April 2007 Archives

FILIPINO communities in various parts of the world, especially in the US, love to give awards to each other in addition to staging dinner dances that also fea ture the search for Miss Mankitkitao of Los Angeles or Mrs. Mabalahibo of San F rancisco. We are guilty of these maladies, "beauty pageant-it is" and "award-itis." On vi rtually any weekend, a Filipino community somewhere in America is honoring, for example, the most outstanding Filipino-American water filter salesman of the y ear or Mr. Door-to-Door Cargo. I have attended an event where folks gave each other awards. These people basic ally took turns standing up and presenting each other with a plaque until every one had one. I did not know whether to laugh or to cry about the absurdity of t he situation. The plus side of these awards and beauty pageants is that supposedly they raise funds for worthy causes. Sana nga. Yes, there are several awards that are prestigious, given by people with impecc able credentials. However, these awards by respectable organizations are outnum bered by recognition events staged by organizations of dubious integrity or by personalities out to make a fast buck or to seek glory for themselves. The glut of these awards events and beauty contests has reached ridiculous prop ortions. As a result, a lot of people, especially in the Fil-Am community, don' t take these occasions seriously. Except the people who are busy giving awards to each other.

WELCOME! It took a long time for this blog to finally hit cyberspace. Some of y ou might be familiar with my column, âOnly IN Hollywood,â which is prin ted every Friday and Sunday on the Philippine Daily Inquirer and posted online at www.inquirer.net.Let me begin by asking, "Are you a closet Filipino?" In my years of wandering as a promdi in Hollywood, I have come across some folks who hide their Filipino heritage. These personalities say that they' re a mixture of Spanish (or to be more vague, âEuropeanâ), Chinese and Malay, t he standard racial make-up of most Filipinos. Some even claim that they are of Polynesian heritage. Basta anything but Filipino. Why do these Filipinos or hyphenated Filipinos conceal their Pinoy identity? Mo st are performers -- actors, actresses and singers -- who want to appeal to as broad a market or audience as possible. Or they like to be ambiguous in their r ace identity so they will not be pigeonholed into Filipino or Asian roles only. I have experienced situations in Hollywood where this singer or that actress re fused to be interviewed. Why? Because these performers do not want me to reveal or play up their Filipino heritage. But proudly admitting to be a Filipino has more benefits. You can't ignore the strength of Filipinos, especially when they unite and throw their support for a reality/talent search TV show contestant with Filipino heritage, for example. Many believe that had a recent Fil-Am candidate on "American Idol" proclaimed h is Pinoy heritage right away, he would not have been booted out early. Some commented that Pinoys would have rallied for t his contestant. Of course, the closet Filipino syndrome does not plague performers only. All ov er the world, we have a few kababayans, who are as brown and flat-nose d as we are, who pretend to be not Filipinos. Have you encountered a closet Filipino? Share your comments and experiences.

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