My name is Jomarie Dela Pena, and I was born in the Philippines on September 26, 1994. And at 2 years old, my family immigrated to the United States. For about 5 years
now, I have been doing traditional dancing. I started out with the dance
company called Likha Too, which then formed into ACPA ( American Center for
Philippine Arts) which is also part of the SEED (Students
Enriched in Education & Dance) program.
I remember when my first
day of class. My mom tricked me into going. She basically just took me to
Oakland without me knowing where we were going. But little did I know, that it
would change my life.
As a kid, of course I
would associate my self as being a Filipina, but who
wanted to flaunt that?
We’re dark skinned people who eat with our hands, and are pretty much related
to everyone.
As I immersed my self
with traditional dancing, my passion for it grew and I sought to learn more
about my culture. I joined organizations here at SFSU that enhanced my learning
about my history and where I come from, and I can proudly say that I know a lot
more history than my mom.
The different dances
from the different regions of the Philippines have a display of its own
character, and shows an amazing amount of uniqueness. Some may perform similar
dances, but no two are exactly the same. I believe that this thought and idea
is very universal and can be applied to almost everything.
With that drive I get
from what I learn, it makes me want to share it with the rest of the world, or
at least with the youth of our community. Last year, for SF State’s PCN, (
Philippine Cultural Night) I lead one of the dances, and to see everyones
desire to share what they’ve worked on brought me happiness. Seeing that
passion in their eyes on opening night made me think to myself, with what I
have shared, maybe these students were able to share their love of our culture
with some one in the audience, and maybe, just maybe, influenced them in a way
where they want to learn more about their heritage.
What would you associate yourself as? Are you proud to be the race you are? What do you think of it?
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