Writing POC 101

Filipino Mexican Characters - @theninthfire

I am what you would call a "Filipina Latina". I live in the Philippines for the first 4 years of my life, and then my parents moved to America (with me)! From 7 until 10 I went to Mexico to live with my grandmother's family, there I lived a vast and colorful culture.

The Philippines and Latino countries are not as different as you think. Since the Spaniards dominated the Philippines for over 300 years, we took in a lot of their culture. It is not uncommon to see a Filipino/a with a Spanish name.

I would like to see a lot more diversity in Wattpad stories. Already I have seen in this book that there really are a lot of different cultures, some that I have never heard of! And I love that everyone has something to say, because we need more people of color.

Religion

On my Filipino side, a lot of my family is Catholic. Christianity is the major religion in the Philippines, but like many countries, we also have a lot more! Christianity, Catholicism, (btw Catholicism is a branch of Christianity) Islam, or Buddhism. There are tons more but that would take forever. Religion takes up a lot of our lives, and because of the diversity of religions, it brings all of us together. Most Filipinos are very faithful to their god / religion.

Like the Philippines, Mexico is very religious. As a result, I am very religious. On my Hispanic side, my mother's family is Christian. The two major religions are people who are either Catholic or Christian. Most of our elders are very religious, and so because of it, religion is another major thing in the Mexican culture. And to rid of the stereotypes, not everyone is the perfect, praying person. There are people who curse, and sin, and do a lot of things we're not supposed to.

Language

Tagalog (tuh-go-lug made with a short "o" e.g. fog) is the official Filipino language. Though, because of the invading Spaniards that we had, we end up learning a bit of Spanish. English is the most used language in the Philippines, only because we are one of the countries that teaches it. Many people send their children there to learn English, as the language is used often.

Obviously, the most used language in Mexico is Spanish. But just because many are Mexican, it doesn't mean all of us speak Spanish. Sure, most of us do! But not everyone. For example, my Mexican mother can speak Spanish, yet I can't speak a lick of it. (Now that I think of it I can't speak Tagalog either. How did I survive in the Philippines?)

Food! (My favorite -and longest- part!)

In Filipino food, there are the two main food groups: salty, and sour. Of course these aren't all Filipino foods, but are a majority of what we eat. For example, sinigang is a type of sour and flavorful stew which can contain stewed beef, poured over rice! (It can also be eaten by itself! Me and my friend would often guzzle it this way, too young to understand the words on the packaging and laughing in our drunken stupor) While chicken soup is used to ail sick "Westerners", we turn to arroz caldo, which is a type of chicken rice porridge. As you can see, Spanish culture has definitely affected the Philippines. This stew is cooked with ginger and is sold in the stalls at markets. Puto is a type of semi sweet sponge cake, eaten in mini bites. After learning what this meant in Spanish, I would often say it whenever I could to entertain family guests. (Imagine a 6 year old screaming puto all around the house) I don't cuss, but I do encourage you to look it up, Google Translate is your friend.

Before I say anything else, Mexican food is not just tacos and burritos. You hear a lot of these other writers say it, but I see the mistake so often you'd be surprised. Because I am biracial, I eat mostly Filipino food with my dad' family, and the Mexican food with my mom. And we don't put Tapatio or Tabasco on everything people! I, in fact, hate spicy food, so it's okay to make a Mexican or Mexican / ... not like spicy food! We like to eat pastries, made fresh and warm from the panaderia or eating carne asada fresh off the grill. Savory foods are our specialty, but we also make killer sweets too. For example, pan dulce which translates to sweet bread can be many different pastries. (My favorite are the conchas. Slightly sweetened bread with sugar dusted on top) Lengua, menudo, and flautas are some of my favorite savory meat dishes that we eat. (Lengua is cow tongue, don't let it fool you, it's delicious with beans and rice!)

Lifestyle

I am here to clear up the nonsense about families being abusive, both Filipino and Mexican families. Sure, I have stories from my parents on how they've been beaten with a belt, but only as a result of being in trouble. I know that my parents would never even spank me, but these are just my parents. A lot of families just want their kids to turn out to be good kids. I don't know where this stereotype came from, but it's not true. I know that this may not be true in some families, but it is not common for this to happen. A lot of parents want their kids to be successful, and to do that they don't have to hit them.

Stereotypes >:(

A lot of people may think that us Filipinos are "dumb" or "stupid" because of stereotypes, but a lot of that nonsense isn't true! Yes, we know who Taylor Swift is. Yes we know the newest scandal with Kim Kardashian, we're not as stupid as you think. For example, we look up to education, and take it very seriously. We want to be successful in high school and college, and that's what we strive to do.

My my aren't they a lot of stereotypes on Mexicans. No, we're not all rapists or criminals. No, not all of us are drug dealers. A lot of us, like my family, are traditional. We hold fiestas and dance in fancy dresses and shovel authentic food made by our abuelas. And second of all, names. We don't always have predictable names like Jose, Juan, Maria, Esteban, a lot of our names are diverse. Neither do we had 12 bajillionsldkhfek middle names. Often we can be called by our middle name, or even as both! Antonietta Maria may be an example, or Lorena Rosa.

Afterword

I think I have covered everything that I need to! If you make your character a biracial Mexican / Filipino, you don't have to make each side of them equal. They can have more Mexican qualities, or more Filipino ones. I hope that this chapter helped you with writing your character, thank you :D If you need more Mexican / Filipino tips, I know that there are a lot of great writers in this book, go check them out if you need some tips. Or, even better, come on by and message me to ask for advice. Don't be shy, go out and smell the roses!

Thank you so much @talkthepoc!

Kai