'America is not the heart': When not all American dreams do come true

"I grew in a town called Milpitas which is a town that is mostly Filipinos, Vietnamese and Mexicans. I was surrounded by Filipinos or Filipino groceries everywhere, so for me that is America,” shares Filipina-American writer Elaine Castillo.

'America is not the Heart' author Elaine Castillo Source: Supplied by Sydney Writers Festival

But having grew up in a community so diverse, does that liberate you from any forms of racism or inequality?

"I would not say that. I think I was sheltered from a lot of racism, because I was never a minority growing up. So I never felt ostracized or alienated in that way..." reveals Castillo.

How privileged one can be if he or she is born and raised in a developed country as America?

"When I realised that (I am privileged) is actually more when I went to the Philippines for the first time. I think when you are growing up, if you 're American, you don't think about it especially when you are seven or eight. I was obviously  aware that my parents were immigrants...I was aware that the difficulties that we experienced being a kind of a working class family in the Philippines were directly related to being part of the Filipino diaspora," shares the America is Not the Heart author.

She furthers that being aware of the difficulties that her family had experienced being a kind of a working-class family in the Philippines were directly related to being part of the Filipino diaspora.

"I remember my mum, saying that when she was giving birth to me was a very difficult birth. She used to tell me that if we were in the Philippines, we were put to death. From that set of awareness, I was aware of the certain types of economic privilege that are afforded just by the virtue of being born in America."

Elaine Castillo's novel American is Not the Heart centres around a woman named Heronima de Vera, a former New People's Army rebel, who is undocumented, coming to live with extended family in California in the 80's and sort of being part of the Filipino diaspora and also encountering Filipino-Americans who were born and grew there.

 

With her acclaimed book, the Filipina-American writer will be in conversation with Tongan-Australian writer and community arts worker from Western Sydney Winnie Dunn as part of the Sydney Writers' Festival 2019 to talk about her novel and the struggle of insular immigrant communities trying to live the American Dream.