Singers Jed Madela and Aria Clemente, the Philippines’ Grand Champion Performers of the World in the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) are performing at the 2008 opening ceremony at the Universal CityWalk in Hollywood and at the finals night at the grand ballroom of the Westin Bonaventura in downtown Los Angeles.

Also known as the Hollywood Olympics, WCOPA opens on July 25. The international talent search gathers together delegates from more than 40 countries to compete in a talent search organized by Hollywood and Broadway producers.

Madela, who won the Grand Champion Vocalist of the Year title in 2005, will sing “Go the Distance” from the Disney animated film Hercules during WCOPA’s opening ceremony. He will also be sitting as a judge during the preliminary and semifinal rounds of the weeklong competition.

Madela will also be singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” on finals night. In addition, he will welcome the new 2008 WCOPA Grand Champion Performers of the World with the song “We Are the Champions.” His version is re-arranged by Filipino composer Arnel de Pano especially for WCOPA.

Children of the diaspora they are: This historical photo is part of the recently released book Filipinos in the East Bay.

A new historical book by Arcadia Publishing documents the migration …

Almost everyone and his pet has a blog these days. Teachers blog, and so do celebrities like artist Jim Paredes and his daughter Ala. Even international star Lea Salonga has one. So who’s to say this Pinoy monk can’t too?

Cenobite monk Dom Lawrence has been blogging for four years now from the confines of an abbey in the desert of New Mexico, and he finds it a very influential vehicle, not to mention it’s free.

Singer-actor Sam Milby poses with a young fan during the two-day Pinoy Musik Festival held last week at Secaucus, New Jersey. The event was sponsored by Myx, Asian Journal, Western Union, Special Edition Press, Mama Sita’s, and our good friends at Aryty, among many others.

Other performers include MYMP, Kris Lawrence, Divo Bayer, the PorkChop Duo, and Ray Kilay of Poca New Jersey.

Los Angeles–New York Times best-selling Filipino-American author Marisa de los Santos is featured at a book launch organized by the Filipino American Library in Historic Filipinotown on Friday, May 30, 7 p.m. at Remy’s on Temple.

De los Santos will read and sign copies of her novels Belong to Me and Love Walked In. The book launch marks the author’s first visit to this area of Los Angeles, which has most recently experienced political and economic renaissance since Pinoys settled here in the early twentieth century.

The Filipino American Heritage Institute is a nonprofit organization committed to maximizing resources, private collections, donations, and volunteers to ensure the preservation and access to historic and modern Filipino and Filipino-American literature. Its library division, the Filipino American Library, opens Mondays to Fridays, 1 to 5 p.m. and by appointment.

A storytelling session organized by the Filipino American Library. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Lorenzo.

Los Angeles – The first and largest Filipino library in the US continues to share Filipino children’s books to families around Greater Los Angeles. Through its new Children’s Reading Program and with the co-sponsorship of the County of Los Angeles Public Library, the Filipino American Library (FAL) will have its next two events on Saturday, May 31 at Carson Regional Library (151 E. Carson St.) and Saturday, June 7 at Artesia Library (18722 S. Clarkdale Ave.).

They will both be held from 2 to 4 p.m. and are recommended for children ages 5 to 10. To RSVP for these free events, please contact filamlibrary@sbcglobal.net or 213-382-0488.