Filipinos in Daly City

Chatngern Srivarom

For Filipinos, Daly City represents social mobility. Many see the United States as an opportunity to move up the social ladder, so they take the chance and immigrate here for a better life. However, permanently settling in the US causes Filipinos to lose their cultural identity for a brand new Americanized self. The identity of Filipino Americans are thus created, not completely Filipino yet not completely American. This gave rise to hip hop to become prominent in the Filipino community as a way for Filipino Americans to assert their new identity. The new identity, however, creates a disconnect with the Philippines. Many Filipino Americans can not speak their native languages, which is a big part of being Filipino. However, I think that it is a natural part of immigration experienced by all immigrants, as they absorb American culture and mix it with their own native culture, creating a new unique culture. What Filipino Americans experience in the text is not new or unique to Filipinos, it occurs in all immigrant communities. Filipino Americans are a unique culture that blends both Filipino and American culture together to create something new and unique. Although the recentness of Filipino immigration history makes Filipino American identity indistinct and obscure, Filipinos have gained more and more attention and voice in popular culture, signaling that the Filipino American identity is developing more and more distinctly and influentially.