The UA Filipino-American Student Association and Tucson’s Filipino-American community celebrated an evening of music, fun and food Saturday at the club’s 10th annual FASA Fiesta.
The event was held in the auditorium at Mansfeld Middle School, 1300 E. Sixth St., and featured a variety of performances from club members that mixed both traditional and modern dancing, singing and fashion to reflect the diverse talents and cultural backgrounds of the club’s members.
“”We try to educate the campus community as well as the Tucson community about Filipino culture through entertainment, like dancing and singing, and also with food,”” said FASA co-President Aileen Primero, an engineering management junior.
Primero and more than 100 other FASA members organized and performed in the event, which took more than three months of planning and rehearsals.
The event was loosely constructed around the theme of a game show that also featured a wide variety of live performances, running the gamut from traditional and modern Filipino songs and dances to American swing and hip-hop dancing.
“”This is the first time performing Filipino traditional dance,”” said Andrea Dimacale, a pre-business freshman.
Dimacale, like many FASA members, was featured in a number of performances including a traditional “”scarf dance,”” which combined native Filipino and Muslim traditions into graceful, fluid movements accented by long silken scarves.
Dimacale said she has been dancing since she was 5 years old, studying primarily ballet and jazz dance, but after participating in the fiesta she has “”decided to do it every year from now on.””
Other dances included “”pandango oasioas,”” a dance of skill involving balancing glasses with lighted candles on the head and back of the hands, and “”sayaw sa bangko,”” in which a pair of dancers makes nimble moves atop a narrow bench.
“”I challenge anyone out there to try it; it’s a lot harder than you might think,”” said Ramon Monton, an undeclared junior who emceed and performed throughout the evening.
Other club members showed off their vocal talents, performing both Filipino and American popular songs. Virginia Sims, an undeclared freshman, sang two numbers, including “”Sana Maulit Muli,”” a tender ballad popularized by Filipino singer Regine Velasquez and sung in Tagalog.
“”I speak (Tagalog) a little bit,”” Sims said. “”It was pretty difficult to learn, especially getting the pronunciation right.””
The club’s members also provided a sumptuous feast of Filipino favorites – including pork and potatoes over rice, vegetable rolls and rice-flour cupcakes – for the more than 250 people in attendance.
“”We started preparing everything earlier in the week,”” said Jane Chi, a pre-nursing sophomore and one of many FASA members rushing to keep up with the line of hungry patrons that threaded its way around the perimeter of the auditorium.
The feast was made to feed about 300 people, Chi said, a job made a bit easier by the middle school, which allowed the club to use its kitchen facilities
“”We’re really grateful to them for letting us use their cafeteria,”” Chi said.
