%0 Journal Article
%T The Ube (¡°Roots¡±) Generation
%A Tabitha Espina Velasco
%J -
%D 2016
%X Filipino people comprise the second-highest percentage of the population in Guam, and this local trend mirrors that of the mainland United States. Using the metaphor of ube, I use the term ¡°ube¡± to characterize the generation of my grandmother¡ªthe initial generation in their families to immigrate to Guam from the Philippines, after the post-WWII migration surge. I term this generation the Ube (¡°Roots¡±) generation and describe how those in this generation use narrative as an attempt to negotiate their identities in new surroundings. Using an autoethnographic methodology, I interview my maternal grandmother, Ruthie Caser. I supplement this interview with (1) Caser¡¯s letters, (2) the diary entries of her mother, Rebecca Alvarez, which reference Caser¡¯s transnational relations between Guam and the Philippines, (3) a personal interview with Bernadette Provido, who was petitioned by her husband in connection with Camp Roxas, and (4) the responses in a 1976 survey of attitudes of Filipinas in Guam by Loida C. Retumban. By examining the experiences of the Ube generation through the personal telling of their own stories, I investigate the ways in which they reconcile their Filipino culture with the local and American cultures of Guam. I nevertheless maintain the caveat that my intention is not to determine the extent to which these immigrants retain their original culture or adopt the American culture. Rather, I hope to depict the process whereby they maintain and preserve aspects of their Filipino ¡°roots,¡± while transforming and being transformed by their new landscape. This paper is part of a series, ¡°Palatable Experiences: Identity Formation in the Narratives of Three Generations of Filipinas on Guam,¡± which examines the identities of the Ube Generation, the Sapin-Sapin (¡°Layers¡±) Generation, and the Halo-Halo (¡°Mix Mix¡±) Generation. Keywords: Guam, Filipina, autoethnography, narrative, generation identit
%K Guam
%K Filipina
%K autoethnography
%K narrative
%K generation identity
%U http://journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/humanitiesdiliman/article/view/5162