Filipino-American Student Association hosts 24th Annual Heritage Dinner

Sayaw sa Western performed a traditional Filipino dance at the FASA heritage dinner on Saturday. Photo by Eric Hermosada Courtesy of FASA

By Sydnee Smith

Attendees wore yellow ribbon on their shirts and yellow flower petals decorated each table at the Filipino-American Student Association’s 24th annual heritage dinner on Feb. 9.

The color yellow went with the theme of the night, which was “sikat ng araw,” meaning “a new day,” or “sunrise.” The theme represents the 33rd anniversary of the EDSA Revolution in the Philippines. This is also known as the People Power Revolution, in which citizens forced the impeachment of then-president Ferdinand Marcos.

Four baskets were auctioned off during the event for charity. All $223 collected went to Salupongan International, a non-profit that works with rural communities in the Southern Philippines to support community-based schools and education programs, health programs and portable water systems.

Angela Fillingim, assistant sociology professor, attended the event, as her husband is the faculty adviser for FASA. She said as Western is a historically-white institution and people of Filipino descent are historically marginalized, it’s nice to have a space to celebrate their culture.

A traditional Filipino dinner was served and consisted of chicken adobo, vegetable pancit, jasmine rice and beef lumpia. The dessert was turon with vanilla ice cream and dulce-de-leche.

Freshmen and roommates Therese Evangelista and Caitlin Millard attended the event together.

“I’m Filipino and having these types of events is really important to me because I want others to witness what my culture has to offer,” Evangelista said.

Millard joined her roommate for the event because she said she doesn’t know much about the culture, as she is South African. Evangelista gets so excited when she talks about it, so Millard thought it’d be nice to join in, she said.

The night hosted many performances including SINI-HHA, an all-inclusive dance club on campus; Sayaw sa Western, which performed Filipino dances; many vocal performances, a keynote speaker and a collaborative poem by the officers of FASA.

FASA President Laurianne Ledesma said she’s glad she was able to share her culture with the community. Ledesma is a fifth-year student who has been an officer for four years. This is her first time as president.

“Here at FASA, we’re a family. If one of us falls, we all fall,” Ledesma said.

FASA meets every Wednesday in Academic West 304 at 7 p.m.

Updated Feb. 22 to correct the translation of the event’s theme, and the spelling of the charity that was donated to and FASA’s president’s name. Photo credits have also been updated to add attribution to the photographer.