My 7-Year-Old’s 1st Tinikling Performance

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I already posted this on Cedro’s Blog, but I am so proud of him that one blog post isn’t enough!  I was so impressed by his presentations today for the Filipino Cultural School – FCS Fall Program Graduation and Holiday Party.  Out of the small class of 8 kids (of varying ages), he was the first in line to do a brief, oral report about himself in Tagalog.  He announced that he was “matapang” (brave), his favorite [Filipino] food was Adobo, he was interested in baseball and that he was good at Minecraft.  I had no idea he was supposed to do this today and he went up there and powered through without preparing at all at home!  I could never have done that at his age in front of a room full of strangers and in Tagalog no less!

And then, he blew me away with his Tinikling performance.  Again, he didn’t really practice at home apart from clapping the Tinikling rhythm every so often over the course of the Fall term.  He went up there without missing a beat and afterwards, volunteered without any prompting from anyone to a demo to try to get audience members to come up and try it.

Thank you, Cedro, for sacrificing your Saturday mornings for the past 8 weeks for this.  I’m sorry I’m always complaining out loud that there isn’t enough “Filipino” in our lives.  I was wrong.  You amaze me.  I’m so proud of you.

Pinoy Pride Weekend

 

Last weekend, I enjoyed back-to-back Filipino cultural events up in Seattle.  I was able to reconnect with old friends, experience some amazing art, support some important causes and express my Filipino pride. Special thanks to my hubby for being on double daddy daycare duty AND for driving Cedro to Tagalog class on Sunday without me.

I planned the trip around the Here Lies Love musical, written by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim about Imelda Marcos and the political climate in the 70s-80s in the Philippines.  The show stars some NYC friends (who I had met through my dear friend, Liz Casasola).  I thought the show was closing on June 4th, but it has been extended until June 18th at the Seattle Rep Theatre.  I highly recommend it.  It’s not just for Filipinos!  It is the most unique musical/theater performance you will experience.  Get your tickets now!

Then I found out that coincidentally a Broadway Barkada benefit concert was happening the following Monday night in Seattle.  It was the perfect excuse to have a mini reunion with friends and to support Fil-Am performing artists as well as The Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project.

Liz Casasola and Brian Jose — Broadway Barkada co-founders at rehearsal // Seattle, WA // 04 June 2017

Filipino Festival Time with Liz — This was moments before a raven swept down and STOLE my Filipino BBQ stick that was sitting on my plate that I had put down on a table while I was buying a drink! // June 2017 Seattle

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Lately, I have been struggling with balancing Filipino culture and language exposure to my kids in our trilingual household. Those couple of days in Seattle were exactly what I needed to stay strong.  Mabuhay!

Remembering Nanay (aka Lola Lina)

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