New Filipina Talk Show Airs in October

Starting this month Filipinos in the U.S. will have their own version of “The View.” Conceived by Cristina DC Pastor, the founder and editor of The FilAm and a Fi2W contributor, and Queens Public Television (QPTV) producer Maricor Fernandez, the talk show ‘Makilala‘ will feature four Filipina women of different ages and backgrounds talking (in English) about contemporary Filipino issues and culture.

Jen Furer, Rachelle Ocampo, Maria Cruz Lee, and Pastor are the stars of ‘Makilala.’

Rachelle works with Pilipino American Unity for Progress, Inc. or UniPro, Jen works for the pro bono immigration law group Faldef, and Maria works with Commissioner Fatima Shama at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.

Cristina and Maria had immediately synergy when they came up with the idea for ‘Makilala’.

“We talked some more. And then it dawned on us: We were embarking on something that many others have been doing. We paused to exhale. Why not a talk show with four FilAm women. I told Maricor I’ve always wanted to do a talk show a la “The View” and this is not the first time I was letting on. I must have told this to everyone who cared to listen. Maricor took it up a notch: She brought the idea to her mentors at QPTV. She came back beaming: Great idea; greenlighted,” Pastor writes.

The show, which promises to explore everyday people who are making a difference in the world, will be available on the FilAm’s Facebook page beginning in August, and airs on QPTV beginning in October.

Read more about the producers and hosts on The FilAm.

Fi2W is supported by the David and Katherine Moore Family Foundation and the Ralph E. Odgen Foundation.

AboutVon Diaz

Von Diaz is a writer and radio producer based in New York City. She is a self-taught cook who explores Puerto Rican food, culture, and identity through memoir and multimedia. Her work has been featured on NPR, American Public Media, StoryCorps, WNYC, PRI’s The World, BuzzFeed, Colorlines, and Feet in 2 Worlds. Von has an M.A. in journalism and Latin American and Caribbean studies from New York University. A graduate of Agnes Scott College, she earned a B.A. in Women’s Studies and focused her research on women in Latin America. She is a currently a producer at StoryCorps, and previously worked in community advocacy and communications for nonprofits focused on women, children, art, and Latino culture.