Rock Island author Jason Tanamor holding a new sneaker he designed.
Jason Tanamor has a lot of heart and sole.
The 50-year-old Davenport native is a published author who has a new young adult (YA) novel coming out in May, as well as a high-end pair of running shoes that honor his Filipino heritage.
Tanamor will help celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May with a new, Filipino-inspired shoe that pays respect to the Philippines flag. He designed the Italian-made shoe, the JT I, produced by Alive Shoes, which also aims to expand the underrepresented market of the Philippines.
“Filipinos tend to get overlooked in terms of pop culture,” says Tanamor, author of the forthcoming novel The Legend of Sensei Tsinelas, a YA Filipino superhero story. “The only time, it seems, Filipinos get any kind of love is during Asian American Pacific Islander Month in May and Filipino American Heritage Month in October, even though Filipinos make up the second-largest Asian group in the U.S.”
The shoe line captures the spirit of the Philippines in your sole. The JT I is an homage to the country’s flag and its vibrant colors. Yellow stands for freedom, unity, democracy, and sovereignty. White symbolizes liberty, equality, and fraternity. Blue stands for peace, truth, and justice. And red symbolizes patriotism and valor. The flag and what it represents, according to Tanamor, was a no-brainer for the brand’s inception into the market.
“I’m incredibly honored to launch the new JT I because it’s more than just a shoe,” says Tanamor. “The brand is a statement that celebrates the Filipino and its proud heritage. Alive Shoes gave me an opportunity to express myself and my culture, so it means a great deal to me to share the Philippines' history in a casual and trendy sort of way.”
Offered in both men’s and women’s sizes, the JT I is a high-top shoe that includes embossed details, a clean profile, and a belt-style ankle.
“The hope with the shoe is to not only celebrate the Filipino of all walks of life, but to build awareness that Filipinos are an important part of the world’s fabric,” says Tanamor. “The brand also represents my ongoing commitment to promoting the Philippines and its people.”
Tanamor’s father worked in opposition to former Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos and fled the country, with his wife, to the U.S. on Christmas Eve 1974. They moved to the Quad Cities, where they had friends, and where Jason was born in April 1975.
He grew up taking part in Filipino folk dances at Bettendorf Middle School, and one of Tanamor’s books is loosely based on those experiences. He’s never been to the Philippines, where Marcos’s son, Bongbong, is the current president. Jason graduated from Assumption High School, earned an undergrad degree in accounting from the old Marycrest University, and got his master’s from Macomb's Western Illinois in broadcast journalism. Wanting to be more creative, Tanamor didn’t end up going into TV news, and instead got into writing and stand-up comedy.
“I didn’t have the guts or courage to move out to Hollywood at the time,” he says, noting he did a lot of freelance writing for online humor magazines and the Dispatch/Rock Island Argus (from 2004 to 2009). Tanamor often wrote stories on bands and the comedy scene. National record labels also recruited him for music reviews (starting around 2011) and interviews, writing for Yahoo.
Tanamor spent a decade as an entertainment writer, interviewing the likes of author Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club); comedians Dane Cook and Gabriel Iglesias; musicians Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), Ann Wilson (Heart), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction), and Henry Rollins (Black Flag); and baseball legend Pete Rose.
He and his wife have a 30-year-old son. Tanamor found his niche writing about the Filipino population after he moved to Portland, Oregon (which has a sizable Filipino population) in fall 2018. There were about 4.1 million Filipino-Americans in 2022, accounting for 17 percent of the Asian-American population. Tanamor’s wife got a job in Portland with the U.S. Forest Service. They have been back in the QC since July 2023 and live in Rock Island.
In Portland, Tanamor noted, there are crows everywhere, and he and his wife used to watch the detective show Grimm, which filmed there. One episode focused on Filipino folklore (aswang), which Tanamor had never heard of before. It referred to evil shape-shifting creatures such as vampires, ghouls, witches, and crows. He was inspired by a crow he saw once that looked like it was morphing into a human.
Tanamor subsequently wrote his book Vampires of Portlandia, which was published in 2020 by Parliament House Press. It’s about a woman who moves her family of aswang vampires from the Philippines to Portland, and raises her grandchildren under strict rules so humans will not expose them. The publisher went defunct and Tanamor is re-writing the work now, also working with a producer to adapt Vampires of Portlandia as a limited TV series.
Tanamor will return to Portland for his new book launch on May 17, at the famed Powell’s City of Books. Ooligan Press is releasing The Legend of Sensei Tsinelas, a heartfelt YA novel that Kirkus Reviews calls “an endearing story of identity and cultural pride.” (The book is currently available for pre-order with a release date of May 13.) Tanamor brings to life the story of Victor Dela Cruz, a high school senior in Portland who hopes to boost his popularity by proving his boss is a real-life superhero.
But Victor’s quest soon becomes more than a way to gain recognition – it’s a chance to confront bullying, embrace his Filipino American heritage, and find his place in the world. Inspired by his boss, “Sir,” who fends off an armed mugger using only his tsinelas (slippers), Victor embarks on an emotional adventure that will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider.
“We used to joke, as kids, that my dad was so prolific with a slipper that he could take it off, whip it at you, hit you in the head, and boomerang back,” Tanamor says. “The kid, Victor, works for a Filipino food cart owner and he witnesses this amazing thing where his boss takes the slipper and disrupts a robbery. He’s so astonished by this, he thinks this guy is a superhero.”
Superman is the author’s favorite superhero – the ultimate immigrant from a foreign land (another planet), though as Clark Kent, he’s a nobody, a dork. Tanamor’s Victor is a similarly dorky immigrant.
The author was named one of the “5 Best Modern Filipino Writers” by Pinas Global and one of Positively Filipino’s “Fil-Ams Among the Remarkable and Famous.” His novels are diverse in nature, ranging from YA to fantasy, and his newest historical fiction, an unpublished work-in-progress, was nominated for the 2024 UCLA Allegra Johnson Literary Prize and the 2024 UCLA James Kirkwood Prize, awarded by his alma mater, UCLA. (Tanamor completed the UCLA online creative writing certificate program in September 2024.)
Another of his books is Love, Dance & Egg Rolls, a YA story that, as its title suggests, concerns Filipino food and dancing. Tanamor has appeared in media outlets such as Esquire Philippines, CNN Philippines, Filipino Daily Inquirer, and Asian Journal. This past March, he also taught a four-Saturday novel-writing workshop for the Midwest Writing Center.
As for the footwear brand, if things go as planned, Tanamor has ideas for the next model: JT II. “I want to pay homage to the colorful jeepney, one of the public modes of transportation in the Philippines,” says Tanamor. “If the JT I is successful, look for a more colorful shoe for the JT II.”
But he doesn’t want it to stop there.
“There are so many wonderful things about the Philippines and its people,” says Tanamor. “Food and dance are ingrained in Filipino culture. So is karaoke and family overall. Seeing a pair of shoes on a person’s feet inspired by ube (a dessert) or Tinikling (a traditional folk dance) would be a dream come true. It would keep the spirit of the Philippines and the Filipino in the forefront of discussion.”
For more information on the author, visit Tanamor.com.
