#ndbto

Letter to the Editor

The Toronto Star

Attention: Desk of Michael Cooke

1 Yonge Street

Toronto, ON

M5E 1E6

Dear Editor:

I’m writing in response to the article titled “PETA-offending treats on the menu in Philippines,” which appears online at thestar.com at the time of my writing on August 20, 2015.

I’m quite surprised that the Toronto Star would permit the publication of an article with this slant in the Life/Travel section of your esteemed publication. The choice in title appears to deliberately bait readers, basically reducing a country with a rich and nuanced flavor palate to the backwoods. The writer framed the article unfairly by choosing to highlight each dish’s ‘Ick Factor’ rather than provide an objective reporting of what could have been a very delicious food trip had she been guided appropriately.

Of course, the Philippines has its share of street food, as well as choice of unusual, even ‘exotic,’ ingredients. What would the writer have said if she had been served the chicken backside as the amuse bouche in a nose-to-tail restaurant? Would she have turned up her nose at the choice of the chef to serve her red bean ice cream to finish off her meal?

I’m not sure what Ms. Counter’s objective was when she set off on this gastro-adventure. Did she set out wanting to prove that Filipino cuisine was in fact icky? Could someone also be commissioned to find the Ick in Canadian cuisine by trolling the streets of downtown Toronto to pass judgement on the 3AM hotdog outside of Osgoode Station?

Intrepid Travel should have been more discerning in their choice to feature cuisine from the Philippines. As a company that prides itself in packaging small group adventures that have been “carefully designed to make sure you have an unforgettable grassroots travel experience,” they’ve done a really great job offending the people on the ground who are resourceful in their use of the available ingredients and in their interpretation of traditional ways of cooking. A people who are also unmatched in their efforts to be hospitable to a visitor who ungraciously “threw up over a wall. True story.”

I would invite Ms. Counter and Intrepid Travel to get in touch with Filipinos and in fact other globetrotters who have made their way to the Philippines or have even sampled the cuisine as interpreted by new chefs in Toronto and across North America. Yana Gilbuena of Salo Series, who is now concluding a trip across Canada in Halifax, would love to cook Ms. Counter a meal that would re-educate her on the flavours of the Philippines, perhaps, even give her a history lesson on why we’ve been avid nose-to-tail chefs well before it was cool and hip. (By the way, ask James from Bar Ape in Toronto on how much he liked collaborating with Yana to create a cheese and corn ice cream bar when Yana was here in early August).

Lamesa Filipino Kitchen could also give Ms. Counter and her friends a delightful introduction to remixed traditions. Kanto by Tita Flips could show her on a warm Thursday afternoon in Toronto how ihaw-ihaw (off the grill) can change her perception of Filipino street food. Then, if that still weren’t enough, travel to Lola’s Kusina in Rexdale to cap it off with a sweet ending of halo-halo or Nutella, sans rival.

I would hope that in a time when the world is getting smaller and our pantries are starting to include new staples like soy sauce, sugar cane vinegar and fish sauce, that instead of clickbait and ick-mongering the Toronto Star would encourage an exploration and appreciation of new flavours and different cultures.

Sincerely,

Isabela Palanca

City Curator Team, NextDayBetter + Toronto

Associate Producer, Carlos Bulosan Theatre

  Photo Credit: youqueen.com

Following the most winding paths can lead to great things. Here, I’d like to share my journey to becoming a Filipino-Canadian theatre producer, and why I believe we can all make the next day better.

By Leon Aureus

“Be the change.” That’s my three-word life manifesto. It’s a very powerful thought.

Fresh out of university, I had a pretty decent job at a consulting firm in the heart of downtown Toronto. The pay was good, I had a shiny silver sports car, and the future looked bright and secure. But I wasn’t happy. I had long dreamed of being an actor and writer and I felt I never gave it a shot. I wasn’t being true to myself and needed to answer to this calling. I needed to make a change.

So I respectfully left my job (fortunately, they offered to keep me on part-time), enrolled in acting classes and embarked on a newfound artist life to live happily ever after.

But paths are hardly ever that clear.

There weren’t many roles out there for young Filipino actors. I knew I’d face that challenge going in, but confidently (oh, youth!) I believed I would blaze a path of opportunities based on my passion and talent.

Kung-fu slippers

It was difficult to show one’s range when most acting roles available to ‘Asians’ or ‘all ethnicities’ are of the one- to two- liner variety, or required you to be fluent in Cantonese (or any other language besides the English you grew up speaking). As I danced around onstage playing a Chinese railroad worker (in an opera!) one night, wearing pajamas, kung-fu slippers and a pointy rice paddy hat, I faced another turning point that called for big change.

I wanted to create opportunities for myself and fellow Asian artists who have stayed blurry in the background of popular North American culture for far too long.

As with all the right challenges, a long journey proceeded. I worked with amazing people at Second City (the world’s largest school of improv and sketch comedy) and learned a lot about the craft. I directed my first short film, and was thrilled when it was nominated for Best Canadian Short at Toronto’s ReelWorld Film Festival! I also co-founded an Asian-Canadian theatre company called fu-GEN (which officially is an abbreviation of future generation, but unofficially stands for f*cking geniuses).

I remember the early days (and sleepless nights) when I first started producing theatre with my meager savings, worrying that no one would come to our productions. But with luck, we sold out shows for our short run. A community who shared my vision of changing the face of Canadian theatre started to grow, organically.

As the Artistic Producer of fu-GEN, I worked with wonderfully talented artists and friends, creating exciting theatrical work that featured Asian-Canadian artists. With the company’s support and inspiration, I wrote my first play, and it enjoyed successful runs across Canada.

Life was good. Then I hit a wall.

Yet another break point

Helping run an independent theatre company, advocating for diversity in the Canadian arts community, and finding work as an artist who could pay rent was exhausting. After several years, and with changing views and philosophies surrounding the direction of the company, I needed a break.

Before I could move on to focus on another long term goal of becoming a filmmaker, I was invited to work with Carlos Bulosan Theatre’s CBT Collective. Here I would write and perform in People Power, a play centered around the events of EDSA 1, the peaceful revolution that ended a 20-year dictatorship in the Philippines. People Power reinvigorated my passion for theatre, and as I delved into Filipino history and culture further, I felt great respect for creating work that had important relevance to our community.

As the CBT Collective struggled through the creation of its next play, In the Shadow of Elephants, I was presented with another challenge. After 30+ years of supporting Filipino art and artists in the community, the Carlos Bulosan Theatre was now experiencing significant financial and operational difficulties that threatened its survival. It was in need of new leadership.

In truth, I didn’t want to be that leader, as I’d just been down a similar road with fu-GEN. I could’ve chosen to complain or do nothing about the situation, but I felt tremendous responsibility to the play we were creating, that ambitiously aimed to tell the history of Filipino resistance to colonial powers.

The CBT Collective gave me and so many other Filipino-Canadians space to work and grow as artists. If they folded, our community would lose an invaluable resource that nurtured artists and celebrated our voices and stories on stage.

With that in mind, I stepped forward to become CBT’s Artistic Producer. With the help of a generous cast and crew, In the Shadow of Elephants was delivered to great acclaim despite severe budget cuts.

I’m now in the midst of slowly trying to rebuild and strengthen the theatre company and the audience/community that surrounds it (and I could use all the help I can get). This is why I was drawn to and applied for the opportunity to be City Curator for NextDayBetter Toronto.

How can you make the next day better?

NextDayBetter is about building community. It’s about creating a global network of like-minded individuals from all walks of life, who believe in facing the challenges that stand before them and being the change they want to see in their world.

The Philippines is at the forefront of many significant challenges that face our world: large socio-economic disparities, rapidly growing challenges in health and education systems, the occurence of natural disasters that appear to increase in severity with each passing year.

It is imperative that more of us accept these challenges and strive to be the positive change as citizens and caretakers who will pass this planet on to future generations. The world needs people who care – people who take action.

Mahatma Gandhi said, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him…we need not wait to see what others do.”

So, let’s not wait. Why not start? Do something. Meet inspiration, be an inspiration.

Make NextDayBetter your next opportunity to get out there and help us build the community that’s going to be the change we’ve all been craving.

NextDayBetter Toronto takes place at the Centre for Social Innovation Annex (720 Bathurst) from 7PM-10PM on Thursday, June 19, 2014.

Tickets available here: https://bit.ly/ndbTO