Jeremy Lin opens up about race

Jeremy Lin, left, drives past a defender.

JEREMY LIN, guard for the L.A. Lakers, opens up about being Asian American in the National Basketball Association in an article by Pablo Torre on ESPN.

Three years from the Linsanity phenomenon, Lin rarely mentions that word any more.The season hasn't been going the way Lin hoped for when he was traded to the Lakers from the Houston Rockets.

Maybe it is because ESPN.com senior writer Pablo Torre is a Filipino American - a fellow Asian American - that Lin felt comfortable enough to let the public mask down. Here's a sample:

Pablo Torre

"There's this whole thing where it's OK to make fun of certain guys more than it is other guys," Lin tells me. "And Asians are very easy to make fun of. We're the model minority. So everyone can joke about Asians: They're nice people, respectful people; they won't do anything." He thinks about this dynamic often. "People look at me, and they've always jumped to conclusions. They don't see toughness. But how do you define that?"

For once, we see past the athlete, past the public persona ... past the image built by the New York media and ignored by the L.A. media.

I know the feeling Lin's expressing. People look at you and because you wear glasses, have black hair and almond eyes and your skin is of a certain shade, you are judged, categorized and pigeon-holed before you even utter a word. Inside, you're yelling, "You don't know me!"

There's a loneliness to being a trail-blazer, says Lin, "who can you talk to that can really relate?"

Nice job by Pablo. Nice job, Jeremy.

Don't count out Nonito "the Filipino Flash" Donaire

Nonito Donaire, right, makes short work of William Prado.

A FEW months ago people were saying that Nonito Donaire was all washed up. 

Two rounds. That's all it took for Donaire to score a TKO over William Prado of Brazil in a title fight in Manila last March 28. Two rounds!

In the Super-Bantam weight class, Donaire fought at a more comfortable weight than his previous bout with undefeated Jamaican Nicholas Walters where he was outboxed and outclassed last November by his opponent for the featherweight title (126 lbs) of the World Boxing Association.

With the roaring partisan crowd cheering him on, the comeback fight was totally one-sided as Donaire sought to redeem himself. Prado, considered a second-tier fighter, was totally out of his  league. 

The 32-year old Donaire's must-win victory will likely earn him a top one or two ranking at 122 lbs for the WBC, where unbeaten champion Leo Santa Cruz reigns.

"That's something that we're gonna go after," said Donaire. (Cruz) "is a great fighter but with proper preparation, I do believe that's something we can overcome."

Donaire proved to the boxing world that he still deserves to be considered a contender, but most of all, he proved it to himself.

After the fight, in a more contemplative mood, Donaire said, “Being in here is not all about being world champion once again. It is inspiring others out there. Inspiring little kids to work hard and be better. From somebody who was put down. From somebody who hit rock bottom."

RELATED: "I am Filipino," - Donaire

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San Francisco's Chinatown fighting off gentrification

The "Ellis Act" allows landlords to kick out their tenants if they convert their buildings from apartments to condos.

HERE WE go again!

Today's housing crunch in San Francisco is starting to look a lot like the 1960s and 70s. Back then, the affordable housing movement really hit public consciousness because of  the Battle for the International Hotel, the epic decade-long fight to keep low-rent housing for elderly Filipino and Chinese tenants of the hotel, a centerpiece of what remained of San Francisco's Manilatown.

It looks like gentrification spurred by the high-tech boom in San Francisco is eyeing the Chinatown and North Beach neighborhoods for new rental units for the free-spending Techies who want to live in the city.

But the owners of the Vallejo Emery Apartments learned that these neighborhoods will not go down without a fight from politically connected organized tenant groups who learned valuable lessons from the I-Hotel struggle.

A group of low-income elderly Chinese residents were threatened with eviction from their 32-unit residential hotel (corner of Vallejo and Emery) so that the owner can rent out the 100-square foot rooms to the techies who have plenty of money to burn. The shared kitchen and bathrooms could lend themselves to the communal living desired by the mostly younger would-be renters. 

Google 2 Emery Lane to get an exact location. Its two blocks away from Columbus Avenue lined with coffee shops and Italian eateries and steps away from any kind of Chinese food that you may want. Right across the alley is the North Beach police station so its a relatively safe area. You can see why it might be so appealing to the techies. 

If that wasn't enough, there's a bus stop for those plush techie busses with amenities such as wifi, cushy seats and refreshments. The buses, sponsored by employers like Google and Yahoo, gather the workers living in San Francisco and sweep them down to Silicon Valley without having the stress of navigating busy Highway 101. 

The landlords were closely monitoring their tenants to find lease violations so they can have an excuse to evict tenants. Violations include hanging Chinese New Year decorations in the hallway or hanging laundry out your window.

Unfortunately, San Francisco rents have skyrocketed because of limited number of rental units. These residential hotels like the Vallejo Emery are the last bastions of reasonable rents for those on limited incomes. Chinatown is full of the small hotels located on increasingly valuable property.

Mayor Ed Lee, who worked with Chinatown tenants in the 1980s with the Asian Law Caucus, made it clear where he stood. He reminded the apartment owners that the city has provided $13.3 million for eviction defense. The Chinatown Community Development Center, which organized the tenants' protests, receives some of those funds.

Gentrification has hit all parts of the city especially in the Mission District. Attempts to evict long-time tenants for richer tenants have been met resistance from well-organized community groups like the San Francisco Tenants Union, which knows how to use demonstrations and apply political pressure on elected officials.

RELATED: America's Chinatowns feeling the squeeze

Gentrification is not unique to San Francisco. Throughout the country, increasingly, the only people who can afford to live in America's cities are the uber-rich. The poor working stiffs who may have grown up in the city's neighborhoods, can no longer afford to live in the city homes.

The Vallejo Emery Apartments is a harbinger of what's likely to come. The majority of Chinatown's housing stock are made up of these small residential hotels that could follow the same path to higher rents. 

If the city doesn't do something to preserve the low-rent housing, soon the city will be made up of only those who can afford it. 

Families with children are among those forced to leave. Schools, houses of worship and the institutions that serve families wither. 

Low-income workers are particularly hard hit. If they leave the city for the suburbs, they will have to commute to the city to wait on tables, brew lattes, work retail, drive cabs, fill potholes, replace the plumbing, police the streets, teach the students and do all the work that allows the city to function. That - in turn - leads to more traffic jams, more pollution, more stress and ... a city without a soul.

I-HOTEL POSTSCRIPT: 

After the demolition of the International Hotel in 1977, the lot lay undeveloped - a great big hole in the ground - for over 20 years. That raises the question: why was it so urgent to tear down the building? 

The Manilatown Cultural Center and housing
for seniors has replaced the I-Hotel.

The site was eventually purchased by the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. The Archdiocese decided to develop an underground garage, and partnered with International Hotel Senior Housing, Inc. and Chinatown CDC to develop senior housing above. Another partner, St. Mary’s Chinese Catholic School, a Chinatown institution, built a school on the remainder of the site. 

The site where the International Hotel used to stand now - appropriately - provides 15 stories of senior affordable housing with many amenities for residents including a daily nutrition/activities program and a ground floor Cultural Center operated by the Manilatown Heritage Foundation. The few former tenants who survived the whole ordeal were given priority for residency.

The building features design elements and art depicting the history and legacy of the I-Hotel struggle. If you're touring San Francisco and want a glimpse of it's Asian American history, this is definitely worth a stop. They even offer small-group walking tours of what used to be Manilatown.

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3 Asian women challenge culture of Silicon Valley

Ellen Pao entering the courtroom in San Francisco.

THE IMAGE of a bustling Silicon Valley that prizes drive, entrepreneurship and innovation as harbingers of our future economy is being challenged by ... three ... Asian ... women. 

Since March is Women's History Month, it is fitting that we bring your attention to these three women who are turning the high-tech industry inside out with their allegations of gender discrimination.

The mythic Horatio Alger-story of a bunch of guys tinkering in their garage then becoming billionaires also carries with it the negative image of a closed society of rich, socially inept, immature ol' boys club where women are viewed as trophies and routinely passed over for promotion because they don't fit into that mold. 

Facebook, Twitter and the influential venture capital company, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, are facing lawsuits for gender discrimination.

Ellen Pao may have lost her lawsuit against the influential venture capital firm of Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers today, March 27 but she inspired others to file their lawsuits against their former employers. Tina Huang, former Twitter employee, and Chia Hong, formerly of Facebook, filed their suits within a week of each other as the world awaited the outcome of jury deliberations in Pao's lawsuit.

All of their former employers deny the charges. Their cases sheds light on the dark side of the high tech industry that has long been criticized for its lack of diversity.

Based on statistics gathered from the companies themselves, white males make up about 70 percent of the high tech workforce. I am assuming that that percentage is even greater in the upper echelon levels.

The arguments in Ellen Pao's case vs. Kleiner Perkins Caulfied & Byers concluded March 25 and we're holding our breath awaiting the decision the jury of six men and six women.

During the trial, the inner workings of one of the best known venture capital firms was exposed and their behavior - even if Pao's allegations are exaggerated or misinterpreted - doesn't paint a pretty picture: men's only meetings and outings, asking high-level women executives to act as secretaries during meetings, innuendos and the assumptions that the women are there for window dressing.

Kleiner Perkins lawyers' strategy of attempting to blame the victim is similar to the way some defense lawyers attack allegations of rape; blame the victim, question their qualifications, paint her as a disgruntled rejected woman.

Pao's attorney's closing statement said she was as qualified if not more so, than her male peers who received promotions. 

It is a reflection of our society that an aggressive woman is seen as "presumptuous" while an aggressive man is praised as "having balls."

A New York Times article wrote that Pao was told, “she didn’t speak up enough and was too passive — but also that she spoke up too much and was pushy and entitled.” 

According to Fortune magazine, only 4% of senior venture capitalists are women. So, I guess one can argue that the Pao's experience is not reflective of the venture capitalists  because there are not enough women in high-level positions. Uh ... isn't that part of the problem, guys? Many firms don't even have women in management positions.

The suits vs. Twitter and Facebook, address the hardware and software segments of the industry where the stats also seem to indicate that the industry of the future, which prides itself on innovation and being ahead of the curve, was following the same model of other older businesses - read, "good-ol'-(white)-boys" club.

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote in an editorial: "Ellen Pao's loss is anything but a win for Silicon Valley's status quo. The challenges she raised about the male-dominated culture that controls the heart of the innovation economy can't be dismissed."

Silicon Valley cannot - must not - go back to the way it was before the trial. The culture that fed upon itself by stealing each others employees and hiring people who had an affinity for T-shirts and hoodies knows it's time is past and it needs to diversify in order to keep its business viable and relevant. In other words, its good for business to diversify its workforce. 

Because of the lawsuits by the three Asian women, the hiring practices of tech firms are in the glare of the spotlight. 

As the news of Pao's trial verdict spread throughout the restaurants, bars and coffee shops of the valley, almost lost in the hubbub were the stories below; 

RELATED: 
Asians hit a bamboo ceiling in Silicon Valley
Google hires woman CFO and made her the highest paid woman in the tech world.
eBay puts two more women on its board of directors

Diversification starts at the top. Let's hope that message trickles all the way down throughout the companies' office culture.

By the way, once and for all: can we dump that tired old stereotype of Asian women being demure, obedient, submissive, walk-3-paces-behind-the-man, sex slaves? Shift-alt-delete!

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TGIF FEATURE- The Tale of Mulan (interpreted)

WHEN YOU sit by your child's bedside to tell her a bedtime story tonight, here's a version of the famous Chinese legend you can use (or not) from the incubator of funny creativity of My Damn Channel. I chose it in honor of Women's History Month.

I intend for the TGIF FEATURE to become a weekly thing. It's the weekend and you need a break from the grind of the work week.

There's a lot of talent out there that will make you laugh, sing along or tap your feet haven't been able to squeeze in during the week when I usually feature my rants. Last week we featured Uptown Funk as performed by Bruno Mars. Now there will be a platform for the lighter fare created by Asian/Pacific artists.

Balance, man, balance. Yin and Yang. Anger and joy.

According to  legend, Mulan cut her hair and posed as a man in the Chinese emperor's  army.

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Jordan Clarkson & Jeremy Lin form NBA's first Asian American backcourt

Rookie has best night in his career, scores 30

Jordan Clarkson in action against the Golden State Warriors.

A LITTLE BIT of history occurred Thursday (March 24) when the Lakers sported the NBA's first Asian American backcourt of Jeremy Lin and rookie Jordan Clarkson.

Clarkson, a Filipino American, scored a career high of 30 points. He added seven assists for his best showing in his debut season. Together with Lin, the backcourt scored 49 of the Lakers 117 points in a losing effort against the 127 points of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 6'5" guard had everything going for him that night, dunks, ball handling, breakaway speed, and decision making. Watch young Clarkson's game highlights below. 

RELATED: Filipino American playing for the Los Angeles Lakers

#racetogether update

Starbucks: Talking about race is not enough

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz listened to hundreds of employees before embarking on #racetogether.

WOW. The vitriol and snarkiness that was directed at Starbucks for its #racetogether campaign was to be expected. Even though some of the critics made valid points, it's easier to tear down than to build up.

The coffee chain asked its "partners" to stop writing #racetogether on the coffee cups given to customers. The corporation said that phase was always intended to end. It was just the start of the conversation on race.

Sure, it was perhaps a little naive to think that 20-something baristas could discuss something as complicated and emotional as race relations in this country.

But the criticism heaped on the coffee giant was largely undeserved. This country desperately needs to talk about race. Civil rights leaders, social scientists, President Obama and most people of color agree that conversation needs to be had. But whenever someone starts to talk about race, our defenses go up and our cynicism rises to the top. That says a lot of where we are as a country. We can't raise our head above the crowd without someone trying to lop it off.

DISCLAIMER: I don't have any stock in Starbucks. I actually prefer a rival's product over Starbucks' coffee, but with 4,500 outlets in the U.S. alone, Starbucks sure is convenient. 

Watch and listen to the first 10 minutes of the video below taken at the Starbuck's 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

It's hard to view that without getting a lump in your throat.

In a letter to shareholders, CEO Howard Schultz said #racetogether will move into a new - probably more impactful - phase. He wrote:

"We have a number of planned Race Together activities in the weeks and months to come: more partner open forums, three more special sections co-produced with USA TODAY over the course of the next year, more open dialogue with police and community leaders in cities across our country, a continued focus on jobs and education for our nation's young people plus our commitment to hire 10,000 opportunity youth over the next three years, expanding our store footprint in urban communities across the country, and new partnerships to foster dialogue and empathy and help bridge the racial and ethnic divides within our society that have existed for so many years."

 

Cynics - hold your snide remarks. For communities that are struggling, 10,000 jobs is nothing to sneeze at. Starbucks is one of the more enlightened companies to work for. It has raised the minimum wage of its workers and through its benefits (including health care for part-timers), the firm offers scholarships for its workers. That action will hopefully offer a lot of opportunities for youth who need it.

Starbucks is going where most businesses fear to go. You have to give them credit: rather than ignore the issues of the day, it faces them head on. That's more than what I'd expect from most American businesses. It was even willing to take an economic hit when "partners" took a few minutes off their busy schedule to talk about race. Imagine that, a business willing to sacrifice a few dollars if it somehow moves a customer or employee to understand - or at least, seriously contemplate - race and all its ramifications. Here's another blog praising Starbucks. Sometimes, it doesn't mean you have to have an a-ha moment, but maybe raise your consciousness and then tuck it away as you finish your latte.

I know, I know. Sometimes you just want a cuppa joe. That's OK, I understand.

The unfortunate reality is, with the host of negative press that Starbucks received, other corporate bosses will surely hesitate to make such bold statements within their own companies. And that's too bad.

RELATED 
Talking about race over a cup of coffee
Deaf Filipina finds understanding

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Filipinos say they worked for $3 per hour in L.A. bakery

Photo courtesy of QUINCY SURASMITH / ADVANCING JUSTICE – LA

Plaintiff Romar Cunana spoke out against L’Amande French Bakery owners during a press conference last week. 

HUMAN TRAFFICKING is a form of modern-day slavery. It is not just happening in Third World countries. It exists in America; oftentimes, right under our noses. It could even occur in a fancy French bakery catering to the Beverly Hills set who have a hankering for the flaky, sweet creations.

In the most recent example, 11 Filipino bakery workers say they were lured to the U.S. by the promise of high wages to support their families back home. Instead, they claim in a lawsuit filed last week, they were forced to work 14-hour days for as little as $3 per hour at 

L'Amande French Bakery in Beverly Hills and Torrance, California.

The bakery owners are a couple from the Philippines, Analiza and Goncalo Moitinho de Almeida, who reportedly own bakeries in that country.

The workers allege that they were employed in the couple's bakeries in the Philippines before coming to the U.S., with "limited English skills and little to no understanding of U.S. customs and laws," or the cost of living. The complaint alleges the Almeidas paid their visa and travel fees up front, then later held the costs against them as debt, to the tune of $11,000 apiece. Some workers said they were told the visa amounted to a five-year contract requiring them to work.

Besides the ACLU, the 11 workers filed the lawsuit with the assistance of Asian Americans Advancing Justice. Laboni Hoq, a lawyer with the L.A.-based advocacy group, said in a statement last week that the E-2 visa is "ripe for abuse and employer misuse," and called it "overdue for reform."

"By offering a largely unregulated avenue for wealthy foreign nationals to get a competitive advantage in the U.S. marketplace," Hoq said, "the E-2 visa allows unscrupulous foreign investors to bring in immigrant workers who can be forced to accept abusive working conditions or risk deportation and retaliation in their home country."

Hired in the Philippines and brought to the U.S. as specialty bakers, the workers found themselves doing landscaping and domestic work for the owners besides all the work done at the artisan bakeries.

In most cases, exploited workers fear coming forward because the employers threaten them with withholding salaries or deportation. It is common practice among these abusive bosses to hold on to the workers' passports.

At a press conference announcing the suit, some of the workers expressed that their families in the Philippines will be harassed because of their involvement in the lawsuit. One plaintiff said that her family in the Philippines had to move after someone paid her husband a visit “because I was suing my employer in America.”

Ana is the daughter of Mila Santos, a realty businesswoman and Juan B. Santos, the Chairman of Social Security Commission/Social Security System and a retired CEO of Nestle Philippines.

The United States is a source, transit and destination country for some of these men, women and children — both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals — who are subjected to the injustices of human trafficking, including forced labor, debt bondage, involuntary servitude, and sex trafficking. Trafficking in persons can occur in both lawful and illicit industries or markets, including in brothels, massage parlors, street prostitution, hotel services, hospitality, agriculture, manufacturing, janitorial services, construction, health and elder care, and domestic service, among others. Include bakeries, now.

The federal government oversees a host of guestworker programs that employers say fill critical holes in the U.S. labor supply, like nurses, teachers, researchers or engineers for the tech industry. As far as I know, there is not a shortage of bakers in America.

If you suspect human trafficking, or you're a victim:

Call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888.

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) is a national, toll-free hotline available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year. The NHTRC is not a law enforcement or immigration authority and is operated by a nongovernmental organization funded by the federal government. In an emergency, call 911.

Asian Americans sue California city for diluting their vote

WHEN WE talk about disenfranchisement, we usually point to the states where Jim Crow laws were once the norm and where today some are trying to install new obstacles to voting. We don't usually think of that happening in California.

As an example of the increasing diversity of California's voters, conservative Asian Americans are not settling for the status quo, nor are they satisfied with going along to get along. They have found unlikely allies in the liberal-leaning American Civil Liberties Union which is filing a lawsuit against the City of Fullerton on behalf of Jonathan Paik of the Korean Resource Center. The ACLU is joined by Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles (Advancing Justice - LA), the Law Office of Robert Rubin, and Sidley Austin, LLP. 

In Fullerton, in the bastion of California conservatism - Orange County - Asian American voters have been trying to get one of their own on the city council to no avail. The at-large voting, they say, works against them. The ACLU filed a lawsuit last week claiming the at-large system works to violate the rights of Asian American voters under the 2001 California Voting Rights Act.

"Almost one in four eligible voters in Fullerton is Asian American, yet despite their sizable numbers, no Asian American currently serves on the city council," said Deanna Kitamura, senior staff attorney at Advancing Justice - LA. "Asian American candidates, who have run for office and enjoyed widespread support from the Asian American community, have been consistently defeated under the at-large voting system, denying the community meaningful and fair representation in the city."

The current city council is all white. The last time an Asian American was on the city council was 1990.

Fullerton, a traditionally conservative and white majority community, has seen an influx of Asian residents. The adjusted Census for 2015 says Asians make up 23 percent of the population. Latinos make up 34 percent and the white population rounds out the balance.

Koreans are by far the largest Asian group with about 50 percent of the Asian population in the Orange County community.

The complaint maps out a history of discrimination in Orange County from the burning down of SanTana's Chinatown in 1906 to Fountain Valley Police's alleged practice in the early 90's of harassing Asian-American youth for nothing more than supposedly wearing gang-related clothing.

An award-winning series by the OC Weekly exposed the many, many Klansmen who served in Fullerton government over the years.

The U.S. Department of Justice sued the Fullerton police department in the mid-1980s because of the racial composition of its police force. Since then, the police department is much more diversified.

Lest you think this is a case of liberal Democrats pushing this suit, the Korean community in Fullerton is largely Republican. A Korean American Republican was the last Asian candidate to fail getting on the city council.

"We are asking the city of Fullerton to implement elections that make sure that all communities, including the Asian American community, have an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice and that the city council is responsive to the needs of all Fullerton residents," said Belinda Escobosa Helzer, director of the Orange County and Inland Empire offices of the ACLU SoCal. "No one wins when some residents are shut out of government."

"Asian American voters long to participate in Fullerton's city government, but the current at-large system prevents that by diluting our power at the ballot box," said Jonathan Paik, the plaintiff and Fullerton resident. "We join with other voices in our community in calling for a change that provides all residents in this city an opportunity to have a seat at the table."

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Roy Choi's fast-food revolution gets funded

Upper left, clockwise: A hamburger using the best ingredients, a bun created just for Loco'l
and their version of chicken nuggets.

THE IDEA of challenging the McDonalds and Burger Kings of the world may sound daunting but the first steps in revolutionizing fast food has been launched.

The dream of celebrity chef's Daniel Patterson and Roy Choi last week reached their goal of $100,000 through the crowd funding platform indigogo. The celebrity chefs and their friends in the foodie world will open their first restaurant serving fast-food standards like hamburgers and chicken nuggets in San Francisco's Tenderloin. A future location in Watts will spread the message of "good" fast food.

Why the Tenderloin and Watts? The people in these low-income neighborhoods often have more than their share of fast food outlets but, as Choi says, that is their main dining out experience. They don't have a choice. Loco'l wants to bring healthy and affordable fast food to those underserved neighborhoods.

Choi and Patterson believe that people will opt for healthier food over the old standbys if they had the opportunity and if it was conveniently located in their neighborhood. Take a look at their R&D session in the video below. The food looks so tempting.

"People love a Big Mac, people love a Quarter Pounder, people love KFC and Church's and Popeye's. People love that. It doesn't help if we're going to just try to say, "Don't eat any of that stuff," they say on their webpage.

"We can sit here and blast all day long about fast food, but the fact is they're winning.

"It would be ignorant and stupid of us to not acknowledge and understand all that. Loco'l is a small bridge; to use the familiar to our advantage to bridge us over to healthier, wholesome ways."

"We want to go toe to toe with fast food chains and offer the community a choice," says Choi.

"Price point, culture, design, hospitality, relevance, and most of all flavor. We will be using all our sciences and knowledge and sixth sense as restaurateurs/chefs to create a concept people love and a menu they crave but keep it all in the pocket, keep it all affordable and delicious and speak directly to what the people want."

The chefs are looking at Oakland and Richmond for future potential sites. After that, the world.

"This is a movement. I see it, I feel it, the proof is there. We’d like it to go global,” Choi told San Francisco's CBS affiliate. “And maybe it’s not just us. Maybe it’s like a collective. Like a hip-hop collective, where it goes global and others take it. And then they morph it and grow it. I don’t know what it’s going to be, but I do know that as long as Daniel and I are involved, we’re going to protect and nourish the vision of it and the soul and the culture of it.”

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Bruno Mars: Uptown Funk

NOTHING insightful or inciting; this video is just for the fun of it.

Bruno Mars 

If I were going to have a party (and I had a fat wallet), this is the band I'd invite. The Hawaii-born Bruno Mars shows off his smooth Filipino moves and natural rhythm. His music is what you want to get your party guests off their seats and onto the dance floor. "Uptown Funk" had me dancing in my chair. Oh, yeah!

It is too bad Bruno's sisters' reality TV series, The Lylas, didn't capture a big enough audience. Coming from laid-back Hawaii, there probably was not enough drama in their lives like divorcing basketball players to capture the public's attention. The sisters are the anti-Kardashians. The Hernandezes (That's the real surname of Bruno and his sisters.) definitely have more talent than the Kardasians. Their mother is Filipino American but their father is Latino.

(I really don't get the popularity of the Kardasian family. They don't sing, dance or act yet they earn millions of dollars. For what?)

Their mother's death while filming the series for WeTV was the most the drama of the show but it wasn't enough to save the Lylas, which stands for Love You Like A Sister. 

Bruno's sisters, The Lylas

The 30-year old Bruno Mars’ real name is Peter Gene Hernandez. The Hernandez kids inherited their musical talent from their parents who had their own band in Honolulu 

Bruno's work has earned him numerous awards and accolades, including a Grammy, an American Music Award, a Billboard Music Award and a BRIT Award. 

Since the beginning of his career as a singer, in 2010, Mars has sold 8 million albums and 58 million singles worldwide as a singer,although as a songwriter, producer and singer, his total single download sales surpass 100 million worldwide. He has achieved a total of five number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and six top ten singles, including first place with “Just the Way You Are”, which sold 12.5 million copies and contributed to Mars becoming the best-selling digital artist in 2011.

Bruno's first album "Just The Way You Are" earned him seven Grammys and Best Pop Vocal Performance.

Have a funky good time this weekend!

Hollywood take note: Broadway musicals are not afraid of featuring Asian artists in lead roles

Vanessa Hudges as Gigi

A LITTLE BIT of history will be made this fall when Lea Salonga takes the stage in Allegiance, the musical created by actor George Takei. Along with Vanessa Hudgens in Gigi and most of the cast of Here Lies Love, that could possibly be the largest number of Filipino Americans under Broadway's bright lights at the same time.

Throw in the revival of "The King and I" and its cast and it would appear that Broadway is better than Hollywood in casting Asians.

Granted, that's still not a whole lot, but it's better than a couple of years ago when everyone was bemoaning the fact that Asians couldn't get cast on Broadway.

It helps that two of the productions - Here Lies Love about Imelda Marcos and her dictator husband Ferdinand Marcos, and Allegiance about the life in the internment camps for Japanese Americans during WW II - are about Asians so it makes sense that the producers seek Asian artists.

0:00 / 4:

Hudgens, who is half Filipino, is doing what can perhaps be described as a reverse yellow-face by playing the lead character Gigi, a French girl, in a remake of the musical that introduced Leslie Caron to American audiences. Gigi premiered yesterday, March 19.

She is perhaps best known for the High School Musical franchise where she sang and danced through the motion pictures. I forget how many of the pre-Glee movies were made.

Here Lies Love tells the story of the Philippines Conjugal Dictatorship, from the time Imelda Marcos was a beauty queen to the downfall of the ruling couple. Everyone with a passing knowledge of that era knows that Imelda loved to party and loved to sing, which makes perfect fodder for this interactive musical which won rave reviews. The musical has a sister production that just opened in London. I can't wait until it comes to the West Coast, the home base of both critics and supporters of the Marcoses. Jaygee Macapugay plays the role of Imelda Marcos in "Here Lies Love." Playing Ferdinand Marcos is Jose Llana.

Macapugay takes over for Ruthie Ann Miles, the Hawaiian-born Korean singer who won the "Best Actress In A Musical" for her portrayal of the Philippines former first lady. Miles has moved over to "The King and I" where she plays Lady Thiang.

Allegiance has been waiting in the wings for its Broadway debut for almost two years after its debut in Los Angeles. Created by actor George Takei, whose family was interned in those infamous internment camps for Japanese Americans on the West Coast. It finally found a theater and will open in the fall.

The Manila-raised Lea Salonga, who has made quite a name for herself on Broadway since her American debut in Miss Saigon, will reprise the role she had in the Los Angeles production the WWII dramatic musical as the wife of Sam Kimura, played by Takei.

Hollywood can learn a few things from their Broadway counterparts. 

Do Asian theme shows attract audiences. Yes!

Do nonAsians care if the casts are Asian? No!

Do Asian artists have talent? Yes!

All you need are relatable strong or complicated characters and a compelling storyline. It helps if you step away from the stereotypes, too. As these musicals prove, the audience will come. That's entertainment!

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