Our Stories Did NOT Begin with Magellan

Remember when I said there was a lot more to come?

Well… FILIPINA. AMERICAN. CREATIVE. is back. 🇵🇭 ❤️‍🔥 🇺🇸

And since October is Filipino American History Month, I can’t think of a more meaningful time to begin this new chapter.

Over the past few years, this journey has taken me much deeper than I ever expected. What began as a search to understand the Philippines – its history, culture, and people – became a way of understanding myself.

Now I’m returning to that search, sharing soul-stirring conversations I’ve carried with me for years, waiting for the right time.

The time is now.

I’m beginning with a conversation I had with historian, poet, and writer Luis H. Francia, author of A History of the Philippines: From Indios Bravos to Filipinos.

Luis and I talk about Philippine history, colonization, assimilation, identity, and the patterns we may still carry without even realizing where they came from.

We also go back to the Philippines before colonization – and to an idea that became one of the most powerful takeaways from our conversation for me:

We existed before the West “discovered” us. Our stories did not begin with Magellan.

It’s a conversation about history, but also about what can happen when understanding where we came from changes the way we understand who we are.

👉🏼 WATCH ON YOUTUBE