Key Points
- Jules Caburian was seven years old when her family moved from the Philippines to Sydney.
- She divides her time between Canberra and Baguio.
- The 23 Sampaguita Artists Collective was founded in 2021.
The earthquake that changed Baguio
When Luzon was hit by a magnitude 7 earthquake in July 1990 Baguio was one of the hardest hit places. As many as 28 buildings from popular hotels to factories and entertainment areas fell to the ground. Homes were either damaged or damaged beyond repair. As the buildings collapsed, so did the lives of many locals.
The once popular and busy tourist area came to a standstill.
A few years later in 1993, seven-year-old Jules and her family travelled to Australia to begin a new chapter in their lives. Australia wasn’t as diverse as the Australia today as Jules recalls, ‘back in the 90s, there wasn’t as much diversity as it is today. It was still very white, Caucasian particularly in smaller towns. You really needed to assimilate. I had to unlearn my American English as I switched to learning Australian English.’
In 1993, seven-year-old Jules and her family moved to Sydney. Credit: Jules Caburian
To be able to adjust to their new lives, Jules had to learn how to be Australian, to assimilate; to be able to begin the next chapter. Diversity was something waiting to be fully understood back then.
It was during her teens, that she lost the ability to fully speak and converse in Filipino. ‘My parents spoke in Tagalog, my Dad spoke in Ilokano but we always answered them in English. I just stopped speaking in Tagalog and making any effort.’
‘My parents spoke in Tagalog, and my Dad spoke in Ilokano but we always answered them in English. I just stopped speaking in Tagalog and making any effort.’ Jules on how losing her Filipino language skills. Credit: Jules Caburian
Work-life balance
Fast forward a few decades later, it was in her thirties that Jules rekindled her interest in re-acquainting herself with the Filipino language and her Filipino heritage.
‘Living in Canberra, working for the government and Indigenous programs, I saw how First Nations people valued their identity, they were trying to revive their languages. I on the other hand, a Filipino, born in the Philippines; my language is still very much alive and I don’t speak it. I wasn’t as proud as I am now about my Filipino identity. It was like my Filipino culture was totally erased.’
In 2019, the daily work-life routine began taking a toll on Jules. She and her partner travelled back to the Philippines, she wanted to find what she lost while growing up in Australia. She wanted to re-discover her Filipino identity.
Returning to Baguio
I wanted to return to my father’s hometown, Baguio and my partner who is a poet and a writer said, ‘Let’s go’.
Apart from the desire to reconnect with her lost Filipino identity, Jules recalls that they also came to Baguio with the intention of ‘being creative and connecting with the creative community.’
‘We lived there for quite some time but had to return to Canberra when the pandemic hit. Our house would sit empty.’ Through their year-long stay in the city of Pines, the couple have built friendships with local artists and that was when the would-be empty home became a place for their artists' friends to create. ‘They asked if they could use the space while we were back in Australia and we said go ahead’.
In 2021, while the world was beginning to open its borders and trying its best to rise from the COVID pandemic, the was born. It started with a celebration of artists' works and this year it continues to celebrate to a much bigger audience in the heart of Baguio.
Today the couple divide their time between Canberra and Baguio, the flexibility in the workplace has allowed them to continue and grow as creatives and for Jules to continue to rediscover being Filipino. Having lived in Baguio for longer periods she now understands certain nuances that she couldn’t explain before while discovering things she was totally unaware of ‘immersing myself living here in Baguio, I learnt that I didn’t know a lot.’
At the 'Salimisim Culture and Arts Festival 2023' Credit: Jules Caburian
While she has chosen to share her life with local artists including her partner, Jules confesses ‘I’m not an artist but someone who has a deep connection and interest; art and culture go hand in hand. Art is an expression of who you are and an expression of where you’ve come from.’
LISTEN TO
Pinoy-Aussie Saluhan : Discovering and re-discovering what is it to be Filipino in Australia
SBS Filipino
10/03/202313:26
LISTEN TO
A filmmaker's digital diary; 'untitled unfinished' filming everyday life
SBS Filipino
14/07/202312:27
