Monday, October 27, 1997
Sing your life
CULTURE: On a beautiful Saturday, UCLA’s first Filipino
Community Festival proves a
smashing success.
By Teresa Jun
Daily Bruin Contributor
It was a sparkling, clear, sunny afternoon unusual for this time
of year. The aroma of a sizzling barbecue, hot off the grill,
drifted through the warm air as music and entertainment enlivened
the balmy atmosphere.
It was the perfect backdrop for the first Filipino Community
Festival, held Saturday on the field of the Sunset Canyon
Recreation Center.
The six-hour event, titled "Mabuhay: Celebrating Life in our
Community," was organized by UCLA’s Samahang Filipino club. As part
of October’s Filipino American History Month, the festival promoted
celebration, education and networking among students and adults
within the local Filipino population.
One of the things celebrated on Saturday was the diversity of
expression within the Filipino community.
"We all have different ways of expressing ourselves through our
daily lives," said Mark Ng, president of Samahang.
"Some of us are students, so we express ourselves as scholars.
Others may be artists or business people."
Because they focused on celebrating aspects of Filipino life and
culture within the entire Los Angeles community, not just within
UCLA’s borders, Samahang invited local Filipino businesses,
organizations and alumni to take part in the event.
The participants each contributed their unique talents and
skills to the celebration. At one booth, a restaurant manager
cooked up flavorful Filipino dishes and desserts to sell. At
another booth, a local merchant sold various fashion items popular
among Filipino youth.
Meanwhile, on stage at the other end of the field, various local
amateur talent groups provided spirited entertainment. There were
dancers, mural artists, and singers. One singing group especially
got the audience into a festive mood with a capella versions of
popular Michael Jackson songs.
Even The Beat FM (92.3) was there, with DJ Icy Ice in attendance
to DJ the event. DJ Icy Ice is widely known for his weekday morning
"House Party" shows on The Beat, and less widely known for
establishing a foundation in Filipino/Asian-American nightclub
entertainment. In addition to providing music all day, the station
also periodically announced the event over the radio.
In light of Filipino-American History Month, the festival also
had an educational component.
A representative from an off-campus organization called "League
of Filipinos" informed the audience of some sobering statistics
concerning Filipino youths today, such as school dropout rates.
While she spoke, another group was on the sidelines painting a
mural depicting Filipino opposition to foreign corporate
domination.
Filipino World War II veterans took the stage later in the
afternoon to publicize their campaign against the U.S. government
for allegedly revoking their promised rights when they returned
from the war.
The singing of the "Star-Spangled Banner" and the Filipino
National Anthem further roused political emotion. Out of all the
events of the afternoon, the performance of the Filipino Anthem was
the most memorable to Samantha Balanon, a junior at Gardena High
School.
"I learned things about the culture that I didn’t know," said
Balanon, who also expressed strong desires to participate in
similar programs when she enters college.
Another one of Samahang’s goals for this event was to make the
young Filipino population more aware of all the resources and
networks available to them in the Los Angeles area.
Many people don’t realize that there is a growing Filipino
component downtown, not unlike the more familiar Chinatown and
Koreatown, Ng said.
"There are various Filipino service groups, advocacy groups, and
businesses still growing in downtown L.A.," Ng added. "We want to
let people know that there are organizations out there that serve
the Filipino community."
Samahang’s open festival brought community organizations and
businesses together with students from UCLA, other local colleges
and high schools.
One of the booths at the event featured free hypertension
screening tests by Pilipinos for Community Health, a campus
organization.
"Any exposure that Filipinos get to health issues is really
good," said Erick Lansigan, director of operations for PCH. "There
are certain health issues that especially affect the Filipino
population such as hypertension."
Another booth featured FLIP magazine, a hip new publication
focusing on fashion, lifestyles, and personalities pertinent to
Filipino youths.
Covering Filipinos in entertainment, politics and the news, this
magazine gives sole coverage to young Filipinos for the first
time.
"This is the first publication of its kind," said Roger Fojas,
photo editor of FLIP. "There is one other Filipino publication out
there, but it’s for older Filipino women."
At his booth, Fojas was ready at every moment with his camera
around his neck, taking pictures of various happening throughout
the day.
"We love being part of the Filipino community," Fojas added.
"That’s what the magazine strives for."
Even high school Filipino organizations had a booth at the
event.
Kababayan Alliance, a Long Beach-based coalition of high school
Filipino clubs, has goals similar to those of many of their
college-level counterparts.
"We’re about unifying Filipino youth and making them culturally
aware of their history and identity," said Elaine Almazan, an 11th
grader from Lakewood High School.
The high school group was excited about being a part of a
college event.
"It’s good because (UCLA) is giving us a chance to expose
ourselves to the Filipino community and meet other Filipino clubs
and organizations that are promoting Filipinos too," Almazan
added.
But, despite the myriad organizations and businesses that came
and set up booths to show their support, almost everyone would
agree that Saturday’s biggest disappointment was that more people
didn’t show up.
"We were discouraged because the turnout was low," said
Katherine Carrido, the festival’s coordinator. "But it was a
learning experience because it was our first time."
Since it was Samahang’s first-ever Filipino Community Festival,
Edwin Habacon was not surprised to see only handfuls of students
trickling in throughout the day.
Habacon, owner of a private clothing business called Tribal
Pinoy, had his own booth Saturday.
"This is their first time, so it’s understandable that it’s
going to be small," Habacon added. "But I can really see it getting
big in a couple of years. We’ve got a nice place, nice day."
Joji Belzunce, assistant manager of Neri’s, a Filipino
restaurant represented at the festival, agreed.
"With more advertising, more sponsors, more knowledge about the
event around campus, there would probably be more turn out,"
Belzunce said.
But despite the event’s low attendance, Belzunce said he would
be very interested in coming back to the festival again next
year.
"The support from the community has been great – more than we
could ask for," Carrido expressed.
Overall, Samahang was pleased with the day’s events.
"It was our first time, so we didn’t know what we were
expecting," said Christine Capacillo, Samahang’s historian. "But a
lot of youths came out, and so did the community organizations and
businesses especially."
"So, it’s happening," the club’s historian added. "The process
has begun. The campus and the community are getting involved
together on the issues going on within the Filipino
population."
KIT TARROZA
Classified Records performing vocal group Pinay performed
Saturday at the Filipino Community Festival at the Sunset Canyon
Recreational Center. The name ‘Pinay’ is an American colloquialism
for a Filipino American female. It members are Irma de los Santos
(left), Loredie Reyes, May Briones and Angelica Abiog.