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Reviews
The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race by Anthony Christian Ocampo
jenlabrador's review against another edition
1.0
This book was very disappointing since Ocampo based the whole book and his research on two neighboring cities in California that he himself admits are anomalies of Filipino- American communities. He then generalizes these findings to the rest of Filipino Americans despite how incredibly different others have lived due to vastly differing demographics and socioeconomic status.
Ocampo's argument that Filipinos resemble Latinos far more than Asians would have been stronger if he had also acknowledged the similarities with other Asian cultures and then talked about how Filipinos were still different. But it was like he interviewed a small pool of people who identified with Latinos and then decided NOT to look at any other cultures to see how they could be similar too.
It was interesting to learn how Latinos and Filipinos share Spanish culture due to colonialism. In fact the impact of colonialism on Filipinos was the part I got the most out of from the book. But because of the author's failings, I could not continue with the rest of the book. I got almost 80% through and then just felt like because of Ocampo's shortcomings I couldn't see any of his findings as valid.
Ocampo's argument that Filipinos resemble Latinos far more than Asians would have been stronger if he had also acknowledged the similarities with other Asian cultures and then talked about how Filipinos were still different. But it was like he interviewed a small pool of people who identified with Latinos and then decided NOT to look at any other cultures to see how they could be similar too.
It was interesting to learn how Latinos and Filipinos share Spanish culture due to colonialism. In fact the impact of colonialism on Filipinos was the part I got the most out of from the book. But because of the author's failings, I could not continue with the rest of the book. I got almost 80% through and then just felt like because of Ocampo's shortcomings I couldn't see any of his findings as valid.
tiakiwi's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I picked up this book expecting more. This is mostly about the stories of one city in LA and while there are some parts of history or science they only make up about a paragraph or two.
lcthomas's review against another edition
4.75
Slightly shy of perfect because I feel like it could be organized a bit better, but I LOVE that someone is talking about Filipinos and validating the Filipino-American experience.
apollos_books's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
5.0
accessible, intriguing, and nuanced! i've also met the author before and he's a cool dude
vnmi825's review against another edition
3.0
As a Filipino American, it was refreshing to hear stories of fellow Filipino Americans who shared similar sentiments surrounding the Asian American experience. I appreciated these stories and the endeavor to explore what makes The Philippines so unique among all the other Asian countries.
With that said, I do wish the pool of individuals interviewed was more diverse- and by that I mean Filipino Americans who live outside of Southern California. I also felt that as the book progressed the points made became redundant. I would’ve liked to see the author dive deeper into the sociological and psychological aspects of the common threads found across the interviewees’ stories.
With that said, I do wish the pool of individuals interviewed was more diverse- and by that I mean Filipino Americans who live outside of Southern California. I also felt that as the book progressed the points made became redundant. I would’ve liked to see the author dive deeper into the sociological and psychological aspects of the common threads found across the interviewees’ stories.
meeswa's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
i found it incredibly informative and irresistibly interesting. even though i’m not a filipino-immigrant in california (the book’s main subjects), and i’ve never stepped foot in america at all, ocampo painted such a descriptive picture that was easy to follow and was wont to pique curiosity, even though i don’t major in sociology, even if the topic is niche — because everything was presented in such an approachable way . it made me homesick for the philippines and my community, but it also challenged me on the ways i perceived them, others and the “otherness” of everything in general.
titalindaslibrary's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
3.75
When I first heard "Filipinos are the Mexicans of Asia!" I was both irritated and amused. Because there's definitely truth to that saying. So when I came across this book, I knew I had to read it!
Ocampo narrows his scope of research for this project to the Southern California region, where Filipinos make up a large portion of the Asian American population. Using a mix of personal anecdotes and ethnographic research, this book dives into why there's internal conflict for many Filipinos to claim they're Asian.
For me, being half Filipino and raised in a rural state, a lot of the experiences shared in this book are not relatable. Diversity is minimal where I live, and growing up, I filled the underrepresented "Asian" role at my school. However, I never felt like it fit, and even here I found myself drawn towards Latinx crowds and their warm, boisterous families that felt like home. When I travel outside of my state and visit more diverse areas, there have been multiple occasions where strangers have come up to me speaking in Spanish expecting me to understand. So to see how thoroughly Ocampo covers this similar experience among other Filipinos was validating to read.
This book is a decent start for learning more about racial consciousness and how places, community, and stereotypes can mold that. I wish the author had been able to expand his research to Filipinos outside of just one area, and perhaps how it impacts biracial Filipinos within this subject as well. Not to mention how this subject written post-2020 and the rise of Anti-Asian hate crimes would play out. However, it's still a solid start on such a complex subject and I'm glad I read it.
Ocampo narrows his scope of research for this project to the Southern California region, where Filipinos make up a large portion of the Asian American population. Using a mix of personal anecdotes and ethnographic research, this book dives into why there's internal conflict for many Filipinos to claim they're Asian.
For me, being half Filipino and raised in a rural state, a lot of the experiences shared in this book are not relatable. Diversity is minimal where I live, and growing up, I filled the underrepresented "Asian" role at my school. However, I never felt like it fit, and even here I found myself drawn towards Latinx crowds and their warm, boisterous families that felt like home. When I travel outside of my state and visit more diverse areas, there have been multiple occasions where strangers have come up to me speaking in Spanish expecting me to understand. So to see how thoroughly Ocampo covers this similar experience among other Filipinos was validating to read.
This book is a decent start for learning more about racial consciousness and how places, community, and stereotypes can mold that. I wish the author had been able to expand his research to Filipinos outside of just one area, and perhaps how it impacts biracial Filipinos within this subject as well. Not to mention how this subject written post-2020 and the rise of Anti-Asian hate crimes would play out. However, it's still a solid start on such a complex subject and I'm glad I read it.