The Halo Halo Podcast

Anti-Black racism is at the forefront of American and international discourse. It’s difficult for the Halo Halo Podcast to celebrate Filipino Heritage Month in Canada when others are literally dying and suffering around the world.  Before we can celebrate, we need to stand in solidarity and take a stand and make a statement against racial discrimination. 
At the Halo Halo Podcast we stand for community inclusion and a world where we can openly challenge all forms of implicit and explicit bias, discrimination and hatred.  We believe that everyone is entitled to equity and that sharing the wealth can lead to a kinder and safer world for all. We stand with all those that condemn racism in all of its insidious forms.

As Sigi and Jezzie close out their final search in the pop culture vault for the month of May, Jezzie unearths how the Philippines itself rose to become a Pageant Powerhouse in the 2010s.  In this velvety and scrumptious snack about Pageants and the Philippines, Jezzie tracks the origin of pageants to the medieval ages, and it’s evolution to be part of the Filipino fiesta traditions like the Santa Cruzan.  Sigi and Jezzie then explore how those fiesta sensibilities have lent themselves well to modern-day beauty pageants, and the emerging industrial beauty boot camps that have explained the Philippines success at international beauty contests during the 2010s. 
In the Mix this Week:
Vulture's "Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba Performs a Soundtrack for Your Summer of Longing",
Yakface's reports on Amazon Delays for May Fan First Star Wars Figures,
Wikipedia Entry on "Medieval Pageant",
The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros Trailer (2005),
Wikipedia Entry on Big Four International Beauty Pageants,
MISS UNIVERSE WINNERS FROM THE PHILIPPINES COMPILATION: 1969, 1973, 2015, 2018,
CNA Insiders "The Hidden Side Of Philippines Beauty Pageants",
"The Game of Crowns" Playlist Full Episodes on Youtube

While Sigi continues to be away on assignment, Rannie Turingan, social media guru and early adopter, steps in to co-hosts this taste test with his cousin, Jezzie.  On this episode, Rannie gushes over this update to the 2001 classic, social simulation video game "Animal Crossing: New Horizon" for the Nintendo Switch and reveals how it's multiplayer online mode can serendipitously create meaningful connections.  Later, Rannie speaks to how this game has become an important balm during this time of pandemic living.  And along the way, your co-hosts unpack the game mechanics that make "Animal Crossing: New Horizon" so wonderful to play! Enjoy and don't forget to follow Rannie on twitter and instagram.

Sigi mines the pop culture vault for this latest quiz with Jez, where he borrows the MTV's popular 2000s live show, Total Request Live, otherwise known as TRL.  Jezzie improves upon his last quiz outing by scoring 70% (with bonus points, courtesy of Sigi) this time around.  Listeners, see if you can best Jezzie's performance and find out which of the many faces and stages of Christina Aguilera does Sigi adore. 

For the entire month of May, your Halo Halo podcast hosts continue to mine the pop culture vault.   In their latest foray, they uncover pop music in the 2000s and revisit the maturing of teen pop idols of the 1990s, the triumph and victory of R&B music on the charts, and the acceleration of pop music fame in the latter half of the decade.  Find out which song Jezzie believes is the quintessential 2010s R&B track, and which Rihanna song haunted Sigi throughout a Las Vegas trip he took in the 2000s. Later, Sigi and Jezzie delve deeper into how generosity is an expression of Filipino hospitality and explore ways of sustaining this cherished cultural value.
In the Mix this Week: 
#blackAF,
Abstract of "Marketing androgyny: the Evolution of the Backstreet Boys",
Mandy Moore's Cover Art of "Umbrella",

While Sigi's on assignment, Chelle takes over co-hosting duties with their Kuya Jezzie on their taste test of the revival of a 2000s queer classic, the L Word: Generation Q.  Both Chelle and Jezzie have their amuse-bouche say on all the original and beloved characters as well as the new cast in tow.  Along the way, Chelle enthusiastically shares their review and personal experience of Ma'am Sir, a Filipino restaurant in Los Angeles, featured in Generation Q.  Later, listen to Jezzie wax on how this gem of a show captures a new wave of California Cool.  Finally, if you can't get enough of analyzing the L Word: Generation Q and want to hear more, head on over to Chelle's podcast, Off The Chart from Xtra.   

This impromptu warmup has Sigi take Beano's The Ultimate 90s Music Quiz.  As Sigi and Jezzie continue to mine the pop culture vault for 90s Music, find out why this warmup is an impromptu exercise courtesy of Jezzie, and take the quiz to see if you can best Sigi's score!  Good luck!

For the entire month of May, your Halo Halo podcast hosts will visit the pop culture vault.  Sigi and Jezzie hope that each visit to the vault will inspire you to consume pop culture classics in any unbudgeted time that you might have found as we all adjust temporarily to the COVID-19 pandemic.  In this foray to the vault, they reach in and dissect 90s teen movies as smart sendups of old classics.  From "10 Things I hate about you" to "My Own Private Idaho," they reminisce on how each one of these fresh takes on old classics, become a classic in their own right.  Later, they analyze how gaya-gaya (copycatting) in the Filipino culture is a double-edged sword, but find a way to understand this behaviour positively with a twist of its own.
In the Mix this Week: 
Wikipedia entry on "The Rooms",
Art for Kids Hub,
"Clueless" ImDB Entry,
"Cruel Intentions" Trailer,
"Romeo + Juliet" Trailer,

Before we finish this month of podcasts and head to the pop culture vault for the month of May, Sigi cleanses our palates with a taste test of Dante Basco's "From Rufio to Zuko."  Sigi reviews how this straightforward and unapologetic memoir shares important wisdom that this Filipino American actor and poet has learned in his career thusfar.
In this Taste Test:
Banagrang- The Prequel to Hook on You Tube, Rufio origin story,
ImDB's entry on "Hook",
ImDB's entry on "The Debut",
Avatar: The Last Airbender (TV Series)

Continuing with our love letter theme to Schitt's Creek and all things related to village life, we expand our ode, in this Reader's Digest Quiz, where Sigi takes Jezzie through a national Canadian tour of small towns with strange names.  Find out which ones Jezzie gets right, and which small town is right near where Sigi grew up.  Play along and tell us how you do an all our socials.  Have fun!