Category: Arts and Culture
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Success of the Kapwa Collaborative Benefit Gala
On November 30, 2025, despite experiencing the most snowfall in Chicago for the month of November, the Kapwa Collaborative Benefit Gala was a resounding success! Held at the elegant Allegra Banquets, the event drew an overflow crowd, primarily composed of essential and healthcare professionals who graced us with their love for community through dance and…
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Niles West High School Students Engage with Community Leaders at the Rizal Center
On December 4, 2025, we were thrilled to welcome students and chaperones from Niles West High School to our Rizal Center! This visit provided a wonderful opportunity to engage with youth and share the rich history of our Filipino American community, all while preparing for our annual Paskuhan celebration. Welcoming Youth to the Rizal Center…
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Support Kusina ng Bayan, the Kitchen that Feeds More than Hunger
Chicago’s Filipinx/a/o community has faced plenty of hardships this year, from rising prices and lower wages to reduced access to healthcare and attacks on our immigrant communities. Amid these challenges, food has become one of the primary ways our community continues to stay connected, resilient, and rooted. Through these challenges, Chicago’s Filipino food landscape has…
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Pamana Children’s Library-From the Author’s Desk
This December at Pamana Library Corner, we celebrate Rizal Month by highlighting one of the most refreshing contributions to Filipino children’s literature: Halo-Halo Histories. Published by Tahanan Books, the series has won the hearts of readers by showing that history can be fun, colorful, and easy to enjoy. Created by a talented group of writers…
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Pamana at Two: A Growing Legacy of Filipino Culture for Our Children
Rizal Center’s Pamana Library will celebrate its two year anniversary on December 9! Let’s take a look back at some of the ways Pamana has shared the love of Filipino culture with kids since then: We look back with gratitude on the many people who made our December 9, 2023 ribbon-cutting festival possible. Consul Ella…
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Making Filipino American History
by: Gabriel “Jay” Catanus In October of 1587, Filipinos landed in what we now call Morro Bay, CA. They were either sailors or slaves on board a Spanish trading ship Nuestra Seniora de Buena Esperanza that sailed between Manila and Acapulco. A similar arrival is recorded in 1595. Many years later, in 1763, Filipino sailors…
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The mini saints and ghoulish little people and adults of Halloween
They were mini saints carrying their respective instruments, attributing to their special holiness. The little St. Cecilia carried a small keyboard representing an organ, signifying her role as patron saint of music. The little Veronica showed extended arms with a length of fabric impressed with the legendary three faces of Christ from Lenten rituals. The…
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Tagalog comes to the rescue in the wintry cold of Chicago
The winter term at Rizal Center’s Tagalog Class will begin on Monday, January 19, 2026, in 2-hour sessions in 15 meetings, for a total of 30 hours. The class will meet every Monday and Thursday from 6 to 8 pm. The nurturing warmth and spirit of the Philippines’ heritage language is designed to temper the…
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Tagalog helped ease the pain of a father’s coming home
Never had a language – not mere words – played a poignant role in easing the waving aches of grief over a father who had passed away, away from the land and family he missed and loved through the years. But Tagalog did. This is the story of how the Philippines’ heritage language became the…
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Featuring: Set Gozo
Ancestors, 5”x6” Porcelain Set Gozo Set is a visual artist born in the Philippines. She grew up in a small town called Majayjay, Laguna. She moved to Chicago with her entire family in 1987. Set’s interest in art comes in at an early age, growing up in a naturally rich environment. Her town is at the…