PHOENIX (AP) 鈥� Beginning in the 1970s, just about every Filipino household in America was either hauling balikbayan boxes in person or mailing them to relatives back in the Philippines.
These care packages that held goodies from the U.S. were seen as an expression of support during hard economic times 鈥� as well as one of pure love.
鈥淏alik” and 鈥渂ayan,鈥� Tagalog for 鈥渞eturn鈥� and 鈥渉omeland,” respectively, was what President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. called the tourism initiatives he established in 1973. After declaring martial law a year earlier, he wanted to compel Filipino immigrants to come back and visit and further 鈥渓egitimize his new dictatorial regime,鈥� says Adrian De Leon, an assistant professor of history at New York University and author of 鈥淏alikbayan: A Revenant History of the Filipino Homeland.鈥�
The balikbayan program proved 鈥渋ncredibly profitable鈥� for the government as middle-class Filipino Americans came and spent capital.
鈥淭he dollar stretches way more,鈥� De Leon says. 鈥淏ulk buying becomes a way through which overseas Filipinos are incentivized to maintain an economic connection to their homeland so that the government can take cuts from it and use it for like everything.鈥�
The practice of shipping balikbayan boxes grew from there. Initially, canned meat like Spam was a staple of these boxes. Over time, small luxuries like skin-care products, clothes and candy became sought after, too. Then American entertainment like music cassettes and movies on Betamax were tossed in.
鈥淲hat might have been letters being sent back home, now with the balikbayan box, you鈥檙e sending back American pop culture,” De Leon says. 鈥淔ilipinos are doing the work of American soft power for Filipinos at home.鈥�
Sending balikbayan boxes has thrived as its own industry. There are a handful of shipping companies in the U.S. that market door-to-door delivery to the Philippines. Filipino immigrants visiting the country get quicker entry at Manila鈥檚 Ninoy Aquino International Airport through a designated 鈥渂alikbayan lane.鈥�
Jamming as many gifts as possible into a balikbayan box remains culturally ingrained in the Filipino diaspora. Filipino American comedian Rex Navarrete has typically made it a stand-up bit, advising: 鈥淥ne thing you should never pack in a balikbayan box is air.鈥�
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Part of a recurring series, 鈥淎merican Objects,鈥� marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. For more American objects, click . For more stories on the anniversary, click .
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