The Philippines is a country composed of more than seven thousand islands and located in the southeastern part of Asia. The Philippines is separated from neighboring Asian countries by the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. Being known as one of the smallest countries in Asia, the Philippines has more than sixty cultural communities and has more than eighty dialects (Bautista, 1998). With Spanish colonization in the 15th century, Philippine culture is heavily influenced by the Spanish. You can see it through its architecture, food, language, Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines is similar to the Spanish language, and traditions. After the Philippine Revolution, despite the proclamation of Philippine independence and the establishment of the First Philippine Republic, the Philippines did not become a member of the family nations (Bautista, 1998). The United States had then decided to annex the Philippines as its territory in the Pacific. The first Filipino-American population began to prosper after the United States in 1898. In 1906, fifteen young Filipino men boarded a ship to Hawaii, beginning a migration of Filipinos who would provide a steady supply of labor to the farms and agricultural businesses in Hawaii and later on the West Coast (France, 2010). The first Filipino immigrants came to the United States for a better life and better opportunities. Filipino immigrant communities were primarily made up of men because women were discouraged from emigrating to prevent forming families and establishing roots that would remain until World War II. These pioneers and the men who followed in their footsteps were called manong, or “elder brother.” In 1926, approximately 150,000 Fili...... middle of paper ......ng were allowed into hotels, restaurants, and other public places. In the 1920s and 1930s, Filipinos were banned from marrying white women, but the laws against Filipinos were later declared unconstitutional. Today, it is rare for people to turn their heads when a white man is with a Filipino woman, or vice versa. Philippine culture is a combination of acquired ways and manners, including personal behavior in social interaction. It also includes all elements of the Filipino way of life: customs, traditions, beliefs, values, arts, language, rituals, attitudes, and the total characteristics of the members of the Philippine society. Much of current Philippine culture is an assimilation of the cultural influences of past colonizers. In Philippine culture, Filipinos have positive and negative values. Today, Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the United States.