‘Roots, Rhymes, Resistance’

‘Roots, Rhymes, Resistance’

Performers at the Arbor Room on the University of Toronto campus expressed loud blasts of pride, spoken word, and calls for justice for issues affecting Filipino-Canadian youth at the first-ever Toronto edition of “Roots, Rhymes and Resistance” on Dec. 12, 2009, entertaining and enlightening the full house with poetry, music and dance.

The event has over a decade of history in Vancouver, but this was the first time that organizers from the Ontario segments of Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada, Siklab, and the Philippine Women Centre starred in and facilitated the event for Filipino youth here. The incredibly talented songstress, piano player, and Program Director Marylou David led the members of these groups, who along with many other youth volunteers gave their time and talents to share with the raucous audience their “stories and experiences… of marginalization and resistance.” In one of her angelic performances of an original song, she sang lyrics like, “Can I make a difference if I’m just me?” and “Can we show someone their destiny?”

Qara Clemente, who emceed the event with the lively Aila Comilang, stated the importance of the “need for us to talk about issues faced here.” The Magkaisa Centre at 1093 Davenport Rd. where all of the organizing groups are based out of “exists to serve the needs of and empower the Filipino community.”

The opening act was from Native Canadian youth performers from the Macaw Hawk Youth Council, Kyle Fiddler and MC Seventh Sun, who later relayed their presence stating “different issues, same struggle.”
They performed in a round dance song style and did a power song infusing vocals, hand drums and rap. Dagamuffin followed with a performance of his spoken word piece “My Folks” emphatically declaring, “They ask why I’m militant. It’s because I’m provoked.”

Alleben Parugganan performed a spoken word piece of a Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) worker writing a heartfelt letter to her “anak,” the child she left behind in the Philippines. She contended, “That’s how Canada deskills you… With every plate that I wash, I feel my nursing skills going down the drain.” Calls to “Scrap the LCP” were reiterated throughout the night. They played a documentary of the same title produced by the Magkaisa Centre, which informed how the three main tenets of the LCP, the temporary status of the workers, the live-in requirement, and the employer-specific work permits, all contribute the program’s being “anti-women,” “racist,” and “exploitative.”

Other performances speaking out against the LCP included the remix of “12 Days of Christmas” into thcleverly done “12 Years in Canada” performed by the entire group of volunteer organizers.

Acknowledging the press conference earlier in the day by the Conservative government, which announced changes to mend the program and not end it in accordance with some caregivers who do not support a drastic stance, performers at the youth event insisted on the continuance of calls for more significant changes.

Other highlights of the evening included Kim Abis and Reuben Sarumugam’s sharing of their first and second-generation experiences in Tagalog and English. The crowd erupted with cheers as MC Franchizze and MC Lyrical Abstrakt rhythmically performed hiphop in Tagalog. Students from the Grade 10 vocal class at Pope John Paul II in Scarborough performed a heartwarming tribute to Michael Jackson singing, “If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change.”