Filipino-American community spirit unites behind Pacquiao

At the house of Kay Antone

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

IF there's anything positive that came out of that so-called “Fight of the Century” between the Filipino people's Champ Manny Pacquiao and American champion Floyd Mayweather, it's that it united the Fil-American community in the Carolinas. 

One winner is the “bayanihan” or community spirit of Filipinos or in this case Fil-Americans who welcomed each other during parties held while they watched the fight on pay-per-view TV. 

The indomitable spirit of the Fil-Americans is very much alive and well as the parties gave them a chance to bond and what better way to do that than through house parties?

Boxing is a national past time in the Philippines ever since Pacquiao rose to prominence. Animosity among Filipinos is set aside whenever he fights and that's not a small achievement in itself.

Due to the prohibitive costs of pay-per-view, each Filipino-American household offered to pitch in some amount and held a potluck party to cut expenses. And there were quite a number of Fil-American households that did just that.

One was the party hosted by Dr. Henry Maglente and his nurse wife Kim at their home in Mooresville. The guests started arriving at 9 p.m. with some food and dessert. Kim said there were 30 people in hteir house including children.

Kim told me that before the fight, the men watched basketball, while the ladies chatted and prepared the sumptuous food at the table. Not to be outdone were the kids who were busy watching movie of their own selection.

“It was the first pary we hosted here,” Kim said. The guests left at one a.m. “Even the kids stayed late. We were disappointed with the results of the fight. Still it was fun to remember,” she said.

What made it memorable for the couple was the presene of friends who celebrated and commiserated with each other over Pacquiao's loss. 

Among those who attended was sport enthusiast Ro Lawsin who posted on his Facebook account “the party at Casa Maglente.” The guests were mostly doctors who are friends in the community.

Another party was hosted by Kay Ronquillo Antone  over at Indian Trail, North Carolina. Her family welcomed their 80 guests at their new home. “People started arriving at 7:30 pm....and stayed until almost 2 am,” Kay told me. 


“I made a lot of food....and also every family brought a dish, desserts and drinks. We had people watch the fight from our living room and our movie room. The guests were as young as four years old to as old as 70 years old,” Kay said.

Kay, the immediate second vice president of the Fil-American Community of the Carolinas (FACC), said she and her guests were “disappointed with the fight because of the scores of the judges.” 

“We all knew in our hearts that Pacquiao won the fight,” she said. A small group attended a party hosted by Tony and Ranni Cammarano at their Beatties Ford home while the Kelly and Lightle families hosted a more intimate party to watch the fight. 

In New York City, Lorelai Jamisolanim was invited by a group of doctors to the “boxing party” and while waiting for the main event, she discussed with them how the Filipino culture got “spilintered by time” unlike those of the Indians and Hispanics. 

Lorelai, who grew in a family of politicians headed by her late uncle, a mayor of Villanueva town in Misamis Oriental, northern Mindanao Philippines, said it was her first time to watch a Pacquiao fight.  “Since Mayweather was undefeated it made it more interesting.”   

I'm sure there were other families that did the same thing which showed that despite being divided and separated by culture and geography, somehow Pacquiao ends up uniting us Filipinos. At the end of the day, that's what matters. 

Dr/ Henry Maglinte (in blue shirt, standing) with his guests

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who worked as a nanny and is now employed as a sub-teacher and a part-time teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas.

Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.
You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)