Filipino Heritage Month

Florante Family

This is our story. Filipino culture is one of the most complicated mixed people in Asia. Historians said that we are mixed with Indonesian, Malay, Arab, Chinese, Indian, Spanish and some Americans. The average height of Men is 5’4″-5’6″ and for women, it is 5’0″-5’2″. The Philippines is one of the countries that was acquired by the US in the Treaty of Paris and was later granted independence.

My wife and I were born in the same hospital in the Northern part of the Philippines where colonization was heavily concentrated from 1565-1898. This is one of the reasons why our names are mostly Spanish. My parent’s names were Jose and Ernestina. My wife’s parents’ names were Alejandro and Rosario. I was named after my father and my wife was named after her mother.

Rosario and I got acquainted in the late 80s as we went to the same elementary and high school. We have known each other because of our accomplishments in school especially at the end of the school year. I was a product of an athletic and entrepreneur father and my mother was a 5th grade teacher. My name was all over the local news after winning the national championship for table tennis back in 1995. Meanwhile, my wife, who was a product of both MD parents was honing her skills in academics to continue the legacy of her parents in becoming the next doctor in the family.

In college, my wife and I studied in Manila. I went to Colegio de San Juan de Letran, established in 1620 to study business and later on nursing, and Rosario pursued her pre-medicine degree in Santo Tomas University. That school was founded in 1611. She finished her medicine at Saint Louis University.

Fast-forward: Rosario and I met again in 2012 in San Francisco. We fell in love and decided to tie the knot in 2016. We were blessed to have two beautiful girls. Both of them were born in White Plains Hospital in New York. Giada came in 2018 and Gianna followed in 2020. We lived in New York for 3 years. That’s where I have reported by last year in the Navy. Rosario completed her training at the Einstein-owned New Rochelle Hospital.

Our family’s signature dishes are Chicken Pork Adobo, Pancit (Vermicelli Noodles with vegetables and shrimp), Spaghetti, and Fettuccine Carbonara.

Because of the home school program, Giada was able to try all the activities that she liked such as golf, soccer, swimming, and dancing. At present, Giada is concentrating on singing, gymnastics, and jiujitsu. Giada is still learning to speak the Filipino language and our culture.

As much as possible we try to visit the Philippines every other year to our children to know more about their roots.

Filipino culture invests fully in their child’s education. If possible, Filipino parents shell out their funds for college even up to graduate school, and only allow their child to work after getting a degree to avoid destruction. Filipino was also labeled to have great extended family bonds. We share birthdays and holidays with our siblings up to the 3rd degree of bloodline. In addition, elderly people like our grandparents are treated like a king and queens. They may not be responsible in the decision making, but their voices are always heard.