Colonialism and Filipino Community Essays

Colonialism and Filipino Community Essays Colonialism and Filipino Community Essay Colonialism and Filipino Community Essay Most college students would consider a culture club as a group of people where all the members are the same race and share the same passion towards their culture. Although those are not the only factors that are taken into account, there are more reasons why people decide to form culture clubs. Many culture clubs might share the same background and a common interest about a culture but each member is diverse in different ways and does many things for their community and other communities as well. There are many speakers who talked about information on career struggles within the Filipino community and also discussed immigration rights. One speaker who spoke about the topic, â€Å"No Such Thing as a Filipino†, really impacted me and stayed in my mind. It was a controversial topic because the speaker portrayed that there is no such thing as a Filipino since the Philippines have so many dialects and are very diverse in their living situations. The speaker also did not believe that the people in Southern and Mid Philippines, Mindanao and Visayas, were considered as Filipinos due to their different ways of living and their backgrounds. During that topic, the speaker brought up the impact of colonialism in the Philippines to the college students. The No such thing as a Filipino lecture brought up an existential dilemma related to all once-colonized peoples. An outsider colonized a country and named that country without the consent of the indigenous people. In a sense, the Philippines are carrying the infamous legacy of colonizers by keeping the name â€Å"Phillip† from a former Spanish King, King Philip II. This undermines the history of indigenous people who were there before the term Filipino ever existed. It raises the question: Who were Filipinos before Spain, and should/can we reclaim that history? Every person has their own point of view on this subject but it is an important topic to be aware of for the Filipino community. Other topics discussed were JFAV and the portrayal of Filipino folk dances by college students at universities, which are not the same as the traditional dances. This event has grown to the point where other communities will join the event and speak to the Filipino community. Anyone can also attend the event; you just need to be a member of a Filipino organization. In his book, The Day the Dancers Stayed: Performing in the Filipino/American, Theodore Gonzalves talks about: My aim is not to demonstrate how the cultural forms are developed in the Philippines and are then inherited and deployed effortlessly in the United States but, instead, to argue that the PCN represents the invention, and occasionally also the misinterpretations, of cultural repertoire. (Gonzalves 19) He may not like the modernized and changed theatrical aspect of the show, but he respects the hard work the students put in. Gonzalves compares the original dances from Philippines to the way the students from PCN portray them to the audience and claims that they are not the â€Å"original work. † He talks about how the music, costumes, and movements are similar but not completely accurate. This is a great way to show other communities our love towards the Filipino culture. PCN has grown to the point where its audience has expanded to include many non-Filipinos. It is also a great way for us to help the Filipino community in the Philippines by raising money. To me PCN is an entire journey and I hope that people who decides to do PCN can learn more than a few 8-counts or a few beat but more importantly the story and history behind every step, every click, and every sound. Many students, Filipino or non-Filipino, join the club for different reasons: to meet friends, to be closer to their culture, or to be involved. Through their experiences students will learn many things about the culture by educating themselves through lectures, workshops, music and dance, and the numerous events the club hosts throughout the year. In Yen Le Espiritu’s book, Filipino American Lives, a shy man named Dario Villa decided to join his Filipino Club at his school and stated â€Å"I became more open and accepting† (Espiritu 173). That is what Katipunan did for me. It has opened my eyes and made me accept my culture from a different perspective. It made me be a part of a group that shows my past history and why is it important to keep that history alive for years to come.