For the first time in two years, the Pilipino Student Association sold out its annual culture show Saturday.
Held in the Ohio Union’s Performance Hall, the association’s 2024 culture show sold out with an estimated 408 people in attendance, making it one of the largest shows to date, said Therese Demesa, PSA’s logistics director and a fourth-year in environmental engineering.
“This year, within the first few days, we had already sold over half of our tickets,” said Demesa, who was also an event coordinator. “We had sold out well before two weeks before the event; before we had the event, we were halfway through that route. So, it definitely meant a lot.”
The theme for this year’s show was “Walang Hiya,” a conventionally derogatory term used in the Philippines which translates to “without shame,” said Adrienne Heyrosa, PSA’s president and a fourth-year in biomedical science and French.
“They would use it to make fun of people in the past — typically LGBT [people] — being like, ‘You’re shameless for being who you are,’” Heyrosa said. “We wanted to take that phrase and kind of reclaim it for ourselves.”
Additionally, Heyrosa said the decision to focus on shame as a theme idea stemmed from the ridicule and sense of separation Filipino Americans often face from those living in the Philippines.
“There’s a lot of mixed feelings of being proud of having this kind of mixed identity instead of just a ‘pure one’ because people that are Filipino American also face a lot of attempted humiliation from Filipinos from the Philippines,” Heyrosa said.
The event showcased several aspects of Filipino heritage through cultural and modern dance performances, a short film and a fashion show, said Amelea Sese, PSA’s cultural chair and a fourth-year in food science and technology.
Sese, who assisted in the event’s organization, said though each form of entertainment served as a way for performers to express themselves, members also aimed to communicate the passion and tradition behind every performance.
“I want [students] to know that here is a celebration of boldness, confidence and also pride in our culture and identity that everybody can practice,” Sese said. “Whether you’re Filipino or not, just know that your identity is yours, and it’s OK to be shameless.”
Despite the excitement surrounding the celebration, Sese said the show purposefully took time to highlight storied difficulties within the culture, as well as how they can be viewed and dealt with.
“We’ve gone through so many struggles, so just showing people our struggles and how we’ve overcome them through our culture shows that this is really something that means a lot to us,” Sese said. “It shows our strength and resilience.”
Moving forward, Demesa said she hopes PSA can reflect on the success of this year’s culture night and apply it to the event’s future iterations.
“What we really did well with this year that I’m hoping we can take forward is learning to rely on each other, and not only learning to rely on each other, but teaching our new board members how to be a leader and how they can be a part of something so great,” Demesa said.
