Where's the leechon?

Yesterday the Philippine American Association of Palm Beach County hosted a independence day celebration at the Palm Beach County fairgrounds. It was 108 years since the Philippines got its independence from Spain.

Note- Spain ruled the country for over 300 years. The biggest impression left on the Filipino people by Spain was the importation of Roman Catholicism. The Philippines is the largest Christian country in Asia.

My wife attended the event with some friends. She had a very good time. Not being much of a social gadfly, I stayed home.

Yesterday was a celebration of Filipino culture. Most Filipinos came to the US legally, they learned English while in their homeland. It is taught in kindergarten over there. After Tagalog and the local dialect, its the third language of the country. My Dear wife speaks Tagalog, Waray her local dialect, Cebuano another dialect and English. That's three more languages than I speak. I always said the wife was smarter than me.

While Filipinos still love their birthplace and country, they have largely assimiliated into America. They work in many fields, if you go to a hospital you have an excellent chance of having one for a nurse. The US has a nursing shortage and brings in thousands of Filipino nurses to work here every year. Most of these get their citizenship eventually. My sister-in-law arrived here in Dec. 1999 and just got her citizenship early this year.

Note- Aren't they guest workers? Why do they get citizenship? Some people may ask this. I'll let the anti-immigration zealots mull over this.

Filipinos have brought much to America. They love this country and their homeland. What is wrong with that? If we clamp down on legal immigrants the US is liable to be much the poorer as a nation.

Open Post- Bullwinkle Blog, TMH's Bacon Bits, Cao's Blog,

Sipping sweet drinks and watching traditional dances, South Florida's Filipino community celebrated its independence day Saturday at the South Florida Fair Expo Center west of West Palm Beach. Thousands of people marked the occasion with song, dance, food and camaraderie, while the red, white, blue and gold colors of their flag were displayed proudly.

The Philippines gained their independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, and although they remained a U.S. territory until 1946, they celebrate the liberation from Spain as their independence day.

The Philippine American Society of Palm Beach County hosted Saturday's event, and Filipino groups from around South Florida were invited to participate in the regional celebration, which was open to the public, board member Dr. Adolfo Millan said.

"The purpose is to get together and present to the community who we are," Millan said.

Younger visitors, such as Jasmine Dabuet, 13, of Lake Worth, had simpler reasons for attending.

"I want to see the dances," Dabuet said. "We did a dance at school, but they'll probably do it a lot better."

Natasha Francois wasn't so sure. Francois is a social worker with a group that focuses on the Asian-Pacific community, and her co-workers gave her three days to learn the courtship dance they performed. She put on the colorful black, green and fuchsia attire, and sashayed to the music.

"I've learned about the culture by working with Filipinos," Francois, 30, of Miami said. "They include you and you feel like you're a part of the family. It's like they adopted me."

Other attendees feasted on Filipino food from a dozen vendors. Among the dishes were lumpia, similar to pork egg rolls; adobo, meat cooked in vinegar and spices; and halo-halo, a sweet dish with fruit, coconut milk and crushed ice.

And while they enjoyed the festivities, some hoped the community would aspire to more. Ernesto Ramos, of Pembroke Pines, emphasized the contributions Filipinos have made while stating his support for the U.S. Senate's immigration bill.

"You see quite a few doctors and nurses and teachers. We contribute to the well-being of the state," said Ramos, regional chairman of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations. "We as a community are very family-oriented ... and I hope the members of the Florida congressional delegation look at that."