[Re]Presentation of the Filipin@ American

The KabaCon is coming! If you're near Orange County, CA on Saturday, February 28th then swing by the 10th Annual Kababayan Conference at UC Irvine. The venue is at the Student Center and registration begins at 9:00am. Pre-registration is $3, day-or registration is $5.

The conference is titled "The [Re]Presentation of the Filipino American." Kinda sounds intriguing, no?

The conference's featured presentations:

"Hip Hop: The Filipino American Impact on Hip Hop culture, and Hip Hop's Influence on Filipino American Culture" with Bambu & Krishtine De Leon (EyeASage)

"The Historical Experiences of Filipin@ Immigrants in the 1920s-1930s" with Linda Maram (professor at Long Beach State and author of Creating Masculinity in Los Angeles's Little Manila)

"Pinoy Pop: Aesthetics and Style in Contemporary Filipino Culture" with Christine Balance (musician, member of The Jack Lords, writer for OH! Industry webzine, and professor at UC Irvine)

"The Current and Historical Portrayal of Filipin@ Americans in American Media" with Patricio Ginelsa & AJ Calomay (Xylophone Films & Kid Heroes Production)

"Filipino American and Chicano American Migrant Workers Experience" with Gilbert Gonzales (professor at UC Irvine)

"PCN: The Filipino American Cultural Phenomena Its Origins, the Subculture Created, and How It Has Become an Outlet for Original Expression" with Xavier Hernandez (SF State Graduate Student)

(Those are some long ass titles)

Conference Performances:

Rhythm Natives

Kuttin Kandi

Son of Ran

The line-up looks nice. And the keynote speaker? It's none other than yo boy talking about some mess: "Yes! The Rhythm, The Rebel! Filipino Funky Hybridity and the Magic Trick of U.S. Empire" (and that's not a long ass title?)

And, later on the very same day, you need to check out my man Tad Nakamura's new film, "A Song for Ourselves" in Little Tokyo. Tad chronicles the art, activism, and passion of the late, great Chris Iijima, who sang the songs of revolution during the Asian American movement in the 1960s. I like how Tad ties in the art of the pioneers like Chris with the hip hop of Filipinos today. By the way, Bambu, Kiwi, and Blue Scholars will be performing after the screening (what!).