Keeping my Filipino culture alive

By Camelia Rodriguez
PINOY Associate Editor

My parents came to America from the Philippines in the 1980s with the same hopes and dreams of many other immigrants. They wanted to raise their children in a country where opportunities of success would not be denied them; a country where their children would be free to flourish in every way possible and pursue their own goals and dreams.

But in this country, it is very easy for a second-generation Filipino-American to forget or even turn his or her back on the culture of their ancestors. It is very easy to assimilate to and completely adopt the traditions and beliefs of the American culture while becoming unaware of the lives your parents and their parents lived in their native land.

My parents never beat my younger brother or me over the head with everything Filipino. They did not enroll us in Filipino school where we had to take classes in order to learn how to speak and understand Tagalog. I learned everything about the Philippines and what it is to be a Filipino from my mother and father who made sure their children were aware of where they came from.

Because of my parents being wonderful examples of Filipino pride, my brother and I have taken on this same attitude. I have taken part in Filipino cultural dance since I was a little girl not because my parents forced me to, but because I felt that doing so would be a great way of showing how proud I am to be a Filipina and of connecting to my Filipino heritage. My brother also joined the Lane Tech Filipino Club this past school year and recently performed at the annual International Night show. My parents and I were so proud watching him and the other Filipino Club members impress the audience with their Tinikling and Bangko skills. It was obvious in their smiles and energy how happy and proud they themselves were to be performing traditional Filipino dances.

Both my parents are fabulous cooks and, therefore, I will probably be perpetually spoiled and will never have the initiative to learn how to cook myself. As a young girl, I only knew of two categories of food: American food and Filipino food. My parents rarely prepared typical “American” family meals. By this I mean, pancakes for breakfast; sloppy joe sandwiches for lunch; and steak and potatoes for dinner. I grew up eating food like longanisa or tocino with kanin for breakfast; pancit palabok for lunch; and kare kare for dinner. I was sometimes labeled as the “Americana” in my family because I would ask for McDonald’s every now and then, but I would never turn down an offer for lumpia shanghai or biko!

I grew up listening to Mariah Carey, Boys II Men, Michael Jackson, etc. But my parents also exposed me to the music of artists they grew up listening to back home. I can name every popular hit song of APO Hiking Society. Regine Velasquez and Martin Nievera are my idols and I can only dream of collaborating in the music studio with Parokya Ni Edgar. There are amazing artists here in the United States but, in my opinion, nothing compares to “OPM” – Original Pinoy Music. Listening to Filipino artists not only inspired my own musical style, but it also helped me to learn Tagalog as well. There are still plenty of words that I have yet to learn!

Also, even with the high prices of plane tickets to the Philippines, my parents have made certain that my brother and I are no strangers to the country of our ancestors. We have vacationed in the Philippines several times to visit our family and friends. As is the case with any Filipino’s pamilya, my relatives are spread out throughout the Philippine islands, but we always make sure we are able to visit and spend time with every one of them

Now, I may have painted a picture-perfect image of my childhood in the above paragraphs. That was definitely not the case. Growing up in a predominantly white community made me vulnerable to many instances of racism from my own neighbors and schoolmates. I was constantly teased for not just how I looked, but how I spoke. Tagalog was the primary language spoken in my home. When English was spoken, of course, some words would be pronounced with an accent. I adopted this Filipino accent myself and sometimes said English words in a “fob way”. The ridicule I got from my peers because of these occasional slips was almost unbearable.

A lot of my friends weren’t so understanding of my parents’ strictness either. They didn’t get why I always had to go straight home after school, why I wasn’t allowed to go to the movies with them at night, or why I wasn’t allowed to sleepover at their homes. Most Filipinos typically are very strict when it comes to raising their children. I used to think that my parents had so many rules because they wanted to ruin my life. But I realize now that they had my best interests at heart and were only raising me the way their parents had raised them in the Philippines.

There were many occasions while I was growing up when I could have turned my back completely on my Filipino culture. I could have said that I had enough of people making fun of me for taking part in anything Filipino, but that would only mean that I’d be denying who I truly am. And I would definitely not feel good about being the kind of person who disrespects her own heritage and acts like it is not a part of her.

When I think about the future and how I will have children of my own, I can’t help but worry about how good of a job I will do teaching them about their Filipino heritage. My children will be third-generation Filipino-Americans and even more removed from the country of their ancestors. I have asked myself, Will I be able to teach them how to speak Tagalog fluently? and How can I make sure they will not reject the Filipino culture and its traditions?

I don’t think I’m alone in asking these questions. As a parent, teaching your children about where they came from and their family traditions is a big responsibility. But children learn by example, therefore, I know that if I show my children how proud I am of being Filipino by exposing them to Filipino food, music, and traditions then I’ll succeed in my job as parent and teacher.•