It began with traditional Filipino storytelling and ended with modern American country music, but the members of the Phillipine Society of Boston College wouldn't have had their first annual Filipino-American Writers Night and Open Mic last Friday any other way.
"Tonight's variety performances really describe our club because we are very diverse. Our culture is the culture of everyone," said Roma Estandian, internal representative of PSBC and A&S '11.
"It was such a different group of people, and our culture is a conglomerate of different cultures, so we welcomed this," said Mark Florido, Phillipine Society president and A&S '09.
The event, held at French Press Cafe, was anything but a generic poetry reading. Prominent Filipino-American writers from around the nation read from their collected works, most highlighting the diverse culture of Filipino-Americans.
Bino Realuyo, the son of a survivor of the Bataan Death March and of a World War II Japanese prisoner camp, spoke vividly about the influence of his parents and Filipino culture. Realuyo's poetry was strikingly stark and emphasized the importance of retaining aspects of the Filipino culture in everyday life. At the end of his segment, Realuyo left the audience with a plea to remain true to their heritage, whatever that may be.
"If you do not know where you came from, you don't know where you're going," he said.
Many at the event need no reminder, however; most already seemed to have a very strong bond with their heritage. As the night turned from lauded writers to fledging poets, the theme of cultural pride among the students present became apparent.
During the open mic portion of the evening, multiple students spoke about their experiences as Filipino-Americans. One student's converted rap about his tattoo of the Philippine sun, which appears on the national flag, and its connection to his heritage quickly turned into a brief history lesson for those in the audience.
Filipino-American Writer's Night and Open Mic was just one of a series of events sponsored by PSBC and other on-campus groups to promote Filipino-American History month. Along with events such as Bario Fiesta, which featured performer Melissa Reynes, PSBC has done their best to educate the student body about their unique cultural heritage.
"PSBC would like to offer the average BC student a greater sense of the Filipino-American traditions and values. All of [our events] are very unique and different because we want to make sure that anyone who comes to our event will not only hear about the Filipino-American history, but hopefully to see Filipino-American history as different Filipino Americans perform, share, and educate us," Estandian said.
Recently, activist and professor Emily Lawsin came to BC to discuss the importance of Filipino-American history. In a lecture sponsored by the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC) and PSBC she spoke of increasing awareness about Filipino history and culture.
"The Filipino-American history message is learning about a joint history. Sometimes students learn hardly anything about Asian culture, let alone Filipino culture. Filipino-American History Month is a great time to learn more about the second-largest Asian-American society in the world," she said.
Lawsin also said a school like BC would benefit from the diverse nature of Filipino-American History Month.
"Filipino-American History Month can do a lot for any college but especially one like BC. On the East Coast, there isn't as much of a Filipino community as there is on the West Coast. This is a good opportunity for others to learn about one of the fastest-growing communities in the country," Lawsin said.
BC's Asian studies department has made tremendous strides toward educating students about Asian cultures, yet outside of the academic forum there is little outside involvement. PSBC's grassroots campaign to educate the average BC population, however, has been incredibly effective. Florido explained that PSBC is using Lawsin's message of educating about a joint culture to fuel involvement in Filipino-American History Month.
"Because PSBC isn't as recognizable as other on-campus groups, we need to start education about Filipino culture at the bottom and build up. Filipino-American history is so crucial to American history, to Asian history, but we never learn about it. It's a time to step out of our comfort zone and learn something different."
Estandian said that PSBC's method of bringing Filipino-American history and culture to the masses of BC is their concept of "pamilya," or family. This, she said, will bring members of both communities together.
"Our tradition of pamilya welcomes everyone. Our history is your history. Your history is our history. Therefore, our events are for everyone. As we learn about Filipino-American history, we could also learn about the history of others and how they influenced Filipino-Americans," she said.
Florido said that because many members of PSBC are not entirely Filipino, the club "really focus[es] on how all our histories are intertwined."
Estandian said, "I believe that PSBC represents something that is bigger than a campus group. It is a family - a home away from home."
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