Pacific Islander Cultural Week (March 8-12)

The meaning behind this is similar to how a ripple in the sea never touches yet they all share the same body-the ocean.This years’ theme was decided to represent the memories and traditions our ancestors have left us. As well as our memories from previous PICN’s, we will always cherish our in-person celebrations. Given this unprecedented situation we are in, we have to create our own memories using the traditions and culture our ancestors/peers left behind for us. Like how a ripple leaves and another ripple follows. Our ancestors might be gone now and we might not be able to see each other in person to recreate our memories from previous years, but we create new ripples that will follow along with theirs. 

Exec Team: Jynelle Cedro

EVENT CALENDAR

Monday, March 8th

• Introduction to Pacific Islander Cultural Week (SMC IG video post)

• Alumni Spotlight: Destiny Sudo

Tuesday, March 9th

• Bringing Hawai’i to your home! Let’s Make: Food Truck Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp & Mac Salad! (recipe - 2nd place in CAB's Cook off!)

  • The Process:

    • Making the Mac Salad (make 1 day ahead!!!)

    • Prepping the Shrimp

    • Cooking the Shrimp

    • Serve~!

Wednesday, March 10th

• Alumni Spotlight: Mikaela Robles (video)

Thursday, March 11th

• Aparima Group Set, "Tapa’o No Te Here" - choreographed by Destiny Sudo

  • Experience what it’s like to celebrate Pacific Islander Cultural Night in person through Destiny’s Aparima Group Set! 

  • Background: The song, Tapa’o No Te Here, translates to “Token of Love” and uses the bird (manu) as a symbol of love and protection. This dance is a way for us to connect through empathy; especially during these tough times.

• How to Make Poi Balls

  • Poi means ‘ball on a cord’ in Maori and people would often use poi to increase flexibility and strength in their hands. You may have seen this in dances being swung to a certain rhythm but these were also used as weapons in the past!

    • Check out the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawai’i for a short tutorial

Friday, March 12th

• On our last day of Pacific Islander Cultural Week, we are not only honoring our culture but are also honoring important women. Here we have a couple legends from New Zealand and Guam. 

• Celebrating Women’s History Month: 

  • The Patron Saint of Guam, Santa Marian Kalamen

    • Voices of Our Elders: by Guampedia, Toni “Malia” Ramirez

    • Maori Legend: "Hineahuone"

• Thank you for taking time to learn about our culture :) As we go on with the rest of the cultural season, I want to let everyone know that we have way more traditions than what has been listed here, so encourage you to continue looking into more Melanesian, Micronesian and Polynesian traditions.

  • “There’s been too many times where I feel like my culture and the Pacific Islands have been forgotten or in some cases “shot” down. Especially with the Micronesian culture, talked about as “micro” or small, with little to no voice. There’s nothing micro about being Micronesian! or Melanesian! or Polynesian! We are one Pacific!” - GAV ‘22

CAST BIOS:

• Jynelle Cedro - Hello! My name is Jynelle Cedro and I am a senior majoring in Accounting minoring in Business Administration at SMC. I was born and raised in the Philippines then moved to New York when I was 10 years old, 2-3 years later my mom and I moved to California. Since I was a kid, I’ve always been confused between identifying as Pacific Islander or Asian. Though my parents made me realize that my traditions came from both cultures. My dad’s family being from Lanai and my mom being raised in a Chinese-Filipino household, these cultures have influenced my life greatly. I am honored to show the SMC community these traditions and represent the Pacific Islander community as best as I can with the help of a few alumni :) I hope you enjoy as we journey through the ripples within our memories our ancestors left us…