Akbayan puts on cultural performance

By Brandon Nicolas STAFF WRITER

The Akbayan club hosted its 22nd annual KAPWA concert, Mula Sa Puso, on Saturday at the Student Union Theater, highlighting up-and-coming Filipino-American artists and performers.

All the proceeds from the concert went to the Project PEARLS charity.

Project PEARLS is a nonprofit organization aiming to help children in need with nutrition, education, shelter and medical services, according to its website.

Performers included San Jose State’s Commonality dance group, 16-year-old singer, songwriter and producer JMAYE, Sauce Dance Crew and former Akbayan member and SJSU alumna Ashley Mehta.

Akbayan, which is the only FilipinoAmerican association on campus, is a non-profit organization founded upon four pillars: cultural, social, academic and community & political.

The word Akbayan means “embracing friendship” in Tagalog.

“Our sole purpose is to spread and embrace friendship, and also embrace our culture through all of our events,” said Kylene Mercado, psychology junior and Akbayan cultural chair.

The KAPWA concert, originally called the Mabuhay Talent Showcase for 20 years, changed its name because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Mercado said the term KAPWA, a Filipino psychological concept that means “to see yourself in other people,” or “the unity of self in I,” is a more fitting title following the social disconnect caused by COVID-19.

“That’s what we want to bring out in this showcase,” Mercado said. “With the KAPWA concert, its main purpose is to not only highlight Filipino-American artists and performers, but to also ultimately raise money for charity.”

The concert name Mula Sa Puso means “From the Heart” in Tagalog.

Mercado said she chose the name because she feels Filipino American students often feel disconnected from their culture.

“There’s a lot of reasons for that,” Mercado said. “We have different experiences from those in the Philippines, and I wanted to signify that your culture and your experiences come from the heart.”

Mabuhay means “long live” in Tagalog and is a way of welcoming others.

Mercado said the concerts previously took place in October to pay homage to Filipino American history month, but it was rescheduled from October 2022 to February because of COVID-19.

“This is an important night for me because as an artist I am being embraced into a community here that I can only find as a college student,” said aerospace engineering freshman Brent Cantillas. Cantillas, who exhibits under the name brntjc, opened the concert with a blend of jazz and rhythm and blues, accompanied by bass, drums and saxophone.

“I think it’s important for us to find our community and to be able to celebrate and embrace the people in our community as Filipino Americans,” Cantillas said.

He said, because of Project PEARLS, Filipino-American students are not only gathering together as a community, but are also helping to raise awareness of problems going on in the Philippines.

“Kylene wanted to surround the concert more with up-and-coming artists rather than big named ones,” said Lauren Malihan, aerospace engineering senior and Akbayan President.

Malihan said because the artists and performers chosen are not well known, it allows them to connect more with the crowd and establish reasonable representation.

“The charity is an amazing cause and being Filipino myself and a dual citizen, doing anything to contribute back to the community is really important to me,” said Jolene Lozano, a Filipino American singer songwriter from San Francisco and a returning performer at the KAPWA concerts.

Lozano said she was born and raised in New Jersey and decided to follow her dreams as an artist after graduating from Boston College.

“Personally when I was growing up, I didn’t see that many people that looked like me in mainstream media,” Lozano said.

Lozano said she felt warmth Saturday night because she never got to see that many Filipinos in one place, let alone gather for an amazing cause.

Malihan said the concert is wellknown in the Filipino American student community, but could be promoted more by Associated Students or other organizations because the message of the concert is universal.

“Representation is a big deal to us,” Malihan said. “Being that it’s our 22nd concert, not a lot of people know about it.”

She said many of the topics shared in the event are about bridging different struggles together and understanding where we come from.

“When we see communities grow, it is a beautiful thing,” said biomedical engineering senior Steven Teddy, who performed several metal songs. “And to have this happen too is such an amazing wonder.”

During the beginning and end of the concert, Mercado asked the crowd to put their right hand to their heart and think of their experiences, loved ones, and community.

“No matter your identity, no matter your background, culture is from the heart,” Mercado said.