Speech: Barrio Fiesta

[2021]

Kamusta po, and welcome to this year’s barrio!  I really appreciate you all supporting today’s event.

Earlier this week, Jess requested that some pictures when the club started to include in the slideshow. As I looked for pictures and other files, memories started flooding back to me.  I started remembering the moments that initiated the idea of Barrio as an event at SMU.  One of the old files that I found were a listing of possible activities for the 2008-2009 year.  In it was a brainstorming list of activities including a Filipino Film Series, activities for Diversity Week, supply drives and balikbayan boxes for community services, to activities with NWFASA and the local Filipino-American Community here in the South Puget Sound.  Some of these activities did eventually occur, as seen in some of the photos in the slideshow illustrate.

One of the events, listed as a bulletpoint, was the idea of a Barrio/Barangay Fiesta. As I was reading that list, I remembered the meetings with the old executive boards and how a large fiesta was always something we wanted to do.  The first executive board (in 2007-2008), including Angelica Villanueva, Kate Alegado, and Ana Arreola, really was the first group to conceptualize the idea of a barrio.  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to hold barrio quite yet as we were still trying to establish the club on campus.  The next board (in 2008 to 2009), including Angelica, Ninalynn Benitez, Albert Davis, Bianca Galam, Jen Ganal, Christie Urban, Kyle San Agustin, and Mark dela Rosa, focused on building roots not only on campus, but with NWFASA, and the region through our involvement with FACSPS.  Especially then, the desire to hold a fiesta was pretty strong.  Again, we weren’t quite able to hold a fiesta, especially with our agenda for the year being geared towards establishing stability and build networks.  After I graduated, the next series of executive board members really took on the responsibility of establishing Barrio Fiesta as an annual event here at SMU.  It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than a decade since then. 

I was messaging Angelica, who was the president of the club when the first Barrio occurred, a few days ago, and we laughed about how if Barrio were a kid, it’d be in fifth grade by now.  Thinking back to those meetings with Gel and the rest of the crew in my apartment in the second floor of Spangler, talking about all the different events we could plan – mostly so we can eat and make food together, watch movies together, make new friends and connections to students from other universities, and learn a little bit of our own culture -  to seeing all of you participate in that tradition, especially in such a trying year, is truly amazing. 

Noting that, I hope you all have a great time today.  It’s wonderful to see you all participate in the living history of the club.  Please enjoy the wonderful food from Hood Bakery and Cebu, our esteemed speaker, the performances from our brothers and sisters up north, and each others’ company.