1 week Ago By Raquel Villatoro
When Fil-Am of East Texas assistant secretary Marina Mallari started going to the annual Filipino Christmas party after arriving in Tyler in 1995, it was held in a school gym and people brought food as part of a potluck. At the time, a small group gathered to celebrate Christmas and foster community after migrating from the Philippines. On Saturday, about 408 attendees gathered for the annual Filipino Christmas party at W.
T. Brookshire Conference Center. Instead of a potluck, food was provided for attendees.
The event was at max capacity. Next year, organizers plan to rent both sides of the conference center to host more people. “The growth was very fast because before I used to know everybody, and now I don't know everybody,” said Fil-Am of East Texas 2024-2025 President Mary Jane Guevara.
For community members who have been in Tyler for years, seeing the community grow and meeting new people has been a welcomed opportunity. “It's great to show them that you're far away from home, but they're still home here,” Mallari said. “There's your fellow Filipinos here and we are all community — we will support you.
It's like paying it forward when you first came here and now it's your turn to help the new ones.” Christmas is an important time for the Filipino community, due to the Philippines being a Catholic country. Although not all Filipinos in Tyler are Catholics, they welcome everybody and cherish the time to be grateful for God.
“I know I won't be here without God. I'm a preacher. God created me .
.. as a Christian community, even though we have different faiths, we all know that God is our creator and Jesus our savior,” Guevara said.
During the Filipino Christmas party, high school seniors received scholarships of $500. This is something organizers have been doing yearly as their way of paying it forward. Twinkling lights and Filipino Christmas parols, — decorative lanterns displayed during Christmastime — decorated the stage during various performances from soloists showing off their singing, choirs performing Christmas songs and Santa Claus making a guest appearance.
Throughout the night, winners for raffle items were called. In a dance off, young versus older showed their skills as attendees took out their phone cameras. The Lemon Peppers group performed first and later on the Lemon Pepper Kids 2.
0. The crowd cheered for their favorites when asked who did it better. Later on, people hit the dance floor and danced to various songs including "Toro Toro.
" In the early 1970s, Tyler resident Marie Kesecker came to Tyler from the Philippines to work as a nurse. Due to a nursing shortage in the United States, Kesecker and a few other nurses were recruited. Many of the nurses who came were single.
“We build family here and then (the) next generation came and more family came,” Kesecker said. At every function the kids will perform, whether it’s singing or dancing. On Saturday, one of the soloists was a 15-year-old who performed "The Christmas Song by Nat "King" Cole.
Now, the kids performing are the children of their children, said Tyler resident Almira Nunn. “We are now the grandparents,” Kesecker said. Although not all have grandchildren, they are the generation who saw the beginning of the community being built.
Tyler resident Christi Raborar remembers a time when they could invite everyone in the Filipino community to birthday parties. At the Christmas party on Saturday, they see new Filipinos they have yet to meet. Raborar, a former nurse, was recruited in 1990 to come to Tyler.
Now, they recruit families and have expanded to different industries. Filipino professionals also consist of teachers in Tyler ISD teaching math, science, English or working in special education. Being able to bring everyone together gives Raborar and others a sense of belonging in Tyler.
“Here we don't have our immediate family. So this is our family. So we look forward to it,” Raborar said.
Almira, Borar, Kesecker and Tyler resident Bella Obach are all from different parts of the Philippines. Kesecker is from northern Luzon, Nunn is from southern Luzon, Raborar is from metro Manila and Luzon, and Obach is from the Visayas. Each region has multiple dialects.
“Each one of us will speak our dialect and we won’t understand each other,” Obach said. Despite regional differences, they can come together and recreate what they had in the Philippines. “It's also a reminiscing of what we had in the Philippines,” Nunn said.
“So we, in a sense, bring it towards here, everything that we experienced in the Philippines as a family. And we gather together over here as one.” The Christmas celebration came together thanks to the work of many people, including Guevara.
During the party, Guevara received a certificate of appreciation and flowers for her hard work. “It took a lot of time, hard work, planning and a lot of people helping each other,” Guevara said. Guevara is grateful for the people who reach out to her and offer to volunteer.
“I was very amazed and humbled by the people who come up to me and say, ‘hey, I can help volunteering. Just tell me what you need and what to do,’” Guevara said. Without the hard work of her Fil-Am of East Texas team and officers, the event would not come together.
As the community grows, they hope to gain more visibility. Last year, Fil-Am of East Texas participated in Great Tyler Cleanup Day in April. Next year, they plan to be at community events, including the Fresh 15 race.
After doing a sports fest for the first time in late June, Fil-Am of East Texas is thinking of bringing it back in 2025. The event had basketball, pickleball, ping-pong and food trucks. They also plan to host another Christmas party, according to Mallari.
With the help of sponsors, such as UT Health East Texas and the community, they were able to continue the annual Christmas celebration. For anyone interested in donating to Fil-Am of East Texas, you can reach out to Guevara at 903-316-0611..
