BAYANIHAN REPUBLIC:
Some
say that my small eyes make me look Chinese. In fact, when I was sent
to China for work, some of the locals have always mistaken me to be just
like them. They kept on talking to me in Mandarin :). However,
although my mom's ancestors have a little Spanish lineage as well, I
still consider myself more than100% Filipino. That doesn't mean though
that I don't value the Chinese influence in the Filipino culture. Of
course I do, especially when I took Mandarin classes (although Fookien
is the one most spoken in the Philippines) a few years back when I
finally appreciated the value of their traditions, which I never paid
attention before.
A few weeks back, I was asking around who were interested to join me or who among our Chinoy (Filipino Chinese) friends celebrate new year in Binondo (Philippines' China Town). And again, there was no one as excited as me. I guess I just have to face it that my kind, the culture junkie, is really rare haha :D. 'But heaven and earth reconciled and made something even more special for me. I was tasked to be part of the grand new year celebration of the country's largest and leading insurance company Philam Life! My wish was simple, just to witness a Chinese New Year in Binondo but what was given to me was even something bigger, something more spectacular, something more captivating!
