The Taiwanese American Social Change Initiative at UCLA kicked off the national Taiwanese American Heritage Week with a free benefit concert Monday at Carnesale Commons.
Many students who attended the concert cheered and bobbed their heads to the beatbox solo during a performance by UCLA a cappella group AweChords of “Burning Bridges” by OneRepublic. About 50 students came to listen to Taiwanese music and live performances by artists Joseph Vincent, Claudeo and Gerald Ko.
The annual Taiwanese American Heritage Week was established by Congress to recognize the culture and history of Taiwanese Americans, said Joe Wang, a third-year economics student, external vice president of the TASC Initiative and concert director. Wang said the members hope to continue the Heritage Week tradition at UCLA.
Alex Kim, a UCLA alumnus, said he came to watch his friends in AweChords and Joseph Vincent perform. He said he supports the TASC Initiative to show pride in Taiwanese culture, and wishes the event was more heavily advertised.
“I wish to see other cultural communities do these activities to spread awareness of their cultures as well,” Kim said. He added that he intends to attend the rest of the week’s events.
Wang said the Union Rescue Mission, whose goal is to serve the homeless, inspired members of the TASC Initiative to use the concert to promote understanding between different cultures. The members aimed for the concert to display diversity among performers and music genres.
The TASC Initiative hopes the concert encouraged the Taiwanese-American community at UCLA to be more integrated with other cultures by bringing together diverse artists, Wang said.
This year’s concert, sponsored by the On-Campus Housing Council, was the third time the TASC Initiative hosted the event. Wang said members have been planning the concert as well as other club events for the Taiwanese American Heritage Week since the middle of last quarter.
The TASC Initiative will also host a workshop Tuesday night on Taiwanese food at Sunset Canyon Recreation Center as part of Taiwanese American Heritage Week. There will be free traditional food samples and games.