Here's What I've Been Thinking
Whatever happened to FilAm Jam and What Now?
Dear Reader
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder so I hope you’ve missed the ol’ jam enough to keep reading in 2026. I know it’s been months since I or any of our contributors have posted anything new and for this I apologize. I’ve had to deal with real life and to be honest, it hasn’t been the easiest.
But hey it’s a new year and I’ve done a lot of thinking. I’ve taken this unplanned hiatus to slow down and really think about the direction we’ll take with FilAm Jam. What is FJ you ask? Let me first tell you what it is NOT. The FilAm Jam zine on Substack and print is not a bulletin board for event announcements or press releases, it is not a platform for brand promotions or trend-driven listicles. Instead it is more like an archive and a journal.
Think preservation over promotion. I am less interested in “what’s happening next” and more interested in “what stays.” Instead of promoting and merely documenting a Filipino event for example, I am more interested in the stories in between. Instead of just the who, what, when of an event, I hope FilAm Jam can dive deeper into the “meaning” of the event. We are interested in holding onto the feeling, context, and story after the crowd disperses. We will tell these stories creatively through words, pictures, illustrations and video.
Still with me?
Here let me break up this post with random photos from my recent visit to Manila.
Ok. You still here? (Thank goodness!) So how about this - here’s my elevator pitch.
FilAm Jam exists to hold space for stories that might otherwise be overlooked — stories that live between cities, generations, and identities.
If your work comes from care, curiosity, and connection, it belongs here.
— Mars
Editor, FilAm Jam