A not-so-little introduction

One may expect a variety of faces while flipping through the major publications in the Bay Area, but a Filipino-American face rarely makes the cut. Unless you live in California or Hawaii, the first exposure to Filipinos that many people have may be in the form of stereotypes plugged into popular films and TV shows.

Despite being the second largest Asian group in the United States according to the 2000 census, Filipino-Americans are erroneously underrepresented in all forms of mainstream media. This invisible state does not undermine any aspect of Filipino culture. In many ways, it can be seen as a unifying cause and reason for many Filipino-Americans to develop and maintain a heightened sense of their culture, a mixed-bag culture that values family life, religion and hard work.

Culture is one of those fundamental parts of life that is so difficult to portray, let alone package into a neat little summary. The following is a break down of some key elements of the Filipino-American, from history and traditional values to food and generational differences.

History of Filipinos in America

Filipino-American history is as old as the history of the United States itself, even though textbooks in all public school history classes very rarely include anything about Filipinos, aside from a brief mention of the Philippine-American War in 1899.

Filipinos immigrated to the U.S. for a variety of reasons. Filipino immigrants range from seamen and servants on Spanish galleons, pensionados (Filipino college students), sakadas (contract workers in Hawaii), Alaskeros (workers in Alaskan fisheries and the whaling industry, and World War II recruits. More recent immigrants are typically medical professionals.

Early Period. The first recorded settlement of Filipinos was in Louisiana during the Spanish galleon trade, as early as 1565. In 1763, members of the Filipino crew escaped forced labor and enslavement and made their way to New Orleans and established a community in the bayous. Known as “Manilamen,” they and their descendants introduced wine making from coconut and developed an export industry of sun-dried shrimp. From 1763 to 1906, others followed (e.g., mariners, adventurers, domestics) and as the community grew, some moved on to the West Coast and Hawaii or to Alaska to seek jobs in the fishing and whaling industries or the pineapple and sugarcane fields.

After the Spanish-American War (1898). Filipinos became U.S. nationals and could live legally in the U.S. From 1900 to 1934, three subgroups of immigrants arrived, primarily in Hawaii and California. The sakadas were young men, poorly-educated and from rural backgrounds, who were recruited to replace the Japanese workforce in Hawaiian plantations. Most of these immigrants intended to return to the Philippines after the work was finished. Those who stayed, called manongs (which means brothers), lived as bachelors in poverty and social isolation within the Filipino community.

The pensionados came to the U.S. as government subsidized scholars and worked in a variety of low-paying jobs such as domestic work to support themselves. Some remained in the U.S. and blended in with later immigrants, the pinoys, who came to seek economic prosperity or join their families. The pinoys did farm work in the San Joaquin Valley, Salinas, and Sacramento; factory work in the Alaskan fishing and cannery; and service jobs such as domestics, busboys, janitors.  Many migrant families lived in poverty, cultivating the idea that their children should quickly assimilate through education and speaking only English.

1935-1965. More Filipino women and families immigrated during this period, most being U.S. military dependents (war brides), WWII veterans, professionals, and students. They contributed to American society, despite significant experiences of economic exploitation and social injustice. The social change in the ‘60s triggered passionate dialogue in the Filipino American community about its cultural identity and ethnic legacy.

The Filipino-American community was an integral part of the strikes and formation of the first College of Ethnic Studies in the country on the San Francisco State University campus in the '60s.

1965-1990. Immigration included highly educated professionals (mostly young women in medical professions), family members such as grandparents or followers of adult children under the 1965 Family Reunification Act, and aging WWII veterans. Many of these professionals were unsuccessful in getting professional licenses, forcing them to accept lower status employment in the health field and other areas. My grandfathers fell to this fate. Both were college-educated in the Philippines, but felt forced to take factory jobs or government employment here in the States. Others underwent retraining, and still others started small businesses. Filipinos with short-term visas became part of a labor pool for low paying or unpopular jobs such as nursing assistants, orderlies, or clerks.

1990 to Present. The 1990 amendment to the Immigration and Naturalization Act brought an influx of aging WWII veterans who were given instant American citizenship because of the unfulfilled promise made to them for U.S. citizenship when they fought for the Allies in WWII. Thousands of these veterans reside in the West Coast, with a large number in California. They were allowed to immigrate but were not given service-related benefits. Without health benefits, they must access non-VA services, and a protracted advocacy for their welfare is an ongoing issue in the community.


Concentrations of Filipino-Americans in the U.S.

The majority of Filipino-Americans reside in or near major urban cities, under the assumption that such areas have a greater potential for jobs. While Filipino-Americans are found all over the country, the largest concentrations are in California, most likely because of the most recent waves of immigration. One often finds large, extended families living fairly close to one another. While the majority of Filipino-Americans are in southern California, San Francisco is also an example of this phenomenon. The city itself has an estimated population of about 40,000 Filipino-Americans, and the counties surrounding it also have large populations of Filipino-Americans.
          

Languages

In the Philippines, Pilipino is the national language, and English is the second official language. Pilipino is more commonly used because it is less political. Tagalog, which Pilipino is mostly based on, also refers to a person from a specific region of the country. There are hundreds of regional dialects, and the names of these dialects are also used to describe where an individual is from. A person can be described as being both Ilocano and Tagalog based on heritage, even though the family mostly speaks Tagalog. While more than 80 ethnic languages are spoken, there are eight major regional languages spoken – Pilipino /Tagalog (29.6 percent), Cebuano (24.2 percent), Ilocano (10.3 percent), Ilonggo (9.2 percent), Bicolano (3.5 percent), Waray (4 percent), Kapampangan (2.8 percent), and Pangasinanes (<1 percent). English is used to conduct governmental and global business. Among many Filipino-Americans, a combination of English and Tagalog, or “Taglish,” is spoken by many and is used extensively in the Filipino-American media. Just put on a Filipino game show to hear it.

Even though many elders speak English, there is a strong preference to speak their own native language at home. However, children and grandchildren are typically encouraged to use English inside and outside of the home.


Spelling: Filipino or Pilipino?

The use of “Pilipino” instead of “Filipino” largely depends on the segment of the community one is a part of. “Pilipino” began as a sociopolitical label by a segment of the community rooted in the social activism of the 1960s. The Office of Civil Rights recognizes both labels and the use of “F” or “P” is usually determined by preference. Younger Filipino-Americans switch between the two terms, and a majority just go along with whatever they learned from their grandparents. Usually, the term "Pilipino" is considered more accurate.

“Personally, I can use either term but I definitely know some people who are very mindful of the differences,” said Jennifer Tavares.

Tavares is the current president of the Manalo Movement, a Filipino-American club at San Francisco State University that is dedicated to educating Filipino-Americans and Asian Americans about their heritage and the unsung heroes of their communities. The Manalo Movement is named after Vicki Manalo Draves, a half-Filipino, half-Irish diver who won two gold medals for diving in the 1948 London Olympics.

The letter "f" is a Western influence; many Filipinos still pronounce it with a "p" sound, regardless of how they spell it.


Food

The Philippines is unique in Asia. Many of its inhabitants are of Asian, Malay-Polynesian and Spanish descent. These different influences in Filipino culture are very apparent in Filipino cuisine. Foods with a more Malayo-Polynesian influence are typically steamed or roasted, and dishes that are stir-fried or have noodles have a Chinese influence. During their reign, the Spanish introduced peppers, and the method of sautéing with garlic and onions to the Philippines.

Filipino feasts are typically family-style; several dishes are placed on the table at once, allowing diners to select whatever they like and serve themselves. While always heavy, these meals can range from simple, like fried fish, steamed rice and vegetables, to complex, like rich meat stews or soups.

Dishes like adobo, meat braised or stewed in soy sauce, vinegar and garlic, are sometimes eaten every week because of the ease of preparation. For special occasions, lechon is typically served as the feast's centerpiece. Lechon is a whole pig slow roasted on a spit.


Religion

An estimated 80 percent of Filipinos are Catholics. This is due largely in part to the nearly 300 years of Spanish dominance. Filipino Muslims originate primarily from Mindanao and Sulu - the southernmost region of the country, where successful resistance to Spanish colonization led to preservation of their culture and traditions. Collectively, the cultural, psychological, economic, and political legacy of the pre-colonial Filipino tribes was congruent with those of other islanders in the Pacific Rim.

Filipino-Americans hold tightly to their Catholic beliefs. It has always been a source of strength and unification, and immigrants brought this strong sense of spirituality to the United States. People in older generations tend to be very devout, sometimes attending Mass three times a week.


Values

Importance of Family. The Filipino values of interdependence and social cohesiveness may have evolved from the necessity of group orientation in a country of more than 7,000 islands. Family reunification, a prevalent theme during all waves of immigration, continues today. Many of these households are intergenerational, where grandparents become surrogate parents for their grandchildren, while the actual parents work full time.

These household arrangements cultivate a strong respect and love for parents and older family members. Interdependence is expected in Filipino-American culture, and a family member may expect to be cared for from birth until death. Traditional Filipino American families pass on these values to the new generation.

To this end, Fil-Ams propagate this interdependence through large family gatherings, even inducting close friends as family. This is most noticeable in the manner that people address one another, and also in the pervasiveness of large parties. Words like “ate” and “kuya” are signs of respect for older female and male relatives, respectively.  Some families plan reunions every year that people from all over the United States attend. My own family, on my mother’s side, has a reunion every year, and the location rotates between three cities that most of us live near: Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas.


Stereotypes

One of the earliest stereotypes that Filipinos was saddled with is the name “dog-eater.” It was emblazoned across banners and posters during the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, along with words like “savages.” This name has stuck throughout the decades, and perpetuates the idea that the Philippines is a backward country. Today, while it is true that there are some Filipino communities that do eat dog meat, generally the act of killing dogs for human consumption is banned.

Here in the United States, eating dog meat is even more frowned upon because of Western acculturation. When asked about dog meat, my grandfather would just chuckle. He is well aware of the stereotype, but does not take offense to it.

“Where I lived, we ate all kinds of things. Part of it was out of necessity,” he once told me.

Years ago, my grandmother even admitted to once eating rat meat when she was a child.

It can all be attributed to different cultural values, or even simple survival.