WHAT MY FILIPINO HERITAGE MEANS TO ME

Growing old in a country one had not known as a child can be fraught with a lot of ambivalence.  If one is still active upon migration to a strange land, there is the excitement of adventure; but there are also the challenges of surviving and adjusting in an environment that may be totally different from the milieu one had been accustomed to.  One may get a good job, grow on it, accumulate assets, and succeed beyond what he/she had dreamed of. Or, one might get lost in the maze of kaleidoscopic hustles and bustles of life and end up in the gutter. For those who succeed in blending into the mainstream, there is the likelihood of becoming so complaisant that they risk losing the soul--that principle of being that defines the very essence of our humanness. Loneliness may set in.  And this can turn into depression that can gnaw at one like a rodent slowly and painfully eating up the very core of one’s being. Unless one believes firmly in something  he/she can fall back on--something that can wake one up into a realization of his/her true identity that he/she can take pride in, gain confidence  from, and be energized by, in order to rise and be whole again.

To me, this thing I need to fall back on every time I falter in my decision-making, every time I stumble into error, and every time I slip into stupor is also the very thing that pricks me into an awakening, that forces me to rise again, urges me to face my indecision head-on, and to follow the path set forth by my forefathers: a path, thorny it may have been, but embedded in bravery, generosity, pride, beauty and continued growth. This is my Filipino heritage that encompasses my Catholic upbringing and spiritual growth: what I constantly remind myself of as defining my true self no matter where I am; no matter what kind of environment I am submerged in; no matter what other kind of culture and language I may be immersed in; and, no matter who I must face in the great battles encountered daily in this foreign land.  I am, after all, the product of my cultural heritage: its history, its values, its traditions, its customs, its music and dances, its literature, its myths, its rituals, and its ideals.

Thus family bonding is to me adhering to our traditional family gatherings in observance of our noche buena and domingo de pascua.  These help me to re-live the faith of my childhood as strengthened by the tradition of the yearly La Naval de Manila, the  cenaculo and the via crucis during the semana santa.  The rites and festivals--sources of every town’s history--each has a story to tell. The rites of the canao, of the tadtarin, the Moriones, the ati-atihan, the turumba, and the fandango before Santa Clara—these are, to me, dances of life.  The Santacruzan (ah, such vision of vestal beauties!), the misa de gallo for Christmas and the salubong for Easter—these are my people’s most profound traditions of faith. There seems to be no end, in fact, to the breadth of the Filipino culture that speaks of the colorful lives of my people.

From their first encounter with the colonizers on March 16, 1521, my forefathers had already established their character as peace-loving people who, in their inherent sense of hospitality, welcomed visitors in their land with warmth and generosity.  Giving out the best--as demonstrated by their gifting their guests with gold and huge porcelain jars filled with rice grain--speaks of unselfishness and magnanimity practiced only by the civilized. This, to me, is a defining character, a legacy practiced to this day by a true Filipino: that of being human and humane.

But the generosity of our ancestors, if and when taken advantage of, can turn into the ferocity of a lion. Witness the anger of Lapu-lapu who, with his band of warriors, slew the conquistadores headed by Magellan. This is a reminder to me that to fight the exploitative and the greedy is a consequence of being victimized. We are not aggressors, but we know how to assert ourselves as our Filipino heroes Lapulapu, Rizal, Mabini, Bonifacio, and so many others, had shown. Though we cherish peace and are inherently patient, we know how to fight back, because the love for justice runs in our blood.

No matter what other culture I may have been exposed to, it is my Filipino heritage that commands my daily behavior: the po and opo will always be music to my ears; the elderly will always be regarded with reverence, and parents taken care of in their old age. In the tradition of constancy and modesty, a spouse is part of oneself to love and be loyal to, the body a temple of God to be respected and not abused, and life as a whole to be cherished, enriched and refined to one’s best potential.

In sharing what my Filipino heritage means to me, is it too much to hope that others of the same roots as mine—and that include my children and the succeeding generation—cherish it as well?  In the tradition of our ancestors who emerged into a Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Claro Recto, Nick Joaquin, Wilfrido Nolledo,  and many others, may they all evolve into the human beings they are destined to become--the best of what they can be: unique, beautiful, integrated into an ever growing whole as they embraced their dynamic Filipino heritage.  So, to them, I say: unfold like the butterfly and soar to heights of splendor, but be distinctly Filipino!

Distinctly Filipino, yet first and foremost a human being. For when you come down to it, the qualities of being a Filipino are the very qualities that define us all as human beings: After all, my Filipino heritage is my birthright to my integrated self, cultured to the best of what I can possibly be as a human being, polished by the complex of shared beliefs and patterns of learned behavior governed by honor and dignity. To be Filipino is first to be human, to be endowed with the qualities of being human.
Is it any wonder thus when some Filipino grandparents  in shock upon seeing and listening to their tattooed third generation youngsters in plunging necklines, G-string panties, and other outrageous outfit, and their teenage boys in baggy pants, and uttering irreverent phrases, or behaving atrociously, would ask, "Are you Filipino?"

-blanca datuin (c)2009, aka alma viajero