It was an odd and trying exercise for Ferley, who doesn't normally seek attention and can tear up when speaking in public. "I only prepared for my wedding for two weeks." "I never got a headache before this, even for my own wedding," said Luisita. Luisita said preparations became so hectic at times that she contemplated quitting her job temporarily. The family spent about $15,000 on the event - more than they had planned. "It's like planning for a wedding," said Ferley, a senior at Mt. Decorations and a multitiered cake were also ordered. Tuxedos and dresses needed to be bought for all eight people in Ferley's immediate family, along with the 18 members of her court. 17 at Napredak Hall in San Jose, with a live band and catered Filipino dinner. Neither of them realized how much work would be involved.įerley's debut, they decided, would take place on Feb. "That's what she wants," agreed Ferley's mother, Luisita Tiongson, a quality control technician with a Fremont computer company. "I wanted to show myself to people, to tell them I'm 18 and this is the only time I'll turn 18," said Ferley, the oldest of six children.
"More than just a debut for the celebrant, it's also an announcement of how far the family has come," said Moreno.Ī year before her 18th birthday, Ferley's parents gave her the option of holding a debut, also called a cotillion, or receiving a new car.
"If a family does it, it costs quite a lot."Ĭherie Querol Moreno, publisher of the Philippine News in South San Francisco, said the growing popularity of individual debuts is a measure of the upward mobility of Filipinos, who might not have been able to afford one in the Philippines. "It's much cheaper if you join a group," said Ann Sabiniano, founder of the defunct Pearl of the Orient Club, which 36 years ago held the first Filipino group cotillion in San Francisco. Those events, a hybrid of high-society debutante balls and the traditional Filipino debut, offered a chance to celebrate without breaking the bank of individual families. The practice died out about 10 years ago when many cotillion organizers retired and were not replaced. From 1965 to the early '90s, Bay Area Filipino American community organizations held cotillions in which as many as two dozen debutantes were presented en masse during a formal ball. "The people who came over in the '60s and '70s as doctors and engineers, their kids are coming of that age."ĭebuts also have proliferated in the last decade because of the demise of many Filipino group cotillions. "It's become very popular in the Filipino American community," said filmmaker Gene Cajayon, who is releasing his film "The Debut" next month at the Asian American Film Festival in San Francisco.
Debuts have become a part of the Filipino American experience for many families. In this country, the custom has gained favor with middle-class Filipino Americans who desire and can afford the lavish events. high society, formal Filipino debuts used to be the province of the upper crust. Much like a Mexican quincea-era, which celebrates a Latina's 15th birthday, debuts are a popular rite of passage in the Philippines. Increasingly, many of the Bay Area's more than 250,000 Filipinos are tapping into the cultural tradition of holding a debut - the ceremonial presentation of a young Filipina. It was Tiongson's moment to be a princess. The San Jose high school senior was poised to celebrate her 18th birthday in a ceremony resembling, in many ways, a wedding. Tiongson, however, wasn't about to take a walk down the aisle. "I'm OK," she said breathlessly, as the guests poured in.
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