1. Philippine Culture By: Wilma Ventura

2. Philippine culture is a combination of Eastern and Western cultures. The Philippines exhibits aspects found in other Asian countries with a Malay heritage, yet its culture also displays a significant amount of Spanish and American influences. Traditional festivities known as barrio fiestas (district festivals) to commemorate the feast days of patron saints are common.

3. Philippine cuisine has evolved over several centuries from its Malayo-Polynesian origins to become a mixed cuisine with many Hispanic, Chinese, American, and other Asian influences that have been adapted to local ingredients and the Filipino palate to create distinctively Filipino dishes. Dishes range from the very simple, like a meal of fried salted fish and rice, to the elaborate, such as the paellas and cocidos created for fiestas. Popular dishes include lechón, adobo, sinigang, kare-kare, tapa, crispy pata, pancit, lumpia, and halo-halo. Cuisine

4. Various sports and pastimes are popular in the Philippines including basketball, boxing, volleyball, football, badminton, taekwondo, billiards, ten-pin bowling, chess, and sipa. Some Filipinos recognized for their achievements include Francisco Guilledo, Flash Elorde, and Manny Pacquiao in boxing; PaulinoAlcántara in football (soccer); Carlos Loyzaga, Robert Jaworski, and Ramon Fernandez in basketball; Efren Reyes in billiards; Eugene Torre in chess; and Rafael Nepomuceno in bowling. Sports

5. Sources Philippines Culture (Sports and Recreation, Cuisine): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines#Culture_and_society Photo (Culture): http://tourism-philippines.com/festivals/ Photo (Cuisine): http://tfcquickmeal.webs.com/ http://www.mabungatravel.com/resources.htm Photo (Sports): http://fyi09.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/the-pacman-manny-paccquiao/ http://skinnyhorse.blogspot.com/2008/09/who-is-ramon-fernandez.html