Anong Balita: Feb Issue

Fe

b

Iss

ue

20

13

ANONG BALITA MEMBERS

1

Anong Balita Committee 2012-2013 Editor-in-Chief Kelsey Estrada Photography Paige Gutierrez

Monthly Staff Writers/Designers: Aina Abad Nicole Jane Calinawan Irina Evangelista Keane Medina Roderic Suarez Julia Talavera Contact: pr@cppbarkada.org Class-E-Board

BIRTHDAYS ALUMNI SPORTSFEST SPOTLIGHT MEMBERS HOROSCOPES SCPASA SUMMIT MANLILIGAW CLASS-E-BOARD AUCTION

2/04 Joshua Padiernos

Writer: Aina Abad Designer: Roderic Suarez

Writer: Nicole Jane Calinawan Designer: Nicole Jane Calinawan

Writer: Roderic Suarez Designer: Roderic Suarez

Writer: Irina Evangelista Designer: Irina Evangelista

Barkada Writer: Julia Talavera Designer: Kelsey Estrada

scpasa summit redefined

goes to

On February 23rd, SCPASA (Southern California Pilipino American Student Alliance) held their sixth annual Summit. This conference was held at CSU Long Beach and hosted by the campus’s Pilipino American Coalition (PAC) and One Nation. Summit is a regional conference in which students from schools like Cal Poly Pomona, CSU Fullerton, UCLA, Loyola Marymount, USC, and many more come together for one day to attend multiple workshops that enable them to learn much more about the Pilipino culture. This year, the theme was “Redefined”, so workshops were aimed to help attendees gain a new perspective on self-awareness and identity. To learn more about the event and how participants felt, I asked freshman, Rochelle Lingat, how she felt about attending this year’s SCPASA

INTERVIEW: What made you want to go to this year’s Summit?

My sister actually encouraged me to go. Also, I checked out the workshops online after Juli showed us the website, so I was really looking forward to attending those.

What did you think about this the theme this year?

T h i s ye a r ’ s theme was actually interesting since it made you think about how you identify yourself.

Like, in my first workshop, “Who Am I?” the first exercise we did was have our partner continuously ask “Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?” and you had to answer with something

the one and a half minutes given. When we ran out of answers quickly, that’s when we realized; defining ourselves is actually harder than we thought. different every time during

Was the experience any different than what you imagined? If so, explain.

The experience was way different than what I imagined. I thought it’d be something more formal, just attending workshops, no spirit or cheering or anything. I was also kind of disappointed because I expected it to be better organized.

What workshops did you attend?

Did you learn anything you didn’t know beforehand?

I attended the “Who Am I?” workshop and the Anakbayan workshop.

I learned so much during the Anakbayan workshop. I learned about the richness of the Philippines but the poorness of the people and about the three “-isms” that oppress

the Filipino people: US Imperialism, Bureaucratic Capitalism, and Feudalism. I also learned more about the current movements and organizations around the world that are continuing the fight for freedom of the Philippines, freedom from the three -isms in order to make the Philippines a free and independent nation, by educating Filipino youth about what’s happening and the ongoing corruption of the Philippines.

(Here’s the link to Anakbayan LA, one of those organizations http:// anakbayanla.org/ ) How was it like meeting members of Filipino culture clubs from other schools?

Well, I didn’t really meet anyone new because I don’t like talking... but it was chill!

What was your favorite part of the entire day?

My favorite part of the day was actually the Anakbayan workshop, which I attended with my sister. It really was a great workshop. It’s a great organization.

What would you like to see done at the upcoming SCPASA Summits?

Well, I’d like for the upcoming Summits to be more organized. I remember during lunchtime, all the groups were confused about when to go in to get the food. Not even the facilitators knew when to head back in. Better food would be nice, too!

The theme of this year’s Summit was “Redefined”. Did attending this event give you a new perspective of identity or self-awareness?

The way I see it, I gained perspective on who I am as a Filipino through learning the struggles of my ancestors and the continued struggles of the Filipino people, and how I fit into all of this. I am a cousin and a daughter of those whose home is the Philippines and I have the power to help ensure a freer Philippines by joining the movements and spreading the word; movements are powered by the people who join and continue them. I just feel like I have more of a role as a Filipino youth, rather than just identifying [myself] as Filipino because [it’s my culture].

Visit http://www.scpasa.org/

Manlilig

If you’re Filipino, you have probably heard of the word “Ligaw.” You might have heard of this word from your relatives, and in a very taunting, interrogative, or funny tone. Well it’s because to Filipinos, “Ligaw” or “to court” is very important. (“Ligaw” also means “to be lost” if pronounced in a different way).

What do I mean “to court”? Let us take a quick Filipino vocabulary lesson shall we? Ligaw, or “to court” basically means “to holla at a girl, and try to make them your girlfriend” if you must say. Yes, Panliligaw or courting, applies to men and only men, and would be very weird if it applied to women. A “Manliligaw” is the court-er, and “Ang Nililigawan” is the court-ee.

In English, the GUY Ligaw’s the GIRL. Back in early century Philippines, women were very important to the Filipino society. Women were seen as the gems of the country that shall never be contaminated. According to my mom, back in the days, women were to go to school, come back home and stay in the whole night to learn and do chores. I said to my mom in a very humorous way, “Y’all were slaves back then!?” She quickly replied, “No, of course not, we weren’t aspiring nuns either, we were just waiting for the right age to be formally courted.” So how did this “Panliligaw” go down?

Again, courting is a very important part of the

Filipino culture. It is one of the reasons why Filipino women are known to be very conservative, it is also one of the reasons Filipinos are known to be one of the most respectful race in the whole world, because men took time courting the girl knowing patience was a virtue. “Love and Relationship was a something you put your time into - this was the main rule before and should be nowadays. “Wag madaliin ang pag-ibig (Don’t hurry love).” my mom says. Truly it did take a lot of time to get to a woman’s heart in the eyes of a Filipino man back then. Since, there were a lot of restrictions because of the very strict cultural ties of Filipino parents, women were only allowed to peak out their houses windows, and men were to earn the trust of their parents and the woman herself. The first step was to attract the woman’s attention from the window. Men would usually pass by the house and give the woman the “I am interested” look and smile.

All they can do from this time is to look at each other.

Awkward right? Well back then, love was found at first sight.

Second step was usually a constant pass by, letting the woman know that the interested man is there. A wave was usually what it took to get pass this second step. Third was to serenade the woman. This is where you hear the famous word “Harana.” Harana means

gaw

“to serenade” and when Filipino men serenade women back then, it is usually accompanied by a couple of friends and a guitar. The group would usually dress up very nice with their traditional barong or the formal floral button-ups. When men would go to serenade their women, usually at night, where hopefully the women’s parents would be asleep. Movies shows that parents would most likely wake up to see the guy, but men just depended on sheer luck. After the serenading, parents decide whether they should let their daughter talk to their prince charming, or keep her inside, meaning they’re not ready to let their daughter yet. From there on, comes the introduction to the parents, which was unfortunately before dating, then some few nights out together, dating stage… without sex, and marriage, which I would go into depth more on my next article.

Nowadays, courting, or Panliligaw, in the Philippines is very different. Although women in the Philippines continue to be conservative, all that is said above was replaced by texting and lowkey dates.

Women nowadays think that it’s very “cheesy” or “sappy” when they are being serenade from outside their houses. I have no full knowledge of how “Panliligaw” or dating goes on here in America, although from previous dating experiences I’ve had, it is way

more liberated here. Does that mean it is easy to find a girl here? No, definitely not, and it does not require less effort either.

“The game is new, but no one ever really measures if its true love or not. It was easier to determine back then because men took their time and you knew if they were sincere, but that does not mean us women back then were not cautious. We took care of our wellness back then, emotionally and physically. Look presentable, but stay conservative,” my mom says proudly. Patience of a man can give out his motive, but never shows his future actions. Panliligaw back then would be a hassle to men nowadays, and others would argue that it is a piece of cake, but it does not matter how a man got to a woman simply because it is up to the ladies if it is a yes or a no. In summary, we meet, we talk, we meet again, we talk more, we get to know each other, we talk more and more, we get comfortable, we start to develop feelings, and it is our own decision from there on.

Writer: Keane Medina Designer: Kelsey Estrada

Designer: Irina Evangelista

B

CELEBRITY CULTURE

CLIM THE IT’S

Z AIN CH

$AN ULTBARKMEM

EST

N

THE LO

NG

F FU

E

RHE

SAC

YAR D

ERT

(HO

HT O NIG

USE )

B RO

GYU OR BREW? FABULOUS FREEFALL

Class-E-Board Auction

Cantina Express (Pomona)

PAIN PUN

A RNL

BEC ON FIRE

E EXT

TIN G!

Friday, March 1st @6:00PM

#