Meet once again, or for the first time, Augie Tulba, Jasmine Trias, Jordan Segundo and Jonathan Ablan.

Augie T. is a comedian/radio personality, the oldest of this group at 38. Trias and Segundo are former "American Idol" finalists; Jasmine's the youngest, at 19. Ablan is co-founder of a world-title-holding turntablist collective.

All were raised in Hawai'i. All are well-known in their chosen genres. All are part- or full-blooded Filipino, and all say the experience of growing up Filipino affected their lives, livelihoods and career goals.

Trias' family instilled a pride for her Filipino culture that she's determined not to shy away from. Segundo was raised by "local ... very Americanized" parents and learned much about what it meant to be Filipino from his grandmother. Ablan says his determination to be best at whatever he attempts arises from his Filipino ethnicity. And it was a complete stranger who taught Tulba a lesson he'd never forget about what it meant to be Filipino.

CULTURAL TOUCHSTONES

Tulba's family loaded his childhood with touchstones of his Filipino ethnicity. At home, dad Lawrence Tulba Sr., cooked all the traditional dishes. His Catholic parents sent him to catechism and made sure he received first holy communion and confirmation sacraments. His uncles took him to chicken fights.

Much of this went over Tulba's head, until, at 12, he opened a saving account with his first $80 paycheck as a Honolulu Advertiser paperboy.

"I gave the teller my school ID. She was Filipino," said Tulba. "She looked at me and said, 'You're Augusto?' "

Tulba answered yes.

"Do you know how to speak Filipino?" she asked.

Tulba answered no.

"You should learn!" said the teller, sternly. "You're Filipino. You better be proud of your culture! We have a very strong and proud culture! ... Do you know what Augusto means? It means king!"

Tulba exited slightly angry, believing he'd been scolded and not knowing why. He couldn't shake the experience. Years later, he'd come to understand it.

"That was the first time that somebody really put to me that I was Filipino ... my first inkling of how proud you should be as a Filipino," said Tulba. "I never forgot that lady."

Ask Trias whether she's a product of Filipino or American culture, and she'll say, "I've grown up the Filipino way in America.

"Growing up, I listened to American music — pop, R&B. At the same time, I listened to Filipino music and I watched the Filipino Channel."

Trias credits her extended family with imparting knowledge about her background and encouraging her career path. "We always had big Filipino parties where everybody would hang out, have Filipino food, talk story and sing karaoke," she said. "The cousins, aunts and uncles would perform. ... I would sing, and then me and my cousins would dance hula."

Segundo — raised by a Filipino father and Filipino/Japanese /German/Hawaiian mother — didn't grow up as conscious of being Filipino. "My dad would cook some Filipino dishes here and there, but there was no distinction ... even though I was a mix of races," he said. "We lived as a local family. Very Americanized."

Segundo's knowledge of his Filipino roots came from his grandmother, whom he visited often in his teen years.

"She moved here from the Philippines ... and lived the Filipino way," said Segundo. "I would always ask her for stories about why and how she came here, which was to build a better life for herself."

Segundo accompanied her to church, where Scripture was read in English and Filipino. At church functions — which were among his first singing engagements — Segundo peppered his grandmother's Filipino friends with questions.

Like Tulba, Ablan was raised surrounded by touchstones of his Filipino heritage. His parents, Mito and Juliet, spoke to one another in Ilocano. His father is still active in local Filipino community organizations. Close ties with immediate and extended family and the family's Catholic religion were important.

But much of it was second nature until high school, when Ablan found himself harboring mixed feelings about being Filipino.

"Growing up in an Americanized type of environment, going to school and whatnot, you get exposed to a lot of negative stereotypes," he said. "Something I can visibly remember is Frank DeLima singing songs about us ... and stereotypes of us eating dogs all day.

"I never once spoke 100 percent against our culture. But I definitely had my insecurities."

Ablan's passion eventually became disproving the negative stereotypes — among them, that most Filipinos were uneducated and destined for laborer jobs. He buckled down in school and became the first in his family to obtain a bachelor's degree (in marketing; his day job).

These days, Ablan is fiercely proud of his ethnicity. Like Trias, Segundo and Tulba, he considers himself Filipino first, shaped primarily by family.

PUBLIC IDENTITY

Segundo fell for the R&B his mother grooved to at home — Al Green, Earth Wind & Fire. An interest in American-flavored Filipino pop arose after his "American Idol" experience, as he performed at Filipino/Asian music festivals on the Mainland and considered marketing himself in the Philippines, as well as nationally. His influences now include Alicia Keys, Maroon 5, James Blunt and Martin Nievera, Gary Valenciano and Lani Misalucha (now singing with the Society of Seven).

"Once I got back (from 'American Idol') and saw the support of the Filipino community ... I realized that there were more options," he said. "Because I am Filipino, because I am part of an Asian ethnicity ... there's a lot of success (to be had) in the Filipino market and different Asian markets."

Trias has released English- and Filipino-language CDs. Segundo's 2004 debut CD features American pop and R&B, mirroring his live performances. Trias is a huge star in the Philippines, thanks to her "Idol" fame. Segundo — whose "Idol" season didn't air in the Philippines — is still looking to break in.

Now regularly performing stand-up for Mainland audiences, Tulba is proud of his Filipino roots but refuses to market himself by ethnicity.

"I don't want to be 'the Filipino comic,' " said Tulba. "Why should I have to use my race to get other races to come? I think it's more exciting to find out who I am on stage rather than (imply) that you have to be Filipino to watch me. ... I don't want to use my culture as the only way I can make you laugh."

Tulba said his comedy comes from observations of local culture, Hawai'i's multicultural mix and his own family.

Ablan pursued DJing and co-founded Nocturnal Sound Krew in 1996, influenced by an interest in scratch DJ competitions and, musically, by American hip-hop and R&B. His competitive drive, however, is pure Filipino.

Nocturnal Sound Krew took home two consecutive International Turntablist Federation world championship titles in 2001 and 2002, a first for a Hawai'i DJ collective.

"There's no way in the world we could have made it unless we had the drive of being extremely competitive and not taking anything less than the best for us. That had to have come from being Filipino," said Ablan.

The Sound Krew is entirely Filipino, made of Ablan's longtime friends and brother Jami. Its members have traveled the Mainland often, and they hope to secure first-ever gigs in the Philippines this year.

"Our drive still pushes us," said Ablan. "I feel like Filipinos, in general, are looked upon as underdogs. It feels great when you prove to yourself (that) you've accomplished something."

NO STOPPING NOW

"I guess you could say that just being Asian or Filipino — since it's not really fully accepted in the entertainment industry — may have hurt me," said Trias. "I'm not black. I'm not white. I'm an Asian singing R&B."

While Trias' star has soared in the Philippines — where she's in high demand for singing, acting and endorsements — her 2005 self-titled debut CD barely registered on the national charts in the States.

None of it has deterred Trias from securing Mainland concerts, planning a sophomore disc for the fall and auditioning for acting jobs.

Trias vows she will never play down her Filipino ethnicity to become successful. Her hero on that front is multihyphenate megastar Jennifer Lopez.

"My main goal is to represent for the Filipino community like J Lo has represented for the Latino community, in a very cutthroat industry," she said.

Ablan said problems of distance, caused by Nocturnal Sound Krew's Hawai'i home base — not its Filipino membership — were the collective's biggest roadblocks against being taken seriously in worldwide competition.

One of Ablan's biggest influences is world-renowned scratch and breakbeat champion DJ Q-Bert, whom he said he would admire even if Q-Bert (born Richard Quitevis) wasn't Filipino as well. Ablan wouldn't mind similarly inspiring local kids of all ethnicities.

Nocturnal Sound Krew throws DJ battles often "to encourage kids who are trying to reach levels beyond what we have," Ablan said.

Tulba has similar aspirations to inspire beyond the Filipino community. "I want to inspire every local!" he said. "I think there's a little bit of Filipino in everybody now, because we're populating the world."

Segundo is honored if anyone considers him a role model for young Filipinos, but he too said he'd rather inspire kids of all cultures.

"The elders talk about not letting anybody hold you down. A lot of Filipinos that came before us — like our grandparents — believed your ethnic background always held you back," said Segundo. "I think that these days, it doesn't."

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.