Hello & welcome to vol. 1 of curating our week: a round-up of a few things that have inspired me to keep going, creating, breathing, etc. as of late with hopes of spreading that same energy to anyone who reads this.
Before getting into it, I want to acknowledge this beautiful eclipse period of Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month and Filipinx American History Month we’re living under. While we celebrate the national contributions made possible by Latinos (like these inventions) and FilAms (who also played an essential role in creating the first Ethnic Studies program), immersing ourselves in all the #branded campaigns (though I must say, this “El Tiny” takeover from NPR is actually worth watching), it would be remiss to not also discuss colonialism’s residual effects across cultures. What makes these 15-days so important, as @highlyhuman points out, is that “Pilipino and Latine communities share history and experiences that form our connections, link our languages, honor our differences, shape our legacies.”
On the media front, both communities continue to make strides yet the path to developing more inclusive tech and entertainment industries isn’t a paved road where you can roam freely — it more so feels like that glass bridge from Squid Game (spoiler alert) where you can only reach the next step if the person who went before you succeeded. (Can this low key explain the entire struggle living in a world where white is the default of “success”??) One wrong move is enough to deter you from continuing (because you’re dead jk) or the next person to move forward without fear of failure. These cultural heritage and history months literally exist to inspire future generations to continue building on all that was made possible by those before us, all while knowing damn well the odds aren’t always in our favor.
Despite Latinos comprising the largest group of moviegoers, let alone the second largest ethnic population, they account for just 7% of leading roles. Just as maddening is the fact that feature films centering Filipino stories have been shown at Sundance approximately *checks notes* one time, in 2001 (it was the movie The Flip Side by Rod Pulido, who shared some thoughts on the rise of Filipino cinema in a blog post). At the same time, the blatant colorism in In The Heights exposed many truths of how anti-Blackness continues to show up with the erasure of Afro-Latinidad in mainstream media, and not to mention how skin whitening continues to prevail among Filipinas.
Even when making sense of our identity, to navigate something as seemingly mundane as filling out a census form reinforces the colonistic undertones and complexities of checking a box. The mere labelling of “Hispanic” exposes hard truths within the culture that my friend, Analee Campbell, spoke on in this feature from Audible:
Although it connects many of us and marks several Latin American country independence days, it still is connected to Spain and, with that, colonization, which isolates those with African and Indigenous roots.
The same goes for those of us Filipinos who carry the surnames of our oppressors, unable to trace the roots that connect us to the land — and really, at the very core of these national months is Indigeneity. Colonialism’s impact on our every movement living in the diaspora is so deep and it becomes that much more imperative to remember and reclaim identity without the constructs of western ideologies. Josué Rivas of LANDBACK.art says, “Art can be a vehicle for healing and taking up physical space is a great first step towards our collective liberation as Indigenous peoples.” Our stories need to be told in our voices across all mediums, not whitewashed or watered down to accommodate the palettes of those who created such divides to begin with. It’s encouraging and inspiring to read how these Latinx artists thread their cultural identities within their work, rather than suppressing them which I, myself, have been guilty of doing. In a world that “constantly requires our resilience,” as Dr. E. J.R. David says, “The fact that I am here and my people are still here despite generations of systematic attempts to erase us is already proof of our resilience.” For me, that alone is enough to keep going.
“My greatest responsibility is that the word of my grandmother does not get lost.” I stumbled upon the documentary The Song of Butterflies which follows Rember Yahuarcani, an Indigenous painter from the White Heron clan of Peru’s First Peoples, and his journey of returning home. It’s a beautiful testament of recalling the past as necessary form of survival.
Etsy has seriously been killing it in the content department and I feel like in these times of revolting against bajillionaires it’s more important than ever to support local artists. Watch these features on Gullah basket weavers (all handmade with techniques passed down through generations) & Honey Dijon who put together an exclusive creator collab as an homage to queer culture to which I say, take my money.
This short from Anamon Studios Let’s Eat serves one of those “I’m not crying YOU’RE crying” moments as you watch the story of an immigrant, single mother and her 2nd gen daughter’s relationship unfolds throughout the years. Have tissues ready.
“If you’re not making something that you’re genuinely passionate about, you’ll burn yourself out at some point…If you’re really loving what you’re doing, you’ll be resilient through anything that you face.”
— Jesus Morales, a TikTok creator who raised over $100k in donations to benefit local street vendors in LA and San Diego
I can’t even put into words how important this piece from Ligaya Mishan on the erasure and rebuilding of our place as AAPI’s within the music industry is. As she mentioned in a tweet, “I wrote this piece in fury, in grief & in hope,” and bet all sides of my own emotional spectrum were felt as I read about Asian femme musicians I wish I knew sooner, but glad to know now.
Yin Chang spoke to Teen Vogue and got super candid about her character on Gossip Girl, Nelly Yuki, (namely, two very different approaches on her character development from the original vs. the reboot). I loved learning about how she launched her storytelling community 88 Cups of Tea, and a food delivery service for Asian elders with her partner, Heart of Dinner (recently featured on Humans of New York!!).
“…if you don't buy a ticket, you can't win the lottery” has been imprinted on my brain ever since reading artist Viviana Matsuda’s interview with Hunker on taking the risk to start your own creative business.
“I think it’s easy to say ‘I’m doing whatever I want’ but there’s so much stuff that’s just around, so many biases that are just around, and I think that it actually takes a lot of work to be something that isn’t influenced by those things.”
— Opal Hoyt of Zenizen, who has a dreamy new song out now and ready to bless all your playlists
Imagine if everyone adopted this concept from Alok Vaid-Menon, "when you step into your power, that just encourages me to step in mine” and just completely trashed the capitalistic-default of individualism? I wish. Listen to them offer so many more necessary truths for self liberation in this episode of The Man Enough Podcast.
Thanks to COLORS, I discovered anaiis who released her debut album last month which I just want to bathe in. She describes it as “a reclaiming of my narrative, an open hearted acceptance of my imperfections, and an exploration of what true liberation could look like for me.”
Not enough people are talking about Patina Miller’s work on Power Book III: Raising Kanan — and maybe because not enough are watching to begin with, but I implore you to start (if not just for the lewks alone). She developed such a multifaceted character (alongside Hailey Kilgore, no less!) and you can listen her talk about it in this podcast where she also gets into representation, and the synchronicity between creating good work and the company you keep.
“We're always told that whatever we are is not enough. We're constantly trying to bend to the will of the masses. [Laughs.] As artists, in order to change the world like we want to, we can't do that. That's not how revolutions or change happens.”
— Willow Smith, whose performance of her new single '“Meet Me At Our Spot” has been living in my head rent free
That’s it! Hope at least one of these shared offerings gives you the inspiration to create and re-imagine self expression in the days ahead. Feel free to let me know what resonated with you or if you have anything you’d like to share that helped shape your week/month/year so far creatively (maybe you’ll see it in the next issue). ✨
If you like what you saw, salamat! Please consider sharing this with someone who you think might feel the same.
If you’d like to show your gratitude in other ways like buying me a coffee (or boba!), you can do so below.