An infamous swear curse becomes a rallying cry of Filipino pride

Filipino American rapper Ruby Ibarra joins the PTI challenge.
Follow her work on her Instagram page.

My mom would have washed my mouth out with soap if I said the expletive, "Putang Ina," shorthand for "Putang Ina mo," (Literally, "Your mother is a whore," but when you spit it out, it is used in the same context as the English "mother f****r").

WHen Filipino tennis prodigy Alexandra Eala made history with her first-round victory in the US Open, it wasn't just her killer serve that set social media on fire. It was what some fans claim was a very spicy, split-second, post-point expression caught on camera.

We’re talking about a viral clip that has everyone hitting replay. After a heart-stopping rally in the third set against Denmark's Clara Tauson, the cameras zoomed in just as Eala appeared to mouth a word that sounded a lot like "Putang ina" or maybe even just the infamous "Puta".

The internet, naturally, has zero chill. The debate is raging harder than an Eala forehand: was it a genuine, heat-of-the-moment curse, a classic Filipino expression of surprise, or maybe just a misheard "muntik na" ("almost did")?

And get this—the drama has totally spilled over into the music scene in the Philippines and in the US! The clip is everywhere, with Filipino singers and even local hip-hop artists sampling the moment, creating memes, and giving the expletive a whole new meaning. Forget tennis commentary, we're talking about a new track inspired by a US Open hot mic moment!

The roots of the song began before Eala's historic US Open victory. “PTI” didn’t start off as the war cry for the people it is now. It started off as a swaggy, Filipino pride track," says Carl Angelo, a rapper based in Los Angeles.

The song became a collaboration among Filipino American hip-hop artists in California. Morobeats’ Miss A, Yamz, Talilo and David Ira, were brought in. Ruby Ibarra, fresh off her Little Desk tour for NPR, was brought in. The track pays homage to both Filipino and rap culture.

Then Eala won her match at the US Open and uttered the curse. It went viral and the song exploded all over social media. Eala isn't just making waves in tennis; she's officially gone mainstream cultural icon, one controversial syllable at a time. This is the kind of crossover content we live for!

Eala's US Open clip and the subsequent discussion have been widely shared on platforms like TikTok and Instagram by Filipino artists, media pages, and community groups, amplifying the conversation and leading to various interpretations and memes.

FYI: You can listen to the PTI track on Spotify

A number of Filipino and Filipino Amereican hip-hop artists and singers have notably commented on and even been inspired by the viral clip. The word in the clip, often shortened from "Putang Ina," has been reclaimed by some artists as a rallying cry for Filipino pride rather than a mere curse word.

Filipino American rapper Ruby Ibarra is featured on a track titled "PTI" (short for "Putang Ina"), which uses the expletive as a statement of pride, rage, and community for Filipinos across the world. The song's cover art even spotlights tennis prodigy  Eala, acknowledging the viral moment as the inspiration for its title.

Eala has never admitted to saying it but you don't have to be a lip reader to see Eala mouthed a "P", not an "M" in her spontaneous outburst of disbelief.

A snippet of Eala's soundbite even opens the track, and she is featured on the song's cover art. 

At least one independent artist, Ravenson Biason, was inspired to write a song titled "Vaporwave Hero" dedicated to Eala as a sign of support and national pride, though this was a direct tribute rather than a commentary on the "puta" moment specifically.
The incident has generally led to a broader cultural conversation among Filipino artists and the community about national pride and the various meanings and contexts of the Tagalog phrase.

FYI: The Carl Angelo PTI Challenge is an open-verse rap challenge started by Filipino American rapper Carl Angelo for his hit single "PTI," inviting artists (Filipino or not) to spit a verse over the instrumental, share it online, and tag him to get reposted, celebrating Filipino culture and Hip Hop while reclaiming a Filipino slang term as a rallying cry for artistry and identity.

Eala's authentic exclamation went viral, sparking a national conversation about authenticity, pressure, and just being human under the global spotlight.

Around the same time, the Philippines was rocked by major anti-corruption protests. The swear word is being used as a powerful and defiant rallying cry to express rage, frustration, and condemnation against government corruption, injustice, and political figures, most notably by Vice Ganda directed at the allegedly crooked politicians.

Ganda is a wildly popular and influential Filipino comedian, actor, singer, host, and entrepreneur, known for his flamboyant personality, hit movies and songs, and as a mainstay on the daytime variety show "It's Showtime". He is a major LGBTQ+ icon, a top-earning celebrity, and a powerful force in Philippine entertainment, often called "The Phenomenon" due to his massive success and cultural impact.

The song was always intended to be a "swaggy, Filipino pride track," but these moments solidified its purpose. It's about taking shared struggles and flipping them into collective strength. It unites the Filipino diaspora, from the streets of Manila to L.A. parking lots,  in an unapologetic stand against colonial and political forces who prefer to dilute the power of the people to challenge the powers-that-be.

In the US, the FilAm rappers are using their voices and in particular, "PTI," to tackle serious issues of identity and the challenges facing the Filipino American community through art. The chant is considered a bold and expressive way to challenge authority, as using such language in public discourse pushes boundaries and amplifies the protesters' message against those in power, against the status quo.

Angelo reflected on how real-world events, from Alex Eala’s historic US Open win to Vice Ganda’s fiery protest chant, gave new meaning to the song’s message. Even my mom might have agreed with that.

“We may not have started off as a war cry, but we ended it that way,” Angelo says in an Instagram post.

For Angelo, “PTI” represents every shade of being Filipino – whether you’re “a non-Tagalog speaking, super American Filipino kid” or “a modern-day, tattooed head-to-toe tribal warrior proud of your heritage,” he posts on social media.

“Nobody is more or less Filipino than anybody,” Angelo emphasized. “Once we realize AND accept that we’re all different, we’ll realize we’re actually in unison. We all come from different backgrounds and walks of life, but one thing is for sure — ‘Putang Ina’ means something to all of us.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge.