exciting collaboration with Radically Fit in Oakland/Huichin.
photo by Madison Short from The Compact Camp.
As cultural producers,
We Rise came together to incite awareness and action in dismantling the oppression and violence we face as a global community in the 21st century.
Through creativity, fierce love, and unapologetic resistance we offer our work as nourishment for collective liberation to be dispersed like dandelion seeds in our own communities and beyond.
We honor those who have come before us in struggle and in resilience. Their words, manifestos of promise, dedication, fortitude, and humility, breathe life into our movement.
listen, view, share our work...
embodied drama is a dance class that encourages experimentation that exercises the mind, body, and soul. intentional movements and breath deepen our awareness to our bodies, senses, as well as how we move through space around us. simple choreography and guided prompts are paired with a curated and flowing playlist to activate and connect the body and mind for improvisation and musical interpretation.
barefoot class, bring a waterbottle, donation based 👐🏽 🎶
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Abun-Dance is a donation based communal gathering in Oakland CA, that offers healing and respite through movement and dance!
A gathering for healing expression.
Happiness awakens the life force. Optimism, energy in abun-dance, positive action, and clear vision. A feeling of being part of something bigger than your own individual life. Let the old forms shatter, let the truth shine through as you enter a stage where quality of life and being your authentic self is more i...
Listen to We Rise's introductory show "A Tribute to our Ancestors".
We Rise is collaboration, a collective of voices, a cross-pollination of communities...
We are collaborators seeking to create socially conscious work that inspires collective liberation.
We Rise are cultural producers who embody solidarity, theory in the flesh & aspire to heartfelt, prayerful offerings to the freedom movement of our time.In order to Rise, we must know where we stand, where we come from.
This show is a tribute to our ancestors, our foremothers and fathers, the souls who’ve given us life, who’ve shaped our movements, those known and unknown. While we offer gratitude to individuals, we know our movements are not built upon singular great leaders, they are built by the many, uniting despite the divide and conquer status quo.
We honor those who have come before us in struggle and in resilience. Their words, manifestos of promise, dedication, fortitude, a...
interviewed by KPFA's Full Circle for Filipino American History Month. honored that my voice and poetry would share airwaves with Larry Itliong and John Mejia.
featured image for the show: blueprint
what survived were our bodies.
our hearts, our blood, our bones
our skin who thirsts to hold the sun
our lungs blessed by shared breath
as we inhale each other in greeting
they left us strength
consumed from our fingertips.
our stomachs become steel
nourished by warm love
that settles in the food we eat
they gave us two mouths
soft lips with sharp speak
resistance in our blood
rides the rivers on the backs of both hands
in these life giving walls
in our memory bearing wombs.
the h sits
just after the p
whose roundness disguises the violence in my body.
the sound of f
- an earth piercing sword -
pushes
on the back of my lip
forces its way to be the first sound you hear
implies importance in identifying this body.
we were named after a man
who believed he was entitled to us
though we existed long before
west bound itself to these islands.
thousands
of islands, peoples, voices,
navigated by stars
roots swimming through untamed oceans.
what makes others think they are more
than the blood that pumps through our veins?
sacrificed in confrontations
the blood that nourishes
and births new life with ancient wounds?
faith
the sound comes
from our “saviors” who taught us
signing a cross is holier than thou using
the same fingers to carry food into our mouths…
when what could be more holy
than feeding ourselves?
nourishment made from the hands of elders
who are judged on the way they trip
unable to pronounce what does not exist
in...
We Rise performed #DancersAgainstDAPL at Shapeshifters Cinema's group screening Fired! organized as part of 100 Days Action, a counter-narrative to Trump's first 100 days in office.
We Rise are cultural producers who embody solidarity, theory in the flesh & aspire to heartfelt, prayerful offerings to the freedom movement of our time.
“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” - Lilla Watson, Murri visual artist, activist and academic
More information on We Rise.
Video: Jason Maze
Originally published on South Seattle Emerald as part of their 2016 series 31 Days of Revolutionary Women, honoring women through articles posted every day for Women's History Month.
There are a handful of influential women recognized in Philippine history with gracious titles such as “Mother of the Philippine Red Cross” and “Mother of the Philippine Revolution.” The stories of these women still remain relatively unknown – as often is the case with Philippine history – but with the opportunity to shine light on any revolutionary woman in history, I decided to feature a more obscure name: Nieves Fernandez.
A former school teacher, Captain Nieves Fernandez is the only known female guerilla leader who fought against the oppressive and violent Japanese occupation of the Philippines during World War II. While Nieves chose to join in the resistance, the unfortunate fate for many Filipina women was forced sexual slavery for the Japa...
english is my second language
because the word 'aggressive' to me is not the same as the word 'aggressive' to you.
i am an aggressive dancer.
i am a violent dancer.
i am a passionate lover
a passionate fighter.
and if it seems like i’m overcompensating, it is because i am.
because i look 'delicate'
because i am ‘nice’
my skin is soft unlike the tone of my voice.
loud
sharp
deep with roots.
...is it too much?
because i am speaking to make up for the silence of a hundred years.
i take up space
because i choose to and i will.
i make eye contact
so you know that i am here.
i shake your hand with a strong grip because i can meet you halfway.
i will jut out my elbows
claw the air
take ownership of the space around me
because my aggressive moves are an animalistic dance to show that i own more than just my body.
i am a presence
a force
energy they cannot contain.
my passion is bigger than these gestures and louder than i can yell.
losing my voice from singing...
