AAPI Heritage Month- eMoney Spotlight 2022

Asian Pacific American Spotlight: Celeste Revelli

May 20, 2022???Grayce Turnbach

Celeste Revelli, Director of Financial Planning

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership Council Member

Tell us some background about your upbringing

I am a first-generation Filipino American.? My dad immigrated to the United States from the Philippines in the late 70s, and my mom came over in the early 80s.? They met in Philadelphia, and they both were looking to start a new life for themselves, expand their career opportunities, and provide for their families back home- aspiring to become U.S. citizens and fulfill the “American Dream” just as all immigrants who move here.

They settled in Southern New Jersey, where I was born.? My dad would work nights, and my mom would work during the day so that they could take turns providing care for my younger brother and me, sometimes working overtime during the weekends.? Unfortunately, my mother had a tough pregnancy with my younger brother from early on, so my parents decided to send me to stay with my grandmother and aunts in the Philippines so that I could be given more attention and care.? I ended up staying in the Philippines for about a year, and I celebrated my 3rd?birthday there.? Some of my earliest memories are from the times I spent there, and I developed an appreciation for my cultural roots.

In the US, many of my father’s siblings also came over and settled in the Philadelphia and New Jersey areas to raise families.? We often had big, loud family get-togethers for major holidays and birthdays, always with lots of Filipino food and elder family members constantly asking you if you ate enough.? My parents also developed friendships with other Filipino immigrants in the area, and my brother and I would often have play dates with their children or go on group camping trips together.

I had attended Catholic school until 6th?grade, then my parents got divorced, and my mother, brother, and I moved to another town in South Jersey, where we started to attend public school.? I believe that this experience has broadened my network and thinking in a positive way.? I had a much more diverse set of friends from other ethnicities, other religions, and different backgrounds, and we often joked around that we were like the United Nations!? The friends I have made from my newer hometown are now lifelong friends of mine. I also ended up having more access to activities and sports, where my parents might not have had the time or resources to make those available to me otherwise, especially with my mom then working extra hours to support my brother and me and our journeys to college. I think this shaped my belief that even though difficult life situations might seem dispiriting in the moment, there is almost always a positive reason or upside that comes out of all of it, such as growth, a learning opportunity, or a newfound appreciation for what you have. ?

Did you have any special traditions growing up?

During Christmas time, in addition to the big family get-togethers and gift exchanges, we would attend Simbang Gabi (“Night Mass” or midnight mass on Christmas Eve,) and Misa de Gallo (“Rooster’s Mass” or early morning mass for each day of the week leading up to Christmas).? After each early morning mass, Filipinos would typically gather to enjoy a potluck breakfast, and for us, it would often be a mix of traditional American breakfast food and Filipino food for some very sleepy kids and teens.

We also loved our camping trips and beach trips to the Jersey shore during the summers.? We would also try to visit the Philippines every few years to see extended family, and this has been something I have tried to keep up with in adulthood.

What are some of your favorite traditional meals?

For any Filipino-American get-together, there would be customary American holiday food such as turkey for Thanksgiving, but there would also be trays of catered or homemade Filipino food right alongside the table.

At the center of any major Filipino gathering or event is Lechon or a “roasted pig”.? My husband and I had one at our wedding to incorporate some Filipino food as we normally would at family parties.

I love Adobo, which is a sweet and tangy chicken or pork Filipino stew, as well as Arroz Caldo, which is a chicken and ginger rice porridge that my mom would make for my brother and me whenever we were feeling under the weather. Filipino desserts are also my favorite, such as Leche Flan, which is a caramelized flan dessert, and anything with Ube, which is made from bright purple yams.? Halo-Halo is a popular Filipino dessert in the tropical weather of the Philippines.

Filipino food is always served family-style, so eating Kamayan (“by hand”) style refers to the traditional Filipino style of eating- communally, without plates or utensils, with a smorgasbord of delicious Filipino food spread across the table on fresh banana leaves.

What is something about your culture that people may not know?

The Philippines was colonized by Spain for over 300 years, so there are some Spanish words (as you may have noticed so far in this writeup) in Filipino language variations, with Tagalog being the main dialect of the Philippines.? There are also?over 7,000 islands that comprise the Philippines, so there are different dialects, versions of Filipino cuisine, or different cultural traditions across some major regions.

Hospitality and charitable giving are key parts of Filipino culture.??So sending back money or goods from the U.S. for their families back home is a common practice of Filipinos, and they often use a Balikbayan box, which is a large corrugated freight box wrapped in packaging tape, to send various items such as food and clothing.? When traveling to the Philippines, some Filipinos bring these huge Balikbayan boxes with them to share gifts with family and friends.? When returning from the Philippines or other travels, Filipinos always bring back Pasalubong (souvenirs or Filipino treats) to gift to their family and friends.

Singing and dancing are also a core?part of Filipino culture, so in addition to lots of food, you will often find Filipinos singing karaoke at family parties or doing line dances, with our special line dance to “September” by Earth, Wind, and Fire being a particularly popular one.?

While I really wish I could show you the dance during our Teams meetings together,?please enjoy this example on?YouTube .

What challenges have you faced as an Asian American?

Growing up, I had noticed people sometimes treating my parents differently due to the way they looked or their thick accents, even though they knew English fluently since it is taught in schools in the Philippines, due to American colonization there for almost 50 years until the 1940s.? I think because of their experiences early on while settling in the U.S, my parents worried about my brother and me assimilating into school easily and standing out.? The strong U.S. influence in the Philippines also affected many Filipinos views of Western culture, and there, lighter skin and the ability to speak clear and fluent English is coveted and a sign of high social class. Therefore, while they would speak to each other in Tagalog and my mom would also speak Bisaya (Cebuano), another dialect, with her family, they would speak to my brother and me in English, which then would prompt responses only in English.? To this day, while I can understand both dialects when they are spoken around me, I cannot speak the language and instead respond in English.? In their eagerness to fit in as immigrants, passing this anxiety onto my brother and me, my parents had inadvertently created a barrier to passing on a key piece of Filipino culture and identity, though they had good intentions to protect us.? Sure, I could continue to work on it on my own, but I am finding it hard to find time in adult life once I had realized what had happened and why.? Unfortunately, statistics show that our story is not uncommon at all with other Filipino immigrants and their first-generation American children.

Whenever I visit the Philippines, the fact that I do not speak the language and only respond in English even though I look Filipino obviously stands out.? I am sometimes judged by older Filipinos or Filipino immigrants that I am “whitewashed” since I do not speak any Filipino languages.? Every now and then, by non-Filipinos, I am still asked “Where are you from?” and then I receive a look of disappointment or a follow-up question of “Where are you?really?from?” when I say I am “from Jersey” in my Jersey girl accent.? So I am sometimes here in this odd space of “not being Filipino or American enough” to fit in with either crowd.? I worry that my family identity and Filipino culture will get lost over generations if I do not continue to actively try to keep it alive through our traditions, especially with my bi-racial son.

What makes you the most proud about being Asian American?

My parents’ desire to move to America for more opportunities for work and to pursue their dreams, as well as their love of America, have definitely impacted my views of being a proud American as well.

Though we all know there are challenges, I appreciate being in a country that brings together people of different backgrounds, allows them to embrace what makes them unique, and share their cultures with others for growth and learning.? Here in Philadelphia, I am especially grateful to live in a diverse city to raise my son so that he can also appreciate people of different backgrounds.? In my neighborhood in Philadelphia, several other moms and I had started a community mom group, where we provide a support system for each other and have playdates with our children.? The group is comprised of women of different backgrounds- different Asian backgrounds, Black, Jewish, Hispanic-and it has been great to learn about their family cultural traditions and how they raise their children.

To continue to embrace being a Filipino- American, I make it a point to cook Filipino food whenever I can and practice some of my mom’s recipes, also as a way to remember her.? My husband understands how important this is to me too, and he has taken up cooking Filipino food as well, hosting dinner parties for our families at home.? I love to share Filipino food I make, especially baked goods or desserts, in a small attempt to remember where my family came from and to celebrate our culture.? I am excited to take my husband and son to the Philippines in a few years, so they can learn more about the culture and so that my son can learn more about his background and identity.

How has your heritage influenced who you are today?

Valuing hard work and education is something that Filipinos instill within their children as a way to expand opportunities, and my parents were great examples.? I worked two jobs for my first few years of working at eMoney in order to afford my CFP? education (this was before we had formal tuition assistance as a benefit) and to eventually pay off my student debt from undergraduate so I could continue pursuing additional degrees and certifications.

Putting family first, respecting elders, giving to others in need, and staying connected and together, or Kapwa, is core to Filipino culture.? Family is always the central part of everything, and in Filipino culture, the family unit always stays together, even if it means multiple generations living in the same household and caring for each other, such as children caring for their parents in their older ages or adult children living with parents if they are not ready to be out on their own yet.? This is currently how my extended family is comprised. I strive to embrace Kapwa values in all aspects of my life, including my work, where keeping a community-feel and team family environment in the Financial Planning Group is something I try to actively focus on.? Collaboration and keeping an open door is also my way of working.? In addition, I make volunteerism and donating to charity an important part of my life, with the Foundation for Financial Planning and the American Cancer Society being the charities for which I am most actively involved.

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