Energetic, ebullient and compassionate, Dr. Maria Cielo Eugenio embodies all the qualities that make an exceptional physician. It is no wonder that she worked in occupational medicine for several years in the Philippines before moving to the United States in 1994. What might come as a surprise is that she gave up her work as a corporate medical executive to pursue her passion of preserving and promoting Filipino language and culture in the Richmond area, where she has lived since 1997.

However, any parent would understand her main reason for leaving the medical world: to support her three children as they coped with straddling two cultures, in a way that they could take pride in being Filipinos in America. And the qualities that made her such an exceptional doctor did not go to waste: envisioning workshops that could bridge cultural and generational gaps between children and parents, Maria Cielo embarked on a research mission. Visiting cultural organizations and classes in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia Beach, she realized that most groups focused on dance. So in order to get a broader view of Filipino culture and develop comprehensive teaching materials, she further poured over dozens of books and web pages to learn about history, folk stories, songs, and more.

This fastidious work resulted in Filipino cultural workshops in 2004, held at the Church of the Redeemer in Mechanicsville once every two months. Over a hundred people attended the first workshop, including a dozen non-Filipinos. The series culminated in a well-attended food festival.

At the same time that Maria Cielo was holding her workshops, a kindred spirit in Ernesto Mina had just started teaching Filipino children the language of the Philippines- Pilipino. Having joined the U.S. Navy in 1972, Ernesto had been living in Richmond for 16 years with his daughter Reza and son Dale (now 16 and 14, respectively). With a desire for his children to find pride in their heritage and hoping that they could learn to speak their ancestral language, he was inspired by Reza's emotional reaction to Tom Cruise's hit movie, The Last Samurai. While most audiences could appreciate the film's action, what touched Ernesto's daughter the most was the Samurai pride in their cultural identity and their willingness to die to preserve it. With the encouragement of Dario Macatangay to form a Filipino class, the language group emerged from a church fellowship in February of 2005, and continued on a weekly to bi-monthly basis at the Glen Allen and other public libraries for several months.

Fusion of Two Programs

Luckily for the Filipino community, Ernesto and Maria Cielo were connected by fellow church parishioner Sonia Martinez who was struck by their enthusiasm for promoting Filipino culture. Finding a support structure in each other, they combined their emerging programs together in March of 2005 at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Richmond to create a truly comprehensive curriculum to teach Filipino language and culture. The highlight of this pilot program was the Philippine Independence Day Celebration in June, where the kids performed the first play ever performed in Pilipino in Richmond: Kalayaan. Despite the fact that many of the American-born performers could not originally speak their ancestral language, this play about pride and heroism became a resounding success, with over 300 people in attendance. Other performances they have participated in include programs at the Petersburg Intercultural Celebration, the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden's Asia Blooms Program, the Fort Lee Diversity Celebration and the Asian American Festival.

The new Philippine Language and Culture Class's structure provides for continuity and longevity. It officially started a new semester in September. Still held at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, it now boasts over a dozen teachers. Maria Cielo coordinates the culture and history section, with help from Fidel Rodriguez, Myrlina Hunley, and Dario Macatangay. Ernesto coordinates the language program, aided by Marty Martinez, Maria Pruessman, and Rowen Igharas. Children ages 5 to 8 are taught by Sonia Martinez and Arsenia Suarez; while the music courses are led by Chato Igharas and Romy Mercado. Myrlina Hunley and Vina Rodriguez choreograph and teach dances. This dynamic group has donated their time, effort and money to help their children maintain their ancestral cultures and find pride in being people of color in America.

Modest to the core, both Maria Cielo and Ernesto credit the parent voluntters serving as faculty for the overwhelming success of the program. When asked if she has any regrets in leaving her work as a doctor behind, Maria Cielo does not hesitate with her answer: "Absolutely not." Asked what his greatest award from teaching was, Ernesto is just happy that he can serve as a role model and father figure for Filipino kids. Seeing the program's success in helping children develop a sense of ethnic pride has been a far greater reward for both; and under their leadership, the collective effort of Richmond's Filipino community has created a wonderfully special program that will benefit the region for years to come.