What a lot of people don't know about me is that, for a large portion of my life in college and shortly thereafter, I had immersed myself completely in the [re-]recognition of everything that is a part of that beautiful culture.
During my tenure at UC, I held the position as president of the university's Filipino-Am (Fil-Am) student association. It was a terrific experience that created multiple opportunities for me to visit other colleges/universities for conferences, explore the history of the population as a whole, learn new cultural dances, and cook cultural food. I wouldn't trade that time for the world: while I am adopted, and an American through and through in my heart, I am still Filipina, and that culture is a part of who I am.
That being said, there is a Fil-Am association here, which I have yet to investigate, simply because I keep running out of time to get over there. I drove by it once again on my way out of the base the other day, and for the next 20 minutes kept reminiscing back to the times when I did my part in cultural performances and planning for the different conferences and hosted events.
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| binisuan | dpsa |
The other picture [in which we kind of resemble confused bartenders, I know] was at [THE] Ohio State University's Barrio Fiesta, an annual Fil-Am event hosted by OSU's PSA [Philippines' Student Assoc.] The dance portrayed in both of these is called, Binisuan, which entails balancing a cup of water on your head, and one in each hand as you're dancing. It's not easy.
When I think about all the dances in which I had the liberty of participating, I would have to say Singkil was my absolute favorite. It's a beautiful love story played out with a huge ensemble of dancers, bamboo poles, and stunning costumes. A less intricate, but equally beautiful cousin of Singkil is the dance that became my favorite to perform. Tinikling is one of the most popular Filipino dances, and one of [in my opinion] the most fun to learn and perform. It certainly requires a fair amount of agile footwork; otherwise there is a likely guarantee that you will get your ankles smashed by two heavy bamboo poles.
Long story short, I spent a lot of time over the past few days thinking back to my days of Fil-Am costumes, tours, dances, conferences, and shows. It was a ton of fun, and the more I think about it now, the more inclined I am to find another avenue here, in America's dream of Belleville, IL, to again dig into that culture in a more hands-on capacity. I would also love for my daughter to develop a solid knowledge of what is a part of her, as well.
And so my search is on.....
xo | cmd
