Filipino symposium aims to connect culture of generations

Hampton Roads’ thriving Filipino community is trying to hang onto its rich cultural heritage even as younger generations fully assimilate into American society.

Toward that effort, the Hampton Roads chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society will sponsor “Sige (Let’s go): Our Moment is Now,” a symposium Wednesday through Friday at Virginia Wesleyan College.

The event aims to establish dialogue between multiple generations of Filipino Americans and those with Filipino interests.

The symposium will feature workshops, entertainment and networking.

Virginia has the ninth-largest Filipino population in the nation, with the largest concentration – nearly 45,000 – in Hampton Roads, according to Old Dominion University’s 2007 State of the Region Report.

Symposium committee member Ronalyn Teodoro said Hampton Roads was chosen as a host site because of that concentration.

Fellow committee member Tracie Liguid said the symposium will differ from previous local events. “In the past, we’ve had dances or fiestas,” Liguid said. “They were hosted by the older generation of Filipinos. With 'Sige,’ we hope to break down barriers between the generations and recognize the differences between us in a public scenario.”

Liguid said Filipino culture is reserved, and dialogue about controversial or uncomfortable issues is not encouraged “around the dinner table.”

“I think it’s a result of our cultural legacy of political oppression,” Liguid said. “The Philippines was colonized by Spain for 300 years and then by the United States. It creates a sense of silence. We want to break through that cultural dynamic.”

The lack of communication adds to the generational gaps between Filipino American youths and their elders, known as “aunties” and “uncles.”

The native language of Tagalog is being lost among American-born Filipinos, said Teodoro, who does not speak her parents’ native language.

She said young people are marrying non-Filipinos, further diluting the link to the homeland and its traditions.

“I think at some point, young people reject the culture,” Liguid said.

“You don’t want to be thought of as a Filipino or a Filipina. But it’s an evolution. As you get older, you are drawn back.”

The symposium will offer workshops on genealogy, interracial relationships, Filipino history and ways to bridge the generational gap. The program includes entertainment by nationally recognized dance troupe Boogie Bots and the singer and actress Stephanie Reese.

Asian American researchers Fred and Dorothy Cordova of Seattle, who founded the Filipino American National Historical Society in 1971, also will speak.

Lia Russell, 222-5829, lia.russell@pilotonline.com