Video Script

 

Lead VO: On a warm day in early April, Filipinos from across Boston gathered in Somerville for the monthly meeting of the Boston Filipino American Book Club, or BFAB.

 

Bren Bataclan: We’ve been meeting for the past 16 years. We mostly just read Filipino-American authors…This is the second time we are reading Gina Apostol’s book…we are reading her book called Insurrecto, so she’ll be Zooming with us from Europe. 

 

Alice Layug: It’s interesting. I like it. I like it when the Filipino writers are doing well here.

 

VO: Not only does BFAB offer a space for Pinoys who simply want to meet fellow Pinoys in the Boston area, but it also gives Filipino writers and authors space to discuss what these stories mean for the diaspora and generations that come after them.

 

Grace Talusan: I want to be reading contemporary Filipino-American writers because those are my colleagues, those are the people that I’m writing to in a way.

 

VO: Fruitful conversations about the month’s reading pick make up a bulk of BFAB meetings. However what makes in-person gatherings like these distinct is that food has a way of connecting Filipinos together.

 

Andrew Zubiri: Definitely it’s one of the highlights of attending BFAB in person…I think Filipino food is meant to be shared. It’s meant to be a communal experience when there is Filipino food.

 

Nicole-Anne Keyton: I’ve noticed that everyone likes to talk about the food that they make when they bring food. I’ve never really been in an environment or social gathering where people really want to talk about the story behind it, which I find really fascinating.

 

VO: At a meeting like this day filled with laughter, joy, and sheer catching up, I couldn’t leave without asking folks about their favorite Pinoy dish.

 

Andrew Zubiri: Mostly the coconut-based dishes…Laing is made with dried taro leaves, and then it’s braised in coconut milk. 

Bren Bataclan: I love tortang talong…Tortang talong is eggplant-based. It’s sort of like an eggplant omelet.

Nicole-Anne Keyton: My heart is always with chicken adobo, just because it’s the kind of dish I go to for comfort…It’s a flavor I can’t quite master–I don’t think I ever will–but it’s really great to try everyone else’s.

SOT: Reporting for Panlasang Balay, this was Marieska Luzada. Sarap!