The essence of the holiday was definitely captured in the hearts of everyone who was there, young and old alike. Away from Bacolod City, parts of Iloilo, Capiz, Antique and even Bohol, my friends and I embraced an American holiday and gave it an Ilonggo twist, allowing us to steal a semblance of home even just for one night.

This column comes from, an advocate of the positive energy, good karma and looking at the glass half full, always. I will call my column Flip Side. It is short ('Flip' also stands for Filipino here in the United States), easy to remember and it could mean a few things. Foremost would be the precarious position that I am in. A native of Bacolod City, I am now based in the United States and have called the Chicago area my home for the last 18 years. But I could proudly say that a lot in me has remained Filipino. So Flip Side could be your vehicle to get a look-see into the American culture from someone and other Negrenses and Ilonggos who have remained truly proud of their ethnicity and get to weave our heritage daily in our life in the so called' land of milk and honey'. Flip Side also means an unbiased look at things. It will try to capture the best of our two worlds, our life in two cultures, totally different but embodying the same values and beliefs.

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The Fourth of July celebration came and went. As America celebrated its independence and 231st birthday this year, the whole country geared up towards the big day weeks before, like always.

This is a highly anticipated holiday for all Americans, immigrants and non-Americans who have called the United States home. For different reasons, it is a national holiday that's celebrated with a lot of pride and reverence to those who fought and are fighting for this country's freedom. It is a great time to show your patriotism whether it's decorating your yard with the great red, white and blue flag or hoisting a red, white and blue banner. Houses and businesses are bedecked with everything and anything red, white and blue.

It's also the time for picnics, marching bands and parades all over the country. Then there are the parties of course and the firework displays. The Fourth of July is party-central day, one darn good excuse to go overboard on beer, hamburgers, hotdogs and marinated steak or chicken for the much-anticipated food fest and that cavalier attitude of drinking until the wee hours of the morning with family and friends.

Like most things in America, there is that underlying sense of order in everything around here. Revelers know that the fireworks will start at dusk. Some people stake out their spot hours before the show starts and for others, the backyard will do. Each town, city or village prepares their own firework show and for about half an hour, all activities ceased. With a bottle of beer or a glass of wine on hand, necks would crane up to watch the explosion of colors in the sky.

As the finale of the firework display comes into a heightened crescendo of beautiful colors and shapes and heart thumping series of explosions, one becomes highly aware that although the day has almost reached its end, it is but natural to beam with pride in knowing that watching another firework display meant partaking in something way bigger than just drinking beer and a gobble fest.

As I looked around me, I realized that although this year's Fourth of July fell on a hump day, meaning it was on a Wednesday and the next day was a workday, being surrounded by family and close friends made my day really special. It did not matter that my husband and my friends were getting drunk or that our tummies hurt from eating too much, the bigger picture was you celebrate the holiday with the people you care about and enjoy freedom in this great land.

That is really the essence of the Fourth of July. Family and friends come together whether it's a picnic or a backyard barbecue. Everyone will converge for an afternoon of good time, good laughs and good eats. A hangover the next day is never a deterrent to party on or party hard. Celebrating this holiday with our Ilonggo friends was no different. My core of friends is composed of people from all over Negros, Panay and even Bohol and Mindanao. Some of them have been here for over 40 years, some just came a year ago, some are immigrants, a bunch are US citizens, some are just starting and others are starting to think of going back to the motherland.

Like any Ilonggo gathering, there is always an excess of food, booze and the stark presence of mahjong and cards. After all, an Ilonggo party without the sound of those little tiles being shuffled is no party at all.

Another unique slant to our parties during this holiday is the food spread. While our American counterparts will stick to hotdogs, hamburgers, buns and corn, my Ilonggo friends will always find a way to prepare a smorgasbord of multicultural gastronomic fare. There is the usual hamburger, hotdog and corn but it becomes a bit fancier than just that. This year, we cranked it up a notch by adding the staples of Ilonggo cuisine - pancit, eggrolls, dinuguan, linaga, pancit molo, batchoy and sinugba. To the amazement of somebody like me who shies away from any intricate Ilonggo cooking, my friends this year cooked up homemade cassava cake and ibus (minus the banana leaves) with matching sweet mangoes.

Throwing a party here also means being cognizant of the younger generation, who either were born here or grew up here, who cower from the sight of a bowl of dinuguan or grilled fish with the head still intact. Thus the multicultural spread - Ilonggo, Filipino, American, Chinese and Mexican in the form of the delicious salsa that my good friend made for the tortillas.

As the night turned into the wee hours of the morning and counting the few hours before some of us had to get ready for work, I realized that my friends, Pat and Nory Paderna's home in Berwyn, Illinois, a suburb south of Chicago, became a melting pot of Ilonggos that night.

The essence of the holiday was definitely captured in the hearts of everyone who was there, young and old alike. Away from Bacolod City, parts of Iloilo, Capiz, Antique and even Bohol, my friends and I embraced an American holiday and gave it an Ilonggo twist, allowing us to steal a semblance of home even just for one night.

Through an American holiday such as the Fourth of July, the Ilonggo spirit took center stage in the form of the hosts' generosity, the camaraderie of friends huddled in the mahjong and poker tables, the clinking of Corona bottles and glasses of Johnnie Walker, a hand holding a devoured piece of chicken and the sound of my friends' guffaw from a corner. It was a good night, a nice break from the daily doldrums of life here for my friends and me who are nurses, a housewife, a bank employee or employed by corporate America. The holiday was also a good way to be reminded that although most of us are transplants in the land of red, white and blue, we have learned to adapt to this country and embraced most if not all of her traditions. Although some of us may hold blue passports, we are Ilonggos first and foremost. We have managed to marry the best of both of our cultures and learned to thrive in both as well.

As the media got saturated by patriotic messages, pictures and editorials that day, the Fourth of July is a constant reminder for a transplant like me that if it were not for those freedom fighters back in 1775 who battled Great Britain, things may have been different and the great ol' USA may not be the great USA that I have come to know and love.

May freedom ring everywhere…cheers!