117: "There’s not one way to be Filipino. My feeling of belonging is based on wherever I am now with myself.” Sampling cultures, land acknowledgments, & the somatic effects of culture shock with Magdalena Valderrama
Rural resident, Co-Founder & Development Director of the Seigler Springs Community Redevelopment Association, and meditation community elder Magdalena Valderrama sits down with co-hosts Jen & Nani to share her diplomatic family’s migration story from the Philippines to the U.S., and how her & her four siblings’ different interpretations of their shared experience has translated into the diverse collection of identities they hold today.
In her story, she learns to overcome the initial waves of culture shock & grows a unique appreciation for New York’s wide range of (specifically non-Filipino) hyphenated Americans, who she later realizes would play an essential role in teaching her about her own history as a Filipino American.
The confrontations Magdalena has faced in learning her cultural history have pushed her into a lifelong practice of accepting herself as she is, over & over again. In reflecting on her life’s journey, she asks us all to consider we’re more than what we look like; and as we contemplate that mystery of existence, to take note of where our happiness truly comes from.
Learn more about Seigler Springs Community Redevelopment Association at www.sscra.org, or connect with Magdalena on LinkedIn: Magdalena Hurwitz and on Facebook @seiglerspringslakecounty.
Resources Mentioned:
What, Where, When, How, Why and Who To Remember To Be Happy (illustrated book for children, and also a separate CD narrated by the author): http://www.dawnhorsepress.com/ProductDetail.aspx?PID=2451
What, Where, When, How, Why and Who To Remember To Be Happy video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qlvQqN6fDI
Prior Unity (book): http://www.dawnhorsepress.com/ProductDetail.aspx?PID=4461, and Prior Unity--short video introduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x24obZ-e3Yc
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Join Jen in person or in Nashville, TN for The World’s Largest Podcast Conference: Podcast Movement! On Wednesday, August 4, 2021 1:30 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. (EDT), Jen will be joining the panel Using Microphones to Shatter the Bamboo Ceiling: How Hearing Asian Voices Can Flip the Narrative Around Being Asian. Register today at https://2021.podcastmovement.com/
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ABOUT US: From 2019 to 2024, The Filipino American Woman (TFAW) Project was a podcast that strengthened Filipino voices one conversation at a time through all things life, culture, and personal development. Learn about the latest happenings of the show, which'll be announced SUMMER 2025: TFAWPROJECT.COM
ACADEMIC PAPER: Special thanks to the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies at UC Davis for the opportunity to present our academic paper, Pinay Podcasters: Building a Self-Sustaining Community Through Storytelling, Collective Healing & Learning, and Collaboration. The initial draft is now available! Read more at http://pinaypodcasters.com/
RECOGNITION: In December 2020 and December 2021, we received an Honorable Mention at the Asian American Podcaster's Golden Crane Podcast Awards. August 2020, Jen Amos participated as a speaker on behalf of TFAW Project for PodFest Global, which now holds the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for Largest Attendance for a Virtual Podcasting Conference in One Week. May 2020, we were recognized as “Amplifying Asian Women Voices” on Spotify during AAPI Heritage Month.
We've also been featured in Realtime Community Oakland, Mochi Magazine, Ossa Collective, SUPERBANDS, Chopsticks Alley, FoundHer by Entrepinayship, Spotify, PodFest Expo, Philippine American Foundation for Charities, When In Manila, You Are Collect;ve, San Diego Union Tribune, NBC 7 San Diego, and much more! Read more at: https://linktr.ee/tfawproject.featured
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