A Filipino Mask

by sulatkamay

Government corruptions, economic downfall, American customs, Spanish beliefs, and a pessimistic mindset – these are masks worn by the Filipino people. Costumes that prevent people to know what a Filipino really is. The Philippine society has experienced so many things in the past that it lost its identity in the midst of survival. Influenced by so many elements, we were and are unconsciously covering our being by layers and layers of other cultures. We are all blinded by imaginary lights of "true-living" and "the right-way" which caused us to change the way we live. Therefore, to distinguish a real Filipino, one must look beyond the complicated façade that history and fate has imposed.

When I was going home from school, I saw things that made me say that I really was living in the Philippines. I saw two ladies chatting at the terrace of a house, families coming out of the church after hearing mass, children and adolescents playing basketball, people gathering on vast fields protesting, adults crossing the streets without using the pedestrian lanes, but what struck me most was when I saw a family sitting in the streets – the boy was covering her mother with cloth because it was raining. This scenario made me realize that a person may take away anything but the love of a family from a Filipino. Some may deny it, but in one way or another, going home to a complete and safe family is what makes a day for a Filipino. No great discovery or huge accomplishment can compare with the comfort of laughing with a family.

Some may say that Filipinos are aggressive, stubborn and very outspoken. But I think that this description is derived from observations on the masks, not on the person wearing it. Look behind the cover that Filipinos wear, because I think when the masks are removed, one can only see a smile. Beyond the colorful play of masquerades lies no more than the beauty of simplicity. Content in what they have, yearning no more than to live an average everyday life and going home to a complete family – that is what a Filipino really is.