Sometimes I look back on my life and trip at how if just one tiny detail was changed, if one small event didn’t happen, how dramatically different my life would be. It’s crazy to think that so many things in our life had to align for us to be where we are today. It’s easy to think that coincidences happen, but if you see how those coincidences effect everything that happens after them, it’s hard to not believe that God does have a plan for us…
I know, I know… I’m not one to preach, but I thank God everyday for the people I have in my life, my family, my friends and my friends that I think of as my family. And without Him, I don’t think I would be as blessed as I am.
My freshman year in college I lived in the dorms. My parents made me, even though we only lived about 15 miles away from UW. They said it would help me be independent and grow as a person. Before that, the longest I had ever been away from home was a week at camp or a trip to Disneyland with drill team. But I was always with friends. When I moved into the dorms, I was living with someone I didn’t know and all of my friends were living at home. It was hard… I was lonely.
But, soon after, two girls from down the hall ran into my room and introduced themselves as Anna and Phyllis. They explained that we had mutual friends and that they heard about me. With them followed a barrage of Filipinos that I had never met before. Let me take this time to mention that I grew up in Bellevue, in a predominately (at the time) white neighborhood, and knew nothing about Filipinos, The Phillippines or what it meant to be Filipino. I was overwhelmed and resistant at first. I think it took me almost two quarters to fully accept these new people into my life, but once I opened myself up to their friendship, my life changed forever.
Fast forward to Spring Quarter and the birth of Canoy… This group of friends had decided that they wanted to dance – perform for FASA’s Filipino Night. The idea was to create a fusion of Hip Hop and traditional Filipino Folk dancing. I had very little dancing experience so I would just hang out with them while they practiced. But as the big show grew closer, they booked another performance at Blanchet High School and one of the guys couldn’t make it. Suddenly I was learning the whole routine so I could stand it for him. It was exhilarating and so much fun to be part of something so special, something that hadn’t been done before. The performances at Blanchet and at Filipino Night were amazing and the audience loved this new concept of dance. For the next several years, we went on to perform all around the Puget Sound area and even in Canada. We performed at everything from birthday parties and debutant balls to Daniel Cruz’s Battle of Seattle. We created a reputation and a name for ourselves in the dance community.
Shortly after the first Filipino Night we decided to change our name. We bounced around a few ideas, but we decided that kaSAma best embodied who we were and what we stood for. kaSAma roughly meant “together” or “togetherness” and that was kaSAma.
We are people that came together, to dance together, live together, be together. It’s not just a name, it’s an idea, it’s a lifestyle, it’s a language, it’s a way of life, it’s everything we stand for. It’s the fusion of two worlds, modern and traditional coming together to become one. It’s a fusion of people from all over: Virginia, Seattle, Hawaii, Bellevue, Shoreline, New York, Los Angeles, sharing one love despite distance. It’s a fusion of our cultures, American, Filipino, Spanish, Hawaiian melting into one. It’s a concept that I feel strongly about, so much so that I tattooed it on my body. It’s not something to be taken lightly.
kaSAma exists to this day. kaSAma will always exists as long as we are alive. And hopefully we will pass this concept on to our kids and they can become the next generation of kaSAma. To call yourself kaSAma you must truly understand what it means and what it stands for. I don’t know where I would be today if those crazy girls didn’t come into my room that day. I don’t know what I would do without kaSAma and though we are spread out across the country, we will always be kaSAma. Members have come and gone, but they will always be part of us. We will always be together in our hearts.
Much love to my kaSAma peeps… you know who you are.
kaSAma fo life!!!