Balay Kreative presents:
All Souls Day 2023:
An Afterlife Celebration
Saturday, November 4 12p-4p
NEW VENUE: Sentro Filipino
814 Mission St In SOMA Pilipinas
Free | All Ages
Filipinx culture heals by honoring ancestors in a festival called “Undas” (also known as “Araw ng mga Patay” which translates to Day of the Dead in Tagalog) or All Souls Day.
Undas is a holiday honoring the dead widely celebrated in the Philippines. Filipinx families traditionally hold gatherings around the graves of their departed loved ones and lay out flowers and candles. In between prayers, there’s sharing of stories about the deceased, and some families will even bring their magic mic and a small tv for some karaoke/videoke sessions after the prayers. Undas is a public acknowledgment and an opportunity to praise those that came before and those that have transitioned on.
“Ancestor Altars” at Sentro Filipino, will be a healing space for the San Francisco Filipinx, BIPOC & SOMA community to grieve for the many loved ones and ancestors that have transitioned on. This project brings the opportunity to heal through art and community with the intention to celebrate our ancestors, absorb the lessons and stories we learned from them, and open channels to receive any messages and wisdom with love and respect.
ALL COMMUNITY DAYS HAVE BEEN CANCELED DUE TO RAIN. PLEASE JOIN US ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4 FOR OUR CELEBRATION~
Interested in volunteering for this event? Sign ups are open until 10/28.
Thank you to CAC for providing us the Impact Grant for the production of this event.
Registration is now closed but walkins are accepted
Opening Ritual & Dance
Jai Ocampo-Severson (they/them)
A Tagalog-mixed-White cultural worker, dancer, and artist born in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their Filipino family hails from Batangas in the city of Taal. Their connection to the lineage of the Sublian, alongside their colleagues and co-learners, is primarily via the elders of Talumpok Silangan in Batangas; one spiritual connection made possible by those colleagues, PJ Medrano Caringal, as well as Parangal Dance Company.
Jacob Walse-Dominguez
A queer migrant and diasporic traditional Southeast Asian performing artist bridging transnational histories through cultural work. Their traditional learning spans both Philippine and Indonesian traditional movement and musical arts, learning directly from firsthand culture bearers of the region. Through cultural immersion with teachers in Southeast Asia and community work among the diasporic Filipinx community in the US, Jacob hopes to weave past and present towards a pre-Philippine and post-colonial Asian identity. Focusing on colonial resistance and empowerment through cultural work, they hope to share knowledge across Asia and the Asian diaspora.
DEATH DOULA
Marielle Cuison
Marielle is the death doula and civil engineer behind The Death Engineer. She cares about guiding others through end-of-life planning and exploration, and sharing openly about death and grief. Marielle’s curiosity around death and her ancestors started at an early age when she learned about Filipino superstitions and ghost stories from her family. After her grandpa died in 2016, she felt called to explore the deathcare space and discover how her natural gifts can help others. She completed the Going With Grace End of Life Training in 2018 and continues to expand her knowledge on end-of-life planning and griefwork.
Marielle likes to share her death explorations on her Instagram account, @thedeathengineer. She’s a lover of puns, enjoys creating block printed greeting cards, and believes any floor can be a dance floor. Some items on her “funeral wish list” include public transit options to get there and a chocolate fountain.
Meet The Artists
EMAGN
Emagn (Eric Nodora) immigrated with their family from the Philippines to Sacramento, CA at the tender age of seven. As a burgeoning street artist in South Sacramento, they drew profound inspiration from the multifarious community that swiftly became their new abode, as well as the pressing social issues that deeply concerned them. Their artistic endeavors embody an unwavering commitment to providing a voice for the marginalized and fostering heightened social consciousness.
Their artistic journey transcended Sacramento, encompassing the expansive Bay Area and extending far beyond. Along this transformative path, they collaborated with fellow artists, esteemed professionals, reputable organizations, and prominent companies on projects of all magnitudes. The oeuvre they created and championed tirelessly encapsulated profound messages of diversity, unabashed pride, community unity, accessible education, literacy advocacy, and the pursuit of equal opportunities.
Moreover, they imparted their artistic wisdom through art workshops and classes, captivating and empowering K-12 students in San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento. Encouraging young minds to unearth inspiration within themselves and express their profound messages through art became their sacred mission. They diligently labored in schools, community centers, and the underprivileged corners of society, such as Oak Park (Sacramento), Valley Hi (Sacramento), the Mission District (San Francisco), and numerous locales throughout the Bay Area.
In recent years, they have been bestowed with the privilege of contributing to mural projects that reverently honor the departed. Among their most impactful and poignant works are the Karen Daus-Capalaran memorial mural situated in Los Angeles, CA, the Dr. Gwen Agustin-Nodora memorial mural embellishing Caliber Charter School in Vallejo, and the collaborative memorial mural paying tribute to King Kahali in Sacramento, CA, alongside the esteemed Shaun "Burner" Turner. Furthermore, they artfully rendered a memorial mural commemorating PEP (Pin@y Educational Partnership) in the vibrant landscape of San Francisco, CA.
TITTY BOY
TITTY’s work lies mainly with painting canvases and creating drawings but has some experience with a spray can in his younger years. Although art school is not in his background, his biggest inspirations such as Salvador Dali, Keith Haring, Toshio Saeki, and Mike Giant, has persuaded him to teach himself techniques with a pencil, pen, paint, and digital illustrations.
TITTY’s work can sometimes bring psychedelic colors to graphic realities but all his pieces of work and installations never lack an abundance of intriguing details. He can always be trusted to find beauty in the grim.
Emceed By
Jazlynn Pastor
Jazlynn Eugenio Pastor (she/they) is a storyteller, educator, and performing artist dedicated to serving her kammunity through art. Within her career, she has shared Philippine arts and culture around the world alongside Agos (formally known as the American Center of Philippine Arts), Parangal Dance Company, Kularts Inc., and The Filipino Cultural School. Jazlynn continues her love for using art as a connection through her LLC pinaypages where she offers opportunities for people to incorporate creative arts into their everyday lives.
Performances By
Kulintang Dialect
Kulintang Dialect is a traditional five instrument kulintang band that performs kulintang classics mostly from the Kalanduyan line as well as Conrad Benedicto’s original compositions. Kulintang Dialect has released five EP’s available on all platforms beginning in 2021, and is scheduled to release five more in the next two years through the label Gongs Away Music.
Kulintang Dialect performs for festivals, cultural events, educational programs, and art projects, as well as our own shows or parties. We strive to play traditional kulintang that is beyond reproach even as we enjoy mastering original compositions. We perform the traditional kulintang music passed down by the late Master Danongan Kalanduyan with fidelity, while also exploring with joy and courage how this music can express itself through new ways that are nourished by our own specific context on this American soil.
Photography: @julio.jpg
Pinay Voltron
Pinay Voltron is a collaboration amongst Filipina-American Instrumentalists & Vocalists - all having roots from the Bay Area - California. Individually, they are independent artists/workers/movers that contribute to many interests and communities amongst the Filipinx diasporic experience. Together, they combine into an entity that synergizes their collective mindsets and passion centered around B.C.E (Big Coochie Energy) - especially in the world of music - where many of them have to navigate being one of the few Filipina’s within the musician landscape. Their aim is to foster a space and experience that celebrates the power of Pinay Musicianship and Pinay Collaboration.
Pinay Voltron Performers: Charito Soriano, Tiffany Madjus, Anna Candari, Mahalina Celi, Jojo Ramirez, Camille Ramirez
Ancestors to Acknowledge
Andrew Balagot, Maria “Bella” Andres, Rochelle, Mambaje Samson, Myra Macapagal, Julie Badiango, Ecolango, Leona & Flaviano Verango, Camilla & Domingo Soriano
Short Bio
Divinely curated
Spiritually Orchestrated
Ferocious Filipinx Royalties
Blessing Neural Capacities
w/ B.C.E.nergies (Big Coochie Energy)
For your musical evolution and fantasies.
Covid Policy
We are a community committed to the health and welfare of our members. In order to ensure the safety of our community, we have established covid policies below. Wearing masks is not mandatory but are highly encouraged. As Fall/Winter is here and COVID-19 cases rise, we highly encourage guests to wear masks to decrease the spread of Covid-19. Also, event guests and staff must not be sick, must not have been exposed to someone that tested positive for COVID19 or must not have tested positive themselves in the past five days. We ask that all guests stay home if they have been possibly exposed to someone that tested positive for COVID19 or wake up feeling symptomatic.
Virtual Altars
Can’t celebrate with us in person? Visit our Virtual Ancestor Altars gallery to learn more about all the ancestors we are honoring this year.
About Ancestor Altars
The “Ancestor Altars” installation art project at Kapwa Gardens will be a healing space for the San Francisco Filipinx & BIPOC community. This All Souls Day brings the opportunity to heal through art and community with the intention to celebrate our ancestors, share the stories we learned from them, and show gratitude with love and respect. Join us this October for an afterlife celebration as we listen to live musical performances, reflect together as a community and remember our loved ones.
The Ancestor Altars will be open to the public from Nov. 04, 2023 @ Kapwa Gardens so that community members can continue to add offerings, pictures and flowers.
“Ancestor Altars” was generously funded by The California Arts Council Impact Grant, the SOMA SCC Art Grant, the Mayor’s Office of Housing + Community Development, and Success Centers: Empowerment through Education, Employment & Art. It is a collaboration between Kultivate Labs, Balay Kreative, Cece Carpio (Lead Artist), TITTY (Installation Artist) and Ciriaco Sayoc (Carpenter), and the Filipinx community.
