What are themes/tropes that you think are unique to Filipino romances?
Mina:
I don’t know how “unique” it is, but I’m noticing a… pattern among the #romanceclass books I’ve been reading, even when the styles and stories are so different. I love how places matter, and a change of scenery is often required for the characters (totally relatable). Food is often a thing! Family is important, and not just the one you were born into. The male main characters or love interests are just PRECIOUS. So cute and cuddly, even if they’re muscular or grumpy or hot or all of the above. That the authors can write men who are such good people, when our society rewards men who are so toxic, ugh. And in turn, female main characters who are no pushovers, and are in charge of their lives!
Carla:
I think regardless of where the book is set, a Filipino romance will always have food. Food is inevitable, it’s how we mark our time in the Philippines. We say ‘kumain ka na?’ instead of ‘hello’, and it’s one of my favorite things about our culture. See — the sticky ribs and bacon in Chrissie Peria’s The Kitchen When it Sizzles, hotdogs in Bianca Mori’s One Night at the Palace Hotel. Tara, Six and Jay were flooded with champorado pictures after Second Wave Summer!
Another thing is family. Family will always play a major part in any character’s development, even the lack of. Whether its meddling titas, caring lolas, wise lolos, close pinsans or parents that make you want to hug them and scream, a Filipino will always have a family in their heart. Six de los Reyes’ Beginners Guide wouldn’t be the same without the Rubios, neither would CP Santi’s Dare to Love, with her priest Kuya and adorable twins. And hello, would our lives really be the same without Tara Frejas’ Alvez brothers? I think not.
Even when the family is the cause of strain (like Mina V Esguerra’s Iris After the Incident, Stella Torres’ Save the Cake), they still play a major role in the lives of the characters.
I also think it says a lot about Filipinos that a majority of the romance heroes we write are soft boys. Think Ringo from Jay’s You Out of Nowhere, Matteo from Miles Tan’s Finding X, Pio Alvez from Like Nobody’s Watching and Nico from Ana Tejano’s Keep the Faith. We respond to a boy who hugs us tight and feeds us good food after a long hard day, who is in touch with his feelings and calls us an endearing nickname with soft abs. It’s almost a direct opposite of the uber macho men we see in positions of authority.
Dawn:
I think we do really well with the friends to lovers trope, slow burn romances — Filipinos love to root for the underdogs, the beta heroes, Clark Kents over Superman. While we do enjoy the occasional fantasy of falling in love with a person that is out of our league, we do get a kick out of realising that the one we truly love has always been next to us, all along.
Clarisse:
The most unique trope to Filipino romance is probably how we portray family relationships.
In books set in other countries, characters in their 20s and 30s already have their own apartments or houses, but that’s not always the case with Filipino romance. We’re not expected to move out after we turn 18 in the Philippines. It’s common for people in their 20s and 30s to still live with their parents and other family members.
I think this influences our lives in huge ways, especially our romantic relationships. For example, how can you ask the person you’re dating to come over if your parents are around? What does that say about your relationship? More importantly, unless one of you has an apartment of his/her own, where do you find a place to MAKE OUT?
Jay:
I think we like our friends-to-lovers trope with a specific level of pining. There’s a whole spectrum and the author controls the shades and colors on this, of course, but I find that it’s often there. We like our cinnamon heroes, our soft boys, which says a lot about the kind of love interests, and men in general, that we want to see more of in real life. We don’t have enough of them around. We need them to exist, even in just words to start. You’ll also often see big groups of friends and tight-knit families in Filipino romances, and also a lot of talk about traffic and food and beaches. I realize these things as I write the words now. And although these themes and elements on their own and in general aren’t unique, taken together and woven in a narrative as how you would find them in Filipino romances, I think you’ll see something quite distinct. Adds another level that makes Filipino romances fun, interesting reads, I think 🙂