Youth graduate from Filipino Cultural School summer program

Nearly 120 youth on Saturday, Aug. 15, showcased their knowledge of Filipino dance, music, language, history and lifestyle during Filipino Cultural School’s (FCS) summer school graduation ceremony.

At St. Bernard Parish Hall in Bellflower, California, youth from ages 5 through 18 took the stage and sung Filipino songs “Tanging Yaman,” “Ako Ay May Lobo,” “Kay Liit Lang ng Mundo,” and the national anthem, “Lupang Hinirang.” They also performed traditional dances including Sakuting and Lapay Bantigue.

Saturday’s graduation follows the 50th anniversary celebration for the organization, which is dedicated to helping youth learn about their Filipino heritage.

In the last three years, demand for the FCS summer school program has consistently increased. In 2013, FCS saw about 60 to 65 students; in 2014 there were 98; this year, the number of enrollees exceeded the board’s expectation of enrolling 100 youth.

“The quality of the program says a lot,” said outgoing FCS Co-President Czarina De Jesus, who is also a former student and teacher of the program. “The parents post about it, they tell people about it because they love it that much.”

Students this year hailed not only from the surrounding South Bay area, but as far as Irvine and the San Fernando Valley.

“In general, a cultural program for Filipinos is really rare, so when parents hear about it, they want to come and put their [kids] through it because it’s not a common thing to see,” De Jesus added.

Positive feedback from parents

Among parents who spoke highly of the school is Karen Rapacon, a second-generation Filipino American whose two children participated this year.

“I think because I was educated so much with Filipino culture, for some reason I thought I was teaching them, and I didn’t realize how much I wasn’t until they went to Filipino Cultural School,” she said.

“I was teaching them very surface level [things like language and food] and this is giving them more of a sense of Filipino culture rather than just [those things]. And [FCS] was so much more and I really appreciated that,” she added.

Having been raised in a household with first-generation Filipino parents, Rapacon said that’s how she and her Filipino friends were exposed to the culture.

“With us, we actually have to think about how we’re sharing it with [our kids]. I have to consciously think how I can immerse them in the culture because with my parents, that was it. That was how it was in the house,” she said.

After going through the Filipino Cultural School summer program, Rapacon said her children have begun using more Tagalog words and talking about the history of the Philippines.

More part-Filipinos enroll in FCS

In addition to a rise in the number of enrollees for its summer school, another trend FCS has seen is more part-Filipinos in the program.

Paolo Roca, who served as FCS co-president this year and will lead the organization as president next year, said the increase in second and third generation Fil-Ams who are not full Filipino are often times seeking to learn about what it means to be Filipino.

“Some of them might already be going to a whole year Korean school or whole year Japanese school, so it’s something amazing that they can explore both sides of their identities and both sides of their family,” he said.

De Jesus added that she finds it important to have part-Filipino students, as it is the direction in which the generation is headed.

“We’re not always going to have full blood forever and even though they’re not full Filipino, they identify as Filipino and they come out here and want to learn about that. I think that’s great,” she said.

Among part-Filipino children involved in FCS are those of Rapacon, who are half-Chinese. The program has helped them learn about their Filipino heritage and she said her oldest son, a 9-year-old, has expressed such enthusiasm for FCS that he hopes to become a teacher for the organization someday.

Rapacon and her husband Darron Young said they plan to keep their children in FCS as long as they’d like.

Leadership awards

After their kids went through the summer school in 2014, the couple developed an appreciation for it that led them to create an award to recognize leadership in the community.

“We really appreciated the program last year and wanted to give back for this year’s program. We really appreciate the leadership that the whole directors provide and we wanted to reward students who stepped up to do something similar,” Young said.

The couple created a prompt regarding young leaders’ vision for FCS outside of what they learned in the summer. Along with other directors, Young and Rapacon selected two recipients – a volunteer (De Jesus) and a student from Group C (Inah Mangahas).

Goals for FCS

As FCS looks ahead to next year, Roca said members of the organization will be working toward obtaining its status as a non-profit status. And while its main programming occurs in the summer, another goal is for FCS to be more active throughout the year. Among events it hopes to participate in and host include the Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture, Filipino-American History Month celebrations, Christmas parties and caroling. Roca said he hopes these will help support the organization in the summer.

FCS graduations, Roca said, demonstrate that Filipino culture is staying alive in America.

“[It] is our duty to make sure that we preserve it and at the same time address what it means to be Filipino in America. [Yes], we are preserving our culture, but at the same time we have to talk about what our current situation is.

FCS provides the students and [volunteers] a space to talk about the past, the history of our people back home in the Philippines and here in the US, and also the present: what does it mean to be a Filipino in America, what’s happening in the Philippines right now. Learning about the past and the present situation of our community prepares us more to better understand ourselves and plan for the future,” he said.