Filipina Genealogist ‘Mighty Magulang’ on History, Revisionism on TikTok

When we talk about history, you probably think of your grandparents’ favorite stories or ancient news that seemingly don’t have any relevance today. It’s natural to ask why would these events matter if they happened a long time ago?

More than just a school subject or definition of the past, history encapsulates humanity. Our stories, the languages we speak, and the cultures, traditions, and inventions we inherited are all inescapable and essential, according to UK-based historian Penelope J. Corfield.

Amidst the proliferation of fun content on TikTok, from dance challenges and comedy skits to pet videos and short travel vlogs, it’s understandable that history might not captivate your attention when it pops up on your For You Page.

If you’ve spent some time lurking around TikTok, you may have noticed creators who post videos using the hashtags #edutok or #LearnOnTikTok. These add context to how they present their content for younger audiences, or anyone intrigued by history.

The Beat Asia had a chance to talk with one of the modern-day historians, Mona Magno-Veluz or also known as Mighty Magulang. She is a genealogist by profession, and armed with her genealogical detective skills, she digs through dusty archives and digitized records of the Filipino culture.

Just like other TikTok creators, Mona features both educational and fun content by using the platform’s best features, such as green-screen backgrounds, stitch videos, and low-budget props, to teach genealogy and history lessons.

She has been using the moniker “Mighty Magulang (Mighty Parent)” since the late 1990s, an alias inspired by her son who was diagnosed with autism.

“I prefer to think I am an empowered parent and am not a victim to our circumstances. My husband and I devote time and energy to being informed and to working towards our aspirations for our family. The same philosophy applies to everything else in our lives,” she said.

With more than five million likes and 490,000 followers, Mona is dubbed “TikTok’s favorite history geek,” a title she wears proudly as she finds joy in learning and exploring.

Among her most-viewed content include the history of the Laperal White House in Baguio, Martial Law’s empirical economic data, and the ancestry of Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Dee, to name a few. Moreover, she also appreciates her fellow content creators who share educational materials online, including Lyka Maravilla, Reb Atadero, and Arshie Larga, as some of her personal favorites.

On Being a Content Creator and a Genealogist

Mona described genealogy as a study of oral family histories that involves finding primary documents such as civil and church records. From there, she cultivated a deep appreciation of history — although it wasn’t a favorite of hers during her school years.

“[W]hen I began researching our ancestors, and learned how they lived their lives in the context of what was going on in society, I began to appreciate both history and family history.”

Before becoming a history geek, Mona pursued a degree in business administration and applied business economics, while her interest in genealogy and history blossomed during her involvement in extensive research. She then worked with multi-national organizations that helped refine her work ethics suited to project management, which also came in handy when she tackled intricate or layered research projects.

Like many people around the world who were mentally affected when the pandemic hit, Mona found sanity in exploring TikTok which she considers refreshingly different from the likes of Facebook and Instagram. Drawing upon her genealogy and economics background, she tapped into her reservoir of knowledge and materials to craft engaging content as she strived to understand how the TikTok universe works.

To her pleasant surprise, the younger generation took an interest in her history and genealogy videos that combat misinformation and revisionism rife in the mainstream media. Mona found gratification in educating and enlightening her viewers.

“I was happily shocked that many are coming out to support my content, and more significantly, to protect the integrity of our history at a time when others want to minimize or deny events in our past,” she added.

Initiatives, Women’s Month

As someone deeply involved in both online content creation and advocacy efforts, Mona considers herself fortunate enough to be able to work on things that align with her passion for creating meaningful impact.

Mona was the longest-serving president of the Autism Society Philippines (ASP) and held the post for a decade before ending her term last 2023. At present, she serves as the ASP national spokesperson and the country manager of the ASP Autism Works Program – a program she spearheaded in 2016. The program aims to provide economic empowerment opportunities to individuals on the autism spectrum through strategic partnerships with employers. According to Mona, they successfully filled more than 250 positions across 11 provinces with talents on the autism spectrum.

In an interview with ABS-CBN in 2021, Mona mentioned that her motivation to explore genealogy also stemmed by her research about the role of women in history. She emphasized that women in Filipino families are often given less importance – from losing their surnames to limited career opportunities compared to men.

“They were remembered for what their children or their husbands did. This is why, whenever I can, I talk about women patriots in history, who often never study in school,” she added.

As International Women’s Month dawns upon us, Mona wanted to celebrate every woman’s remarkable endeavors and unwavering resilience through a heartfelt message:

“The lives we live today as progressive women are answered prayers of the brave women who came before us. We must embrace opportunities to showcase the best versions of ourselves.”

Looking ahead, Mona aspires to continue what she’s currently doing and draw inspiration from contemporary society, as “each glance back into history is relevant to what is happening today.”

Moreover, she encourages her viewers to consider creating content on something that they are genuinely interested in with the goal of inspiring and informing others. She underlined the importance of authenticity because anything staged, or anything lacking genuineness can easily be noticed by the discerning public.

Read more about Mona “Mighty Magulang” Magno-Veluz here. You may also follow her on TikTok to learn more about history and genealogy.