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Mabuhay Pilipino! (Long Life!): Filipino Culture in Southeast Louisiana By Laura Westbrook Brief Historical Overview / Filipino Heritage and Language
Brief Historical Overview This first Filipino migration to the United States was followed by successive waves as the early "Manilamen" were able to send for their families. These islanders were well able to adapt their seafood-harvesting skills to fishing and shrimping Louisiana's coastal waters, and the typhoons of their homeland somewhat prepared them for its precarious weather. On barrier islands and coastal marshes, in communities with names such as Manila Village, Bassa Bassa, and Saint Malo, the Filipinos built housing in their traditional style. These "stilt villages" comprised living structures that were raised completely above the ground, about ten feet high. Environmental educator Lynn W. Schonberg notes that other wetland communities adopted and adapted this practical style, until the coast assumed its present look, lined with camps on stilts. Schonberg notes that Filipinos, along with other Asian immigrants, developed the first major shrimp harvesting and processing establishments on the Gulf Coast, such as Manila Village, Bassa Bassa, and other settlements:
This business was an important part of the local economy well into the 1900s. The shrimp were harvested by fishermen who brought them to platforms in communities such as Manila Village. The processed shrimp were exported to Asia, Canada, and Central and South America. In early 1883, the writer Lafcadio Hearn visited the fishing station of Saint Malo. In March of that year, Harper's Magazine published his depiction of the early Manila Village:
Manila Village, in Barataria Bay, was just southeast of Lafitte-15 miles north of Grande Isle and 15 miles south of Myrtle Grove. It was the oldest and largest stilt village, and the most well-known in its time. The large buildings, by all accounts about a dozen or more, were painted green with red roofs. (Perhaps Hearn, who visited in dark weather and had the dramatic perception of an artist, mistook this decoration for "slime," though some Filipinos who remember Manila Village say that the buildings were not painted because the fishermen were too busy to do much decorating.) They were slightly angled in order to shed water. By the time of the first detailed documentation of the buildings, they were used for communal living by the men who worked processing seafood while their families lived inland. In addition to housing, the raised village comprised a fuel dock for boats, warehouses, a general store and a post office, and some private homes. The children who lived on the mainland would be released from school during harvest times to help the family during their busiest season, and those who recall Manila Village and other such communities recall it as an intensely exciting time. On September 9, 1965, Hurricane Betsy's 18-foot swells brought an end to the last of the Filipino stilt villages. The men who lived in the stilt villages during the fishing season joined their families on the mainland and assimilated into other professions. In addition to those who established the early fishing villages, there have been further waves of immigration from the Philippines. These include soldiers who had fought alongside American troops against the Japanese, and a newer ongoing emigration that began after the Immigration Act of 1965, which allows for as many as 20,000 Filipinos each year to resettle in the U.S. This wave, largely comprising college students, military families, and professionals, is sometimes referred to in the islands as a "brain drain" that enriches the United States (Cordova 1983). Jefferson Parish recently announced the recruitment of 60 Filipino teachers to its school system. On their arrival, established Filipino-Louisianans rushed to welcome the new residents and provide them with furniture and household items. In this way, the community absorbs new members and helps them to adapt, and the connection with newcomers just arrived from the islands serves to reinforce cultural identity and ties to the homeland. Lydia Alvarez, who is active with the Philippine-American United Council of Louisiana (PAUCLA) as well as other Philippine organizations, describes how the community welcomed some new arrivals:
Today, Louisiana Filipinos, like those around the country, are quite assimilated personally and professionally, though most also make time for Filipino activities as well. American Filipinos can often be heard referring to themselves as "Pinoys," in a very similar spirit. According to Dawn Bohulano Mabalon, now an assistant professor at San Francisco State University specializing in Filipino American history, and others whose families have used the term "Pinoy" or "Pinay" as far back as the 1920s, the term was originally used by Filipinos in the United States as a self-description, to distinguish themselves from Filipinos still residing in the islands. Among contemporary Filipino Americans, the term "pinoy" has also come to be an affectionate reference to people, things, sounds, and flavors of Philippine background, rather like some might use the expression "down-home." An example is one cook's assertion, describing her recipe that weds Filipino to Louisiana ingredients and techniques, that "This special ingredient is what puts the pinoy in my gumbo!" Philippine Heritage and Language The Philippine population lived an agrarian lifestyle until the islands were colonized by the Spanish. Magellan claimed the islands for Spain in 1521, and one month later was killed by a tribal chief. Permanent Spanish settlement was finally established in 1565, and Spanish occupation was marked by various types of resistance which are still topics of Filipino stories and songs today. The first phase of United States rule, in 1898, was ostensibly put in place with the goal of establishing Philippine self-rule, though regulations regarding such things as migration and trade were heavily weighted in favor of the United States, and Filipinos chafed at continued occupation. Under General Emilio Aguinaldo (later the first Philippine President), the first declaration of independence from Spain was presented to the public on June 12, 1898, but independence from the United States was not officially declared by the government until July 4, 1946. Most Filipinos in Louisiana speak English and Tagalog, the language of Manila and the surrounding provinces, which has been designated the Philippine national language and renamed Pilipino. Some also speak Spanish. According to Zenaida Bayuga of Jefferson, every person who moved to the United States from the Philippines speaks Tagalog, while most of those born here speak it with varying degrees of fluency. Even those who cannot respond to a question in Tagalog still sing some of the important songs in the language. In regard to the numerous languages with which she grew up, Mrs. Bayuga says, "Filipinos are multilingual." In the islands, there are eight major languages and an estimated 121 dialects. Mrs. Bayuga notes, "Depending on their education, they usually learn Tagalog and also English, which was used in school above the second grade for many years." Islanders also speak the dialect spoken in the region in which they grew up. The eight major dialects are Tagalog, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Bicol, Samareņo, Pampango, and Pangasinan. Some Louisiana residents still speak their home dialect, but most report that there are not enough people to practice with, and it is enough of a challenge to maintain both Tagalog and English. Some family names can be considered indigenous to the islands, such as Bacdayan and Macapagel, and some are localized Chinese, such as Cojuangco, Soliongco, and Sylianco. Most Filipino family names, however, derive from the Spanish, such as Ramos, Alamar, and Ramirez.(1) Veronica "Elsie" Tuazon of New Orleans explains that the assigning of Spanish names to many Filipino families from different cultural backgrounds has resulted in confusion:
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