FASA's 2nd Annual Barrio Fiesta = comical success

"It'll all be OK if we just have fun with it." This was my rationale behind every mistake and wrong move made at our sweaty practices during the limited time before the cultural night hosted by Mizzou's Filipino-American Student Association, Barrio Fiesta. Various performances ranged from cultural dances and modern hip-hop dances to singing, trivia and a professional yo-yo artist. I volunteered as one of the modern tinikling performers, which I was completely comfortable with until the big night. Tinikling is traditional dance of the Philippines that mimics the tinikling bird as it hops between bamboo branches in the native forests. Filipinos dress in colorful attire, often in pairs, and dance between bamboo sticks as they open and close in a rhythmic beat. Our modern interpretation kept the same beat, but used a hip-hop song to switch things up... it all worked out well, except that the beat seemed to be a tad too fast for me on the night of the performance. I completely messed it up, while my partner continued on with little struggle. Despite the embarrassment, we were all laughing the entire time - Jordan, I and the crowd. They understood what we were attempting to do, and in the end, they enjoyed the entertainment factor of my fumbles. That's something that my mom told me after the performance: it's a typical characteristic of Filipinos to embrace the efforts of others, even if the execution of the task was sub-par. Thanks mom. =)

Barrio Fiesta was held in Stotler Lounge of Memorial Union this year, a great venue that attracted a lot of random traffic into the window-enclosed room. We had more than 75 attendees, a number that shocked and intimidated me as a performer, but softened my heart as a member of FASA. I remember scanning the room and thinking that, for every Asian face I recognized, there was at least one other ethnically different face mixed into the crowd. This night was all about sharing our culture as Filipino-Americans and celebrating it, so I truly believe that those who attended were able to walk away with a snippet of Filipino understanding.