One might think that being stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba that there might be a lack of cultures since we are stuck on base and can only take leave in the States, they would be wrong. Upon arriving here I soon realized that half of the bases population of over 6,000 individuals is either Jamaican or Filipino. They are contract workers and help run several facilities on base and while doing so they have become part of the cultural that makes this a wonderful place in my eyes. I recently had the opportunity to not only interview a Filipino resident, but I also had the opportunity to go to a Filipino celebration as well.
The country of the Philippines is located in the south pacific and is made up of 7,107 islands although 2,000 of them are uninhabited. There are over 81 million people and the countries capital is Manila. According to PBS.org America paid 20 million to the Spanish at the end of the Spanish-American war in 1998 for the right of ownership. The transition
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The first one was almost like a warriors dance. Guys coming out with vibrant headdresses and skirts and they sung in powerful voices that demanded your complete attention. After the warrior dance was a quite unique dance. It consisted of women dancing between two sticks that other ladies were holding on both sides. It reminded me a little like kids jumping rope back home in the streets, but the dresses were very colorful and it was hypnotizing to watch. I later found out the dance was called the Tinikling a traditional that is based upon a myth that after the Spanish invasion, the King of Spain ordered for the massive plantation. All the Filipinos obeyed the orders and those who disregarded the rules of the King; they were penalized by standing between two bamboo poles. At that time, a practice was established among the common Filipinos to perform a traditional folk dance (Nazir, J.,
America won the war, but what would become of the Philippine islands! In the summer of 1898 the United States (U.S.) went to war with Spain. America went to war in response to Spain's mistreatment of the Filipino people. America won the war and with that victory came all of Spain's colonies. Many colonies were dealt with quickly but the Philippines was another matter. Much controversy surrounded one question: Should the United States annex the Philippines? Annex means that a little country joins a larger country to become stronger. The word annexation means to add to another country. The United States Should annex the Philippines because the Philippines was not fit for self government, others countries
The United States should not annex the Philippine islands, the Philippines, already a country of their own should not be forced to adapt to American culture and civilization. Prior to the annexation of the Philippines, America had major conflict with Spain in order to free Cuba from their brutal tactics for dominance. Tension continued to rise, until President Mckinley decided to take action and go to war against Spanish forces to enable a more stable government as well as provide protection for the citizens of Cuba. After months of fighting, the Spanish admitted defeat and began discussing peace terms of the Treaty of Paris. In this treaty Cuba was guaranteed independence, also the Spanish were forced to give up Guam and Puerto Rico. They Spanish also complied to selling the Philippines to the U.S for 20 million. However, the Filipinos wanted independence, not just a change in who governed them, this desire led many Philippine citizens to break out, beginning the Philippine- American war, which lasted three years, and caused the death of over two hundred thousand American and Filipino citizens.
The Hmong culture is firmly rooted in their spiritual belief of animism, ancestral worship and reincarnation. These beliefs connect them to their sense of health and well-being. They view illness as having either a natural or a spiritual cause. A spiritual cause results in a “loss of souls” or is an action or misdeed that may have offended an ancestor’s spirit (California Department of Health Services, 2004, Purnell, 2013, p. 317). The soul escapes the body and may not be able to find its way back home. The Hmong also believe that a combination of natural and supernatural cause’s results in illness, and spells or curses, violation of taboos, accidents, fright, and infectious disease are other causes for illness (Centers for Disease Control
On April 21, 1898, America declared war against Spain for a multitude of reasons. Long before this, the Filipinos were entangled in a war against Spain for their independence. Many Filipinos saw American intervention in the war as a beneficial situation. They believed America would help secure their long-awaited freedom but were greatly mistaken. When the Treaty of Paris was signed to end the Spanish-American War, America gained possession of the Philippine Islands. Due to contradicting viewpoints, conditions, and values; the conundrum America faced on whether or not to keep the Philippine Islands was widely discussed during the early twentieth century. This dilemma has raised the high demand for an imperialistic empire within American politics.
Culture defines the very fabric of society. It depicts where we as an ethnicity came from, our accomplishments, as well as our path to where we currently stand on this rapidly modernizing world. As Americans, it is apparent to all that others revere our diversified culture for its distinctiveness in acceptance of different racial, religious and ethical differences amongst our population. American culture has graciously adapted many traditions, beliefs, and ethnicities guaranteeing a freedom to form opposing interests and viewpoints of our own, while still expressing unity and solidarity. While Cuba seeks conformity, and grants far less freedom to form opposing views, Cuba has adapted as well, despite colonial oppression, creating Afrocubanism, which is defined by culture as,
After the Spanish American War, Many Spanish territories had been ceded such as Guam, Puerto Rico, and Cuba while the Philippines islands were sold to the United States. Cuba was recognized as an independent nation, but Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines were set to be annexed. The Philippines in particular was outraged and fought a war with the United States to gain its independence. The decision to annex was not unanimous as many people, including the Filipinos, Senators, American citizens, and even colored citizens were opposed to the annexation.
10, 1898, Spain renounced all claim to Cuba, ceded Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States, and transferred sovereignty over the Philippines to the United States for $20,000,000. The Spanish-American War was an important turning point in the history of both antagonists. Spain’s defeat decisively turned the nation’s attention away from its overseas colonial adventures and inward upon its domestic needs, a process that led to both a cultural and a literary renaissance and two decades of much-needed economic development in Spain. The victorious United States, on the other hand, emerged from the war a world power with far-flung overseas possessions and a new stake in international politics that would soon lead it to play a determining role in the affairs of
The Filipino American culture is prevalent in the United States as it’s the second largest cultural minority. Discussed in this section are immigration, family structure including roles of men & women, and religious factors impacting the lifestyles of Filipino Americans. Bautista (2014) states “Many Filipino Americans may look Asian American; however, their views on culture and traditions are not the same, insofar as influences derive mostly from Spain and the United States” (p.20).
The Folklorico group presentation I was honored to observed was the “Grupo Folklorico Juventud” from North Salinas High School. I decided to attend to this presentation because I use to be part of this Folklorico group. I also enjoy watching the dances for the reason that I believe they are beyond beautiful. It is amazing how a simple dance could transmit so much information while representing a region from Mexico. From my observation experienced, I noticed every region has different movements and customs for a reason. While observing the presentation I noticed most women used long skirts to create different shapes. They usually create the eight shape, half a circle or an entire circle which is created when the dancer does an entire spin while holding and moving their skirt. The skirt is also moved in different levels, such as high, medium, and low. The two levels that are used in most of the dances is the high and the medium level. While dancing the men and women usually do the same steps and movements. All the dances include “zapateados” which are known as foot dances or stomps. The “zapateados” are usually done with different parts of the feet such as the toe, heel and the sole of the feet. The dances include “zapateados” with different sections of the feet because every part creates a different sound. Most of the dances also include jumps and turns. It is extremely important for the
William McKinley in 1899 gave a speech regarding why the United States decided to keep the Philippines, when they were "dropped into our laps". Before giving the speech McKinley was burdened by what would be in the best interest of both countries. He gave four very strong points, with reasoning on why "keeping" the Philippines is the best plan of action for the United States to take.
In 1521, Magellan claimed the land for Spain, but was killed by local chiefs who did not want Spain’s inhabitance. However, the Spanish returned in 1543 and named the land Filipinas after King Philip II. Spain soon after began their control. At the time of the Spanish American War the colonial government in the Philippines was administered by a Governor-General selected in Spain. The Philippine islands were used to reward the king’s favorites who could return home enormous fortunes from natives and foreign immigrants via a system of taxation that savored of blackmail and confiscation. The Governor-General had a cabinet composed of the Archbishop of Manila, the Captain-General of the army and the Admiral of the navy stationed in the colonies. The administrative power lay with the Governor-General and the Archbishop, and the religious orders of the Spanish Catholic Church were the practical controllers.
Generally, textbooks, articles, and essays talk about America’s “occupation,” “supervision” or “intervention” in the Philippines. They seem to be afraid to use the word “colonization.” According to Webster’s Dictionary the definition of colonization is, “The colonial system of political government or extension of territory, by which one nation exerts political control over another nation, territory, or people, maintaining the colony in a state of dependence, its inhabitants not having the same full rights as those of the colonial power. The controlling power is typically extended thus by military force or the threat of force” (6). In his book analyzing Japanese Assimilation Policies in Colonial Korea, Mark Caprio makes a distinction between two different “levels” of colonialism: external and internal. He states that external colonization is what Hannah Arendt calls “overseas imperialism…where their indirect policy exerted minimal effort to forge political, social, or cultural bonds with the peoples under their jurisdiction” (2). Although this is the way the French colonized, the United States seem to adopt the British way of colonizing, which is Caprio’s second level of colonization or internal colonization. This is what Benedict Anderson describes as “inventing nations” (Caprio 2). It requires that the colonial power send ambassadors to impress its culture upon the colony through controlling things such as dialect, media, education, and military (Caprio 2). Caprio also mentions, “The decision to colonize, as well as the administration to administer the colonized, was based primarily on the needs and interests of the colonizer’s subject; those of the colonized object received minimal consideration” (2). Therefore, a colony serves...
The Philippines were first discovered by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. It then became a colony of Spain from the late 1500's until the end of the19th century when the United States came intervened. The colonial rule of the Spanish ended in December 1898 after the United States intervened due to a popular rebellion that had broken out two years earlier. Under the United States colonial rule, democratic institutions were introduced, and the Filipinos took over all the political and bureaucratic positions. In 1934 the Philippines became an internally self governing commonwealth, with full independence from the United States scheduled for July 4, 1946. The independent republic mainta...
It has three major island groups which are the Luzon, the largest island and where the capital is located; Visayan, and Mindanao. Eleven islands make up 94 percent of the Philippine landmass, and two of these--Luzon and Mindanao--measure 105,000 and 95,000 square kilometers, respectively. They, together with the cluster of the Visayan Islands that separate them, represent the three principal regions of the archipelago (many scattered islands in a large body of water) that are identified by the three stars on the Philippine flag.
The Philippine islands are located in Southeastern Asia, between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam. The country is made up of about 7000 islands, only 2000 of those islands are inhabited. The population of the country includes about 84,619,974 people. The people of this country are all very close to their families. They work together to make the income that their family needs to survive. Sometimes th...