In the spirit of #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth, I wanted to pay homage to pivotal, life-changing chapters thus far in my journey as a Filipino-American. Representing the power and beauty of the diverse landscape of the Philippines, Filipino Folk music and Dance has always been a powerful tool for expression and rooting identity. Filipino cultural dancing has always been important to both of my talented parents, so it’s no surprise that I would grow up learning many of the Filipino dance art forms and that this would lead me to join #UCIKababayan @kabaatuci right away as a freshman at UCI. It was there that I became PCN coord for 2 years & that I would of course found @KabaModern. Our #KABAMODERN family would take our passion for family & dance from PCN, FRIENDSHIP GAMES (the first pic), import car shows & club parties to eventually expanding our reach to competitions, showcases, concerts, YouTube, a grass roots movie THE DEBUT, and even the TV screen all in the name of expanding the FACE of Hip Hop / Urban dance to include the Asian-American faces who help grow the culture. I even had the opportunity to share this piece of history as a contributing author for the book EMPIRE of FUNK. Throughout all of this, as our CA dance community has grown and expanded due to the tireless efforts of many, I dreamed of traveling to the Philippines to give back. So incredibly THANKFUL that in the last 3 years, I have been able to help bring @vibephdancecomp to the PI through fam @ardaangelica , @ardamj_ & their @ateamph fam and support a dance convention to help bridge their dance community with @mycs_v and the @lsdcstreet fam! I’m proud to be a Filipino-American and plan to continue to do my part to honor my parents & all our ancestors who sacrificed much so I could be here today BY being positively purpose-driven with my words, spirit and actions here & abroad. Here’s to each of us embracing our identity, trailblazing our extraordinary journey forward, and living in a way that pays homage to those that have helped make it all possible. #ThankfulThursday #TBT #ProudPinoy #Grateful #Roots #FunkyFlips #Filipino #FilipinoHistoryMonth #BuildBridges #CommUNITY 🇵🇭🇺🇸✊🏽💙❤️💛✨ https://www.instagram.com/p/BpXl3x9h8GjV2rIC5J2JAmDOl0H2M2Vq9CqRqM0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=w4xjknyzct6