Focus on Filipino Americans: The Best Kept Secret - Philippine Culture 101 By France Viana

"Textbooks say that the Philippines is composed of 7,100 islands. The truth is, no one knows exactly how many there are at any given point, it depends on the tide. So it is with Philippine culture. There are so many different influences that come into the mix that a homogenous culture is hard to define and I am not going to even attempt to do so.

Instead, what I will do in the next 10 minutes or so is give you a quick psychographic handle on the culture by speaking on the top 4 influences on our culture and some marketing dos and don'ts. To do so I am going to have to make some sweeping generalizations to which there are many many exemptions, so please keep that in mind. I will end by teaching you two tricks to find out if someone is Filipino and to actually pass for one yourselves.)

You’ve heard our historical backdrop: Four hundred years under Spain, 50 years under the U.S. and 4 under Japan. In fact, our being named one people is a fairly recent artifice. The term Filipino originally referred to Spaniards born in the Philippines.

To understand what all this colonization has done to us as a people, imagine what is like spending 400 years in a convent followed by 50 years in Hollywood. This is why as a culture we have so many contradictions and are both sophisticated and superstitious, conservative and flamboyant, sheltered and sexy. We wear the latest sexiest Victoria’s Secret lingerie to bed but under the pillow we will hide a rosary."

To read the full story, click main title (or here). I believe this was first published in Filipinas Magazine, an oline magazine.