The Changing Faces of Filipina Americans
In Los Angeles, where interracial marriages are prevalent, it is not surprising to see Filipinos embracing other races and ethnicities and further contributing to this melting pot. In this photo essay, the faces of multiracial and multiethnic Filipina Americans are captured. At first glance, these individuals do not adhere to society’s image of a ‘Filipina.’ Some have struggled early on with their identities, while others grew up in communities that accepted their diversity. However, what they can share is that there is no standard definition of what it means to be a Filipina American.
Aiyana Fraser, 8 Black and Filipino Leny Mercado, a Filipino-American mother of two children who are half Filipino and half Black, sees her kids as Americans first. “Since they were born here they should be called Americans so it’s just a labeling thing. In terms of culture, I want to raise them in Filipino culture as well as Caribbean,” Mercado said. Her daughter Aiyana Fraser, shown above, is eight years old.
Christina Moffitino, 24 Italian and Filipino Growing up in San Diego, Christina Moffitino couldn’t understand why people never guessed she was half-Filipino. “People are automatically going to judge based off of appearances,” Moffitino said. They think because they see my hair I’m Latina or because I’m in Southern California that I’m some kind of Latina. People never guess I’m Filipino.” At a young age, Moffitino recalls a Seafood City store clerk being very rude to her. It wasn’t until Moffitino came up to the counter with her mom that the lady’s tone changed. “I didn’t know she was Filipino,” the clerk said. Since then, Moffitino has been lucky, she has not experienced much prejudice. “I’m a good case in point of being an American kid these days trying to find who they are, but keeping a part of their culture in them,” Moffitino said.
Tessie Navarro, 24 Mexican and Filipino As a Filipino and Mexican American growing up in Los Angeles, Tessie Navarro was often called “China,” which means Chinese in Spanish, by the Mexican side of her family. To them, she was only seen as Asian. “When I was younger, I gravitated towards the Filipino group because I always felt more accepted by them. It wasn’t like when I was with Mexicans,” Navarro said. “It was constantly pointed out to me. ‘You’re different. You’re not like a full Mexican.’ I think I actually had my cousins tell me that once. ‘You’re not like a real Mexican.’” It wasn’t until college when Navarro took an Asian American studies class that she realized she could identify as both. When asked, Navarro says she still culturally identifies more with her Filipino side, but at the end of the day she sees herself as “Mexapina” – half Mexican, half Filipina.
Maria Hubbard, 24 White and Filipino Growing up with a Filipino mother and white father, Maria Hubbard never struggled with her multiracial identity. “I think I wanted to be more white because I didn’t identify with the Filipino part. I don’t even speak Tagalog,” Hubbard said.
Jann Budiman, 23 Indonesian, Chinese, and Filipino Jann Budiman feels very honored when people ask her what her ethnicity is. To others it may seem annoying, but Budiman is excited when people seem interested in learning a bit about her culture. She has never experienced any prejudice despite her multiethnic background. When asked, she identifies more with her Indonesian-Chinese side because she was more exposed to the culture.
Aquilina Soriano German, Japanese, and Filipino “I look more Filipino, I don’t look as German. I don’t look as Japanese,” Aquilina Soriano said. It wasn’t until she was 20 years old when Soriano learned Tagalog. “A lot of my identity now is around the Filipino community because I have been able to go back to the Philippines, I have been able to really delve into the community here, but I definitely am embracing my mixed heritage” Soriano said. She is currently the executive director at Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California.
Farzana Nayani, 37 Pakistani and Filipino There was a knock at the door. Farzana Nayani and her mother open the door to see a Filipino deliveryman. They started to speaking Tagalog to him. He did a double take. “That’s my daughter” Nayani’s mother said. He did a triple take. He couldn’t believe the Nayani was Filipino. “When someone wants to measure how Filipino I am they will ask me ‘Farzana, have you been there? Do you speak the language? Do you like the food? Can you cook the food?’” Nayani said. “We have to remember a person is a person and it can be difficult to answer those questions all the time.” She is currently an advisory board member at the Multiracial Americans of Southern California (MASC) and programs and membership director of the Asian Business Association of Los Angeles.
Carlene Bonnivier, 75 White and Filipino Carlene Bonnivier has blue eyes, brown hair and fair skin. Few people would guess correctly, but she is also half-Filipino. “I think it is still true that people will judge you quickly by your appearance,” Bonnivier said. “In this way, I was very lucky because people assumed I was ‘normal.’ If the kids are dark, they are going to experience a different kind of America. If they have an accent, they are going to experience a different America. I didn’t really know what I was.” Bonnivier’s father passed away before she was born, so she never was exposed to her white side of the family. She decided she either belonged nowhere or everywhere. Bonnivier decided everywhere. “I get to understand things. I am not scared of things people who grow up in just one culture are scared of,” Bonnivier said. “There are very few circumstances where I feel like, ‘Oh my god, this is new.’ Everything was new. I got the experience of understanding people who would otherwise be scary. It made me a writer.”
— Photos and words by Loren Townsley, a recent graduate from California State University, Northridge with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and Asian American studies. This past summer, Loren was an intern for the Asian Journal, researching various topics within the Filipino-American community.
Special thanks to Aquilina Soriano and the Pilipino Workers Center for helping locate subjects for this photo essay and opening up their facility as a photo studio.
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