What do you think?
You know you're Filipino if--: A Pinoy primer
Tongue in cheek look at Filipino Culture. Fun way to learn about Filipino customs and traditions.
- GenresNonfictionHumor
85 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1997
About the author
Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz
16 books15 followersFlor Marie "Neni" Sta. Romana-Cruz is an award-winning writer, an accomplished educator, a noted children’s book critic, a reading advocate and freelance journalist. Prior to her appointment to the NBDB, Sta. Romana-Cruz chaired the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) and was likewise a board member of the “Sa Aklat Sisikat” Foundation, an organization which promotes book reading and lifelong learning. Some of the award-winning books she authored were the following: Why the Piña has a Hundred Eyes and Other Classic Philippine Folk Tales About Fruits which won the 1993 National Book Award for Children’s Literature and a biography of Gabriela Silang which received a National Book Award citation for excellence in 1992.
Sta. Romana-Cruz graduated cum laude from St. Scholastica’s College and holds a master’s degree in English Literature from the Ateneo de Manila University. She has also taken courses in children’s literature from Michigan State University. Neni taught writing to talented elementary school students at International School-Manila, where she headed the Children’s Media Center.
Sta. Romana-Cruz graduated cum laude from St. Scholastica’s College and holds a master’s degree in English Literature from the Ateneo de Manila University. She has also taken courses in children’s literature from Michigan State University. Neni taught writing to talented elementary school students at International School-Manila, where she headed the Children’s Media Center.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 12, 2022
I had this book when I was a kid and recently bought it again as an adult. What can I say, this book did NOT age well. Not only were plenty of the references extremely dated, I felt ridiculed after reading it. This was just some lazy cash grab and could be seen as a time capsule of sorts. Would've rated this zero if possible but the art by Dindo Llana was superb. I would buy prints of those to decorate my living room. Avoid this questionnaire/pamphlet.
January 6, 2013
I took the test and I had 80 points. The result: "Malayo ka pa!".
Am I not Filipino enough? haha I guess it's because I still don't have children to entertain visitors by dancing and other parent things :D
This book is a compilation of traits, practices and common way of life of Filipinos. If you're a Filipino reading this, you can relate with it, and may find yourself laughing.
Am I not Filipino enough? haha I guess it's because I still don't have children to entertain visitors by dancing and other parent things :D
This book is a compilation of traits, practices and common way of life of Filipinos. If you're a Filipino reading this, you can relate with it, and may find yourself laughing.
January 28, 2025
Im excited to improve my Filipino-nes
August 2, 2025
Short, unserious book but truly reminded me of my mommy
December 10, 2011
Just how "Pinoy" are you?
I read the book for around 15 minutes, and fair enough, it has awoken the Filipino in me. It's a very short read, light, funny even. And within a very short span of time, the book has unleashed its spell on me - in the course of leafing through the artsy-artsy pages of illustrations and text telling everything Pinoy, I found myself smiling genuinely and enjoying myself. So as to say, I didn't really feel I've wasted 15 minutes of my life, thank goodness.
This book is a compendium of everything that constitutes us, Filipinos, as individuals and as a nation. With humor enough to enlighten the reader’s face with a smile, it describes the Pinoy’s way of life and what makes us stand out from the nameless crowd – how we go against the current, and how we adapt to almost any country at any given situation there is. What’s even more silly is that it also contains every – and when I say every, I mean it – literally “every” mannerism a Filipino has got in his system. And in a remarkably fancy way, it provokes laughter to anyone who would read and possibly, relate to it. That is, if you ARE a Filipino.
As it turns out, all of its contents are actually compiled only by the author, but it has no sole author at all. The book was made possible because of the numerous Filipino contributors who submitted such descriptions online, and these spread like wildfire among other Filipinos here and abroad. The texts are shared, forwarded to a friend, until these reached who knows how many other people, and more have been added to the list. And not so long, voila! The book now serves as a testimony of the wonders of the Filipino race and how resilient we can be in dire times of need and yet, still manage to be happy. Brilliant, isn't it?
The book will reveal the degree of your being a Filipino through a series of checklists. At the end of the book, a corresponding description is provided that will tell you how Filipino you are. Now, I’m not telling the description is actually a hundred percent true, for most of the parts are generalizations. And, afterall, you are the only one who could determine how strong the Filipino culture influences you and your life. But as you go on reading, you’ll find it amusing, and before you even notice you’ve finished the entire book, you’ll just want to continue turning the pages.
I may have a foreign blood running inside me, but I’ve come to realize that I carry on the distinct identity only known to us, Pinoys – a beautiful race product of the East and the West. Of course, not everything in the book is something we could shout to the world, but who cares? I am still, and forever will be, a full-pledged Pinay.
So, what are you waiting for? Grab the book, sit, relax, and prop your leg up! Be amazed by the qualities only we, Filipinos, would understand by heart. :p
I read the book for around 15 minutes, and fair enough, it has awoken the Filipino in me. It's a very short read, light, funny even. And within a very short span of time, the book has unleashed its spell on me - in the course of leafing through the artsy-artsy pages of illustrations and text telling everything Pinoy, I found myself smiling genuinely and enjoying myself. So as to say, I didn't really feel I've wasted 15 minutes of my life, thank goodness.
This book is a compendium of everything that constitutes us, Filipinos, as individuals and as a nation. With humor enough to enlighten the reader’s face with a smile, it describes the Pinoy’s way of life and what makes us stand out from the nameless crowd – how we go against the current, and how we adapt to almost any country at any given situation there is. What’s even more silly is that it also contains every – and when I say every, I mean it – literally “every” mannerism a Filipino has got in his system. And in a remarkably fancy way, it provokes laughter to anyone who would read and possibly, relate to it. That is, if you ARE a Filipino.
As it turns out, all of its contents are actually compiled only by the author, but it has no sole author at all. The book was made possible because of the numerous Filipino contributors who submitted such descriptions online, and these spread like wildfire among other Filipinos here and abroad. The texts are shared, forwarded to a friend, until these reached who knows how many other people, and more have been added to the list. And not so long, voila! The book now serves as a testimony of the wonders of the Filipino race and how resilient we can be in dire times of need and yet, still manage to be happy. Brilliant, isn't it?
The book will reveal the degree of your being a Filipino through a series of checklists. At the end of the book, a corresponding description is provided that will tell you how Filipino you are. Now, I’m not telling the description is actually a hundred percent true, for most of the parts are generalizations. And, afterall, you are the only one who could determine how strong the Filipino culture influences you and your life. But as you go on reading, you’ll find it amusing, and before you even notice you’ve finished the entire book, you’ll just want to continue turning the pages.
I may have a foreign blood running inside me, but I’ve come to realize that I carry on the distinct identity only known to us, Pinoys – a beautiful race product of the East and the West. Of course, not everything in the book is something we could shout to the world, but who cares? I am still, and forever will be, a full-pledged Pinay.
So, what are you waiting for? Grab the book, sit, relax, and prop your leg up! Be amazed by the qualities only we, Filipinos, would understand by heart. :p
February 18, 2013
How Filipino are you
It is a funny book that lists positive Filipino characteristics. At the end of the book there are score brackets. Well I scored only (exactly) 100. According to the book I still have long way to go in becoming true Filipino *meh*...
I think the checklist is not applicable to all Filipino in all age groups. Because there are stuffs that are only for Filipino that already have children.
Overall, it is a fast, light, funny read.
It is a funny book that lists positive Filipino characteristics. At the end of the book there are score brackets. Well I scored only (exactly) 100. According to the book I still have long way to go in becoming true Filipino *meh*...
I think the checklist is not applicable to all Filipino in all age groups. Because there are stuffs that are only for Filipino that already have children.
Overall, it is a fast, light, funny read.
October 13, 2018
While I was reading this short but sweet treat, I smiled, laughed, frowned and gazed at every page and at how intricate and how marvellous "being" and "becoming" Filipino is. "You have a high threshold for pain and suffering." We are not aware of our quirks and idiosyncrasies until a book lists these down and leads us into self-assessment and examination of our identity, not only as individual Filipinos but as a collective enamored by the past, rendered baffled by the present, and discomfited yet made ever-resilient by the haste of future. This book of a checklist is a timeless invitation, an ever-relevant engagement to read and reflect on everything that distinguishes us from the rest of the human race. What made this book a more interesting read is its fun multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank items which demand one to answer in order to measure the degree of his own involvement in the pursuit of identity, an identity filled with carefully plastered balikbayan boxes, misinterpreted traffic lights, unshakeable faith in God, and devotion to the perpetuation of virtues of generosity, hospitality and chivalry. Not only did the wonderful illustrations accentuate the impetus of the listing, they also succinctly presented the usual and "truly Filipino" conversations and lifestyles. Read this and find for yourself! On the other side of the coin, this statement struck me and left me alarmed: "You have a high tolerance for corruption and a short, forgiving memory when it comes to history." May this not be a laughable fact. May this be changed into the positive, especially in these times when powers-that-be suppose that they could erase before our faces the painful past and make us believe in their manipulations of the truth. Hope and courage should not be lost on every Filipino striving for a better life and fulfilling his dreams with honor and grace. May the quotidian Filipino head or heart, when cracked open and magnified by circumstances, be found filled with sincerity, passion, discipline and optimism.
November 1, 2018
Read this in one sitting since it is a thin and very easy-to-read book. Funny, honest, and spot-on compilation of things/practices people, especially Filipinos see on themselves. Don't be surprised if you find yourself smiling or even laughing hard while on this piece. This is a catch of lite air in a period of uncertainties on migration issues (in the U.S.).
June 14, 2019
Short read, funny, and relatable. The book is not applicable or relatable for ALL Filipinos, its content (mostly if not personal or from the author's experience) are compilation of stereotypes (mostly gathered/observed from TV/media). It was published in the year 1997(?), and I think the book (that kind of book) will be less appreciated today because of the advent of technology. Somehow.
July 19, 2026
Nothing new. It was obsolete. Art work was good!
September 19, 2007
funny book... i can relate to it.. hahaha...:))
July 5, 2011
I remember telling my mom and dad that I will be needing this for my thesis.
October 23, 2013
nangangamoy pinoy daw >.< LOL
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews