Jim Agapito goes on mission to know more about his roots with ‘Recovering Filipino’ podcast

Filipino immigrants, despite living thousands of miles away from their motherland, remain to be Filipinos; nothing can change that. Sure, they may have to adjust and adapt to a lot of things in their new surroundings, but the Filipino blood in them continues to run strong.

Their heritage is still intact which is evident from the language they speak at home, the food they eat, as well as the way they celebrate occasions, among others. They also make sure that even the younger generations in their family are very exposed to their culture although some of them are not raised in the Philippines.

While this is the case for some, there are other Filipinos who grew up in another country, not having much connection with their roots; like Jim Agapito.

Jim is a Filipino-Canadian filmmaker, boxer, and punk rock singer from Winnipeg, Manitoba. His dad, who is from Baliuag, Bulacan, moved to Canada in 1973, while his mom, who hails from Jaen, Nueva Ecijia, went there in 1975. A few years later, Jim came into their lives.

He may have grown up in a Filipino family, but truth be told, Jim does not know much about their culture. 

This made his lola (grandmother), Epifania Bulaong, call him a “bad Filipino.” 

“I’ve always been kind of the ‘black sheep’ in my family, but I had no idea my lola felt that way about me,” he shared.

Jim’s lifestyle does not match up with that of his family; he was into punk rock/counterculture which was “a little strange” for them. With his choices of music, clothes, and even food, Jim found it difficult to relate to his family. 

For instance, the food served at their family gathering. Every Filipino knows that in each of their ‘handaan (feast),’ meat should never go missing — but Jim was a vegetarian for nearly a decade. This lifestyle initially angered his family as he was turning down food at their gatherings. 

In addition, seafood is particularly a ‘no-no’ as he has allergies to it.

Apart from that, Jim also admitted that he is not that fluent in Tagalog.

“My family still wanted me to come and participate but it often came with arguments and hostility, mostly on my end,” he narrated.

“I just didn’t show up for several years… But you grow up and realize you were just young, dumb and rebelling,” he continued.

These are some of what Jim saw as, perhaps, reasons why his lola called him a “bad Filipino.”

Hearing those words from his lola hurt him but at the same time, it prompted Jim to change his lola’s image of him. This is where his mission he called, Recovering Filipino, commenced.

Recovery mission

Recovering Filipino is a CBC podcast hosted by Jim himself, with the participation of his mom, Yolanda, and other Filipino guests who will help him get further answers to his questions about their culture.

Prior to the radio show’s airing on June 28, Jim went through numerous months of research, interviews, and writing. Accompanying him in this mission is his producer, Julie Duprè, who helped him double-check facts, and other CBC producers Doug Holmes, Robin Summerfield, and Iris Yudai who is also a Filipino and Jim’s mentor. He also had a performance coach to guide him with his hosting duties.

This quest is vital for Jim because, through this, he both gets to recover his Filipino identity and share his discoveries with other Filipino-Canadians, especially those who are not very familiar with their heritage.

“Like me, I know many second-generation Canadians who are also mystified by many of our traditions and who haven’t asked their parents about them, or their parents can’t explain them. Since the podcast launched a few weeks ago, we’ve heard from many young and not-so-young Filipinos who’ve said they can relate to the questions I’ve been asking and who’ve thanked me for asking them,” the host said.

“There’s this real thirst for second-generation kids like me to better understand where my family came from,” he added.

Non-Filipinos, of course, are very welcome to become part of the mission as it also aims to shine a light for them about certain Filipino practices that they may be unfamiliar with.

“I think non-Filipino listeners will learn about their Filipino neighbours, but I hope it also pushes them to ask questions about their own cultural identities,” Jim said.

Tons of discoveries will be unearthed as Jim steers the wheel towards the path that will get him closer to his roots, and among the many things he seeks to find out along the way are the answers to the questions: why Filipinos love basketball so much? Why do they love boxing? Why is their spaghetti sweet? What does ‘tagay’ mean? What are those superstitions that Filipinos practice to keep them away from danger or shake off bad luck?

There is also another reason behind the podcast’s title (yep, it was not just because of Jim recovering his Filipino identity)… but Jim will keep it under wraps unless listeners tune in to the podcast.

“It’s just a really fun show, and my mom’s laugh is guaranteed to put a smile on your face!” the host assured.

Curious about all these? Then join the fun every Monday at 11:30 a.m. on CBC Radio One or stream the episodes on CBC Listen.