“My work as a storyteller started because my father’s own story began to fade.
Today is my father’s 79th birthday. He is an engineer, an immigrant, and the reason I became a storyteller. As he navigates the severe stages of dementia, Istorya’s mission has become deeply personal: our team archives the past so it is never forgotten.
This year’s Isang Kusina is a dedication to him. We are hosting it at the Keep Memory Alive Event Center on May 22nd. This is how I keep his memory alive.
Happy birthday, Dad. I love you.”
- @walbertjcastillo , founder of @istoryalv
Today, my dad turns 79. He was the engineer who mapped out our family’s future in the 1970s, building a bridge from the Philippines to America to start a new life.
While he currently navigates the severe stages of dementia and stage five chronic kidney disease, a season where the present is often out of reach, his past remains the foundation of everything I build today. He may not remember the stories we’re telling, but I remember enough for the both of us.
Happy Birthday, Dad. Thank you for the sacrifice, the support, and for being the reason I do what I do.
I got the chance to ask him last night why he moved to America, and his response in the last slide: “To travel.”
A WEEKEND GIVEAWAY FOR THE COMMUNITY 🇵🇭✨
We are honored to team up with @filipinotown.magazine as a community partner for Isang Kusina on May 22. This partnership is a full-circle moment for us.
Filipinotown Magazine has spent years documenting the stories of culinary pioneers like @archipelago_pnw , @purplepatchdc , and our own team at Istorya.
As Founder Terrence Jeffrey Santos (@terrencejeffreysantos ) puts it: “At Filipinotown Magazine, we deeply believe that shared meals and shared stories help strengthen our community across generations. We’re excited to support spaces that bring our people together in meaningful and intentional ways.”
To celebrate this collaboration, Filipinotown Magazine is sponsoring 2 SEATS for one community member and their guest to join us at the table.
HOW TO ENTER:
1️⃣ Follow @filipinotown.magazine + @istoryalv
2️⃣ Like this post
3️⃣ Tag the person you’d bring with you in the comments (only 1 tag)
4️⃣ Bonus: Share this post + tag us to your story for an extra entry
Winner will be announced this Tuesday morning!
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This year’s Isang Kusina, meaning One Kitchen, we are bringing 7 chefs to help answer the question: How did Filipinos come to America? The immersive dinner experience will take place on May 22nd at the Keep Memory Alive Event Center. For more information, visit IsangKusina.com. Tickets officially close on May 17th! #vegas
Every great story deserves a powerful finale. 🇵🇭🍽️👏🏽
Our residency at @durangosocialclub has been a dream come true, but it’s time to announce our final chapter at this location. Our last service will be on April 29th.
Come celebrate Filipino Food Month with us as we continue to share the nostalgic flavors of Chef Dio Buan’s Manila upbringing. This is your final opportunity to experience this version of the Istorya journey before we head elsewhere.
Let’s go down in history. Help us make these final services our most memorable yet.
🗓 The Final 8 Dates:
April 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, & 29
Tuesdays & Wednesdays | 5 PM – 10 PM
Reservations recommended, walk-ins accepted ❤️
What’s next?
The story continues. We are already preparing the next evolution of Istorya with a new residency launching later this year. Stay tuned, dates will be announced soon.
Maraming salamat for being part of our Istorya.
🔗 Secure your table via the link in our bio.
Turning the page to our next chapter! 🫱🏽🫲🏾 We had the best time teaming up with our friends at @gyuplus_lv to preview what’s coming next. Get ready for the official launch of Istorya’s Mexican series—a deep dive into Chavacano cuisine and the historic ties that lead all the way to Acapulco.
Stay tuned! 🇲🇽🇵🇭
Every dish has a chapter. Every flavor has a name. 🇵🇭
Allow us to reintroduce ourselves: We are Istorya. Born in Las Vegas, we started as a pop-up with a mission to reconnect the Filipino diaspora with the roots that shaped us.
We’re bridging the distance between the stories we’ve lost and the flavors we’ve kept. For us, that journey always starts at the table.
We’ve always used food to explore our heritage, and now we’re taking that mission to with this podcast.
Join our team as we share our personal journeys and the deep research into the global cultures that define our cuisine.
From history to the dinner table—this is our Istorya.
This Tuesday, we close Galeón. Here’s what we served.
This series traced how Filipino cooks responded to Spanish colonial rule. The dishes are grounded in documented history and shaped by research, including our Chapter Four storytelling framework.
You’ll taste Filipino-Spanish inspired dishes from this chapter in history:
• Ensaymada adapted in Philippine convent kitchens
• Empanadas filled the Pre-Colonial way
• Arroz caldo shaped by trade and technique
• Flan De Leche refined by Filipina cooks
Every course here carries a Spanish influence. Every course carries a Filipino decision.
Chefs Dio, Justin, and Anjelique reinterpret these histories through their own technique and voice. Not to replicate the past, but to show how Filipinos made imposed systems work in their favor.
To close the night, the Philippine Heritage dancers will perform La Jota, a dance that traveled across the empire and was localized in the Philippines.
We end the chapter by showing movement, not just food.
Tuesday at @saffronloungelv
One last table.
One last telling before we move into Part II.
Join us at this month’s UX Meetup at Tech Alley for a hands-on workshop with Walbert Castillo, storyteller at Amazon Web Services (AWS) Web Services and founder of Istorya.
Walbert will break down how brand video marketing helps you:
Clarify your message
Build trust with internal stakeholders faster
Create emotional connection
This session is for founders, marketers, creatives, and technologists who want to learn how to tell their stories and craft meaningful brands.
____
Details:
Saturday February 21st | 1:15pm
814 S 3rd St, Las Vegas, NV 89101
History is now grounded. 🍽️
Istorya is now a permanent residency at Durango Social Club, serving contemporary Filipino American food inspired by Chef Dio’s childhood memories and lived experiences.
From sinigang shrimp dumplings to salmon sisig, every dish feels familiar — yet reimagined.
Cooked from memory. Meant to be shared.
📍 Durango Social Club, Las Vegas
Tuesdays & Wednesdays
5–9 PM
Reservations preferred | Walk-ins welcome
This isn’t a pop-up.
#Istorya is here — and it’s staying.
A special shout-out to Magnolia Ice Cream, for keeping our childhoods close. Without your flavors, moments like these wouldn't taste like home. @magnoliaicecream
#lasvegas #filipino
the residency by istoryuhhh 🇵🇭
our dear friends at @istoryalv had their grand opening— the residency, located in @durangosocialclub 🥂
now open every tuesdays & wednesdays, be sure to try one of each from the menu created by chef dio @dangerously_delicious702 🔥
after 3 years of pop-ups & community gatherings, this residency is just the beginning of something truly magical ✨
congratulations team istorya for this incredible milestone! such a privilege to witness your story unfold. the meaningful change you’ve created in inspiring our filipino-american community with each flavor + bite, guiding us back home ♥️
some of our fav dishes @mmarybberryy 😋
- tito’s salmon sisig
- pork belly sinuglaw
- pancit gising-gising
- adobo mushroom pâté
- leche flan chiffon cake
- calamansi lemonade
book your next date night | girls’ night now! 💌
Shaped by Chef Dio Buan’s lived istorya — rooted in the Filipino dishes he grew up with in Manila, reimagined through years in professional kitchens.
Familiar flavors, elevated technique, meant to be shared.
Plus house-made desserts inspired by Filipino home baking. 🇵🇭✨
👨🍳 @istoryalv@dangerously_delicious702@walbertjcastillo
#lasvegas #filipinofood #filipinocuisine #istoryalv
Running Istorya has never been a solo effort. One of the people who showed up for us again and again was my Tita Irene.
Over the past three years, as we built Istorya while navigating my dad’s health, she flew in from Michigan to care for him, support my mom in the kitchen, and be present for nearly every dinner.
From our first night market and press invite to our first pop-up and most recent Galeón dinner, she was there. She knew our team by name and treated everyone like pamilya.
Before she passed away, I flew out the other week to be with her at the ICU in Detroit the other week. One of her favorite foods was @valeriosbakeshop_nv ’s Hopia Baboy. Every time she visited, she made it a point to bring some back home for our fam in Michigan.
My mom and I brought some Hopia for her to bring her comfort during our final days with her, and it meant everything there than I can put into words. There’s something about Filipino food that brings us together.
As we plan our residency and look toward what’s next, I carry her with me. She’s been part of every chapter of Istorya, and she’ll be with me as we enter this next one.
Everything we continue to build is for her + the care she gave so freely.
Thank you for everything, Tita 🤍
