Welcome to Brown Nation! As you can probably see, we really do have pride in our culture, so if you got anything to show us about the Filipino Culture that you think we might be interested in posting, then feel free to send it over to: info@brownnationculture.com.
Brandon “The Truth” Vera (born in Norfolk, Virginia) is a Filipino-American mixed martial arts fighter, currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship as a light-heavyweight contender. He currently resides in San Diego, California with his wife Kerry (kickboxer), who was featured on the second season of Oxygen’s Fight Girls.
Vera is the son of a Filipino father, Ernesto, and an Italian-American mother, Amelia. He grew up in a family with seven boys and three girls. He comes from a wrestling background and says he gets his fighting blood more from his Filipino father’s side than his Italian mother, has a few tricks up his sleeve to keep things lively. Brandon speaks Filipino very well and although he was born and raised in the US, he keeps close tabs on his Filipino roots. He often shares his tattoo on his back (inked in the ancient Filipino writing system called Alibata/Baybayin) with the media and his fans. Clockwise, it reads mundo (earth), hangin (wind), apoy (fire), and tubig (water). Those four are the elements of Mother Nature. Brandon claimed that he went surfing one day and sought to conquer the waves. The waves brought him down and gave Brandon a profound respect for Mother Nature.
In keeping with the spirit of All Souls’ Day, celebrated in the west as Halloween, Brown Nation wanted to reveal a video featuring several Philippines residents sharing their true-life sightings of the “White Lady of Balete” and “The Aswang “….
What is the “Aswang”?
An Aswang is a creature of Philippine myth. Sometimes called a tik-tik or a wak-wak because of the sound they may make as they approach, the aswang is typically a therianthrope with the appearance of a shy, elusive person during the day, and a monstrous, slightly anthropomorphic bird or bat at night. In some legends, the aswang is also capable of transforming itself into other animal forms, such as a pig, cat, or dog.
This photo was taken by a U.S. Army Signal Corps photographer as MacArthur and members of his staff and entourage waded ashore about four hours after the landings. With him were key figures of the exiled Philippine government, Philippine President Sergio Osmeña and Gen. Carlos P. Romulo. MacArthur announced upon reaching land: “People of the Philippines; I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God, our forces stand again on Philippine soil consecrated in the blood of our two people. We have come, dedicated and committed to the task of destroying every vestige of enemy control over your people. The hour of your redemption is here.”
On 7 December 1941 the attack on Pearl Harbor was accompanied by attacks on all American bases in the Pacific including Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s forces in the Philippines. After months of fighting, almost entirely a losing defense, MacArthur was holed up in his last redoubt on the fortified island of Corregidor. He was ordered by Roosevelt to escape by submarine to Australia to avoid his capture by the Japanese. On 11 March 1942, MacArthur complied, leaving his few remaining troops to certain capture or death, including the horrors of the Bataan Death March. His final words to them, and to all the Philippine patriots, were: “I shall return!”
Edito “Peso” Alcala surfed his way to a victory during the recently concluded Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational held on September 27, 2008 at General Luna, Siargao Island. His win over defending champion Wade Goodall (Aus) is only the second time a Filipino has won the international event in Siargao, the first being back in the late 90s by Rodolfo “Osot” Alcala.The international competition held at Cloud 9, is among the most prestigious in Asia and is watched closely by surfers around the world. It attracts high profile professional surfers from Australia, Israel, Japan, Hawaii and France among others.
It was a dream come true according to Edito because he never expected that he would get a second wave perfectly in time after Goodall’s 17.77 point score. However, he did earn a total of 18.16 points thereby taking first place. He also added that through fervent prayers, an unbelievable divine intervention set in. As he was narrating the victorious story before the media, Edito said that he was ardently praying that he would hit a perfect trick and would excellently get out of the barrel with a tight two-minutes left. To his amazement, as well as to the crowd watching before him, Alcala made it with a standing-ovation performance. He knew he made a good turn when it barreled all the way down the reef and people couldn’t help themselves but to shout joyfully after he flicked off the wave. Alcala, merrily went home with pride and surfed away with $7,500 (USD).
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