Tuesday, February 5, 2013
'Too Asian?' Lecture on February 14.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Farewell Tito Joe
I learned recently that a beloved member of our community recently passed away. And, although I've only met his acquiantence a handful of times, I still feel he has played a large part of my life (my childhood especially).
Radio host and community DJ, Joe Sulit, will no longer be found on the AM airwaves. No longer will we hear his corny jokes (they were!) or will I ever sit across him at the radio station for an interview.
For those of you who don't know of him, Mr. Sulit graced the radio waves since the 1980s as the co-host of Good Morning Philippines on CKJS 810am. He and Emmie Joaquin co-hosted the popular morning show which kept Winnipeg Filipino-Canadians up to date, involved, and connected with current news and events all over the Philippines. More importantly, it was the pulse of the growing community. Or, to put it in current terms, they were the 'google search' back in the day - when an answer was sought it was them we asked.
For me, Mr. Sulit was the loving 'Tito' we listened for in the morning. It was his voice my dad turned up the radio to and his voice that announced my seventh birthday (with unforgetable Yoyoy background music! Ya!). I will never forget that he was also the person my mother called after one racial incident left the family humiliated and violated simply for shopping at a local grocery store.
I realize times now are different. Perhaps, these experiences are now a thing of the past. I'm sad to see them gone, but I'm hopeful our community today will never forget them.
You will be missed Tito Joe.
 |
| Co-hosts Joe Sulit and Emmie Joaquin WFP 29/5/89 |
For those of you who don't know of him, Mr. Sulit graced the radio waves since the 1980s as the co-host of Good Morning Philippines on CKJS 810am. He and Emmie Joaquin co-hosted the popular morning show which kept Winnipeg Filipino-Canadians up to date, involved, and connected with current news and events all over the Philippines. More importantly, it was the pulse of the growing community. Or, to put it in current terms, they were the 'google search' back in the day - when an answer was sought it was them we asked.
For me, Mr. Sulit was the loving 'Tito' we listened for in the morning. It was his voice my dad turned up the radio to and his voice that announced my seventh birthday (with unforgetable Yoyoy background music! Ya!). I will never forget that he was also the person my mother called after one racial incident left the family humiliated and violated simply for shopping at a local grocery store.
I realize times now are different. Perhaps, these experiences are now a thing of the past. I'm sad to see them gone, but I'm hopeful our community today will never forget them.
You will be missed Tito Joe.
Friday, October 26, 2012
The Language of My Identity
So, according to the Winnipeg Free Press (10/25/2012) one in twenty Winnipeggers speak Tagalog (see Can you say that in Tagalog?). Every now and then we hear about what figures like these mean in Winnipeg's neighbourhoods and schools. But there's a flip-side. Not everyone who identifies as Filipino speaks Tagalog. It's not exactly a bad thing either if we don't.
This is why I share this telling article by ANAK Publishing's Kezia Malabanan. Enjoy.
Filipino is my first language. No, it’s not Tagalog; it’s Filipino. It’s my social language. Filipino is what my mom used at home. It’s the language my childhood teachers used to instruct me most of the time, and it’s the language I used to play with my classmates and friends.
English is my second language. My Philippine schooling is based on an American curriculum, thus English became my cognitive language. Whenever I tried to make sense of things in my head, I most likely used English. When I tried to prove a point when arguing, most of the words I uttered were in English or an Anglicized version of the Tagalog word I deemed closest in meaning.
Growing up, though, the bulk of my English usage was restricted. At school, ironically, I felt like I was only allowed to use it freely for school materials and that notorious English-only rule in the classroom (or else, I would have to put money in the jar for speaking Filipino). Most of the time, I felt like English was almost taboo outside of the scholarly context because most people around me thought I was being snobby. Therefore, I used English as the language of my thoughts. My private journals were in English. My daydreams were in English. I also tried to spice up my speech with a failure of an Australian accent that closely resembled, to most of my peers’ ears, a Harry Potter accent.
I guess I was content with that. I categorized my world: Filipino for most social interactions, English for academics and things I didn’t want people to know. The only “public” practice of my English was in the snail mails to a cousin in Australia. However, it was the Internet that provided me the avenue to express myself fully. Oh, the amount of hours I spent conversing with native English speakers in chat rooms and MMORPGs!
And then, I came to Canada. Everything around me was in English. English, which was my language of refuge, no longer felt safe and private. How I longed to be able to think without the fear of people seeing right through me or hearing my unfiltered thoughts!
And then I realized, I have another language I could speak. However, to my disappointment, I cannot express myself in it as much as I was able to in English, especially in writing. For example, it was a struggle to find the right shade of sadness in Filipino, whereas English came more easily: melancholy, sorrow, misery. It was frustrating to stumble with words – perpetually feeling as if my social language was inadequate for what I wanted to say, especially in cognitive contexts
So, how then, could I call myself truly Filipino? I didn’t grow up in the diaspora wherein it’s justifiable to not be as fluent in Filipino as people from the homeland. I felt betwixt and between. I knew I was Filipino, but at the same time I felt like I wasn’t. It took me over three years to realize it was the perfect opportunity to forge a hybrid of an identity.
So what if I couldn’t express myself in Filipino as academically fluently as I thought I could in English? So what if I Anglicized most of the Tagalog words I know, and then add those to Filipino structure? I’m Filipino because I understand and practice Filipino values and culture. I’m Canadian because I can express why I value being Canadian in at least one of Canada’s official languages. I don’t have to be one or the other. I can be both, and I’m fortunate to have the languages for those identities.
I’m certain that language is not the ultimate link to a culture. It’s one of many. Although, I can’t deny that language is vital to access it. I still feel that my Filipino is inadequate (academically), but for connecting with people, I’m glad I have enough of it.
This is why I share this telling article by ANAK Publishing's Kezia Malabanan. Enjoy.
by Kezia Malabanan (published in Pilipino Express 10/16/2012)
English is my second language. My Philippine schooling is based on an American curriculum, thus English became my cognitive language. Whenever I tried to make sense of things in my head, I most likely used English. When I tried to prove a point when arguing, most of the words I uttered were in English or an Anglicized version of the Tagalog word I deemed closest in meaning.
Growing up, though, the bulk of my English usage was restricted. At school, ironically, I felt like I was only allowed to use it freely for school materials and that notorious English-only rule in the classroom (or else, I would have to put money in the jar for speaking Filipino). Most of the time, I felt like English was almost taboo outside of the scholarly context because most people around me thought I was being snobby. Therefore, I used English as the language of my thoughts. My private journals were in English. My daydreams were in English. I also tried to spice up my speech with a failure of an Australian accent that closely resembled, to most of my peers’ ears, a Harry Potter accent.
I guess I was content with that. I categorized my world: Filipino for most social interactions, English for academics and things I didn’t want people to know. The only “public” practice of my English was in the snail mails to a cousin in Australia. However, it was the Internet that provided me the avenue to express myself fully. Oh, the amount of hours I spent conversing with native English speakers in chat rooms and MMORPGs!
And then, I came to Canada. Everything around me was in English. English, which was my language of refuge, no longer felt safe and private. How I longed to be able to think without the fear of people seeing right through me or hearing my unfiltered thoughts!
And then I realized, I have another language I could speak. However, to my disappointment, I cannot express myself in it as much as I was able to in English, especially in writing. For example, it was a struggle to find the right shade of sadness in Filipino, whereas English came more easily: melancholy, sorrow, misery. It was frustrating to stumble with words – perpetually feeling as if my social language was inadequate for what I wanted to say, especially in cognitive contexts
So, how then, could I call myself truly Filipino? I didn’t grow up in the diaspora wherein it’s justifiable to not be as fluent in Filipino as people from the homeland. I felt betwixt and between. I knew I was Filipino, but at the same time I felt like I wasn’t. It took me over three years to realize it was the perfect opportunity to forge a hybrid of an identity.
So what if I couldn’t express myself in Filipino as academically fluently as I thought I could in English? So what if I Anglicized most of the Tagalog words I know, and then add those to Filipino structure? I’m Filipino because I understand and practice Filipino values and culture. I’m Canadian because I can express why I value being Canadian in at least one of Canada’s official languages. I don’t have to be one or the other. I can be both, and I’m fortunate to have the languages for those identities.
I’m certain that language is not the ultimate link to a culture. It’s one of many. Although, I can’t deny that language is vital to access it. I still feel that my Filipino is inadequate (academically), but for connecting with people, I’m glad I have enough of it.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Honouring A Pioneer
Oral history book features Dr. Jose Belmonte
REVIEW
Published in Pilipino Express (September 1-15, 2012)
WINNIPEG – When Dr. Jose Belmonte came to Canada in November 1956 the Filipino immigrant population was so small that the government had no record of their number. He started his new life as a young medical intern in Sudbury, Ontario but he would later settle in Winnipeg where he took a job as an anaesthesiologist at Victoria Hospital in 1962. Fifty years later, Dr. Belmonte’s experience as one of the earliest Filipino-Canadians is featured in the new book entitled From Manila to Manitoba: Filipino-Canadian Oral History Series Volume 1, Winnipeg’s Health Professionals (c.1950-1970) by Darlyne Bautista.
REVIEW
Published in Pilipino Express (September 1-15, 2012)
WINNIPEG – When Dr. Jose Belmonte came to Canada in November 1956 the Filipino immigrant population was so small that the government had no record of their number. He started his new life as a young medical intern in Sudbury, Ontario but he would later settle in Winnipeg where he took a job as an anaesthesiologist at Victoria Hospital in 1962. Fifty years later, Dr. Belmonte’s experience as one of the earliest Filipino-Canadians is featured in the new book entitled From Manila to Manitoba: Filipino-Canadian Oral History Series Volume 1, Winnipeg’s Health Professionals (c.1950-1970) by Darlyne Bautista.
Three years in the making, the book is the first in a series of five to come from the oral history project of the youth group Aksyon Ng Ating Kabataan (ANAK), which began documenting the experiences of ordinary Filipino-Canadians in 2009 through recorded interviews. Twenty-five of those interviews were featured in the exhibit From Manila to Manitoba at the Manitoba Museum in 2010.
Not just a biography
While first-generation Filipino-Canadians will certainly enjoy reading about Dr. Belmonte’s memories in the book, it is no “mere biography,” as stated in the introduction. There is also plenty of background information to aid all readers in understanding the circumstances that converged – both in the Philippines and in Canada – to bring Dr. Belmonte and so many other Filipinos to this country.
“I wanted to show how comprehensive oral histories can be – as opposed to the popular understanding of oral history as biography, Bautista told Pilipino Express.”
To that end, Belmonte’s selected anecdotes and comments serve as introductions to deeper examinations of such varied topics as the history of the elite class in the Philippines, the padrino culture of patrons and clients in Philippine society and politics, and even the birth of Canada’s public health care system.
Bautista’s approach not only provides a series of brief history lessons but it also helps to clarify Belmonte’s story for readers who did not grow up in the Philippines. For instance, one could easily miss the full import of Belmonte’s comment, “but my dad never got involved in politics,” but to most Filipinos, the meaning is clear: being a “non-political” professional in the Philippines is a career killer and therefore emigration is an attractive option. The comment thus becomes the starting point for a chapter on politics and opportunity in post-war Philippines. This combination of reminiscences and historical research makes From Manila to Manitoba a valuable work that scholars will consult for decades to come.
Four more volumes in the series will be published but a definite timeline for their release has not yet been set. “I want to be sure I honour all of the informants properly,” said Bautista.
A second-generation Filipina-Canadian, Darlyne Bautista holds a BA (Honours) in History and International Development from the University of Winnipeg and an MA in Southeast Asian Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is also a school trustee in the Winnipeg School Division, Ward 3 and a founding member of ANAK.
From Manila to Manitoba Volume 1 featuring Dr. Jose Belmonte is available for order through the anakbooks.ca web site or by writing to info@anak.ca . All purchases through anakbooks.ca help to support ANAK programming.
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