The Younger Perspective

The Westlake Starbucks is the social hub for Daly City. Although the sun has already set an hour ago, the coffee house is packed with students studying or simply socializing. Almost every face is Filipino; not surprising given Daly City is home to perhaps the largest Filipino-American community in the United States.

A young woman enters and makes a B-line for the register, throwing quick peeks around to check for people she may know.

Jennifer Tavares looks like an average female Filipino-American. With her shoulder length black hair, a round face and black-rimmed spectacles, she could be any FilAm student from San Francisco State University.

At 24, Tavares has graduated from SF State with a bachelor’s degree in child development, teaches preschool for 2-year-olds, and is a founding member of a strong and active cultural organization at SF State.

Despite her accomplishments, she doesn’t receive much credit at home.

Instead, she’s more likely to hear, “So, are you still going back to school to pursue nursing?,” a question her father asks her all the time.

Tavares’ story is typical of many second generation Filipino-Americans who don’t end up in the medical field.

“I started off as an English major,” Tavares admitted. “I lied to my parents and said that I was in nursing. Technically, wasn’t lying because I did take a nursing class but it was GE. I considered it but it wasn’t in my heart. When I finally told my parents, my mother was more understanding. My father, to this day, is still somewhat disappointed.”

"I understand it and I don’t blame him,” Tavares said. “It’s his perception of what he thinks is best for me. But for me, it’s not about the money; it’s about feeling fulfilled. My parents came here and their intentions were for their children to get a higher education to get a good job that can pay them well.”

As soon as she starts to talk about her accomplishments, it becomes apparent that she lacks the insecurity that many people her age may exude.

When describing the Manalo Movement, the campus organization named after Olympic gold medalist Vicki Manalo Draves she established in 2005 with four other students, Tavares’ whole demeanor perks up. She sits up straight and leans forward, eager to talk about the group that she still considers her pride and joy.

“Before the Manalo Movement, I wasn’t passionate about anything,” Tavares said. “My idea of being active consisted of going to school, going to work, and then going home. Professor Begonia’s class was a turning point. I only knew my language and pop culture, but as far as history, I never even picked up a book. Maybe in high school when there was only one sentence about the Philippine-American War.”

Professor Danilo Begonia teaches Asian American Studies 355, Psyche and Behavior of Pilipinos. His classroom is where many Filipino-American students first learn about modern heroes of their culture, such as Vicki Manalo Draves. Draves, a half-Filipino, half-English San Francisco native won two gold medals in diving during the 1948 Olympic Games in London. Despite this accomplishment and numerous others, such as being part of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Draves has not yet been inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. She is overlooked every year.

Tavares’ Manalo Movement was born in Begonia’s class. One of the group’s concrete goals is to help Draves get into BASHOF, but the group has evolved into educating Filipino-Americans and other Asian-Americans about their cultures as well.

“That eventually became our all-encompassing goal,” Tavares said. “Through educational workshops with high schools and working collaboratively with other organizations, we try to give people more of an awareness of themselves and their culture.

“There is a saying that Prof. Begonia uses: ‘No history, no self.’ If you don’t know where you come from, how can you figure out where you’ll go?” she asks. “We give people the means and resources to explore who they are, and to have pride in that self-image.”

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Christopher Michael Keaneu Dioquino Guevarra is the first member of his family to attend college or graduate from college. A budding filmmaker and DJ, Guevarra spent his childhood watching his family struggle to make ends meet.

The story of Guevarra's family mirrors the stories of many other Filipino immigrants. His mom is one of 12 kids, and the family lived in the countryside of Pangasinan in the Philippines. During the reign of President Ferdinand Marcos (1965-1986), they lived in rural poverty.

"My Uncle Eddie (the eldest son) joined the Navy to get everyone the necessary paperwork to move them over to the States," Guevarra said. "Mommy arrived in 1985 at the age of 19, met my Pops upon arrival in New Jersey, and had me in 1986."

Like Tavares, Guevarra came to a greater understanding of his cultural background after attending the University of California, Santa Cruz.          

"Being Pilipino is a huge, HUGE part of my life. It's my entire life. It's why I do the things I do. The struggle of our people will be my lifelong mission," Guevarra admits. "It stems from the struggle my mom went through. I think her and her family's struggle in the Philippines, and now in the States, reflects the struggle of the Pilipino people and my entire life has been based on the goal of lifting my mom and family out of the gutter. Once I learned about what the struggle of the Pilipino people was all about, I realized that it was the same shit."

"And therefore my mission for my mom also became a mission for the people," Guevarra said.

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The Manalo Movement meets every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Room 256 of Burk Hall on San Francisco State’s campus. The officers trickle in singly or in pairs, moving the usual classroom setup of rows into a wide circle of chairs. Vice president Mike Villanueva fiddles around with his laptop, while the other officers review their notes and materials for the meeting.

They’re just waiting for Tavares. Despite graduating last year, Tavares and other founding members from the first crop of the Manalo Movement have returned to the organization to help guide it.

“It’s our baby,” she said. “When you’re so passionate about something and you want to see it grow, you just want to nurture it. We don’t want to be overbearing but that’s why we took on these positions, so that we can teach the other officers.”

The Manalo Movement also strives to break down different stereotypes that still persist, particularly in mainstream media.

"I’m actually really interested in screenwriting. The Asian American film festival is one way for us to tell our story and break our stereotypes," Tavares said. "I really think it helps in the bigger picture. It’s important to see someone else out there who looks like you and doesn’t fit into that stereotype."

An obvious stereotype is the asexual Asian American male. One sees him in many Asian films: the quiet, aloof and deadly martial artist.

"You never see an Asian male getting with a white woman," Tavares said. "They cut out the affection in 'Romeo Must Die.' Jet Li’s not a bad looking guy. Why can’t he get with the girl?"