A pictorial of RP culture

Let’s talk culture. Our culture as seen on the Web.

Dull, one might think. But refreshing is actually the word that comes to mind when nothing about the usual straight facts and figures appear on a website featuring the Philippines. More so when terrorism, bickerings of politicians and kidnappings aren’t the hot topics of the day.

Assorted ideas for websites that are for the Filipino and by the Filipino had been hatched but Tribong Pinoy offers something more unique that rouses the interest of surfers.

Tribong Pinoy (www.tribo.org) has the distinction of being a "pictorial Web journal about the Philippines, the Filipino people, and the Filipino diaspora."

Translated as the Filipino tribe, Tribong Pinoy attests to the Pinoys’ undying devotion to their cultural identity wherever they may be and regardless of how long they have been away from home.

A simple view of its guestbook and you’ll find Filipinos abroad expressing their proud-to-be-a-Filipino sentiment.

With a simple yet significant backdrop of the characteristic age-old local handiwork, tribo.org offers a wide array of content accompanied by curious photographs about Philippine history and its trivialities, culture, food, books plus other Filipino resource links.

Sans the monotonous lecture of a professor, the website contains topics on engaging historical events buried deep in our subconscious and essays that hope to revive the Filipinos’ sense of history. Tribo.org also outlines the common practices of early Filipinos and the country’s link to colonizers that gave rise to the much-unwanted colonial mentality.

Visual impact is the strong point of tribo.org. Random images of people, the surroundings and notable events fill its slide show. And for shorter download time when the graphics get too heavy for your PC, small-scale photographs are stored in its archives.

Even covers of Filipino-authored books are clearly presented, making it easier for readers to scour bookstores for writings by gifted Filipino novelists and poets as F. Sionil Jose, Jose Garcia Villa and Oliver de la Paz.

Smell Filipino cooking? Tribo.org presents a variety of Pinoy food, in full-color pictures, in its page dedicated to Filipino cooking methods, ingredients and everything else you need to know about the Filipino cuisine to your stomach’s content. Then of course, there’s dessert for Pinoys abroad. When you crave for that unique Filipino taste, check out the list of Filipino restaurants around the world and you just might find what satisfies your appetite.

Are you a trivia enthusiast? Check out the firsts in Philippine cinema and entertainment, sports, journalism, television, religion and business.

Bet you didn’t know that the first Filipino immigrants to the United States left even before the 19th century – in 1850 to be exact – and they settled in Louisiana.

Or with the advancements in medicine and accompanying modern technology in our grasp, have you ever stopped to wonder who was the first Filipino to have received a heart transplant? Rainier Lagman, says tribo.org, which also acknowledges Bong Barrameda’s Thinkaton cardgame for most of the trivia inputs.

And here’s a tribute to Filipino women. Tribo.org says Aimee Carandang is the first Filipina to become a pilot of a commercial plane, and among local cinema’s firsts, Brigida Perez Villanueva was the first woman filmmaker (1933).

Just when you thought there’s nothing much to say about our Third World country because distressing news and the hard life cram our minds, even in the Web the creativity of Filipinos springs up as a reminder of the remarkableness of our race.

The continued beeline toward opportunities on some foreign soil does not necessarily mean Filipinos have lost their sense of nationalism and pride. Without us realizing it, our cultural identity has, in fact, remained intact.