Filipinos love to conquer the world stage. We have goosebumps whenever "Philippines" is mentioned in a worldwide competition. We tend to be prouder of Filipinos when they make it abroad. I believe our love for world recognition emanates from our long history of being a colony of various countries and empires, and our second class citizenship in our own country. Therefore, we take great pride when the world recognizes us for being "Filipinos" and what we can do. Our history books even have citations of great Filipinos who obtained world recognition. I remember as a grade school student, I first learned that Lea Salonga starred in the famous theater play "Miss Saigon" and Lydia de Vega is the sprint queen, etc. Countless of Filipinos have given our nation great pride and honor for their accomplishments. Now, with social media and more current and social affairs' awareness, Filipinos tend to be more vocal of what they feel about Filipinos making or breaking it abroad.
This year, among a roster of Filipino pride, Charice was under scrutiny. Her change of looks especially her hairstyle made quite a stir and was subjected to ridicule. Charice made us proud when at a young age, she graced shows like Ellen de Generes and Oprah, and has been included in David Foster's various singing engagements abroad. She also guested in the famous TV show, Glee. Though a lot of Filipinos take pride on her international access, she was also scrutinized for her alleged "Americanizing." She has been accused of trying hard to change her twang into American slang and her hair getting blonder and blonder and shorter. My take on this - let her explore her individuality. Honestly, I was shocked when I first saw her new look and speak in X Factor Philippines. But I also lived in the United States for a while and sometimes, you really have to speak their twang for them to understand what you're saying so perhaps Charice got used to it. On the other hand, I guess it is also good if she and other Filipinos would still stick to our Filipino roots. It's better to be "Filipino" when we carry ourselves out in the world.
Perhaps the most celebrated Pinoy pride in the recent decade is Pambansang Kamao, Manny Pacquiao. Manny became a pound-for-pound boxer, admired by everyone around the globe, not only Filipinos. This December, he fought for seemingly the nth time with Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico. I always say that only Marquez can match up with Pacquiao. In their previous fights, Marquez is the only one who can stand up with Pacquiao through the 12th round. And this year testifies that Marquez is really the man! He knocked out our dear Pacman. The results gathered mixed emotions. I'm just happy that the Filipinos were still proud of Manny despite his loss. I guess we all learned how we should be gratified by how far Manny has come along. Billiards player Efren "Bata" Reyes seemed to lose the nation's support when he didn't win the world title anymore which I think is depressing for him. He gave the Philippines pride as well and one loss should not let us forget the accomplishments he had. What would you feel if you are in their shoes? There are bad days, let's face it.
Nonito Donaire seems to have a winning streak on the other hand. He knocked out Arce a week after Manny lost to Arce's fellow Mexican, Marquez. I guess we can't have everything right? What is important is these Pinoy pride continuously do their best to give the Philippines glory. Win or lose, we need to support our Filipino pride. And we should not take pride only when Filipinos make it abroad. There are abundant talents here in the Philippines but they are left unnoticed and dare I say - unsung heroes - because they haven't brought any international recognition. We should not crave to be recognized as a great nation with great people. We are who we are. The important this is we know what we can do. As Bill Cosby said, "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."
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