Pinoy Jessica Sanchez, American Idol now. Soon, who knows?

My favorite part of American Idol is the audition stage because I get to listen to raw talents giddily share their gifts, or witness clueless but attention-craving loonies make caricatures of themselves on global TV, and feel for borderline talents who fall just short of a judge's nod.

It's an emotional rollercoaster by itself.  Good TV.

But what I like best about watching the auditions is spotting, even before he or she sings, who is Filipino by blood.  I know our families and kababayans who have been living in the States for a time are lumped together as Asians-Americans.  But I've been a Filipino all my life that I know what a Filipino looks like even before he or she opens her mouth.

It must be the shy smile.  Or the humble demeanor.  Jasmine Trias oozed Filipino, so did Thia Megia. And Camile Velasco.  And Ramiele Malubay. And AJ Tabaldo.  And the latest and most promising of them all: Jessica Sanchez -- who looks just like every bit a Filipina as my neighbor's daughter. Or a random girl I meet at the mall.

Though Jessica is clearly competing for American Idol, not Pinoy or even Barangay Idol, I feel pride and a deep longing that she win the ultimate prize.  If the judges are to be believed, she may well be on the way to that goal.

Should Jessica win, she would be the prime example to the world what we Filipinos knew all along -- we are a beautiful and extremely talented people.

But it's not only Jessica that I root for.  I root for every Filipino in every foreign shore -- that they show the world that we are good in what ever we do, perhaps even better than most nationalities would care to admit publicly.

Our nation's wealth is not measured in money in the bank, most of which are in the private accounts of government officials anyway, but in the spirit of its people to see through the haze of poverty and neglect, with a smile on the lips and a wink of an eye.

With Filipinos in every corner of the world showing everyone we are a class better than the rest, I envision someday that the word Filipino will be synonymous to talent, to intelligence, to love for family, to power.

Someday I see a Filipino being the president of the United States.

Far fetch?  I don't think so.

African-Americans were once slaves in that country.  Now one is the most powerful man in the world.  Our kababayans are following the footsteps of the forebearers of Barack Obama -- the the Martin Luther Kings, the Louis Armstrongs, the Joe Louis's of America's yesteryears who proved to one and all that, at the end of the day, it is talent, intelligence and love for humanity that matter the most.

We are all those.  So go ahead America, vote for Jessica.  Soon you'll be voting a Filipino as your President.


I'd love to hear what you think of this post.  Please leave a comment or a reaction.  Thanks!