HIV & AIDS Education and Prevention
On 4/28/22, long-time activist organizers Gil Mangaoang, Jaime Geaga, Irene Soriano, and Tala Mateo spoke about their work on AIDS education and prevention, highlighting lessons from and the continuing work of organizing in pandemic times. The panel was organized by Lucy Burns for their UCLA course titled “Making Fiction Work: the Philippines and its Elsewheres,” taught at UCLA in the Asian American Studies Department. This panel was inspired by each of the speakers’ life-work, and Gil Mangaoang’s memoir Flutter Free.
The panelists spoke about organizing work they were doing in Los Angeles (and beyond), serving in different capacities–as founding directors, consultants, program leaders and curators, treatment advocates. The different health community services initiatives and programs include the Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team, UC Berkeley School of Public Health “Natural History of HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Study,” National Board of the National Minority AIDS Council, Filipino Task Force on AIDS, HIV/AIDS Prevention & Education with APAIT and with Proyekto Kuya, Asian Pacific American Reading Series. Each speaker spoke about the challenges of doing work on AIDS, as well as what was memorable, sustaining, and for some, formative. WATCH THE VIDEO
*Lucy MSP Burns, author of Puro Arte: Filipinos on the Stage of Empire (New York University Press, 2013), is an associate professor at UCLA’s Asian American Studies Department. Burns is also a dramaturg and initiated a project on the impact of COVID-19 closures on BIPOC theater. (https://www.bipoctheatresurveys.com)
Flutter Free: Gil Mangaoang’s Memoirs
A Filipino American gay man sharing his story of struggles and triumphs as he navigates life’s challenges and rewards. Here are photos from yesteryears. Watch Flutter Free, the event.
Ms Mela Habijan
A Proud Filipina Trans Woman
In Celebration of FAHM*
Panelists: Leni Marin, Jaime Geaga, Leah Obias, Nica Ramirez, Anthony Ocampo, & Amy St. George. Moderated by Kevin Nadal
*October is Filipino American History Month (FAHM)
Call Her Ganda
When a transgender Filipina woman is found dead in a motel room and the leading suspect is a U.S. Marine, grassroots activists demand accountability. The ensuing case lays bare political tensions between the United States and the Philippines. MORE INFO
Pamanhikan by Angelo Santos
The short film “Pamanhikan” is a comedic mockumentary that explores what could happen when the supportive mother and ignorant father of a young Filipino gay man meets the disapproving mother and estranged father of his Caucasian fiance.
Remember when your parents met your spouse’s parents for the first time? For Filipinos, there is a formal occasion for that. It’s called a pamanhikan.
It Runs in the Family by Joella Cabalu
After a Filipina-Canadian living in Vancouver, BC learned her brother was gay, she found out that at least another half a dozen of their family members were also gay.
Following that discovery, she eventually went on to create a documentary about acceptance and what the modern Filipino queer family could be like based on the experiences of her own. FOR MORE INFO
Napoleon Lustre
Produced by UCLA Asian Am Studies Center, Ethno Communications Center
A Filipino American Poet Living with HIV. Napoleon’s contact info: (nca_lustre@icloud.com)
