Category: News
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A Rare Gathering of Minds
By Larry Leopoldo, based on an interview with Ube Leopoldo Mascarenas The first thing he noticed wasn’t the competition—it was the sound. Chess pieces clicking against tournament boards, conversations rising and falling, Tagalog drifted across the room. The hall at the Rizal Center felt less like a tournament and more like a gathering, something tangible…
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Join Us! Fundraising Circle Meeting on April 12
The Rizal Center has thrived thanks to the contributions of community members. This is true at all levels; our board of directors is all volunteers, we have a robust roster of volunteers that restore the building, and programs and events at Rizal Center are often designed by community members, like the Balikbayan Book Club and…
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Rizal Center Proudly Welcomes New Board Member
Deyi is a graduate of Far Eastern University, Manila, College of Nursing Class of 1979. She worked as a community-based health nurse for underserved populations in rural and urban areas in the Philippines. She migrated to the U.S. in the early eighties, worked for 20 years in psychiatry, orthopedics, and medical-surgical units in the Rush-Presbyterian…
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Champions of Culture: PSA Barkada Takes 1st at Battle of the Bamboo 2026
The spirit of Bayanihan was vibrant at the Copernicus Center on February 21st during the 2026 Battle of the Bamboo. We are overjoyed to announce that PSA Barkada from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign took home the 1st Place trophy! Their winning piece, Semgulang Tawan Sohul (Semgulang Afflicted by Madness), was a breathtaking epic…
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REVIEW OF THE ART OF BELONGING
The Art of Belonging at the Rizal Center By Ginger Leopoldo In recent weeks, the Rizal Center has become a home for The Art of Belonging, a multidisciplinary theater experience blending literature, archival film, and live performance into a communal act of remembering and imagining. The production offered more than a show. It created a…
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In Loving Memory of Michael Caga-anan Aguhar
Dear Community, We are writing to share the funeral arrangements for our beloved Michael Caga-anan Aguhar. The service will take place in Houston, Texas, and the details are included below for those who would like to attend or support from afar. We also want to let you know that a Celebration of Life is being…
