Babette Santos of Kathara Pilipino Indigenous Arts Collective Society. (Facebook)

Vancouver,B.C.

Banyan: an Intercultural Ceremonial Performance

 By Ted Alcuitas

A group of Filipino-Canadian artists are taking part in an inter-cultural performance of songs, dances, music and stories in ‘Banyan: an Intercultural Ceremonial Performance”, a theatrical representation of ancestral stories and traditional art forms.

Led by theatre director Dennis D. Gupa, the community artists include Kathara Pilipino Indigenous Arts Collective Society with Babette Santos, Canadian-Filipino-Canadian singers and musicians JR Guerrero, Jeremiah Mari Carag, Chit Magno & Melvin Q. Magno and poet Karla Lenina Comanda, 

Theatre Director Dennis G. Gupa

The Southeast Asian Cultural Heritage Society (SEACHS) is marking its 10th year of existence by taking up the cudgels for cross-cultural sharing of artistic practice while thinking of the possibilities of other futures.

Tenor & actor Jeremiah Mari Carag

Aside from the Filipino artists, performance pieces were composed, choreographed and collectively created by Indonesian, Vietnamese and Malaysian artists.

“SEACHS, in partnership with Rumble Theatre, brings these artists together to contribute in the formulation of a global citizenry without disregarding the ethos of one’s identity. Among and between peoples of varied cultural constellations who aspire to exist with respect to each other and to these ancestral lands, together we will craft a contemporary creation story drawn from our respective cultures. Through the process of coming together of voices often times erased in the conversation, of community members most of the time marginalized, we hope to reveal our traditional art forms –– that express the roots of our heritage so we can branch our way ahead together for a possible shared future.”

Poet Karla Lenina Comanda

Musician JR Guerrero

The free event will be on Saturday, November 9, 2019 at Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright St, Granville Island from 7 – 10 PM.

Ceremonial performance starts at 8PM preceded by a reception.