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'Nothing Filipino': Owners of Barkada wine bar in Washington DC accused of 'cultural appropriation'

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Don Tagala, North America ABS-CBN News Bureau

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/08/01/donbarkadawinebar.jpg"/><figcaption>The owners of Barkada Wine Bar in Washington D.C. were accused of &quot;cultural appropriation&quot; due to the absence of anything Filipino in their venture despite its Filipino name. <em>Picture from Barkada&#x27;s Facebook page</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>When a group of friends opened a modern wine bar in Washington D.C., little did they know that naming it “Barkada” -- Filipino slang for &quot;group of friends” -- would force them to soon change their name.</p><p>Long-time friends Anthony Aligo, Nick Guglietta, Nathan Fisher and Sebastian Zutant, who are owners of the Barkada Wine Bar in the capital, faced a big social media backlash on the opening week of their venture.</p><p>Some Filipinos and Filipino-Americans were infuriated after finding out that the friends&#x27; wine bar with a Filipino name has nothing Filipino to offer from their menu or from their drink list, which has at least 60 natural wines from around the world.</p><p>While non-Filipino customers had a positive experience at Barkada, some Filipino-Americans like Melissa Echevarria who got excited to find this Filipino-sounding bar was disappointed.</p><p>“I thought I was going to be a Filipino bar and then realized there was nothing Filipino about it. Disappointed,” Echevarria said in a Facebook post.</p><p>“Change your name. It’s misleading.&quot;</p><p>Netizen Hannah Aberin posted: “Cultural appropriation doesn’t taste good, change your name.”</p><p>Melanie Mckay said she was disappointed after she looked for Filipino-brewed San Miguel beer and &quot;pulutan&quot; from the bar. Pulutan are dishes usually served in small amounts and enjoyed with beer or any alcoholic beverage.</p><p>“I was looking for adobo or sinigang but none could be found on the menu – disappointed,” Jenoh Chin jokingly said. Adobo and sinigang are among the most famous Filipino dishes.</p><p>Other Filipinos, however, said they find nothing wrong with the decision of the owners of Barkada to choose a Filipino name for their bar.</p><p>“It’s actually nice to have a bar called &quot;Barkada&quot; because it was started by a group of close-knit friends – that’s exactly what a barkada is,” netizen Philip Moran said.</p><p>“Is it a requirement to have Filipino food if you use a Filipino word to name a bar?” Glyd Jun Aranes also asked.</p><div><script src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;version=v2.5" async="" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/BarkadaDC/photos/a.163464631939127/163464145272509/?type=3&amp;theater" data-width="auto"> </div><p>Barkada&#x27;s owners apologized, saying they are changing their name after consulting others, and that they will be donating proceeds from their opening to support the Filipino community.</p><p>&quot;It was never our intention to appropriate or capitalize on the Filipino culture and fell short on engaging the Filipino community,&quot; they said in a Facebook post.</p><p>They explained their goal for Barkada was to be a gathering place for friends in the neighborhood and to become friends with those neighbors - as the Filipino word meant.</p><p>&quot;Barkada is a beautiful word with a deep meaning -- friendship,&quot; they said.<br/> </p>

<p>Some Filipinos and Filipino-Americans were infuriated after finding out that the friends' wine bar with a Filipino name has nothing Filipino to offer from their menu or from their drink list, which consists of at least 60 natural wines from around the world.</p>

Some Filipinos and Filipino-Americans were infuriated after finding out that the friends' wine bar with a Filipino name has nothing Filipino to offer from their menu or from their drink list, which consists of at least 60 natural wines from around the world.

'Nothing Filipino': Owners of Barkada wine bar in Washington DC accused of 'cultural appropriation'

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'Nothing Filipino': Owners of Barkada wine bar in Washington DC accused of 'cultural appropriation'

Don Tagala,

North America ABS-CBN News Bureau

Published Aug 01, 2020 10:14 AM PHT

|

Updated Aug 02, 2020 01:38 AM PHT

Read More:

Barkada

Barkada bar

Washinton DC

Washington wine bar

Filipino-Americans

Filipino community

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