By: Gil Asakawa

Gil Asakawa — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:24:05 +0000

Wow, Reagan, thanks for the kind words! You’re very missed in Colorado, for bringing some of those artists you mention, and for your support of the APA community. Coe back and visit when you can, man!

By: Reagan Le

Reagan Le — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 08:50:00 +0000

You’ve always mentioned your blog on Facebook, but I haven’t had the chance to check it out until now!!! Great stuff you got going on!!! I personally have always been a little iffy about how APA Heritage Month is celebrated…. You asked the question, “Who should an APA Heritage Month celebration be aimed at?” That’s a hard question to answer… APAs? The public at large? Let’s break down these events. For the most part they are cultural events featuring cultural performances and cultural foods. Personally, these forms of cultural events are becoming a form of multicultural tourism for white people or for the “unexposed.” They come expecting exotic forms of entertainment and food such as hula dancing, martial arts, sushi, etc. This is their simplistic way of exposing themselves and their family members to “other” cultures and people. They then typically leave these multicultural tourist attractions learning/thinking: wow, those half naked islanders are amazing dancers… I better be careful of those Asian kung-fu fighters… How do people eat raw food???
I do believe there are some educational values in these events, but there are so many of these kinds of events and we need to move beyond exotifying our cultures and people for entertainment purposes. I don’t believe the quality of the event should be judged by how widespread or how well it’s attended by the public, but it should be judged by what people get out of it. Besides learning a new dance or eating unusual foods, did they truly learned something new? Did they understand the importance or history of those dances? The food? These events need to evolve and take people beyond the surface of what they see, hear, feel, and taste.
We need to see more of Here & Now educating us through their theater performance… Yellow Rage breaking stereotypes through spoken words… intriguing forum discussions based on topics off of your blog… educational/developmental workshops by Erin… musical talents such a Wendy Woo, Vienna Teng, Magdelan Hsu-li, Ken Oak Band, etc… It should be more than a showcase, but more of a learning/developing experience of what we have done, what we do, and what we can do as not only Asians, but as Asian/Pacific Americans.
So, I believe the real question should be why we are celebrating APA Heritage Month and not who we should cater to. Well those are just some of my incoherent thoughts… In any case, do keep up your amazing work and contributions to the APA community, and best of luck with your busy schedule coming up… I’m so sad that I missed the Miss Asian American Colorado and will miss JANMNC!!!
Reagan

Comments on: Who should an APA Heritage Month celebration be aimed at?

By: Gil Asakawa

By: Reagan Le