It is Also Filipino Culture

The Philippines has a multicultural society shaped by various influences, both homegrown and foreign. Every culture finds a way to be celebrated, though some are honored more than others. Of course, we are happy for the traditions, arts, customs, and habits that receive the honor and recognition they deserve, but we lament those legacies that suffer from — if not outright disparagement — then neglect for unintelligent reasons.

In Fernando Zialcita’s Authentic Though Not Exotic, he points out that one of these underappreciated cultures is the Philippines’ Catholic and Hispanic heritage. The vast majority of Filipinos share this background, but when people are asked about it, they often respond that such an aspect of the Filipino identity was embarrassingly imposed by foreigners — making it seem inauthentic, unoriginal, and therefore not genuinely Filipino.

There lingers a sociocultural vibe suggesting that the Catholic and Hispanic side of the Philippines is something Pinoys cannot be proud of. This would seem to pose no problem only if we had a myopic understanding of cultural development — the idea that there was once a guiltless culture (i.e., precolonial villages and the babaylan religions) that suffered at the hands of an oppressive culture (i.e., Catholic friars and Spanish officials). But such things, much like the progress and evolution of anything in life, do not unfold in such a simplistic manner: uncomplicated battles between good and evil, oppressed and oppressor, conquered and conqueror.

The Philippines, for all its amazing complexity, is plagued by many problematic ways of understanding itself. Zialcita’s book responds to this challenge by diagnosing why Filipinos tend to harbor biases against the cultures mentioned earlier and by offering a fresh perspective on how one must look at culture and society. At the opening of his book, he identifies three sources of these misconceptions: “(1) the demonization of Spanish influence, (2) a limited menu of binaries for interpreting culture, and (3) reductionist interpretations.”

Authentic Though Not Exotic urges Filipinos to reconsider the demonized image of Spain and to expand their ways of grasping culture in light of the Philippine experience.

The book has a total of eight chapters, divided into three parts. Zialcita presents different arguments that offer a refreshing take on how we are supposed to view our culture. Of his points, my personal favorite is in the chapter “We Are All Mestizo.” Among other things, this chapter shows that all cultures — even those of France and Germany — are, in fact, multicultural, and we should not be ashamed to see ourselves as “impure” (not that there is anything wrong with being impure) because of foreign intervention. This complements an earlier chapter, “When Was Paradise Lost,” which challenges us to think again whenever we presume that the precolonial customs of the Philippine Islands were pristine, noble, and innocent until Miguel López de Legazpi’s arrival. Filipinos tend to bemoan the “loss” of their precolonial heritage. For sure, we can rightfully regret the disappearance of the good things. We should, however, be glad that we have discarded its darker aspects, even if this came about through Spanish influence.

I would especially recommend the chapter “More Original Than We Think.” Here, Zialcita presents the uniqueness of the Catholic and Hispanic heritage of the Philippines. We have often celebrated the originality of the highland cultures of the Cordilleras and the genius of the Islamic South. Zialcita now reminds us that there is also something brilliant about the Catholicism and Hispanidad of Las Islas Filipinas.

Authentic Though Not Exotic is a book you should explore to better recognize the complexities of Philippine culture. Try giving it a read.

As of my last check, it is out of print, but the book can be found in many libraries, and you might be able to order an electronic copy from Ateneo de Manila Press.