Next month is Filipino American History Month.
It commemorates the first recorded presence of Filipinos in the continental United States on October 18, 1587. Now, it is the second-largest Asian American group in the nation.
This weekend, the community is invited to a celebration of Filipino representation in North Texas.
The Filipinas On The Rise Summit in Dallas on Saturday aims to honor the strength, resilience, and creativity of Filipina women.
“My greatest passion is about spotlighting local women and spotlighting local Filipino-owned businesses,” said Krystl Fabella, founder of Filipina on the Rise. “And also just being able to gather local Filipino women together to meet each other and feel connected in this very curated, very intentional space.”
Featured speakers at the summit include NBC 5’s Alanna Quillen; Averie Bishop, the first-ever Asian American Miss Texas in 2022; Lauren Hoffman, Olympian and National Record Holder; Liezyl Yu, Owner of Yu Law Firm in Dallas; Betina Gozo, a Nike Global Trainer; and Alavia Khawaja, CEO of DatuKutti, a Pakistani Filipino clothing company.
What started as a podcast became a bigger movement and a mission for Fabella.
“When I started this about four years ago, I was working in tech, and I had never been connected to my cultural identity before. As someone who was born in the Philippines but moved here as a first-generation immigrant there was a lot of assimilating and pushing away my culture and not really feeling proud about it,” she said.
One day, when Fabella was looking for stories of empowering Filipino women in different industries, she struggled with the stereotypes she found on many corners of the internet.
“In fact, I found objectifying and demeaning content. So, I made it my mission to find these stories and to promote Filipino women who broke ceilings and who were at the top of the industries. To really show who we are and take back the narrative in our hands,” she said.
The summit has toured the country, with stops in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami, but is making a stop in new cities like Dallas to help drive representation in communities across the country with a growing Asian American population.
“I believe it has grown because we are filling a need, that women wanted to be more represented. They want to feel more proud about their Filipino identity and their culture and share that with others,” said Fabella.
Asian Texans are now growing faster than any other racial group in the state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“When I was growing up, I didn’t see too many people look like me doing my sport,” said Hoffman, who grew up in America and decided to represent the Philippines during the 2024 Summer Olympics as a hurdler and sprinter. “I have just identified very strongly with my Filipina identity and my Filipina side.”
She said she hopes following her dreams on the track will inspire others to go after their dreams.
“A lot of Filipinos are doing very groundbreaking things. We’re making statements and we’re leading the group and we’re leading the pack. Hopefully, it inspires other Asian American girls to just go after their dreams and we’ll see more representation and diversity in all kinds of fields.”
Saturday’s summit runs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Vauhx Creative in Dallas and includes Filipino food, vendors, and live music.