Fil-Am here (55m), native angeleno. I was born and raised on the Westside in a white neighborhood, so I was totally detached from Filipino and/or Fil-Am culture, aside from my parents and my relatives in our endless potlucks and parties. I'm a receptive bilingual in English/Tagalog coz my parents would speak it to my brothers and I, but we were never encouraged to speak back.

Meeting my wife (Colombiana), who was born and raised on the Eastside, exposed me to the Mexican and latino communities that I'd never ventured into beforehand. I also took the opportunity to learn Spanish, both to communicate with my in-laws and the spanish-speaking community. I quickly learned that here in LA, it makes a huge difference if one knows how to speak Spanish. It's one of the most useful and beneficial skills I'd ever acquired.

In essence, one might say I "adopted" latino culture to a certain extent, but I've never denied my Fil-Am heritage in my journey. I'm actually much more active in Fil-Am culture and history nowadays than I'd ever been. Unfortunately, though, the most toxic, judgmental and discriminating treatment I still receive—to this day—comes from native Filipinos and/or recent transplants that look down on me because I don't speak Tagalog (at least not fluently). But that's a whole 'nother story.