The Kababayan Learning Community (KLC) will be performing a stage play entitled, “Letters to Our Ancestors” for Pilipino Cultural Night (PCN) on April 24 and 26 as a way of celebrating Filipino heritage and culture.
PCN has been a long-time tradition on college campuses ever since the 60s, according to Kababayan community advisor and professor Liza Erpelo.
Erpelo mentioned that students write the play in the fall semester and perform the play on PCN during the Spring semester.
The Kababayan Learning Community helps students increase their proficiency in English, while also encouraging them to graduate and transfer to a four-year university. The community also focuses on educating those who wish to know about Filipino culture and Filipino-American culture.
The director of the play, Niko Santana, got involved in the production of PCN after a friend encouraged him to join. He said his involvement with the community has helped him grow into who he is today.
“I don’t recognize who I was three years ago,” Santana said. “I’m grateful for all the growth that I’ve had within this community.”
This is Santana’s third PCN.
Santana said that he has come back so many times to be a part of this production because he wants to give back to the community that has helped him grow so much as an individual.
“If there’s any possibility that I can plant that type of inkling of growth into anyone that is a part of PCN, then I’ll definitely take a chance at it,” Santana said.
Another officer of PCN and a member of the community, Jamie Laygo, said being a part of the PCN production helped increase her knowledge of what it means to be Filipino, especially in America, through hearing other people’s experiences.
“With the stories we write in PCN, not only are we sharing from our own experience, but we’re also sharing experiences that we learn from other people, so that way we can teach them not everything is always what it seems,” Laygo said.
Karmela Madarang, the stage manager, said that PCN and the Kababayan community helped her transition back into college after taking a gap year from San Francisco State University. Madarang believes cultural education should be available to anyone who desires it. She also mentioned not expecting how reflecting on her experiences and other’s experiences could have made such a big impact on her life.
“Learning culture should not be a privilege,” Madarang said.
As far as stage production goes, members of the community work hard to bring the set to life. Other members of the team contribute to the playwriting, and others build backgrounds and props needed for the play from scratch. Those in charge of lighting and technology have often taught themselves how to handle the controls. All this goes to show the mass determination the community has to strive for an entertaining and educational production, all from the minds of the collected students.
For more information regarding PCN and the Kababayan Learning Community, you can visit their page on the Skyline College website at https://skylinecollege.edu/kababayan/index.php.
