Pluma Writers’ Collective – A collective of Filipinx-Canadian writers whose work spans genres and generations.

Pluma is a collective of Filipinx-Canadian writers whose work spans genres and generations.

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Hello friends! It’s @altheazm here, taking over

Hello friends! It’s @altheazm here, taking over #PlumaFridays for the month of July. With 2020 shaping up to be, well, somewhat of a garbage fire, I wanted to take some time to focus on a kind of storytelling that I think matters now more than ever: news and journalism.
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But first, a little bit about myself.
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I’ve been writing my whole life. But it wasn’t until I went off to university that I started to realize the true power of words.
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I did my undergrad in the era of George W. Bush and the War on Terror. Even though I was watching it all unfold from Canada, I learned that through the media, words could be used to manipulate — but that they could also be used to reveal truths and hold the powerful to account. Either way, these stories had real consequences for real people.
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I ended up going to journalism school, and long story short, I’ve been a member of the “mainstream media” for a decade now.
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I’m not as idealistic about journalism as I once was. There are problems with bias and representation in Canadian media. (As a FilCan kid who grew up in the suburbs of east Toronto — s/o Scarborough! — I never felt truly represented in the newsroom or in our coverage. It’s part of why I started freelancing on the side for the Philippine Reporter.)
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You can see some of those issues inside Canada’s media institutions now finally coming to light, thanks in large part to the anti-Black racism movement.
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But despite these problems (and many others), I still believe that journalism is important, and it needs to be defended — from disinformation campaigns, from claims of “fake news,” and from political leaders who attack the news media.
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So here I am. And I hope to spend the next few Pluma Fridays talking about it.
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Until then, stay safe, stay informed, and please…wear a mask.
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📸1+2: @juliennebay

It’s Canada Day and this is a day fraught with m

It’s Canada Day and this is a day fraught with many contradictions and complexities in my head and my heart. ⠀
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Hi friends! @justineabigail here and this will be my last post as part of my takeover for a little while. But before I go, I wanted to share some thoughts on Canada Day and what it means to be an immigrant settler. ⠀
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So what does this phrase “immigrant settler” even mean? It means to be someone who comes from another country to settle in what we now know as “Canada”. It means to be someone who has benefitted and continues to benefit from a system and government that first stole this land from Indigenous nations then stole and enslaved human beings from Africa to build this place I now call "home". It means to have a role and responsibility in dismantling these systems of oppression.⠀
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Beyond being an immigrant settler, I am also middle-class Filipina-Canadian whose parents entered this country through the Skilled Worker program with familial support already in place here for years — and who therefore had numerous advantages ahead of so many newcomers in this country (an apartment, a steady household income, a solid support system — just to name a few.)⠀
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I have always thought deeply about how this country has been good to me and my family, but has not been so good to so many others in my own community, and to all other marginalized communities, but the current state of the world has been that all the more apparent.⠀
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As immigrants, we often content ourselves by saying, “well, life is better in Canada than it is in the Philippines (or wherever you might be “from”). Look at how much better our lives are.”⠀
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But better does not mean good enough. Better does not even mean better for all, only better for some.⠀
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And so we must press on. We must continue to interrogate the systems around us, interrogate ourselves and our very own beliefs. We must think critically. And we must speak out and stand in solidarity with other marginalized communities, not just our own even if it is uncomfortable and inconvenient. ESPECIALLY when it is uncomfortable and inconvenient. ⠀
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Salamat sa pakikinig mga kapwatid. Until next time! ✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿

WHAT IS HERITAGE WITHOUT HOMELAND? @justineabigail

WHAT IS HERITAGE WITHOUT HOMELAND? @justineabigail here again. 🙋🏻‍♀️ As we close out Filipino Heritage Month, I think about how we in the diaspora often express pride around our heritage without knowing much about what’s going on in our very own homeland.⠀
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Just two weeks before pandemic lockdown, I returned home to Canada after a trip to the Philippines. Since then, I have watched from afar as my ancestral land descends even further under President Duterte. Since I left, the government has enforced curfews and checkpoints, inching towards martial law under the guise of protecting its citizens from COVID-19. The gov has shut down the largest media outlet that has actively spoken out against the current administration. And now, an “anti-terror” bill is on the table. ⠀⠀
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This “anti-terror bill” defines terrorism broadly to give law enforcement sweeping discretion over the arrest and detention of anyone they suspect of being a “terrorist”. What counts as “terrorist” acts? Joining a protest, gathering to organize around a political party, donating to non-state-recognized orgs, posting online content against the government. ⠀⠀
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It is very clearly designed to squash dissent against President Duterte and is an overreach of power.⠀⠀
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In case any of you have forgotten or were unaware – according to @humanrightswatch, there have been nearly 30,000 extrajudicial killings in the Philippines since Duterte’s “war on drugs” began in 2016. That’s 30,000 Filipinos killed without any kind of trial or due process. It is state-sanctioned murder. ⠀⠀
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Right now, the anti-terror bill is at Malacañang Palace awaiting the signature of Duterte. Without action from him, it will lapse into law on July 9.⠀
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As Filipinx in the diaspora who have been afforded privileges through distance by migration and duality in our identities, how do we show up and express solidarity for our kababayan right now? How do we use our hyphenated identities to act as a bridge in this time of crisis? ⠀
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I don’t have the answers but I urge you all to connect with the struggle at home. Follow @hacktibista_ @getsmobaph @nolisoli.ph @artnotterrorism @ofthepeopleph to learn more and stay updated.

LET’S WRITE TOGETHER! @justineabigail here again

LET’S WRITE TOGETHER! @justineabigail here again and I’m here to invite you to join me in cultivating your writing and storytelling practice! Join me on July 23 at 8-10 p.m. ET for Filipinx Feels: A Virtual Writing Workshop. Register at link in bio!⠀
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We’ll explore how we can honour our Filipino heritage while also living in between cultures, peoples, and places as part of a diaspora. What does it mean to be a hyphenated Canadian/American? To embody that hyphen in our own being? To act as a bridge between homeland and adopted country, between past and present, between our ancestors and descendants?⠀
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For the last year, I’ve been hosting writing workshops with @livinghyphen where we explore these questions of home, identity, and belonging as a community made up of various diasporas around the world, but as a tribute to Filipino Heritage Month, I wanted to do something specific to honour my own roots.⠀
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This writing workshop is designed for Filipinx in the diaspora of all writing levels, but especially those who are amateur or emerging. You should also be ready to share your work aloud as we aim to create this space of intimacy and connection! Through writing prompts and sharing circles, there will be plenty of space to create sparks for your creativity and a spotlight for your voice! You ready? ⠀
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TARA NA, ORAS NA MAG SULAT AT MAG KWENTUHAN! 📝⠀
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**Only 8 spots are available to keep our experience intimate and full of connection. Select spots have been reserved for subsidized pricing for those in financial need.**

How can we best honour our community during Filipi

How can we best honour our community during Filipino Heritage Month while also fighting in solidarity for the liberation of Black communities? We can do so by taking a good long hard look at ourselves and our very own community and confronting our own anti-Blackness. We can do so by engaging our pamilya at mga kaibigan in this really critical conversation about racial justice right now.⠀
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@justineabigail here, your @plumawrites host for the month urging you to start the revolution at home. Let’s initiate these really critical conversations with those who we are closest to, those with whom it is often the most difficult to have these conversations with — our Nanays and Tatays, Titas and Titos, Lolos and Lolas.⠀
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As a people colonized first by the Spaniards for 333 years and then the Americans for 48 years, we suffer from a long and hard case of the colonial mentality — that is, the thinking (often without even realizing it) that our colonizers, a.k.a white people, are superior to us and that we should aspire to their whiteness. Hence, our people’s rejection of anything close to being Black (think of the rampant use of whitening creams, the discouraging of playing under the sun, just to name the most obvious).⠀
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It is going to take a long time for us to unlearn these behaviours and this line of thinking but we need to start doing the work now. We need to break free from this line of thinking that oppresses not just Black people, but each and every single one of us. ⠀
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Don’t know where to start? I gotchu. Click the link in bio for a list of resources I’ve put together to help you through this cyclical and life-long journey of learning and unlearning - and how to involve your loved ones in that journey! ⠀
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*Please note that these resources are media that I have personally consumed and have learned from. This is by no means comprehensive, but rather is meant to be a living resource, an ongoing work-in-progress — just like I am, just like we all are.⠀
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ISANG BAGSAK. ✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿

MGA KAIBIGAN, HAPPY FILIPINO HERITAGE MONTH! @just

MGA KAIBIGAN, HAPPY FILIPINO HERITAGE MONTH! @justineabigail here, your host for the month and woooo have we got a lot to talk about!! But before we dive in, allow me to introduce myself! ⠀
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I’m the founder of @livinghyphen, an emerging magazine that explores what it means to live in between cultures as part of diaspora. I’m also a freelance writer whose words have been featured in @intermissionmagazine, Metro News Canada, African Business Journal, @pinaycollection, @cambio_co, and Makeshift Magazine. ⠀
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I’m also an award-winning writing workshop facilitator whose work with Living Hyphen has been featured on national and local media outlets including CTV National News, CBC Metro Morning, Radio-Canada International, CBC Ontario Morning, and CityTV’s Breakfast Television. ⠀
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NAKS NAMAN, DIBA?! I know, I’m loud and I’m proud about these accomplishments and I’m not sorry about it. Because you know what? Other than my own mother, I never really saw Pinays like me when I was growing up. ⠀
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I didn’t know it then, but I recognize now that so many of younger years were spent HUNGRY for Filipinx role models - people who looked like me, who spoke like me, who understood, without having to say a word, where I come from. Between the lack of representation in mainstream media and my own disconnection from the wider Filipinx-Canadian community, I didn’t and couldn’t know what I/my people were capable of.⠀
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I realize now that I, and my other Pin@y friends (right here in @plumawrites!) are serving as those very role models that I was searching for when I was younger – a privileged position that I will never take lightly. This is why on this month, and every month, I make it a point to tell you who I am, where I come from, what I’ve done, and all that I continue to do. ⠀
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So follow along the journey right here with Pluma or come on over and connect with me at @justineabigail where I talk about all things about the Filipino diaspora and beyond. ⠀
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#ISLANDWOMXNRISE #MAGANDANGMORENX⠀
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📸 @blamejada

Tomorrow marks the beginning of #FilipinoHeritageM

Tomorrow marks the beginning of #FilipinoHeritageMonth in Canada. But if we want to celebrate Filipinx pride, our culture, and our history in a meaningful way, we must get real and talk about allyship and solidarity as well. We stand in solidarity with the Black community because WE ARE NOT FREE UNTIL ALL OF US ARE FREE 👊🏽.
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Swipe right to learn how you can be an ally to the Black community and how we can lift each other up. Hit up the link in our bio 👆🏽 for resources you can download and share (please credit as necessary)! And MAJOR THANK YOU to @kalamendoza for creating this incredible poster and empowering Filipinos to stand up and show our solidarity #Filipinx4blacklives
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This is @gelainesantiago, tuning in for my final post on @plumawrites this month. It's been a pleasure taking over #PlumaCollective on IG and engaging with y'all. Stay tuned on our IG throughout June. And if you'd like to connect with me personally, hit me up @gelainesantiago and @cambio_co. Salamat. Stay loud, brown, and PROUD 👊🏽 #blacklivesmatter

Hi all! @gelainesantiago for another #PlumaFridays

Hi all! @gelainesantiago for another #PlumaFridays talking about our theme: SURVIVAL.
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This month is #AsianHeritageMonth. It’s also #AAPI Heritage Month in the US. And June is #FilipinoHeritageMonth in Canada. It’s very fitting these are happening amidst a pandemic. Given the rise of anti-Asian racism, and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the world’s health workers, majority of whom are Filpinx, the coming together of community, culture, and survival feels so appropriate.
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As @faithsantilla so beautifully said in the epic Filipinx anthem ‘Us’ with @rubyibarra: “Your DNA contains building blocks made from the Mud of over 500 years of resistance and survival.”
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Survival is in our genes, baked in throughout our people’s history of colonialism, capitalism, and imperialism. And even from the Philippines itself - our motherland’s many typhoons, earthquakes and volcanoes. We survive and persist, but we thrive too. As artists we celebrate all of these things - our art, our lives, our whole and complex identities. Our survival. And the ways we rise time and again 👊🏽.
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We can’t wait to celebrate #FilipinoHeritageMonth with you all next month! Already got something planned? Drop it in the comments! 👇🏽
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Photo taken during @pinoysonparliament panel about identity featuring Pluma fam @gelainesantiago (me!), @erctigz, and @jennilee_a

Hello everyone! @gelainesantiago here again for #P

Hello everyone! @gelainesantiago here again for #PlumaFridays all about the theme of the month: SURVIVAL. Today, I’m sharing works by Filipinx authors that have made me think deeply about what it means to survive, emerge, and evolve.
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THE FARM BY JOANNE RAMOS (@joanneramosthefarm)
✨ The Farm is about a fictional facility where women serve as surrogates for wealthy clients. It’s written from the perspectives of four different women, and speaks of the unconditional bounds of maternal love and what people will do to survive.
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THE BODY PAPERS BY GRACE TALUSAN (@gracetalusanwriter) ✨ An emotional read, #TheBodyPapers documents the author’s experiences with sexual abuse, depression, cancer, and life as a Filipino immigrant. Talusan speaks about difficult subjects with heart, compassion, and elegance; and how we can move forward and evolve while still carrying past traumas with us.
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INSURRECTO BY GINA APOSTOL ✨ #Insurrecto is a metafiction built around the 1901 massacre in Balangiga, Samar where Filipino revolutionaries attacked American troops. In retaliation, the Americans murdered thousands of Filipinos and turned the town into a ‘howling wilderness’. Insurrecto is about the massacre, but it’s also about the nature of history and how our stories become changed, erased, or sustained based on who tells them.
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How about you? What other works around the theme of ‘survival’ should we check out?

Hello everyone! @gelainesantiago here again for #P

Hello everyone! @gelainesantiago here again for #PlumaFridays on Saturday 😬 cause who’s keeping track of days anymore? This month’s theme is SURVIVAL and I’m excited to share a few things I’ve been working on.
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A friend and I recently launched @pandemicvoices, a community storytelling project of personal essays from around the globe about living through COVID-19. All of us are connected by this pandemic, but we also experience it differently. I’ve loved reading the submissions and getting insight into different worlds. You can read along @pandemicvoices and submit your story, too!
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I’ve also been editing several pieces for @cambio_co’s blog about Filiipinx fashion, beauty, and culture. We’ve been gathering lots of stories from the community, and it’s been incredible. One of the recent pieces we published is ‘What I Wish My Filipina Mother Taught Me About Beauty’ by @zeameetsworld and it made me feel all sorts of things. You can check out all our Cambio stories at the link in our bio 👆🏽 and follow along @cambio_co. We’ll be hosting a series of online events, one of them specifically for writers in the coming weeks 🥰.
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And, of course, I’ve been writing a lot. Most of them are half baked journal entries and discarded drafts that no one will ever see, but I’ve always turned to writing to process traumatic or difficult moments and this time is no different. My personal Why is to share stories that inspire positive change. And it’s during these hard times just how much I realize the power in that. Writing, sharing my story, and creating space for others’ voices hasn’t just been a way to occupy my mind during quarantine. It’s also been a coping mechanism and form of healing.
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What are your coping mechanisms? How have you used storytelling and community to help you heal during these times?

Hello! @gelainesantiago here for this month’s #P

Hello! @gelainesantiago here for this month’s #PLUMAFRIDAYS. May’s theme is SURVIVAL. Very fitting, right?
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I’ll preface my story by saying that for most of my life, I didn’t feel very Filipino. I grew up in a Filipino household eating Filipino food and I’d respond, “I’m Filipino!” when someone mistook me as Chinese or Korean. Since I was educated around white people, that happened a lot 🤷🏻‍♀️. But I didn’t feel truly proud to be Filipino til my twenties.
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I was born in Bulacan and moved to Canada when I was two. When I returned for the first time at 22, it was a shock. I met family members for the first time, fell in love with sinigang and finally understood my parents when they’d say, “It just tastes different in the Philippines.”
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In Philippines, I learned about Filipino craftsmanship and the artisans who are keeping our craft traditions alive. My partner and I founded @cambio_co to celebrate Filipino heritage while empowering artisans through livelihood. We aim to create bridges between here and back home by providing tangible ways for Filipinos in the diaspora to feel connected through the things we wear (#WearYourHeritage).
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Through Cambio, I began writing a lot - about my journey as an entrepreneur, the artisans we work with, our history, craftsmanship, and my evolving Filipinx identity. I published these things on @cambio_co’s blog, which today has 10K advocates worldwide and 2K monthly readers. We also work with Filipinx writers in Manila, Canada, and the USA to share their stories, too.
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Numbers are one thing, but the real power is what they represent. Those are thousands of people who are learning about our history and crafts and actively celebrating who we are. I’m amazed at the ways we survive. By the artisans who continue to practice their craft and keep it going - despite colonialism, poverty, and racism. I’m amazed at how traditions survive, how we as people survive, and how our stories survive through their retelling.
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I’m excited to get to know y’all more this month! You can connect with me @gelainesantiago, subscribe to my email newsletter Life In Colour, and learn about our work at @cambio_co. Salamat, fam!

As most of us enter the second month of quarantine

As most of us enter the second month of quarantine at home, I'd like to ask: what does your kitchen look like? Have you tried cooking a Filipino dish you've never made before? Was it hard to find the ingredients you needed, and did the recipe turn out the way you hoped it would?

I've asked myself these questions so many times, and the answers are often split. Most days, my kitchen has whatever was on sale from the grocery store - though I moved out of my parents' house a long time ago, the thriftiness I grew up with still has a very central place in my kitchen (freeze all the meats! use absolutely all the leftovers in the fridge for fried rice, that makes another two meals!) 🏠

I've tried so many recipes from cookbooks and the internet that were a total fail, and it bugged me how the Filipino cookbooks I got seemed to always be very sparse with details on how long to actually cook things, that my end result hardly looked anything like the picture. I used to get mad and think "why can't we be just like the rest of the world, and standardize and codify our cookery books so that EVERYONE can cook from them?" The thing is, I'm still learning to unlearn the mindset that makes me think that way. When I ask an elder for help with what I'm cooking, and all I get is to add "konti lang" (just a little) - I pause and choose to dismiss the frustration I feel towards the generation who "just doesn't understand". Because they understand, more than I ever will, the importance of stretching everything you have, and making something delicious out of it to feed the people you love. When they go with their gut to adjust the taste, or "timpla", in a pot of sinigang, I check my own gut feeling to "look down" on the convenient powdered mix that made all the sinigangs I grew up with. I don't know what my parents' lives were like, working sometimes 12 hours a day and raising three kids in a place where the future seemed unclear.

For me, today, what's clear is I need to keep cooking and learning. Through food, I learn a little more about myself. Through the rest of quarantine, I hope you learn a few things from your kitchen! 😊

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