The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Boy Villasanta
The name Mike Feria, an entertainment writer has been quite popular in Philippine show business especially in the early 80s and 90s but he opted to leave the country and stay in the United States to advance his studies in arts and medicine.
In the US, Mike sported his real name Mauro Feria Tumbocon, Jr. but still uses the screen name Mike Feria in some instances.
Although a licensed medical practitioner in the Philippines, Mauro decided to do full time Non-Government Organization (NGO) work which also touches on health and wellness in different parts of the US.
Alongside NGO commitment is a dedication to the arts as Tumbocon founded the game-changing Filipino-American Cine Festival or FACINE, a world film event on the significance of Filipino life and culture captured by filmmakers in the Philippines and in the diaspora.
FACINE, annually held in San Francisco, on its thirtieth year, gave Mauro Feria Tumbocon, Jr. the coveted 2024 Jefferson Awards in Bay Area for Community Service.
By means of FACINE, Mauro is able to spread the uniqueness and importance of Philippine culture and its integration in the multi-ethnic society of the US.
Being Mike Feria in the Philippines, he was a former member of the prestigious Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, the award-giving body that gives out the annual Gawad Urian and founded and led another maverick critics’ group, the Young Critics Circle (YCC).