IT’S SHOWTIME: THE PDUB HARANA PERFORMANCE

On Saturday, March 27th, 2010, the Silver Lake Adult Day Health Care Center on Temple Street was filled with the romantic melodies of the traditional Filipino haranas or serenades. PDUB Youth and Elders from The Silver Lake Adult Day Health Care Center, dressed in traditional Filipino finery, put on a spirited performance for “Celebrating Our Ancestral Tree,” a benefit for the Center for Babaylan Studies organized by Mila Anguluan-Coger.

Smile! It’s PDUB Harana Portrait Day!

Public Matters intern + photographer extraordinaire Ingrid Cruz dropped by to shoot our haranistas during the dress rehearsal for the March 27th performance.

PDUB Harana Workshops

Every Tuesday and Thursday, our haranistas (experienced and budding) met at the Silver Lake Adult Day Health Care Center. Here they are hard at work, learning and rehearsing haranas and exchanging stories.

JUST IN TIME FOR VALENTINE’S DAY: THE SWEET SOUND OF HARANAS

Check out these snaps of our SLADHCC haranistas from our resident PDUB paparazzi, John ”Jolo” Gonzalez + Nancy Hernandez:

left to right: Ronald Tulabut, Greg Albarillo, Thena Borgonia.

(left to right) top left: Nestor Agudo; top right ((left to right): Annie Cabrera, Rosalina Gatila, Erlinda Arcebal; bottom left: Erlinda Arcebal; bottom right: Annie Cabrera + Ted Atento.

PDUB HARANA PROJECT LAUNCHES

PDUB Youth travel back to a simpler time, courtesy of the stories and musical expertise of elders from the Silver Lake Adult Day Health Care Center (SLADHCC). With generous funding from The Alliance of California Traditional Arts (ACTA), the PDUB Harana Project engages local youth and elders in the process of cultural transmission, using music as a vehicle for intergenerational cultural and narrative exchange. Participating Elders, many of whom are long-time haranistas, teach PDUB Youth the art of the harana, or serenade: its melodic guitar music, sweet harmonies and cultural significance.

Participating Elders include: Melinda Abrenica, Nestor Agudo, Greg Albarillo, Erlinda Arcebal, Ted Atento, Cleotilde Bisnar, Thena Borgonia, Annie Cabrera, Pete Estrada, Rosalina Gatila, Ronald Tulabut. With invaluable project facilitation from Mila Anguluan-Coger and rehearsal space courtesy of Lisa Chung, owner, Silver Lake Adult Day Health Care Center.

PDUB: INTERVIEWS 101

PDUB Youth prep to interview each other.

PDUB Youth interviews, behind + in front of the camera.

PDUB TELENOVELA: EL DINERO HABLA MAS QUE LOVE

Historic Filipinotown’s Filipino and Latino cultures collide in this over-the-top take on the telenovela genre, presented in Spanglish (Spanish + English). Conceived, performed and produced by PDUB Youth. Check out these cast photos. Video forthcoming.

PDUB: HOW TO SURVIVE A FILIPINO HOUSE PARTY

PDUB’s Xochilt Sanchez (left) gets way more cultural education than she bargained for when she accepts Mika’s  (right) invitation to her Lolo’s (grandfather) birthday party.

Check out the cast of characters!

top left: Jerico and Jolo fresh from make-up; top right: Manok (“Lola”) and Jolo (“Lolo”) settle their differences; bottom: Setting up Xochilt’s entrance.

The 4 simple Rules:

LAUGHTER: THE BEST ICE-BREAKER

So, to start off the 2009-2010 PDUB program, each PDUB youth performed a joke that exemplified Filipino and Latino humor. Puns, mistranslations and mispronunciations figured prominently, with each punchline accompanied by the requisite drumroll.

GLAD TO MEET YOU: 2009-2010 PDUB YOUTH

Check out these new faces (and some familiar ones)!

And of course, returning to PDUB after his UCLA summer internship, Angelo “Manok” Bernardo.