For Westerners and Americans in particular, Philippine culture is deceptively familiar. Vestiges of Spanish and American colonial culture, as well as contemporary American media, have created resonances for identifying American culture in Philippine culture. This book guides the reader in re-examining these assumptions of sameness. By taking an unfamiliar text of a noted writer of Tagalog fiction, this study restores the sense of wonder in experiencing Tagalog culture on its own terms rather than by tastes dictated from the outside. The book also examines the broader Tagalog traditions in which the writer, Amado Hernandez, wrote.