview. He talked more about growing up Filipino.

“Yes, we offer car service to all patients in five boroughs,” he said almost in passing a full hour after the interview. “We started offering it five years ago since I opened my practice.” Dr. Avaricio revealed a story of a visually impaired patient who had been seen by another doctor and had been in that doctor’s office for so long, she didn’t realize it became nighttime. Due to her impairment, she could not see well at night and could no longer get home by public transportation. When he saw this distraught person, he immediately talked to her doctor who seemed disinterested since he was done with her and said 8 FIL-AM WHO’S WHO D E C e m b e r 2 0 1 4

that was her problem on how to get back home. Even though the patient was from another doctor’s practice, Dr. Avaricio felt compelled to help that patient and learned that he would never be the type of doctor that ends a relationship after he is done examining his patient. The blind woman was not his patient, but ever the Good Samaritan he paid for her cab ride nevertheless. Talk about extending bedside manners out of the clinic. The car service was put in place to take patients from their home to his clinic and back to their home so as to make it easy for patients to be able to get their health maintenance without having to worry of the stresses of disturbing other family members or taking public transportation. Today, his patients fill up every corner of his waiting room, making him one of the busiest doctors you’ll ever meet.

At his clinic in Queens, the busy doctor shares his medical building with no other than his wife-pediatrician, Dr. Elizabeth Avaricio (see related story) who has “Best Doctor Ever” greetings cards everywhere, written in many doodles of heartfelt gratitude.

Dr. Avaricio also has perfect rating on vitals.com aside from several consecutive annual awards. These include the Patients’ Choice Awards from 2008 to 2013; and the Compassionate Doctor Recognition from 2010 to 2013. A well-crafted poem from a patient hugs the middle spot, which points to how a patient’s personal dedication carries more weight than the prestigious accolades.

When Dr. Avaricio and his wife had purchased the building, an immediate renovation from top to bottom was started.

During the renovation, he had found numerous Catholic items found in the

top portions of the building, which seem to have been stored many years ago.

Some of these items included kneelers as well as statues of the Virgin Mary and pictures of prior bishops hanging on the wall. A religious man, Dr. Avaricio found the building more than just a serendipitous investment. When he had found these religious artifacts, he immediately spoke of his findings to his pastor during a parish council meeting for which the doctor is the president at Resurrection Ascension Church in Rego Park. It was there he would later learn more about the history of his building. He was introduced to a nun who had lived in the building in the past and explained that the building was previously a Catholic church, convent, and Catholic school. She mentioned they had consecrated and distributed communion in that building and reminded the doctor that the building is on “hallowed ground”. It was at that moment Dr. Avaricio believed that the purpose of the building was to serve people; he believed that God had given him the opportunity to do God’s will in trying to help preserve the best gift given to us, which is “life”. Not that he was ever worried, but he could not help but say back then, “Just don’t put too much pressure on me, God.” He laughs, but he knows all his blessings – his practice, family, and Filipino community efforts – “only come from Him.”

B

orn at the defunct New York Infirmary in Manhattan, NY, Dr. Avaricio grew up in Rego Park in Queens. His parents moved from the Philippines to the United States back in the ‘70s. He remembers details about their lives.

He spoke Tagalog in his early years, but to improve his American English accent, the teacher mistakenly asked his parents to better concentrate on teaching him to

DR. ELIZABETH AVARICIO

By Dennis

Clemente

Photos by Rolan

Gutierrez

The beloved pediatrician is selflessly dedicated to her seven- day work schedule

T

racking down the Avaricios of Rego Park for an interview took months in the making. Sitting down with both doctors Michael (see related story) and wife, Elizabeth, a pediatrician at their Ozone Park clinic in Queens on a Sunday evening, makes us even feel guiltier. It is probably their only free time during the week until she admits to working Sundays, too. Actually, make that seven days a week.

She avoids talking about herself in detail, preferring to highlight the stories of her patients. Who would not lose themselves in their work around children? It also reveals how little she has time for herself. She has not had a day off in months plus she has her own three kids to take care of: Michael Jr., a high school sophomore at 14; Victoria, 12, and Emily, 8, all well-behaved children, enjoying having their photos taken during our interview. She is a calm pediatrician who makes things look easy.

Pediatrics is not for the faint of heart. It is a high-wire act dealing with parents while also trying to serve the best interest of the patient who may also not be as communicative; after all, they are still babies or little children to begin with. But kids and parents alike simply adore her.

In the clinic she shares with her husband, you will see notes from kids, telling her she is “the best doctor ever.” Kids never lie, of course. On three websites healthgrades. com, vitals.com, and yelp.com, she rates a perfect four out of four.

Here is a heartfelt comment from Yelp’s site: “My son has been going to Dr. Avaricio for the past seven years. She is gentle and compassionate and will do whatever she can to make him feel at ease. If I call her service, even during the middle of the night with an emergency, I always get a call back within a few minutes. I could not think of a better doctor…taking care of him.”

Get this: She gives her mobile number and she actually responds.

“You can’t put off a day when a child calls in sick,” she said. She can be hampered by certain liability issues about seeing a patient outside of her clinic, but she does it in some cases. She also meets families to discuss the best treatment for their kids. Or they go out of their way to see her. Some come from as far as Pennsylvania. Some simply want her personal touch before they even let their kids enter a hospital.

You will hear how one family patiently waited for her for 11 hours to come at Long Island Jewish Hospital, one of the best hospitals for kids. They just wanted to make sure their child was going to be properly treated. She even drove one family member back home.

As we know, ER these days does not exactly stand for emergency anymore. You can be waiting there for six hours before someone calls your name. One time she came with a child at ER, she fought for a child to get a CAT scan. It turned out he had a tumor.

Elizabeth says she feels blessed. Every day, she gets new patients from referrals alone. This is enough to make her happy.

“It’s always a good feeling. I don’t even advertise.”

Elizabeth went to medical school at SUNY Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine, graduating in 1999. Her internship and residency hospital was at Schneider Children’s Hospital.

H

ow is this for kismet? Elizabeth was born on October 27, 1975 in the same Manhattan hospital two days apart from her husband (October 29) and was cared for by the same Filipino obstetrician.

They met more than 20 years later in April 1992 at an orientation class. She tapped him in the shoulder and asked him, “Are you Filipino?” They became inseparable friends and then a couple once they finished first year college.

Elizabeth said it was a friendly meeting but later also admitted, “I guessed it was love at first sight.” Still, they remained focused on their goal. “We supported each other.”

Talking about her Filipino roots, Elizabeth said she grew up with an appreciation of the culture. She thought it was a good sign of respect to call uncles and aunts “tito” and “tita.” “It’s a strange feeling for me to call someone with their first names,” she said.

She speaks and understands “crooked” Tagalog more than her husband or her children. She has also been in the Philippines. She was 12 when she visited her parents’ hometown in Candelaria, Quezon.

She remembers her Philippine visit fondly.

“I felt so welcomed. I heard roosters crowing. I used tabo (dipper) when taking a bath, and having no A/C. But I didn’t grow up with A/C in my Manhattan apartment years later anyway.”

Family life is making sure her kids and husband spend time together every year.

They’ve driven all the way to California and Florida. Recently, they did pumpkin picking.

“We also do karaoke singing and watch the Filipino shows on TV like ‘Eat Bulaga,’ but most of the time, we have our TV channels on Disney and Nickelodeon.”

When she is busy at her clinic, her in-laws take care of the children. She thinks it is important for them to have a well-rounded upbringing. The boy in the family is on the track team following the footsteps of his father; her daughters are learning ballet, while they’re also exploring musical instruments. Learning Tagalog is a good idea for her. “If they could stay in a family house in the Philippines, they’d learn the language,” she suggested.

She is certainly raising them the way she was raised. Both their parents came from the Philippines who valued education, religion, and hard work. Elizabeth’s father D E C e m b e r 2 0 1 4 FIL-AM WHO’S WHO 9

DR. MICHAEL AVARICIO continued from page 8 speak more in English, which clearly did not make sense, knowing what we know about how children can pretty much learn anything. Following the teacher’s request, he focused on English, losing most of his Tagalog speaking ability, but he still retains his understanding of Tagalog, which allows him to enjoy watching Filipino TV channels and being part of his Filipino community.

Dr. Avaricio does not forget what he set out to do in life. It was not about managing people, but looking after them—Filipinos included. He preaches healthy eating. Halfjoking, he said, “You have to break that myth that Filipinos will die if they don’t eat rice. For sure, you will not die. I know rice is power. Even I love rice, but it’s not good to have too much; you have to put gulay (veggies) as part of your meal, as your carbohydrate alternative.”

He suggests eating fiber and protein more, approximately about eight to 10 ounces a day about the size of your hand. Being exposed to participating in competitive sports at a younger age such as baseball, basketball, and track, Dr. Avaricio is a big proponent of exercise. For his Filipino community, he came up with a basketball camp for the youth as well as formation of an Advanced Cardiac Care Men’s Basketball team whose focus is organized teamwork philosophy. “I bumped into exPBA (Philippine Basketball Association) players like Renato Morano and Yoyoy Villamin. Next thing you know, I said, ‘let’s form a team’.” He wanted a team built from a systematic approach, not just a team playing basketball for themselves but to share their talents with others.

Dr. Avaricio acquired a basketball court for his players for four hours. However, the ex-PBA players would play with and teach children basketball for the first two hours

10 FIL-AM WHO’S WHO

DECember 2014

then the remaining two hours were used amongst players themselves to practice their own skills during team scrimmages.

His team has been very successful in not only dominating local Filipino leagues throughout New York City and New Jersey but are proud consecutive Three-peat InterCity champions after competing with a total of 3,000 players in Maryland, New Jersey, and other cities.

Except for the American accent, Dr. Avaricio proclaims, he is “100 percent Filipino.” The easy laugh is there in between heaps of Robin Padilla movie talk; subscriptions to Filipino TV shows; buying and owning properties in the Philippines (without seeing them); and being a dual citizen. Not bad for someone who has not set foot in the Philippines.

Do not hold that against him, though.

Dr. Avaricio was always a high achiever first. When he found out he could go from high school straight to medical school, he did just that.

He went to Sophie Davis, an affiliate of City University of New York, then he attended the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in NYC, where he became a medical doctor at the age of 22. He had completed his internal medicine residency at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and remained an extra year since he was asked to be a chief medical resident.

He was given numerous awards for his research and given teaching awards by his colleagues in the residency training program and the medical school. He then completed his fellowship in cardiovascular disease at the prestigious Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, which has been a leader in cardiothoracic surgery and cardiology for decades with national recognition.

After his training, Dr. Avaricio decided to go into private practice and from there he built from scratch his medical facility as well as his company Advanced Cardiac Care, PLLC. Dr. Avaricio aspires to one day visit the Philippines. However, he also understands the importance of being around for his patients, referring physicians, and staff.

As a solo practitioner, he aims to continue to grow his company and hopefully one day can find colleagues to join him in his practice and eventually cover him so he can make his life’s dream of visiting

the Philippines possible. He hears a lot about Manila, Boracay, and Palawan, but he also wants to visit the graves of his grandparents. His parents are retired here in the U.S. “I wish to, I want to, I will,” he said about visiting the Philippines.

D

r. Avaricio’s strong Filipino identification stems from his early formative years when he felt he was too different by bringing “tocilog” to his school and everyone was asking about it.

“You always felt you were an outsider…. when you’re outnumbered. If you were not black or white, you were Chinese,” he said.

Being different made him ask questions to God. Coming from a religious family, it was encouraged. It also led him to become an altar server because it made him feel at peace serving God. As part of his daily tasks, he would open the church for the priest at 7 a.m. from fourth grade to eighth grade.

Eventually, it was a relief for him to see so many Filipinos like him when he went to Archbishop Molloy High School.

“That’s when I understood Filipino culture more, as he became more active in the Filipino community. Not unlike Filipinos in the Philippines, he remembers playing basketball in “tsinelas” or flip flops growing up.

Dr. Avaricio said he can relate to Filipinos who experience some culture shock when they come here. I assure them, “Don’t worry. You have me.”

Perhaps it is his altar server years and religious convictions that make an empathetic and compassionate doctor. He said he could have also easily become a priest or teacher if he did not make it as a doctor. “I went to church and prayed to Jesus to make me pass the exam for medical school. When I passed, I said to God, ‘I guess you want me to be a doctor’. I never fail to thank him every day’.”

That he became a doctor at 22 is admirable, but becoming a chief resident at 25 at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center was even more impressive, especially when the position was filled up usually by 30 to 40-year-old and older resident doctors. He began cardiac interventional procedures such as cardiac angioplasty, pacemaker, and defibrillator insertion at 25 years old and became an attending cardiologist by 29.

Humbly realizing how quickly he achieved his accomplishments, Dr. Avaricio reminds himself that from each of his experiences to always take a life lesson from the moment. Dr. Avaricio recalls his first day as a chief resident: At the time, he was an overeager boss and the lesson he learned was about “change”. Dr. Avaricio had attended a multidisciplinary staff meeting in which he being the chief resident represented the staff doctors. The hospital felt that the all medical teams had to start

DR. ELIZABETH AVARICIO continued from page 9 only stopped working three years ago after working 16-hour working days for 30 years.

Elizabeth worked as a church receptionist from age 12 to 20. She is the oldest among three kids with a younger sister who is a nurse. Even at 12, Elizabeth said she knew she was going to be a pediatrician. “I was already reading books about the body then.”

Asked why there are not many Filipinos in medicine, if not how they can be inspired to achieve more, she said, “I think we should not just settle.” She believes Filipinos are hard workers, as she witnessed with her parents, but they just need to get rid of the “bahala na” (come what may) habit. “We’re smart people. We’re so ingenious. We talk about MacGyver things,” she said. “We just need to have our priorities right.”

DR. MICHAEL AVARICIO continued from page 10 earlier from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. to improve efficiency of services. Immediately, He being a chief relayed the message to all staff doctors and once announced he received negative feelings towards abrupt decisions. He realized from that moment that when you work as an individual you can make quick changes since it only effects oneself, but the more people that were under his leadership—Dr. Avaricio considered that as having a tail—the more people the longer the tail, and if you swing that tail too quickly there is a higher probability for damage. If you are going to lead a large group, “change” must be slow and with careful planning. Eventually if this is done, there would be smooth transitions to move towards improved performance.

After that experience, this Filipino doctor thinks of his long tail in every decision he makes, especially with his many hospital affiliations now.

It is a growing tail that consists of Lenox Hill Hospital, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Long Island Jewish Hospital,NYU Medical Center, and North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.

Someday, Dr. Avaricio will take that trip to the Philippines. He knows he will look differently at a rich politician side by side with a poor scrawny man without teeth. That is a given because of the extreme poverty in the Philippines.

As we know, most bad behavior comes from insecurity. You will see two vastly different people when if you put the altar server and a purported Philippine public servant together in one room. It will be like watching the most fulfilled man being the most humble one and the politician acting more entitled than he should be. Like the blind patient he helped, Dr. Avaricio knows he will not turn a blind eye. He just hopes he does not encounter “fat” politicians if he extended that long tail for a greater good.

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DECember 2014

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Community Calendar Dec 27

Meet and Greet with Renee Salud

To promote his June 27, 2015 fashion show, designer-icon Renee “Mama” Salud” will hold a meet and greet at Double Tree Newark Airport Hotel (128 Frontage Rd.) starting at 10am.

Interested customers who will order gowns, Barong Tagalog, etc. can discuss details with Renee at the event. For more information, call Ollie David 732-499-7995.

Until Jan 3

Catch the Closing Performance of “Here Lies Love” Off-Broadway

“Here Lies Love,” a hit musical based on the infamous rise and fall story of former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos, is closing at the Public Theatre (425 Lafayette St.). For tickets ($99-139), visit herelieslove.com.

Until Jan 15 Help Raise Funds for TOFA-NY Awards 2015 The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York (TOFA-NY) Awards are currently raising funds to pay for the venue rental, production, and logistical expenses for next year’s award ceremony. Donate $500 and get two VIP tickets to the show. To donate, visit gofundme.com/tofa2015.

Feb 4

A Musical Tribute for Lolo and Lola

The Outstanding Filipino Americans in New York (TOFA-NY) Awards are presenting a musical tribute to grandparents titled “Handog Kay Lolo at Lola,” featuring Kay Habana, Bonale Fambrini, and Philippine Chamber Singers Los Angeles, at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall (57th St. and Seventh Ave.) at 7:30pm For tickets ($50), call 212-247-7800.

Mar 14

Lea Salonga Live In Concert at Town Hall

Tony and Olivier winner Lea Salonga (“Miss Saigon,” “Les Miserables”) returns to the Town Hall (123 W. 43rd St.) for a solo concert at 8pm For tickets ($55-65), visit ticketmaster.com or Town Hall box office.

Apr 11

PIDCI Presents “2015 Diwa ng Kalayaan”

Philippine Independence Day Council Inc. (PIDCI) will present young Fil-Am ladies vying for the title “2015 Diwa ng Kalayaan” at Double Tree Newark Airport Hotel (128 Frontage Rd.). Winner will be featured in the parade celebrating the 117th Anniversary of Philippine Independence in Manhattan in June 2015.

Ongoing

Watch Fil-Am Actors in “Honeymoon in Vegas” on Broadway

Fil-Am Broadway actors Catherine Ricafort (“Mamma Mia,” “Cinderella”) and Albert Guerzon (“Mamma Mia,” “Ghost”) join the cast in the stage adaptation of “Honeymoon in Vegas,” based on the 1992 movie of the same name, at Nederlander Theatre (208 W. 41st St.). For tickets, visit ticketmaster.com or TKTS booth in the middle of Times Square.

Ongoing

Publish Your Photos on AkingLahi.com

Submit one of your personal photos, along with a 300-500 word caption, to AkingLahi.com, a photo-documentary website that chronicles the lives of Filipinos around the world. The online photo gallery is curated by Armand Frasco.

Royal Pontifical USTMAANY’s 23rd Anniversary Celebration Caps a Fruitful Year for UST Alumni

The World is My Oyster

The Royal Pontifical USTMAANY (University of Santo Tomas Medical Alumni Association in the State of New York) successfully celebrated its 23rd anniversary by holding a dinner dance, honoring its alumni and 2014 jubilarians, last October 19, 2014. Led by 2013-2015 President, yours truly Prospero A. Lim MD, the group enjoyed its very special day meeting, hobnobbing with classmates and friends from college days. As I said in my message, the event had afforded many alumni to reminisce the more joyous days of their past; it also gave them some respite from their new career paths (as glorified babysitters) and a rare time to dance those cares away. Furthermore, it was a day of somber remembrance of classmates and friends who have already crossed over to the bright, painless, and happy state.

The Royal Pontifical USTMAANY continues to help provide the UST School of Medicine additional funds through the national USTMAAA Foundation.

Moreover, USTMAANY is proud of having two of its officersmembers as incoming presidents of USTMAAA national organizations.

Dr. Cecilia Bayes Vallejo will be president of USTMAA; Dr. May Lou Buendia, on the other hand, will be president of USTMAAA Foundation. Another distinction of note is having officer-member Dr. Antonio Gonzales selected as Dr. Jose P. Rizal Awardee for Excellence in Medicine by Knights of Rizal New York.

Dr. Prospero A. Lim

2014 is truly a memorable one for UST alumni.

SHOOTER’S TIP Try altering your Christmas photos by not having the Christmas decor always in the background.

In this photo, my lovely model Helen KwongLabarbera poses on the Christmas decorated stair hand rails. I had her focused with the foreground slightly out-offocus and the background totally out-of-focus. This shows depth in the photo.

I edited the photo to increase the highlights so the Christmas lights glow in this shot.

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14 FIL-AM WHO’S WHO

Merry DECember 2014

ti y Shoo p p a H s and Christma

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