What We Lost: Multicultural organizations reflect on canceled Spring 2020 events

What We Lost: Multicultural organizations reflect on canceled Spring 2020 events 

Taylor DeGuzman / Arts and Culture Editor

This season of life has truly taught us that you cannot take anything for granted. After the Spring 2020 semester was cut short two months in, nearly all major events were canceled despite months of planning and preparation.
For USD’s multicultural organizations, the spring semester highlights some of USD’s most popular and celebrated events. USD’s People of the Island Club (POI), Filipino Ugnayan Student Organization (FUSO), South Asian Student Alliance (SASA), and USD’s Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlan (MEChA) are among many multicultural organizations whose big events were canceled due to the impact of COVID-19. 

“Lūʻau” is a special night where members of POI share the beauty of their culture through traditional dance, food, and a sense of togetherness with friends, family, and the USD community. Lūʻau is POI’s biggest event of the year, so much so that POI’s E-board starts planning in August when their event is set to happen in May the following year, Kapri Tulang-De Silva, incoming third-year and co-president of POI, said.

“We had already designed and prepared t-shirts for the event to help with Lūʻau funds,” said Tulang-De Silva. “We were contacting local vendors, ordering the plumerias, and coordinating with family members to gather things from Hawai’i specific for the event.” 

A week before the event, POI’s E-Board was planning a “Makahiki Week” to get the USD community excited for Lūʻau. Makahiki Week was going to consist of Makahiki games, which honor an ancient Hawaiian tradition of playing games to prepare for war. 

Lūʻau would have consisted of POI’s pre-event traditions of lei making, a shave ice stand, photo wall, and a variety of Hawaiian food to choose from. One of the most vibrant parts of the evening would have featured dances ranging from Tahitian to Couple’s hula and Boy’s hula, where both family and friends would cheer on dancers and fill the night with love and support. 

Tulang De-Silva spoke nostalgically in describing what Lūʻau meant to her and how special of a night it is. 

“Being able to share my culture with the USD Community is something so special that Lūʻau represents,” Tulang De-Silva said. “Lūʻau is like bringing home with me to San Diego, and seeing all the hard work come to fruition during the event is just the cherry on top.” 

When USD had sent students home mid-March, POI was not able to hold their first dance rehearsals for their event that was meant to happen in May. FUSO, on the other hand, was about to hold final dress rehearsals for their annual event, Pilipino Culture Night (PCN). PCN was scheduled to happen a week after the  email was sent out that notified students that all on-campus events were canceled. 

PCN, typically held in Shiley Theatre, is a night full of embracing all that the Filipino culture represents through a student-led and directed play, cultural dances, Filipino food and live performances from recognizable Filipino-American singers. 

Junior Samantha Anciano, a co-commissioner of cultural affairs for FUSO, talked about the planning and dedication that went into creating a full script from scratch with her counterpart, Camille Abaya, auditioning a full cast and recruiting a stage crew, in order to bring her and Abaya’s vision for PCN to life.

“Camille and I planned ever since the beginning of summer last year,” Anciano said. “After completing a script that we were really proud of, we did auditions towards the end of the fall semester and worked with FUSO’s E-Board to figure out how they could help during the event in the spring.” 

“With PCN, we really wanted to portray something that encapsulated our Filipino culture in a modern way, a plot that brought forth a story that could easily resonate with the struggles of a Filipino-American,” Anciano said.  

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The story that Anciano and Abaya created highlighted the struggle and judgement within the Filipino culture and community that is sometimes placed on those who want to pursue the arts. 

“Awitin Mo,” the theme of PCN, meaning “sing your song” in Tagalog, specifically centered on young Filipino-Americans whose passions lied in singing and wanting to fearlessly pursue their dreams of making it as a Filipino-American singer. 

Although Anciano could not see her and Abaya’s work, as well as the cast and crew dedication and hard work, come to fruition, Anciano was proud of the story that was going to be told and proud of how far they got. 

“Aside from the event itself, the most special thing about PCN is the community between cast and crew that is fostered after weeks and weeks of rehearsals,” Anciano said. “I think having experienced both being an actor for PCN and on the planning side, it’s the memories and moments with everyone that you can never recreate again that makes being a part of the process so rewarding.” 

Just after FUSO’s PCN, and right before POI’s Lūʻau, MeChA’s “Fiesta Night” planned to have a night full of celebration for not only those within the Latinx community, but the USD community as a whole. 

Typically, the event is centered around a theme. Last year, Fiesta Night was zoot suit themed, aiming to bring awareness to the zoot suit movement. While MeChA’s E-Board did not solidify a specific theme for this year, they had talked about possibly doing a Quinceañera theme that would be even more special for those who weren’t able to experience their own. 

Jesse Magaña, recent USD graduate and co-chair of MeChA, talked about what prepping for one of their many popular cultural events on campus looked like. 

“We had to start planning a couple months in advance in terms of renting the space, booking a DJ, and starting to gather food vendors and finish marketing before the event happened,” Magaña said. 

For Magaña, Fiesta Night was more than just an event on campus — it was a way for some students to feel at home and connected with their community.

“I think it’s a really special night, especially for underrepresented students on campus,” Magaña said. “They’re able to be themselves for the night and not feel judged, they get to really relate to the people that are there.” 

Though this was Magaña’s last year at USD, he recounted what he thought was the most special part of Fiesta Night in previous years. 

“Overall I really enjoy being there with my friends, and spending that time sharing how special this organization is,” Magaña explained. “Being in Greek life, I’ve been to formals, but with this, you get to dance and engage with people in this really safe space that’s unique in and of itself,” Magaña said. 

The same month as Fiesta Night, SASA’s “Bollywood Night” was set to debut. Bollywood night is a night that showcases the Indian Film Industry through traditional dances such as Bhangra style, an upbeat dance usually danced at weddings, food, music and activities before the entertainment begins. 

In addition to the entertainment of the night, SASA planned on including an educational component. This part of the evening would have focused on the origins of the film industry of Bollywood, while highlighting big names in the industries that aren’t as recognizable in the U.S. yet. 

Tara Rodrigues, incoming senior and incoming SASA E-board member, talked about what preparing for Bollywood night looked like and what she was most excited about. 

“The week before the big email was sent out, I was in the middle of ongoing meetings to get elements of the event approved,” Rodrigues said. “No one was even thinking in terms of Bollywood night getting canceled. We had already completely outlined the event at the end of the Fall Semester and were just getting our list of vendors for the food. We even had a South-Asian Henna artist coming to do Henna tattoos specifically for Bollywood night.” 

Last year, Bollywood night had a great turnout from SASA members, the USD community, and even faculty and staff. SASA members and their E-board were looking forward to having an even greater turnout than last year, eager to share their pride in their culture with the community. 

“It is such an incredible night where we get to celebrate our culture and take pride in all that it represents with the USD community,” Rodrigues explained. “Though we’re a pretty small club, this event gets such a great turnout which is the most rewarding feeling considering the hard work and planning that gets put into the event.” 

POI, FUSO, MeChA and SASA are just a few organizations that represent USD’s multicultural community, whose events were canceled due to COVID-19. A myriad of different multicultural events were meant to happen within the last three months of the semester that meant so much to the community. Multicultural organizations stay hopeful for the future of student-led cultural celebrations and events in continuing to foster their strong sense of community within USD.