By: Marie Jen Galilo, Staff Writer
SFU’s Filipino Student Association (FSA) was founded in 2021 by Filipino international students who recognized the need for a community on campus, a space for Filipinos — who make up around 3% of the student body. Off the heels of an eventful spring semester, I spoke with Unique Mariano, the club’s president.
Mariano joined the FSA when she started her academic journey at SFU, where she studies psychology. “I wanted to find my community,” she said. She started out as a graphic director, back when the club was still “a baby.” She became communications director, then vice-president of communications, before becoming president this summer.
Her journey included moving to Canada when she was 14, leaving behind many of her family members back home in the Philippines. It wasn’t until university that she decided to start putting herself out there, she tells The Peak. When she joined the FSA, she found a family, and the other members “share that same sentiment.” The FSA was “founded through love” and “the humour is Filipino humour.”
The club consists of members from different age groups and those who were born and raised here, those who are mixed Filipino, and immigrants from the Philippines. This diverse composition creates learning opportunities which strengthen every member’s connections to the culture. Those who grew up in Canada teach the others about “the other side of the Filipino Canadian community,” while fluent Tagalog speakers teach those who don’t know the language. Mariano gushed over how heartwarming it was to watch members become more comfortable speaking the language, and grow into their Filipino roots.
Throughout the year, the FSA hosts a variety of events, including icebreakers, Christmas parties, and karaoke nights to share Filipino culture with the rest of the campus community. They collaborate with Filipino associations in Langara, Douglas, and UBC and other SFU groups, including the karaoke club SFU Peak Frequency. During these events, the FSA serves Filipino food from Filipino businesses — two of their favourites are Plato Filipino and Pangpanga’s Cuisine. “Filipinos bring their friends who are not Filipino,” she reminisced. “That’s so Pinoy, and it’s so cool that they’re enjoying it.” Pinoy is a slang term for anyone of Filipino descent.
Mariano’s favourite FSA event so far has been Pistang Sari-Sari, which was hosted in the SUB ballroom a couple of years ago. “Pistang” translates into fiesta or festival, while “sari-sari” means variety — local Filipino artisans, business owners, and performers were invited. The event holds a special place in her heart because it was the first event she helped organize. She said the process of planning it felt like a lofty dream. “‘You want to invite more than eight Filipino business owners and bring them to SFU during summer?’ Summer’s very hard for clubs because no one’s at SFU. No one’s going there just to go to a club event,” said Mariano. The event ended up being a massive success with a reward of nearly 100 attendees.
The FSA will be resting over the summer semester, but they’re planning a variety of events for fall that students can look forward to, including online events on Discord, fundraising events, study sessions, and Tagalog workshops. You can keep an eye out for those on their Instagram, @sfu.fsa or TikTok with the same name.
When asked about her favourite Filipino holidays and traditions, Mariano highlighted “pasko,” or Christmas. In the Philippines, the Christmas celebration is four months long, starting in September because September is the first month ending with “ber.”
As a second-generation Filipino Canadian, Mariano’s story resonated with me. One of the core values of our culture is the importance of family — loved ones give us the strength to keep going even when confronted with challenges in life. Pasko is also one of my favourite Filipino traditions — I’ve always looked forward to waking up to my family playing Christmas music on September 1.
There’s always a reason to celebrate in Filipino culture, which Mariano also loves — Filipinos always find a reason to bring family and friends together for even the smallest moments of joy in life. “There’s no dull moment,” Mariano said. “What are we doing inside the house, let’s go karaoke, right? Those are the stuff I really treasure as a Filipino.”
Mariano’s favourite part about being Filipino is how hospitable Filipinos are, even if it’s your first time meeting. “You just start chatting right away,” she said. She also loves how joyful Filipinos are and how contagious that joy is. “Whenever I hangout with my friends or with the Filipino club, we always laugh,” said Mariano. This is something I couldn’t agree with more — whenever I’m with my Filipino friends and family, everyone ends up smiling, and the harmonies of joyous laughter make the world a brighter place.
For those who are trying Filipino food for the first time, especially ones that aren’t so mainstream, Mariano recommends dinakdakan, a dish originating from Ilocos. It consists of grilled pork, onions, and chili peppers coated in a tangy calamansi (a native citrus fruit) dressing. “My parents are Ilocano,” she said. “I think that’s one of the best Filipino foods.” She also recommended bicol express, a rich dish consisting of pork simmered in coconut milk, balanced by the spice from chili peppers. For dessert, Mariano enjoys yema, which is a sweet, milky candy made from egg yolks and condensed milk. In regards to shape, “it needs to be triangle,” she specifies. Finally, an honourable mention was the Filipino homestyle peanut butter. “It needs to be the orange lid and it needs to be sold in ‘palengke,’ or Filipino marketplaces,” she said. “It doesn’t have a brand, you don’t know who’s cooking it — it’s just so good.”
A way that Mariano bridges the geographical distance is by learning about current events happening in the Philippines. “One of my ways to still be connected to my culture is to look and listen, and read articles about the Phillipines, read news,” she said. That includes “Filipino pop culture.”
For students interested in joining, Mariano assured, “Don’t be afraid to reach out to the club. We’re super friendly [ . . . ] If you saw our events in the SFSS SUB ballroom, come in and enjoy.” She continued, “Don’t be afraid, don’t think that you’re not Filipino enough. You are.
“Being Filipino is not just about if you have the blood of a Filipino or if you grew up in the Philippines,” she said.
“If you have a Filipino heart, you’re Filipino.”
— Unique Mariano, president of the Filipino Student Association
