Chicas: A Gantala Press Podcast

In this episode, we speak with cultural workers China de Vera, Michael Beltran, and Tey Lopez about writer and activist Amanda Socorro Lacaba Echanis whose collected works, BINHI NG PAGLAYA, is forthcoming from Gantala Press. We talk about "redundancy" in writing, writing about fascism in children's books, writing and resistance, and many more.

"May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears."

Happy National Literature Month! This episode is Part 1 of the webinar organized by the class of MMS 198 Special Topics (Introduction to Publishing) of the BA Multimedia Studies Program under the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies of the University of the Philippines Open University. Women writers and small press publishers Rowena Festin (Aklat Mirasol), Mina Esguerra (#RomanceClass), and Faye Cura (Gantala Press) discuss the challenges in writing and publishing as, for, and by women, working with mainstream publishing, and building a community of readers and writers. Facilitated by Roda Tajon, the webinar was held on Zoom on March 29, 2023. Part 2 will include the open forum.

This episode is based on the monthly book discussion organized by the Education Committee of Gantala Press. For the month of February, It features all about love: new visions by bell hooks, which discusses the aspects of love and its role not only in our daily lives but also in the context of our communities and society. 

‘Ika nga ni Zenaida Seva, "Hindi hawak ng mga bituin ang ating kapalaran. Gabay lamang sila. Meron tayong free will. Gamitin natin ito." Sa karamihan, ang astrolohiya ay tinitingnan bilang pampalipas-oras lamang at kakatwang gabay sa ating araw-araw na buhay. Ngunit sa kasalukuyan, mapapansin natin ang nagbabagong pagtanggap dito ng mga tao bilang higit pa sa mga prediksyon at simpleng sabi-sabi.  

Sa episode na ito, kasama natin si Bridgette Diaz, ang founding president ng UP Esoterica at manunulat at mananaliksik tungkol sa astrolohiya at esotericism.

Calendars have always showcased women in sexy outfits, often endorsing cars and liquors. Businesses and political candidates give away calendars as marketing materials.

In this episode, Roma, Faye, and Marian discuss the creation of Gantala Press' 2022 Calendar -- how the featured women were selected; some important dates and commemorations, and some tips on illustrating women's portraits.

Bilang  pakikiisa sa 16 Days of Activism, nais ng Gantala Press na maglunsad ng  mga usapan na magbibigay-linaw sa usapin ng sexual harassment at  gender-based violence sa mga bata, kababaihan, at mamamayang Pilipino. Makakasama si Atty Twyla Rubin ng CHR Gender Office.

Ito ay inedit at pinaikling bersiyon ng isang talakayan sa Zoom tungkol sa Eleksiyong 2022 na pinangasiwaan nina Justine Siscar at Shar Soledad ng Center for Women's Resources (CWR) at BaBaE Network (Babae, Bantayan ang Eleksiyon!), at linahukan ng mga kasaping organisasyon ng Southeast Asia Feminist Action Movement (SEAFAM). Tinalakay ang kasalukuyang kalagayang pampulitika, ang kalagayan ng kababaihan sa ilalim ng Gobyernong Duterte, ang halalan o pagboto bilang demokratikong karapatan ng mamamayan, ang Pulitika ng Pagbabago, at ang Eleksyong 2022 at ano ang ating kailangang gawin?

Para sumali sa BaBaE Network, sumulat sa BaBaENet@gmail.com o sagutin ang Google form sa https://forms.gle/98p8n5A5z4xRspbEA

In recognition of the International Day to End Violence Against Women and 16 Days of Activism, we spoke with Sharon Cabusao-Silva, Executive Director of Liga ng mga Lolang Pilipina or LILA Pilipina, on the legacy of our former comfort women, their fdemands for acknowledgment, compensation and justice, and the responsibility of our youth in continuing the fight of/for our Lolas. 

LILA Pilipina is a partner of Gantala Press in producing MY MOTHER IS MORE THAN A COMFORT WOMAN, a storybook in three languages (Filipino, English, and Japanese) put together by Friends of LILA Pilipina. The book is available on shopee.ph/gantala_press. Part of the proceeds will be turned over to LILA Pilipina to support their work. 

In this episode, we celebrate World Mental Health Day (October 10) with Meg Yarcia, the Marxist psychologist and development worker behind the "Dear Meg" advice column in Facebook and Pinoy Weekly. We speak of alternative, accessible ways of caring for one's mental health and that of the collective; using the right language in talking about mental health; what activists need to recognize when dealing with mental health; how to balance motherhood and activism; what it means to be mentally healthy, and others. Faye Cura hosts.

In this episode we speak with China de Vera of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Jandeil Roperos of the National Union of Students of the Philippines, and Kathleen Obille of the University of the Philippines School of Library and Information Studies about the recent purging of books on the people’s protracted war and the National Democratic Front from universities and libraries in Northern Philippines by the reactionary government through its state forces. We talk of the dangers of censorship, the consequences of the book-purging in education, and what we can do to resist this yet another fascist form of state oppression. Roma Estrada hosts.

Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP) through its representative, Prof. Lisa Ito-Tapang, expounds on the Position Paper of cultural organizations and formations and individuals in response to Substitute House Bill (HB) 8101, currently lodged for Third and Final reading in Congress. CAP assesses the merits and gaps in the bill, and expounds on the points of the Position Paper, covering Labor Standards and Welfare, Building Local Market and mSMEs Support, Education and Capacity Building, Intellectual Property Rights, and Accountability, Transparency, and Grassroots Participation. The idea of the artist as worker is also discussed. Roma Estrada hosts.

Read the Position Paper here: https://www.facebook.com/artistangbayan/posts/400388501457619

For  our Martial Law episode, we are featuring poems by Aida Santos, Lorena Barros and Mila Aguilar.   

1. Jessica De Borja reads “Memories” by Aida Santos (in Mangled Mornings:  Collected Poems, Gantala Press: 2019)
2. Rae Rival reads an excerpt from Lorena: Isang Tulambuhay (UP Press, 2018) by Pauline Mari Hernando, and two poems by Lorena Barros
3. Angelica Takashima reads an excerpt from an introduction to Mila Aguilar by Carolyn Forché
4. Kezia Lao reads “Pigeons for My Son” by Mila Aguilar  
5. Ka Rosario sings “Bayan Ko,” a popular song during Martial Law

This episode is based on the monthly book club discussion organized by the Education Committee of Gantala Press. It features one of our latest publications, LUTONG GIPIT: Mga Recipe sa Panahon ng Krisis, a cookbook of common dishes prepared by peasant women in Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, and Iloilo. The cookbook was published by Amihan National Federation of Peasant Wome, Rural Women Advocates, and Gantala Press. Proceeds from the sales of this book will go towards securing subsidy and farm/production tools for peasant communities.

This book is available at shopee.ph/gantala_press.

Si Kgg. Eufemia “Ka Femia” C. Cullamat ay lider at organisador ng mga Lumad mula pa noong dekada 1980 at kinatawan ng masa sa Kongreso. Kabilang sa kanyang mga adbokasiya ang karapatan ng mga katutubo at minoridad, kaunlaran ng mga magbubukid at manggagawa, at pambansang soberanya. Tampok ang aming panayam sa kanya bilang pagdiriwang sa Pandaigdigang Araw ng mga Katutubo sa Mundo (International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples) noong Agosto 9 at kaarawan ni Ka Femia noong Agosto 13. Sa panayam na ito, tinatalakay ang halaga ng pagkakaisa ng mga katutubo; ang mga hamon sa pag-organisa at pagpapaunawa sa mga pamayanan ukol sa kanilang mga karapatan; at ang hindi mapapatahimik na tinig at pagbangon ng sambayanan. 

Carmen “Nanay Mameng” Deunida was a beloved mass leader of the urban poor sector for many decades until her death at 93 on July 19. In this episode, we speak with filmmaker Adjani Arumpac, director of the film NANAY MAMENG (Kodao Productions, 2012) on what she remembers about the veteran activist, the challenges and joys of translating her life into film, and Nanay Mameng’s larger-than-life legacy. A snippet of Ms Arumpac’s interview with Nanay Mameng in 2010 is included in the end. Faye Cura hosts.

Sa episode na ito, ating pag-uusapan ang kalagayan ng kababaihang bilanggong pulitikal bilang patikim sa ilulunsad naming aklat—Saloobin: Mga akda ng at para sa kababaihang bilanggong pulitikal. Magkakaroon ng pagbasa ng mga akda mula sa aklat sa una at huling bahagi habang maikling panayam naman sa gitna.

Makakasama natin ngayon sina Fides Lim ng KAPATID Friends and Families of Political Prisoners at si Lady Ann Salem ng National Union of Journalists of the Philippines upang magbahagi ng kanilang kaalaman at danas tungkol sa kasalukuyang kalagayan ng kababaihang bilanggong pulitikal.

In celebration of the 6th year anniversary of Gantala Press, we share a roundtable discussion with some of our members: Faye, Tere, Tin, Roda, Rae, Roma, and Eloisa. We look back at the group's beginnings, our favorite projects and activities, insights about feminist publishing, collective writing, and sisterhood. 

#DefendPeasantWomen is a campaign of the Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women to fight and resist intensified attacks and human rights violations against peasant women across the country and hold the Duterte regime primarily accountable for the abuses committed by the government armed forces. In this episode, Amihan National Chairperson Zenaida Soriano provides a backgrounder to the campaign while PAMALAKAYA-Palawan Chairperson Annalie delos Santos shares her testimony on the government’s red-tagging of peasant leaders and organizers. Peasant Women political prisoner Amanda Echanis of Amihan-Cagayan delivers a message for International Women’s Month and Miriam Villanueva of KASAMA-LR reads her poem on “Bloody Sunday” which took the lives of nine peasant activists in Southern Tagalog in March. Mara Marasigan of UMA sings “Para sa Amihan.” Faye Cura hosts. Recordings courtesy of @amihan.peasant_women, Free Amanda Echanis Network, and Gantala Press.

The International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia commemorates the day when homosexuality was removed from the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 17, 1990. As feminists, we march with our LGBTQI+ siblings in pushing back against the intersectional issues that affect individuals and communities

For this episode we interview Rey Valmores-Salinas, spokesperson of Bahaghari, the national democratic organization of militant and makabayang lesbians, gays, bisexual persons, and transgender (LGBT) Filipinos. We discuss many relevant issues such as coming out and collective action, science and activism, the danger of identity politics, and trans stories that need to be documented.

Labor Day was first observed in the Philippines on May 1, 1903 when thousands of workers marched to Malacañang to demand fair working conditions.

Some books that you can check out are Judy Taguiwalo’s Babae, Obrera, Unyonista; Ma. Luisa Camagay’s Working Women of Manila in the 19th Century; and Rosario Torres-Yu’s Welgang Bayan: Empowering Labor Unions Against Poverty and Repression. Of course, you can also check out Gantala Press’ own publications, Mamumuo: Mga Akda ng Kababaihang Manggagawa ng NAMASUFA-NAFLU-KMU, and Daloy: Collected Writings by the Filipino migrant women of Batis AWARE.

We begin with an interview with Ka Nitz Gonzaga, current Vice Chairperson for Women's Affairs of Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU). Studied under GABRIELA, Ka Nitz became an activist during Martial Law. She started out as an office secretary at National Federation of Labor Unions. At 80, Ka Nitz continues to fight for workers' rights especially those of women's.