LUZVIMINDA: Cultural Diversity of the Philippines

The culture in the Philippines is very diverse. Since, it was referred as

the ‘Melting Pot’ of Western and Eastern Culture. Also, these cultures came from the
countries who colonized us for a very long time namely the Spaniards, Americans,
Japanese, Chinese, and Arabs. The influences of the said countries reflect on how
complex Philippines culture is. Our country is composed of 7, 107 islands and 80
major ethnic groups that makes it distinct from other countries. In that way, thus the
cultural diversity can create a balance and help in unifying a country even if there’s
a lot of beliefs and practices that is present in the islands of Luzon, Visayas, and
Mindanao. Come and Join me as I discover the cultural diversity of the Philippines.

Luzon is the most important and largest island found in the Philippines. It was
composed of 13 ethnic groups particularly Aetas, Igorots, Ilocanos, Tagalogs, etc.
These groups consist of 58 million Filipinos. By this huge number of population you
will surely notice how big and various the culture they have. From the Aetas who is
very skilled in jungle survival. Igorots that is known to be the “Mountain natives”,
they’re the ones who highly value nature and believe that their gods reside in objects
such as "trees and in the mountains". Another distinguishing feature of the Igorot
tribe from Northern Luzon are their vibrant pieces of clothing. Also, the Ilocanos are
adventurous and hardworking people. They strive hard to make a living, difficulty is
never a hindrance to their dreams. The people in the land of Ilocandia is known to be
thrifty thus to an Ilocano every ‘piso’ counts. The Bayanihan spirit permeates among
the Tagalogs. Their love of arts reflects through their different dances, traditional
songs and paintings. The rich culture of Luzon is fond of differences through their
beliefs and traditions. The government continuously improve the Island of Luzon to
better serve the Filipinos by enhancing the infrastructures, preserving the culture and
with the involvement of people.

Central Philippines or the Visayas Island. The community lies between the
island of Luzon and Mindanao. It is comprised of 490 islands divided to Western
Visayas- Panay and Romblon, Central Visayas - Cebu, Negros Oriental and Negros
Occidental and Bohol; and Eastern Visayas- Leyte and Samar. Cebu was the center
of Visayan Culture since it has the preserved Spanish traditions from the colonization
of Ferdinand Magellan. They have the happy- go-lucky attitude and more interested
in the here and now than in the past or the future. Furthermore, Teodoro A. Agoncillo
states that the Visayan exceeds the Tagalog's for the finest things in life. The Visayan
is adventurous, independent and loves to go place. Their colourful culture dominates
Luzon and Mindanao because of their numerous festivals, the motherland of
Christianity, and Home of Native arts. Until now they continuously showcasing the
beauty of their place to other countries to promote tourism and travel, this is how
proud they are of their homeland – Visayas.

Home of Lumad Tribes. Second largest island in the Philippines. Mindanao, the
“Land of Promise”. The Island was composed of people with diverse ethnic
backgrounds and cultural differences. Mindanao is known to hold the country’s finest
secret potentials that is yet to be seen. In the present, Mindanao is under the state
of Martial Law because of the deprivation of rebel groups (i.e. the MILF, NPA, and
Abu Syaff) that abhor the Philippine government. But despite of these events they
remain strong about their vision to have a normal and peaceful life again. In the year
after the Martial Law was declared, Department of Tourism held a program that
assess Mindanao if it’s still the “Land of Promise”. “It has shown faster growth than
any other region in the country… faster than Manila, faster than Cebu!” said Asec.
Romeo Montenegro when highlighting positive economic turns for the region. This
statement explains how Mindanao is very dynamic in terms of keeping their country
strong, efficient and flexible even though they face difficult challenges. Unity keeps
them bonded together.

Since the Philippines is divided into 3 big islands – LUZVIMINDA. As a Filipino

that is living here for 19 years, I noticed the variety of cultures that where
surrounding our beautiful country. Many people is oblivious about how we stay united
and strong despite of diverse culture that we have. I think the main reason is that,
we, as an individual, recognize differences, built a strong relationship to other culture
and respect it the way it was.

Also, Filipinos is known for being accommodating and open to every

circumstances. We are capable of adapting and balancing our differences that helps
us in engaging to our fellow Filipinos. After knowing the 7, 107 islands of the
Philippines, I learned that when existing in a place that has diverse culture , the major
key to understanding is Respect. Philippines may have several cultural differences in
the end of the day, we’re still called as one – Filipinos.