Were you there? Were you at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts during the presentation of “A Taste of Broadway, the Classics” on Saturday, October 10, 2009?
If you were there, then you will probably join me in saying that it was a terrific success. The Markham Federation of Filipino Canadians deserved the entire accolade it received that evening for the magnificent presentation, wherein the participants were mostly members of its youth group, supported by the older generation of parents and grandparents.
If you were not there, let me share with you some of my observations.
The undertaking was indeed a superb winner considering that most of the participants were non-professional artists. The support given by local Filipino artists in the Canadian scene whose performances in each part of the program, were indeed worthy of the applause they got. The program effectively used the musical and acting abilities, skills and experience of some young members of the M.F.F.C. The costumes, make-ups and props used demonstrated the artistic and creative talents of some members whom I am very sure were restricted in budget. I would not comment on the scenery and lighting wherein a professional on the subject can critique more effectively but I am sure those aspects could be improved had this undertaking not been a fund-raising event.
The response to the project was very positive! The theatre was full. I understand that there were a few who tried to get tickets close to the day of the presentation that were not able to secure them.
The souvenir program was a testimony of extensive corporate positive response The work that went into the preparation of this booklet from the choice of the black shiny paper to the long list of messages from national, provincial and municipal leaders, to the artistic graphics, well-assembled pictures and ads, speak of the tremendous energy and cooperation as well as talents of those who were given the responsibility for its realization.
Indeed, the Bayanihan spirit is well and alive in the Filipino community!
The audience spilled into the hallways of the center after the performance congratulating everyone that contributed to its resounding success. There were also those who approached the reception table to give donations for the victims of the recent very heavy floods in the Philippines. At the beginning of the presentation, an appeal was made to assist the thousands of Filipinos who were rendered homeless, without safe water and food, by three consecutive typhoons in the northern and central parts of the country.
So this performance was indeed a success hitting two goals – funds for the purchase of another unit for the Markham Federation of Filipino Canadians Center and raising some money for the recent calamities in the Philippines.
But a nagging thought that has bothered me every time I attend such Filipino occasions came to my mind again.
This was a Filipino project; most of those in attendance were Filipinos. There was a sprinkling of guests from other ethnocultural backgrounds but the rest of the crowd was overwhelmingly by Filipinos.
But what is Filipino in the performance? The participants of course, and the people that organized the event!
Other than the people, the whole performance was all North American. The themes were North American and European; the pieces of music that were played were the same and the language was English. Even the announcements were all in English as well as the souvenir program.
In all gatherings of other ethnocultural groups that I had attended, there were always elements of the culture of the people presen6ting them, be they in their native costumes, and most significantly in their languages. This reminded me of Soledad O’Briens “Latino in America” that I had watched over CNN this last week. The most important factor that identifies the Latinos in American is their language. They may come from different countries in Central and South American but they are all Latinos because of their language. It also made me recall the 30-hour celebration of people from India of their “Diwali”, the Festival of Lights, which was partly shown in television. The audience was in Indian native costumes and the performers spoke in their native language.
The MFFC presentation was purely North American and European and there was no way by which anything Filipino could be a part of it except perhaps in the announcements and some words of greetings, Philippine symbols in the souvenir program (or probably the Filipino flag).
The MFFC has tried very hard to promote Filipino culture. It conducted classes in Filipino for the younger generation and even took some of the students to the Philippines for a tour of the country and a taste of Filipino way of life in the native land. Some first generation members did this as volunteer work. But the classes did not attract very many students. There were more attractive activities to participate in –hockey, soccer, piano lessons, etc.
The MFFC has a very successful youth group that participates not only in their own celebrations but also as guests in occasions prepared by other ethnocultural or mainstream groups. But these young Filipinos belong to the second, third and probably fourth generation of those who came to Canada in the 60’s and the 70’s. Of course there are probably some newcomers who can speak in the native languages of the Philippines but most of these young people are English speaking.
Let us not single out the MFFC in this issue. Other Filipino organizations have similar experiences as far as culture retention is concerned. Most of Filipino social gatherings are conducted in English. Concerts held by some local Filipino artists are mostly in English.
What does this say about us, Filipinos? Are we losing our culture? Or is this a part of the culture that we brought with us? The early Filipino groups immigration in the 60’s and 70’s were made up of Filipinos educated in English A considerable number of middle-aged and senior members of families came in the late seventies and later to help young families bring up their children. These older generation of immigrants also spoke in English as well as in their first languages.
Our ability to speak in English has tremendously helped us in settling in this new land. We easily got employment as compared to other ethnocultural groups who cannot speak or have very little proficiency in the English language. Long exposure to American colonization with English as the medium of instruction has made us easily adapt to North American ways of life. The use of many major languages and dialects in the Philippine has made English the means of communication among some of us even in the Philippines.
I remember that I communicated with my Visayan cousins in English.
So what imprint do we make in the Canadian Multicultural Mosaic? How are we identified?
We are a part of the visible minority because of the colour of our skin and hair. Filipino women were identified as nurses during the 60’s and 70’s because most of those early immigrants belonged to that profession. Up to the present time, there are Filipino nurses even in the most northern parts of Canada like Nunavut. We are also associated with the large group of domestic caregivers that started to come in the eighties. We are also identified by our savoury food that we serve in social gatherings.
We have not made a large dent in the political arena as other Asians who are in the top ten groups of immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area.
Most of our younger generations have done well in school. Filipinos are considered as one of the most highly educated groups of immigrants in Canada.
But are these the characteristics of what true Filipinos are? ***