Filipino American Teachers

In California, there is a disproportion between Filipino American students and Filipino American teachers.

168,627 students of Filipino descent make up 2.7% of students in the state of California. 4,418 teachers of Filipino descent make up 1.4% of teachers in California. Comparatively, 243 Filipino administrators make up 0.8% of all administrators, 692 pupil services staff make up 2.3% foo pupil services staff, and 5,292 credentialed staff make up 2.4% of all credentialed staff.

Filipino Immigration

I was speaking with a colleague about documented and undocumented Filipinos in America, discussing whether or not we would support legalization. We really dug deep, looking at different age levels, situations, and caveats. It is a complicated matter, and our conversation probably did not lead us to explore some of the deeper aspects of the situation.

Filipino American and Asian Pacific Islander Politics

A strong group of Filipino Americans were present at this year's Asian Pacific Islander (API) Policy Summit, ensuring that the needs of the Filipino American community are brought to the table as part of the larger API movement.

During these difficult times, it is important for our communities to coalesce, build relationships, and work together. As a single unit, we can advocate for one another's concerns and share our strengths with one another.

Filipino American Nationals

On May 25, 1925, the Supreme Court ruled in Toyota v. United States that Filipinos could not become U.S. citizens. The only exceptions were thsoe who served in the U.S. Navy for three years. This was during the time that the Philippines was a colony of the U.S. The case further reinforced that Filipinos were considered nationals of the U.S.

Filipinos in Puget Sound

Since the 19th century, Filipinos have immigrated to the Puget Sound region, which contains a deep inland sea once surrounded by forests and waters teeming with salmon. Seattle was the closest mainland American port to the Far East. In 1909, the “Igorotte Village” was the most popular venue at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, and the first Filipina war bride arrived. Filipinos laid telephone and telegraph cables from Seattle to Alaska; served as seamen, U.S. Navy recruits, students, and cannery workers; and worked in lumber mills, restaurants, or as houseboys. With one Filipina woman to 30 men, most early Filipino families in the Puget Sound were interracial. After World War II , communities grew with the arrival of new war brides, military families, immigrants, and exchange students and workers. Second-generation Pinoys and Pinays began their families. With the 1965 revision of U.S. immigration laws, the Filipino population in Puget Sound cities, towns, and farm areas grew rapidly and changed dramatically—as did all of Puget Sound.

Dr. Dorothy Laigo Cordova, Executive Director of the Filipinos American National Historical Society (FANHS), has written a book, published by Arcadia Publishing, entitled Filipinos in Puget Sound and capturing this history in photographs. It joins about six other titles published by Arcadia Publishing about Filipino Americans, namely:

1. Filipinos in Chicago
2. Filipinos in Hollywood
3. Filipinos in Los Angeles
4. Filipinos in Stockton
5. Filipinos in the East Bay
6. Filipinos in Vallejo

University of California, Los Angeles Department of Asian American Studies Pilipino Concentration

The University of California, Los Angeles Asian American (UCLA) Studies Department, on April 15, 2009, officially approved a Pilipino concentration.

It was created with the hope of providing an academic space for students to learn about Pilipino culture and history. The Department was lobbied hard by students at UCLA.

The concentration’s proposal was initially modeled after a University of California, Riverside (UCR) motion for a minor in Pilipino studies, which is still pending. The concentration will take the available classes and market them as a specific track towards a degree in Asian American studies.

Efforts for the concentration began in the fall of 2007, consisting of two years of researching, planning and strategizing with faculty, alumni, and graduate and undergraduate students. The planning also involved an open forum was held for students and staff of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center to form a consensus after concerns about pan-Asian issues.

Some concerns included what the concentration would mean for other Asian American groups and whether the proliferation of more specializations could lead to more separation within the Asian American community. The concensus was that the concentration would not be a contraction into a sub-ethnicity. It would rather use an understanding of Pilipino studies to broaden it out to toher fields, as well as institutionalize the diversity of the field by recognizing the connections that can be made.

More Filipino Heritage Nights

Rumors are that, following the success of the first Sacramento Kings Filipino Heritage Night, Maloof Sports and Entertainment has scheduled a Filipino Heritage Night for the Sacramento Monarchs as well as the Sacramento Kings.

The Monarchs will host their Filipino Heritage Night on June 16, 2009, and the Kings will announce their date soon. A source within the Maloof organization indicated that of all the heritage nights held this Sacramento Kings season, the Filipino Heritage Night was the most successful, with two or three times as many tickets sold as the second most successful heritage night event.

Another source indicated hosting Philippine Basketball Association tryouts at Arco Arena within the next calendar year.

It looks as though the Maloofs are getting a taste of how powerful the Filipino American community in Sacramento is.

Graduation Rates

As the school year nears its end, one can take a look at dropout rates among high school students. Statewide, among all students, there exists at 5.3% dropout rate each year. For individuals that self-identify as Filipino, that figure is only 2.1%, second only to the Asian subgroup.

Studies time and time again reaffirm long-held knowledge that when students drop out of school, they face more challenges than their peers that stay in school. Compared to high school graduates, research shows that over a lifetime dropouts have increased dependence on public assistance, lower earnings, poorer health, and higher rates of unemployment, mortality, criminal behavior, and incarceration.

The Filipino community can be proud of its academic achievement.

Cheryl Burke: Dancing Queen

Cheryl Burke once again represented strongly for Filipinos worldwide this television season by placing second in the Dancing With the Stars competition. She has placed within the top three for four of the seven seasons she has competed. No matter who she is partnered with, she seems to bring out the best in them.

Off the dance floor, she also gives back to her community, raising funds for schools and charities. She is continuelly recognized not only for her dance prowess but her community work as well, evidenced by the multiple accolades awarded to her, such as the Role Model Award at the Filipino American Library Gala and the Viewer's Choice Award for Favorite Television Personality at the Asian Excellence Awards.

Filipino Foodways

While lumpia and pancit are the most recognized Filipino foods, they, along with other foods, are more than just delectable delights, with rich histories and deep meanings.

As a former colony, the Philippines endured 300 years under Spain and spent another 50 years under American rule. This blend of tastes and flavors has created a unique Philippine cuisine filled with pan de sal bread, chorizo sausages, and other breakfast foods.

The Philippine diaspora has also made significant contributions to the U.S. agriculture and economy. In the early 1900s, the manong generation tilled the asparagus fields of California and worked seasonally in the salmon fisheries of Alaska. Both asparagus and salmon were synonymous with Filipinos at the time, and the working seasons allowed many Filipinos to earn money to obtain a postsecondary education.

Cooking Filipino food in the U.S. is like cooking from memories of the homeland. Similar to Japanese American language, Filipino American cooking maintained its authenticity because the older generations in the U.S. preserved the traditional recipes. In contrast, the contemporary population in the Philippines has transformed the local cuisine into something different over the last half-century.

Despite the popularity of Filipino food, fine Filipino dining has not broken into the mainstream. When most Filipinos think of Filipino food, they think of it as homestyle or how their nanay or lola has prepared it. Also, most Filipino parents think of the restaurant business as being “blue collar” and do not encourage it as a career for their children.

Filipino food, when analyzed, is more than just something to eat.

Tony de Zuniga: Father of the Filipino Invasion into Comics

Tony de Zuniga is known as the first Filipino to ever do illustrations for comic book juggernauts, Marvel and DC comics. He opened the doors to other Pinoy artists in the US four decades ago.

He started as a comic book artist in the Philippines as a teenager and went on to study Commercial Arts in the University of Santo Tomas and Industrial Design at the New York School of Design.

It was in 1968, that he met DC comics editor Joe Orlando, who hired him right away after seeing his impressive portfolio. While working for DC in the late 70s, Tony noticed that the company was simply reprinting the comics that they did before, because the company had cut back on hiring new artists for fresh works due to lack of funds.

Tony then explained to his editor that there is a pool of talented artists waiting to be hired in the Philippines who can be commissioned for the same price as reprints." With his editor, Tony flew back to the Philippines in 1978 to scout for Filipino comic book artists. He single-handedly started the "Filipino Invasion."

Heroes in Bolinao

Carlos "Caloy" Caagusan, a fisherman, and Linda Caagusan, his wife, both of Bolinao, Philippines, rescued 52 Vietnamese refugees that had been stranded at sea for 37 days in 1988. They had started as a group of 111, but were not equipped on their small boat to make the trip to a safe port.

They faced not only the difficult conditions of the Pacific Ocean, but were even abandoned by a Naval ship that went as far as circling them, but not rescuing them.

The boat was only one of many, carrying more than 1,000,000 people from Vietnam to other countries betwen 1975 to 1995. The people are often referred to as "boat people," and their stories are intermixed with those of Filipino Americans and the rest of the world.

Confrontations, Crossings, and Convergence: Photographs of the Philippines and the United States, 1898-1998

Confrontations, Crossings, and Convergence: Photographs of the Philippines and the United States, 1898-1998 is a book that was published in 1998 on the centennial of colonization of the Philippines by the United States of America, drastically changing its path toward independence.
It is somewhat of a precursor to The Forbidden Book: The Philippine American War in Political Cartoons, which was published in 2004.

Both of these books capture, through photos and images, the portrayal of the Philippines and Filipinos in history. They are both eye-opening and epiphany-causing.

Agbayani Village

Agbayani Village is a housing compound for retired farm workers. Many Filipino farm workers lived there at one time or another, and it was named after a Filipino farm worker that died on a picket line in 1967.

Agbayani Village was built by United Farm Workers volunteers in 1973 in recognition of Filipino contributions to the farm worker movement and their often solitary lives. It became a place of pilgrimage for young Filipinos who craved knowledge of their roots and saw the workers as symbols of ethnic pride.

These men were among hundreds of thousands that immigrated to the United States starting in 1898. They were an integral part of the thriving agricultural business in California. They were heroes, which makes the name proper, because bayani means hero in Pilipino, the national language of the Philippines.

Reviving Filipino Tattoo Traditions

The Tatak ng Apat na Alon Tribe is an organization that strives to revive the traditional tattoo culture of the Philippines. Just as tattoos and body art has grown, as well as Polynesian tattoos, so have Philippine and Filipino themed tattoos.

A common piece of body art is to get a tattoo in Baybayin, the ancient script of the Philippines. The tribe can specially design tattoos for individuals. All their designs are one of a kind, because it is based on the history of the individual, including their family, social, professional, and personal histories.

Indigenous Filipinos got tattoos as a sign of their status. The more ink, the more significant they were. They were called Pintados (painted ones), and they proudly displayed their tattoos for all to see. Today, many Filipinos do the same.

Historic Filipinotown

Historic Filipinotown is an area in Los Angeles that was a hub for Filipino immigration and commerce during the 1940s. It was officially recognized for its historic role in 2002 by LA City Council President, Eric Garcetti.

A planned project for the area is a monument to Jose Rizal in one of the districts parks, which will go nicely with the mural entitled Gintong Kasaysayan, Gintong Pamana by Eliseo Silva, and the Filipino American Library.

Philippine Cultural Dance Troupes

A Pinoy activist from the 1960s pointed out how the Filipino Cultural Dance Association of Sacramento (FCDAS) is endangered. They perform less and less and do not have many new dancers.

A Herbert Spencer inspired reaction would be to point out that only the strong survive. If the FCDAS is irrelevant, then it would eventually disappear.

Other Filipino cultural dance troupes in other parts of the country are thriving. In Sacramento, hip hop dance groups are thriving, as well as Hawaiian halaus, Latin dance, ballroom dancing, Hmong cultural dance, etc. Somehow, Filipino dance is not experiencing that sort of success.

The Power of Women in Philippine Culture

In honor of Mother's Day, I want to acknowledge and point out the prominence and importance of women in the Philippine culture.

In the indigenous culture of the Philippines, women played prominent roles in religion, serving as priestesses called babaylan. One can see the "ba" root that is shared with babae and Bathala, or Bahala.

While the Catholic religion and Spanish conquest would espouse the revision of history and the placement of women in less prominent roles, women would never yield their positions. As many people know, the Philippines' Corazon Aquino was President from February 25, 1986, until June 30, 1992, and incumbent Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been President since January 20, 2001.

In my home, my mother was always the boss in the home, and I have often heard that the women in a Filipino home would manage the household finances. They were masters of their domain, so to speak. My mother ruled with a fair and compassionate fist. In fact, all that I am and all that I ever will be, is thanks to my mother.

Jeannie Barroga: Filipino American Playwright

Jeannie Barroga is a Filipino American playwright that has written Bubblegum Killers, about the anti-Filipino sentiment in the 1930s, Banyan, a Pinay Wizard of Oz, and Gadgets, about a Filipino American family. Her plays address non-Filipino themes as well, like Walls, which explores the controversy around the design and creation of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC.

Science Fiction Characters of Philippine Descent

Many people know that Juan "Johnny" Rico, from Starship Troopers, is of Philippine descent.

Another individual to add to that list is Hikaru Sulu, from Star Trek, who Gene Roddenberry wrote to be a half Japanese, half Filipino individual, born in San Francisco, California. While Sulu's back story is never really referenced in the series or movies, it is a neat item of trivia to know.

The Battle for Corregidor

On May 6, 1942, Corregidor--the last stronghold of Allied forces in the Philippines during World War II--fell to Japanese forces. The prisoners of war were marched through Manila and incarcerated at Fort Santiago and Bilibid Prison. Thousands were shipped to Japan for slave labor.

Prior to the surrender, Allied forces held off the Japanese forces long enough to hamper the Japan plan to take over Australia and the Pacific and reassemble enough forces in New Guinea and turn the war around. It is important to recognize that soldiers of all ethnicities--including Filipinos that were nationals of the United States--were involved in this effort.

Little Manila: Filipinos in California's Heartland

The documentary, Little Manila: Filipinos in California's Heartland, will be shown again on KVIE, the Sacramento-area Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) station. It has become an annual part of the their programming during May, when the station celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The documentary features several Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) members and was produced by, Marissa Aroy, a Filipina American filmmaker from the San Francisco bay area. One can learn more about the documentary on the Viewfinder Web site at http://www.kvie.org/programs/kvie/viewfinder/little_manila/default.htm. It will show at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6, 2009.

If it does not air in your area, the documentary is available for purchase from the KVIE Web site at http://www.kviestore.org/dvvilima.html.

Saying Goodbye to a Hero

It is with numbness that I write that Manong Al Robles passed away today. He was an activist in San Francisco, California. Completely recognizable and unforgettable, he was a unique and inspirational figure that dedicated his life to advocating for the community, founding the Manilatown Senior Center, and the arts. He was part of the International Hotel movement, the Kearny Street Workshop, the Manila Heritage Foundation, and the the lives of countless individuals.

One can learn more about Manong Al on the Manongs of Manilatown Web page at http://alrobles.manilatown.org/. There will be a community gathering for Manong Al tomorrow, Sunday, May 3, 2009, at 12 noon at the International Hotel, 868 Kearny Street, San Francisco, CA 94108.

I have always been inspired not by those that have died for a cause, but those that have lived for a cause. Manong Al is certainly one of those individuals.

Manong Al, it was an honor to share in the movement with you.