FASA Presents 20th Exhibitiion Of Filipino Culture

FASA, the Filipino American Student Association, is holding the 20th annual culture night, this year called Bagobo.

Kissa Fernandez, a senior at Virginia Tech and the vice president of FASA, is the event coordinator for culture night.

Bagobo “is a dance,” Fernandez said. “It’s about clearing the field for planting new rice. Bago means new and tubo means growth.”

The Bagobo dance imitates the motions of planting crops, and represents a fresh start and progress. It will be a night of different dances, both traditional and modern, skits, a fashion show, and a power point of FASA’s activities to summarize the accomplishments of the year.

This event will showcase Filipino culture. The night will have five main themes which represent major regions in the Philippines. They include tribal, mountain, Muslim, rural and Maria Clara. There will be dances and other performances that fall into region to gain a better perspective of the region as a whole.

Fernandez said her favorite dance is the Muslim sweet because it imitates the movements of fish in the water. She has been a member of FASA since her freshman year. When asked why she loves FASA, she said, “Well, it’s metaphorically like a teenage pregnancy. At first you think, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ But then you love it because it’s your baby. I love it because it provides so many opportunities for growth.”

Culture night will take place Saturday April 5, 2008 in Burruss Hall Auditorium. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7:00 and goes until 9:00.

FASA was the first college Filipino organization in Virginia. Since it is the 20th Anniversary there will be many alumni-based projects. For example, many alumni from the past 20 years will be interviewed about the past experiences of FASA members. The interviews are an effort to collect and record memories.

This will be the launch for FASA’s oral history project launch. The group id hoping to accomplish what its members have traditionally done on culture night.

“I enjoy the Filipino community as well as participating in different events,” said member Aicel Reyes. “I also really enjoy doing the culture show because I get to know other FASA members better and I get to showcase our culture”

Reyes said members have been practicing and preparing for culture night since the start of the semester. They practice every Saturday and Sunday. FASA also participates in many other campus and community activities such as the Big Event and Relay for Life.

The group seems to go for anything that builds community among them such as going out to eat and having bowling nights. One program that is especially important to the organization is Kuya/Ate, which means big brother/ big sister. It is a program that helps freshmen get to know older members of the organization so that they feel cared for by the Filipino student community at Virginia Tech.

The consensus seems to be that culture night will be a great way to kick off the Asian Pacific American heritage month.