A Filipino chosen to represent the Philippines in a video project by international travel and lifestyle magazine Condé Nast Traveler is being called out for inaccurately representing Filipino culture and traditions.
Filipinos commented on the “Many People Many Places” web video series complaining about how the woman from the Philippines was not properly portraying local culture compared to how representatives from 70 countries did.
In one video showing how people say “cheers” in their native language, the Filipino representative simply says “cheers” while toasting drinks.
Filipinos complained and attested to a more accepted way of commemorating a round of drinks.
She was once again criticized for not bothering to take up the simple task of translating ‘happy birthday’ into Filipino in the episode on birthday greetings around the globe.
Some sent their feedback straight to the series’ producers.
This clip from an old episode of Barney the Dinosaur featuring a Filipino child is solid proof of how Filipinos have always had a soft spot for sending birthday greetings in their native tongue.
And when the Philippines’ representative said that the country had no tongue twisters in its culture, Filipinos came up with a lot of examples to prove her wrong.
Filipino tongue twisters can be accessed through websites like this one.
For the critics, the damage posed by the inaccurate and lacking display of Filipino culture is how it paints a different picture of the country’s culture.
