When planning this event from Makarios x AFIA Vespers, what did you reflect on from your own cultural experiences?
Yulian Tinoco (senior, spanish and psychology): In terms of Filipinos and Hispanics, we have the same type of origin. We were both colonized by the Spaniards, and so also have very similar words as a result. When we were doing the praise team set, for example, Jesus and Christo meant exactly the same for Filipinos as it did for us. The speaker for AFIA was talking about Filipinos giving everyone food. You can’t go hungry. It’s kind of like that with us Hispanics, with that whole family feel, the whole interdependence you have with one another. Between Filipinos and Hispanics, there’s a lot of interdependence when it comes to those two cultures. For example, in terms of family, you don’t think about making sure your parents are in a nursing home when they are older. That doesn’t really cross your mind because you will take care of them forever. This goes back to the whole family interdependence thing and that you are not alone but have connections everywhere.
Holly Sharp (sophomore, nursing): I thought it was really cool that Makarios wanted to do a collaboration with us because our cultures do have a lot in common. So when it came to planning, we wanted to have the elements of our different languages in the service. I resonated a lot with Michelle, one of the speakers. We have similar backgrounds and similar experiences with our culture—her and I being third-generation Filipino American and raised in Southern California—which is very different from being a first-generation Filipino American. She went to the Philippines for an SM service trip, and I wanted her to speak about what it meant to her culturally. When she was talking about hospitality, for example, we are familiar with our parents offering food to our friends here in America; but then you go to the Philippines and a total stranger does that to you. You’re like, “Wow, this is Filipino culture.”
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