As we look back on the year, we find ourselves carrying some tunes from Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Rent. For “how do we measure a year”, now that Balikbayan, the magazine in your hands, has turned one? We measure the great leaps we took, and the many miles we have walked, just to chronicle the country of our roots in an altogether new level.

 

In March last year, as the Asian Journal was preparing for the gala of the first Filipino-American Symphony Orchestra (FASO), Balikbayan was launched, carrying a credo which somewhat presaged not only our pride at promoting love of country, but also the general nationalistic timbre. With the current popularity of patriotic merchandise and renewed sense of being Filipino, our tagline “Love of Country is Back in Style” seemed to have driven its point.

 

This not only proved a point but also reiterated our own sense of wonder in each geographical point of the country we have visited—from the windmills of Bangui in Ilocos Norte, to the picturesque rolling hills and mountains of Davao. Around May last year, the state has renewed its commitment to tourism, as it inked the Tourism Act of 2009, which espouses “a national policy for tourism as an engine of investment, employment, growth and national development.”

 

Along the way, we also found ourselves meeting a lot of friends, old and new. Many of them took the journey of discovery with us, bringing us around the places and enjoying with us the sumptuous cuisine. Many more continued to share our wonder in what we have discovered in various parts of the country. There are, after all, so many things yet to see in this country of 7,107 islands. A year simply won’t be enough.

Merely looking at our scenic and often colorful covers, we could not help but be amazed at the feat our humble efforts created.

 

Coming home has been a pleasant journey for all of us here in Balikbayan. My own odyssey from Binalonan, Pangasinan to America and back, has been nostalgic and fulfilling.  I have come full circle. On a personal note, it reminds me of that man with whom I share the glory of my hometown, the great Carlos Bulosan, who paved the way for many Filipinos in America by simply telling his story.  Our story.  He may not had the chance to go back to his hometown, but we will always remember our collective humble beginnings.  

There are still many roads not yet taken.  Balikbayan Magazine will take you there.

 

The first 11 issues of Balikbayan Magazine are the journals of our travels and adventures together.  It was worth the trip.