During Christmas in the Phillipines, star-shaped lanterns called parols light up streets and windows. In California, a group of Filipino immigrants in San Francisco has been making parol lanterns together for a little more than a decade, and community organizations have a contest to see who makes the best parol representing the theme of the year. This year, the theme was Enlightenment for All, in the context of gay marriage and the Typhoon Haiyan. Over the years, youth have been collaborating more and more with their elders, and both generations share ideas to innovate the tradition. Zaidee Stavely reports from San Francisco. This feature story is part of our series Raíces: Stories About Grassroots Artists.

Complete text available in Spanish