Her vote is 100 years old, but ours isn’t

In January 1916, the Manitoba legislature approved the bill to make our province the first in Canada to give women the right to vote. This is without a doubt a proud moment in our history as Canadians, as Manitobans, and especially as women. However of those three identities, I am also another. I am also Filipina or, to generalize, I am also racially Asian. So, this got me thinking. Amidst all the celebrations of this important centennial, I am curious to know what this day also means in our multicultural history.

When Nellie McClung and her colleagues appeared at the Walker Theatre in a mock Women’s Parliament in 1914, they represented a disadvantaged portion of Canada’s ruling Anglo-Canadian population. Their call for women’s suffrage was in reaction to their own husband’s, brother’s and father’s chauvinism. Women’s suffrage was about gaining a political voice alongside that of their male and British kin.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/m_V9xIh0pKU?feature=player_embedded

Heritage Minutes: Nellie McClung

(YouTube/Historica Canada)

Under the 1900 Dominion Elections Act, those with a legal right to vote in a provincial election is also legally entitled to vote in a Federal election. The Women’s vote became possible in Manitoba and later Saskatchewan and Alberta in 1916 (as well as BC and Ontario in 1917). However, the Act still formally denied (male and female) minorities such as the Chinese, Japanese, South Asian and Aboriginal peoples this democratic right.

 In British Columbia, where nearly ten percent of the population is represented by Chinese, Japanese, and South Asian-Canadians, this demographic was not only ghettoized and isolated but also restricted in number under immigration law. The Chinese Immigration Act (1885) imposed a hefty $50 head tax on each Chinese arrival. The Gentlemen’s Agreement (Hayashi-Lemieux Agreement, 1908) urged the Japanese government to restrict emigration to Canada to 400 Japanese people per year. Also, the Continuous Journey Regulation (1908) blocked Indian Immigration as the required direct passage from their home country to Canada was impossible. (Dyk 2015)

The numbers of Scandinavian, Jewish, Ukrainian, Polish, Italian and German immigrants already increasing in Winnipeg had other concerns. The Great War and Russia’s “Red Scare” made them a visible threat as newcomers. The General Strike of 1919 culminated with attacks against them for “fomenting radicalism and causing unemployment.” (Palmer 1991, 8-9). Provisions under the 1917 Wartime Elections Act further excluded “enemy aliens” such as Ukrainian and German Canadians the right to vote. (Canadian Immigrant 2011)

Philip Timms, “Sign on wooden sidewalk in 300 block Cambie Street” (190-) Vancouver Public Library VPL 785423

In order for me to celebrate the impact of 100 years of women’s suffrage, I must first reflect on my own identity in terms of gender, nationality and race. If I were alive a century ago, I’m sure this victory would have little significance to me. This news would likely represent a fleeting footnote in my daily struggles as a visible minority. Although the first Filipino-Canadians did not appear in the Canadian census until the 1930s, I have little doubt that my distinguishing Asian features would lump me in with the rest (as it still does in the 21st Century). The truth is that Canadians of Asian Origin were given the right to vote in 1948 (the Japanese in 1949). Notably still, First Nations peoples were only recently extended the right to vote in 1960.(Historica)

So as a woman and a Canadian, I still cheer with the rest of my country. However as I am reminded almost too often, I am still different. I am part of a past where the coloured vote has yet to reach its centennial. It still has a long way to go before a multicultural Canada can truly value and engage all levels of the democratic process.

Bibliography 

Canadian Immigrant. 2011. Voting in Canadian History. May 24. Accessed January 28, 2016. http://canadianimmigrant.ca/community/being-canadian/voting-in-history.

Dyk, Lisa Van. 2015. Canadian Immigration Acts and Legislation. Accessed January 28, 2016. http://www.pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/canadian-immigration-acts-and-legislation. 

Historica. n.d. Aboriginals and the Vote. Accessed January 28, 2016. http://www.histori.ca/voices/page.do?pageID=316. 

—. n.d. Asian-Canadians and the Vote. Accessed January 28, 2016. http://www.histori.ca/voices/page.do?pageID=313. 

Palmer, Howard. 1991. Ethnicity and Politics in Canada Since Confederation. Ottawa: Canadian Historical Association.

Excerpt from Sandok: A Filipino-Canadian Oral History Cookbook

The following is an excerpt from ANAK Publishing’s latest oral history publication, Sandok: A Filipino-Canadian Oral History Cookbook. The book features the personal narratives of five Winnipeg restauranteurs and their connection to Filipino-Canadian culture and cuisine. This book is written and researched by Ma. Monica de Castro and Kezia Malabanan-Abueg. 

Visit anakbooks.ca for your copy!

Relevance of learning and understanding the history of Filipino cuisine

What is Filipino food? In developing this book, we realize that there is no real answer to this question. Instead, we have come to learn that Filipino food encompasses differing experiences in Winnipeg. One informant, Victoria David, sums up the Filipino food experience this way:

The [Filipino] food that’s being served needs to be explained. For example, when you first introduce a dish to someone, you have to explain the kind of food it is and the ingredients it needs… You have to know your food… That’s important.

In the process of explaining, one will inherently reflect on the broader culture, values, and history the dish evolved from. We have learned that food culture may be a readily distinguished portal to understanding a particular ethnocultural group. Moreover, an explanation gives guests permission to customize the dish to their liking.

The Filipino concept of sawsawan (dipping sauce) is not just a dipping sauce. When we think about sawsawan, we associate it with patis, bagoong, toyo (soy sauce), and suka (vinegar). A chef inviting his diners to add sawsawan to his/her meal is an act of involving them in the process of food preparation. This cultural act differs from other cultures wherein adding seasoning or condiments to dishes is deemed insulting. However, for Filipinos, it is a sign of a communal relationship that is ubiquitous to general Filipino culture. It shows tolerance for differing opinions whether it agrees or disagrees with the chef. It shows how individuals pick and choose what he/she likes (and does not like). It shows how personal preferences can still work in creating something harmoniously amazing.

In relation to Nakpil’s quote at the beginning of this chapter, Filipinos remain a Filipino (at least) gastronomically, but Filipino food culture is something beyond that. As long as preparation, cooking, and dining practices are observed, and as long as values are continually reflected upon (consciously or unconsciously) when explaining Filipino food to youngsters and non-Filipinos, then being Filipino is more than just a gastronomical attachment. Food culture is a convenient way to reflect on one’s own “Filipino-ness.”

As Filipino-Canadians ourselves, there is value on the communality that we express whenever we sit down to share and eat our food. There is value in the meanings we infer and confer on the food we set on our tables. There is value on the cultural factors that shape our cuisine. And now that many of us are “Global Filipinos,” there is value on how we can constantly (de-/re-) construct our identities and make sense of the world based not only by the food we put into our mouths, but also its process and meaning.

Tito Jim and Tita Imelda (Jimel’s)

Tita Lourdes (Pampanga)                         Lola Linda (Gelyn’s)

Tito Julio (Myrna’s)

Monica with Tita Vivian (Juvian’s)

The Harana and the Ultimate Playlist

There are plenty of good singers in the Filipino community. There is no doubt about that. But how many can we say have used their talent entirely for love? How many have perfected a song to fill one’s heart with the idea of (dare I say) “forever”? What playlist could they possibly choose from?

Long before Spotify, facebook, Twitter, and even SMS text messaging, young Filipino men proclaimed their romantic intentions in a song. He waited until night to stand below his crush’s window with a guitar (or among his musician friends) for her and her household to hear his serenade or harana.

Sylvia La Torre’s No Money No Honey (1956)
One way to reject a suitor!

The art of the Philippine serenade or harana was once commonplace throughout the provinces. From the 1900s and into the 1970s, serenaders or haranistasfollowed known courtship codes and protocols through Tagalog, Spanish, and later English ballads. Nothing was kept secret. The entire “dating” process (as we might call it today) was an actual social event.


Imagine watching the young man risking all his effort to call for the lady at her window. You might cheer for him or you might laugh at him, but nevertheless you join in on the idle tsismis (gossip). He sings Natutulog Ka Na Ba, Sinta? (Are you asleep, my love?) to make his presence known, but she doesn’t appear to come to her window. The first stage, the Panawagan (Announcement), has begun and he may go on singing until the sunrise beckons him home.

With some tenacity, he may eventually see her window open to capture her approving smile. He’s made it to the next round!  He continues to prove to her (and her conservative family) with gifts and songs that he’d like to be invited in. When the day that invitation comes, everyone is there to see him sing of his love’s beauty and virtue. The Pagtatapat (Proposal) stage is meant to gain the approval of her entire family. He sings Kung Ika’y May Alinlangan (If You Ever Doubt Me) just to get his point across.

Finally, she sings from her own playlist to publicly accept or reject him. The Panagutan(Response) could easily turn into a romantic duet or an unfortunate end. If she’s unsure (and feeling sorry for the guy), she might sing “Ang tangi kong pagibigay minsan lamang” (True love for me is rare). Or, she might give in and accept his proposal with the line “O kay sarap mabuhay, lalo na’t may lambingan” (Oh how sweet it is to live, more so in the presence of love and affection) from the ballad, Maala-ala Mo Kaya. She might outright reject him just for him to sing Pusong Wasak (Shredded Heart) or the melodramatic Laot Ng Dusa (Open Sea of Suffering). The Harana comes to an end as the inevitable Pamaalam (Farewell) stage arrives.

Now, go grab your iPhone and glance at your playlist now. Scroll past all that bump and grind garbage and bitter breakup music. Look for the meaning in those coded lyrics of today. Do they spark the thought of a different kind of love, a romance? Do they invoke your own need to declare your heart’s wish? If so, take that ballad and practice. Upload it, share it, and send it for all to see. Let your inner Haranistasing.

Sources:

Florante Aguilar and Benito Bautista. Harana: The Search for the Lost Art of Serenade. 2010. (Cited 26/1/16).

Bella Ellwood-Clayton. “All we need is love- and a mobile phone: texting in the Philippines,” Cultural Space and Public Sphere in Asia. 2006.

Inspiring Filipino-Canadian Oral History: Rap me a story

Hip hop is said to be an amalgamation of many artistic forms. Its roots lie within a subculture of celebrated marginalism in New York’s South Bronx and Harlem in the 1970s. It has since grown to an amazing network of barrios, barangays, and bantustans the world over. Hip hop is universal with or without a colour to whatever beat.

In Canada, it is no surprise then that Hip Hop would take root among today’s Filipino-Canadian communities to create a narrative and a sound all its own. The uniqueness of immigration, separation, regionalism, cultural confusion and economic struggle from the Filipino perspective is an honest and edgy offering of oral history neither a museum nor academic can portray.

In this blog post, I will introduce two Filipino-Canadian artists who employ hip hop as their medium: Han Han of Toronto and Nereo II of Winnipeg. Both offer much inspiration to our emerging generation.

Research from the Filipino Youth Transitions in Canada project from 2010-2014 reveals that Toronto and Winnipeg are two very different places when it comes to the makeup of Filipino-Canadian communities. Toronto has the larger Filipino-Canadian population in Canada. However, they are spread out throughout the vast Greater Toronto Area in separate community fiefdoms divided by socio-economic status and geography. In Winnipeg, the community is concentrated primarily  in the North West corner where cultural connections appear more congruent and accessible.

Toronto’s population stems from the growth of the Live-in Caregiver Program and the numbers of Filipina domestic workers who came to Canada through this initiative. Winnipeg’s Filipino-Canadian community is rooted in early immigration from the 1960s and beyond as medical professionals, garment workers, family sponsors, and Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program applicants. The study concludes that Winnipeg’s sense of pride in its Filipino-Community creates successful young people who will move beyond their parents’ own educational attainment and into higher level careers.

So, what does this study have to do with hip hop?

I would like to argue that the fabric of each city creates a differing narrative for each community. Dare I say, a differing sound as well.

Han Han is an immigrant nurse who uses her flawless Tagalog, English, and Cebuano to tell a tale of struggle towards a new life and a new identity and a renewed maturity of self-identity again. Her song, World Gong Crazy featuring Datu, is a fusion of funk and hip hop with the Philippine tribal kulintaw (a rhythm Winnipeg is likely to hear only at Folklorama time). There is a sounding desire to remain fused to the West, but authentic to the Southeast. I sense the separation but the community of the rhythms. I find this symbolic of her inflection and reflection from both the Filipino and Canadian worlds in her immigrant struggle.

Nereo II is an artist that inspires selfless self-expression. His TEDxYouth talk underlines his own personal revelation to be true to his talents as an artist. Although his talk is not overtly about being Filipino-Canadian, I can sense themes from his upbringing as a second-generation Canadian. His retrospective as a rebellious young man and his burning wish to depart from conforming, building wealth, and working in a secure, but unfulfilling career is a testament to our parents’ generation as pioneering immigrants. This rebellion would be incomprehensible to them because being accepted as Canadians with a financially secure position in society was perhaps but a dream to them as they arrived. The narrative is as Filipino as it is Canadian. This is how immersed both realities are with one another.

How else do you express such complex transitions between past generations to the next generation?

The answer I have to say is the relevance of the messenger and his/her interaction with the medium. Today, our messengers make sense of hip hop to relay a message we need to understand.

Sources:

Robert Bolton. “Filipina-Canadian Nurse Raps Her Immigrant Experience” Huffington Post Music The Blog. 9/3/2014 http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/robert-bolton/filipina-rap_b_5756090.html (cited 6/9/2014)

Filipino Youth Transitions in Canada Project http://ycar.apps01.yorku.ca/research/programmes-projects/filipino-youth-transitions-in-canada/

TEDxYouth Fort Garry <http://www.ted.com/tedx/events/5719> (cited 9/6/2014)

Ukay ukay and disposed Philippine art

Manila Souvenir ‘Calesa’ for under 10 bucks

I found Jollibee at the Salvation Army. There he was sitting with all the dejected stuffed animals that once had a home. He was 99 cents. So, I adopted him and put him into my basket.

Days later, little Jollibee made his debut at Folklorama. He was our unofficial mascot as we sold our books. People came by and recognized him. Some reminisced about the Philippines at the sight of him. A point and a smile was enough to know that they once frequented the popular fast food chain that still shares his name.

“Where did you get Jollibee?!” one person asked.
“At Salvation Army,” we answered.
“Why would someone throw him away?!”

‘Pandango sa ilaw’ wood carving for $7

As a new homeowner with a knack for Asian art, my house is coming to look like a “zen-chinoiserie-1970s Philippines” mishmash of “stuff.” I must say that I don’t mind it. Each week I try to frequent local consignment shops in heavily populated Filipino areas. It’s there I find the intricate rattan woven furniture, ethnic wood carvings, and delicate textiles that now randomly adorn my home. It’s hard to believe someone had gotten rid of these things after all the effort it must have taken to bring them here in the first place.



Wood carving. Filipina on kalabaw (as a pair for less than $15)

In the Philippines, thrift shopping is a popular past time as well. Ukay ukay (as Filipinos call it) is quite a lucrative business there. Mounds and mounds of donated goods from developed nations find their way into the small street side markets where original (but used) brand names like Nike, Calvin Klein, Levi’s, and Guess are hunted for. The real thing is a prized departure from the other countless counterfeit items vendors also try to sell. Over there ukay ukay isn’t always about shopping for a bargain, but finding a small symbol of superficial western wealth.



Igorot (as a pair about $10)

In Canada, ukay ukay takes on a similar but different experience. Sure, everyone is on the hunt for bargains. Brand name jeans, dresses, and shoes are always popular finds for the right price. But, as I wander  amidst the multilingual chitter chatter of customers, I also bump into those on the prowl for  unique items like that gaudy hat or that tacky sweater. We have special tastes. I’m always overjoyed if a good day fills my cart with those tacky Philippine souvenirs (an igorot carving, a Manila calesa, and other Maria Clara inspired clothing to name a few). As I walk around with my basket full, I know other Filipinos take a look at my finds. They often give me a grin and an approving nod as if I’ve saved them from some unfortunate demise.

Maybe, it’s a silent way of saying we’re hunting for our own wealth of Philippine symbols.

Bentwood chair for $8.99 ( I left the tag on because no one will believe me)





I want this book! The Life and Art of Botong Francisco

My first recollection of Botong Francisco’s paintings is seeing a faded and worn print of the well-known Katipunan painting fixed to my late grandmother’s wall in 1996. It hung there unceremoniously, dusty, and crumpling from the humidity with the rest of her old magazines and albums. My Dad asked to take it home with us to Winnipeg along with a faded calendar of Botong’s work. In the days that followed, I remember my Dad holding that image and flipping through the pages of that calendar reminiscing about his childhood and the celebrity Angono received as home to this master, this national artist.

If you don’t know Angono, it is renowned as the country’s official “Artists’ Paradise.” In my numerous sojourns “home,” I would argue that each child is raised there with the same reverence for art as football might be for the average American. I recall music and art surrounding me and I dare say there isn’t one Angono child who is not raised without either. Public spaces are filled with the sounds of Lucio San Pedro especially during All Saints Day and giant murals of Botong’s work exists in each barangay. This was my dad’s Philippines. This is why I want this book.

For 135 bucks, I can buy this book on Amazon although I admit it is pricey (that’s not including shipping!). However, it is the first ever retrospective to honour the work of our very own hometown hero.

Botong’s paintings is interpreted here in an Angono barangay. Pictured here is Botong’s interpretation of Filipino marriage during pre-Hispanic times .

Mangingisda (Fishers) is another favorite of mine. Can you see the struggle and pride in a day’s work here? It makes me think of my grandparents.

Botong Francisco is considered one of the “most important Filipino artists” by publisher, Vibal Foundation. I must also argue that he is the first to be celebrated as a Filipinianist, as an artist of pure Philippine inspiration. for depicting scenes in Philippine history and conceptualizing its past in ways traditional history had yet to remember, Botong is rightfully a hero. The popularity of his life’s work coincides with the country’s growing nationalism after gaining independence from the US and again decades later after People Power.

Botong’s Katiputan is a permanent fixture near the EDSA shrine.

This book includes paintings, sketches, costume designs, photographs, documents, and film stills outlining his lifelong career and obsession as an artist. It is finally the comprehensive tribute he deserves to be remembered for his life and contributions not only to Angono, but to the Filipino identity as a whole.

A suave image of a youthful Botong from Malacanang Palace

Unveiling of Dr. Jose Rizal Park this Saturday June 21

Dear Kabayan,

Good day everyone, with the completion of the Knights of Rizal Winnipeg Chapter (KoR-W) and Rizal Memorial Committee’s project the day is better than good, it is to be celebrated. It had been in the back of the mind if not desired by Filipino community to have a park that will symbolize our community. There is no better figure in our history that can symbolize our dreams and ideals other than the Philippines National Hero, “Dr. Jose P. Rizal Memorial Stone” will be sitting on a patio that politically symbolizes our motherland in Dr. Jose P. Rizal Park at Sewa Crescent.

We invite you, your family and friends to join us in the “Public Unveiling of Rizal Memorial and opening of the Park” on Saturday, June 21, 2014 at 10:30AM, an hour of program and another hour of social activities with light lunch will be enjoyed with our community, Knights and Ladies of Rizal, KoR-W Executive Council and Rizal Memorial Committee are counting on your attendance, thank you very much.

Respectfully yours,

                         

Sir Felino de Jesus, KCR                                Sir Dr. Tom Colina, KGOR

Chapter Commander                                       Western Canada Area Commander

Knights of Rizal Winnipeg Chapter                   KoR Canada Region

                                                                                           

Sir Councilor Mike Pagtakhan, KCR                Sir Mohamed Alli, KCR

Incoming Chapter Commander                        Pursuivant

Knights of Rizal Winnipeg Chapter                  Knights of Rizal Winnipeg Chapter

Revisit M2M before it closes this week!

A preview of M2M Revisited at the United Way Building (580 Main Street)

Stories from the ethnic food aisle

When white bread just isn’t white bread – it’s Pinoy Tasty!

I’m not really a cook, but I’ve been known to dabble. Like any novice Filipino-Canadian cook trying to satisfy a craving for home cooking, I know my staples. I can cook rice (measured the Filipino way with the finger and not with a measuring cup). I can cook sinigang, adobo, kare-kare, and various forms of nilaga. In the morning, I know my silogs and my tsamporado. Whether it’s anything tasty or authentic I leave that for you to judge. All my life, shopping at the ethnic food aisle and the ethnic food store has been a regular part of my weekends since childhood. It’s dawning on me now how rich these places are for an oral history intervention.

Two of the artifacts coming out of Pananaw were groupings of Filipino candy (Choc nut, Cloud 9, and Maxx) and Filipino snacks (Boy Bawang, Chippy). While the former include the rich, chalky chocolate taste and sweetness of lemon drops, the latter explore all the goodness garlicky, salt and MSG can offer. In the oral history exercise, the group to receive the Filipino candy artifacts described their connection with the candy as part of their childhood memories. The student, a very recent arrival to Canada, explained how her grandparents used to “bribe” her with them. She told the story with a smile and we listened equally with the same grin. The Filipino snack group chose not to personalize their artifacts and instead described them in general terms. They noted the ingredients and that the artifact was manufactured in the Philippines. Perhaps, as 1.5 generation Filipino-Canadians, this group’s childhood memories of the Philippines were too distant to recall. It could have been merely a Filpino-Canadian snack to them and that was all they had to relate to. They perceived the snacks with the same ambivalence as any other passer-by in the store would. I guess the point worth making is that we connect to things in varying ways. I would like to argue that the ethnic food aisle is a rich place to understand how different these ways can be.

Over the years, working with immigrants and having hosted a few in my own home, I have become keenly aware of their discerning taste buds. Choosing the right ingredients, the most authentic ones, is what brings them back to what they know. I’ve learned this because I’ve substituted ingredients in my cooking to an array of comments, some good and some bad. Japanese Kikoman soy sauce instead of Pina Filipino soy sauce in adobo and apples instead of raisins in afritadacan raise a few Filipino eyebrows (Don’t even get me started on substituting white rice with brown rice!). There are certain things that Filipinos hold dear before they can consider themselves Filipino-Canadian, the taste of home is just one of them. Yet for my mom, a master cook and a queen in ingredient substitution, I have to say she always maintains the right taste. Everyone I know revels at her beef empanada, lomi pansit, nilugaw, to name a few. Despite the fact that over the years she’s added her touches (to reap the health benefits no less) of cinnamon, apple cider vinegar, and garlic, I swear her food is still deliciously Filipino.  The funny thing is she tells me she never learned to cook until she arrived in Canada over 30 years ago. So, her connection with the ethnic food aisle is something entirely Canadian (I dare say).

Next time you venture down the ethnic food aisle, stop and take in the reaction of its patrons. Do they get excited at the sight of an item? Do they marvel that some snack or ingredient is actually here in Winnipeg? Or, do they look through the aisle with suspicion? Maybe, they’re there searching in the aisle because of someone’s suggestion? Whatever they may be doing, think of it as a connection to a “thing” and their life beyond the kitchen table.

#Pananaw 2014: Oral History for the next generation

Yesterday, I had the privilege of being part of ANAK’s Pananaw 2014 Youth Forum. In conjunction with the United Way, the forum consisted of 17 high school students from Daniel McIntyre and Sisler High School. The participants ranged in grade level from 9 to 12, but all shared in a common heritage as Filipino-Canadians. 15 students were born in the Philippines with the vast majority of them arriving before the age of 13. 2 students were born in Canada. The forum was conducted in both Tagalog and English. The purpose of the workshop was for ANAK to gather direction for future programming and develop policy papers with this new generation in mind. The workshops included discussions in education, employment, immigration, politics (civic engagement), family, and oral history. I was excited to have the opportunity to introduce and (in a very, abbreviated way) train young people in oral history. This blog post will elaborate on this experience.

For the last few years, the Manila to Manitoba exhibit has gained new life as a published book (so far, one volume of five) and the revisited exhibit presently at the United Way building. It was exciting to bring this forward to the young people at yesterday’s forum. The workshop began with the questions: What is “oral history”? What is “history”? What is the difference? The students (as witty as they were) concluded that “oral history” is based on tradition and is passed on through stories. “History” they argued is formalized and written. So, I asked, what is the Manila to Manitoba Exhibit – oral history or history? It is based on interviews or the oral tradition, but it is written and formalized in a museum. Does this make the exhibit “oral history” or “history”? They were stumped.

I asked the students to ponder who exactly writes the history we learn. After extensive discussions on the community and (multicultural) education in earlier workshops, the students concluded that oral history was the best way to gather the history of Winnipeg’s Filipino-Canadians given that the community’s history is recent and “we” are the real scholars and subjects of the topic. This was the perfect introduction for them to understand why it is important to preserve our present history.

In pairs, I had the students interview each other based on a number of “Filipino-Canadian” artifacts they were to choose from. Not quite sure how to grasp the task, the students were then advised that they were writing for an audience in the future, 100 years from now. How would they describe Filipino-Canadians today? The artifacts included a Globe SIM card instruction booklet, Original Pilipino Music VHS Karaoke, papaya skin whitening soap, Filipino candies, Filipino snacks, a 35mm film camera, an airmail envelope, facebook/twitter/BBM icons, Pilipino Express news magazine, and Canada Olympic mittens.

What resulted from the interviews was a range of answers. Many took the literal route and took the time to describe the item in varying detail. I could feel my age show when I had to describe what a “VHS tape” was to students. I try to forget that this group of young people never owned a VHS or tape player in their lifetime.  Some students analyzed the items’ social context. The Papaya skin whitening soap for example was described as something Filipinos use because of an admiration for “white people.” On the other hand, one student described the Filipino candies on a personal level as something that sparks memories of their grandparents when they were growing up in the Philippines. To wrap up the workshop, I had each group present their “museum” to some guests from the “future”. It was a humorous way to see how their descriptions could be used or scrutinized by later generations.

All in all, my greatest joy came from hearing that the students that history is something they can “do”. They look forward to exploring their own personal histories more.  Yay!