By Chynna Galang
Talentado is one of PACE’s spring semester events that offers an opportunity for Filipino students to showcase their talent for the evening. Throughout the evening, there were many different performances that were given, of the performances; this was their first time performing in front of a large crowd or their first time performing since high school. By hosting Talentado, every individual that performed showcased something different. Aftermath Dance Crew danced their hearts out on the stage, Nico Martinez and Kayla Ramirez sung a medley of different songs, spoken word was shared from Logan Lim, Rodel Sajor sung original songs that he composed himself, Ambergrace Castro sang a song about her faith, Justin Ramos showcased his amazing drumming skills, with a collaboration rap with Patrick Racela, while Zady Tubig shared original rap pieces to end the night. Each individual displayed different forms of art and were celebrated for their talent. Although Talentado is every spring semester, there was one component that made this Talentado stand out from the previous ones.
Aside from Talentado showcasing talent, Activities coordinator, Nik Gabriel, decided to incorporate a fashion show as apart of the program for Talentado this year. With PCN 43 being held on April 18th, Talentado was the perfect way of explaining what each suite represented followed by some of the PCN cast wearing the costume from that specific suite. Within PCN this year, there are 5 suites that will make up the performance: Cordillera, Principalia, Barrior Fiesta, Lumad, and Bangsamoro. Each suite plays an important role in the storyline of PCN this year.
The Cordillera suite was displayed by Jenelyn Pulido and Brandon Rabanal. Through this suite, the Kalinga are considered as the “peacocks of the north” because of their vibrant and colorful costumes. Men will traditionally wear baag or bahags and lawi or feather crowns. Woman will wear ¾ sleeved yellow blouse and kain or woven skirt. Woman accessorize by wearing the “ong-ong” or a multicolored chocker and a “pilakid” that are large multicolored strands of beads draped over the shoulder and crossed over the chest. The Principalia suite was displayed by Jonathan Kepo’okalani Natividad and Angela Sollesta. This suite is described as the suite that had been influenced by European, American and Japanese fashion; Filipinos utilized the popular European fashion with the early 1900s attire for woman and how there is a fusion of both European and Filipino attire by utilizing a jacket and a bowler hat with the traditional barong tagalog. The Barrior Fiesta was represented through Andrew Kalt and Samantha Susa. In this suite, it shows how the lower-middle class has simpler attire as they work for wealthy families. Men wear the “camisa de chino” a collarless long sleeved shirt, pants that are typically rolled up to the shins and “panuelo” a large square cloth folded into a triangle and tied loosely around the neck. Woman wear a “kimono” a blouse made from pineapple fiber with a “corpino” worn underneath and a skirt called a “patadyong.” The Lumad suite was followed by Koleen Arribas. This women of the Taalaandig ethnolingustic group of Bukidnon, Mindanao wear vibrant attire comprise of the “pakabo” or a cropped blouse, “batadyong” or skirt, “panika” a headdess worn during festivals made from yarn, bamboo, and feathers. Last by not least, the Bangsamoro suite was represented by Lordgin Savella and Eden Alcomendas. Located on the Souther coast of Zamboanda, the yakan basilan is the province’s indigenous group next to tausugs and chavacanos who make up the island. The Yakan wear woven attire made on loom and hand with intricate geometric patterns to represent different motifs. Men wear black pants called “Sawal”, an embellished black long sleeved shirt and “pis” a woven turban. Yakan women wear the same except they wear a wrap over the waist called a “saputangan”. The Yakan share the same tradition as the tausugs and sama dilaot that when a couple are to be wed they will paint the face with geometric patterns to ward off evil spirits.
Incorporating a small section of Talentado to educate the crowd on each suite of PCN this year was beneficial because of how each suite was picked for this year’s PCN with a reason. Through these costumes, there will be a better understanding of why PCN is one of the biggest showcases of Pilipino Culture, and Talentado was able to be the prelude to SFSU PACE’s 43rd Pilipino Cultural Night: Kapit Kamay.
Thank you for reading my article! I hope you will continue to show support for Kaisahan Balita!
Chynna Kadee Galang
Internship Coordinator, KOREvolution 2014-2015
DOWN, PACE Spring Internship 2014
Kaisahan Balita - Pilipino American Collegiate Endeavor 