Fil-Am youths today are very interested in their roots and it definitely showed at Loyola University Chicago Kapwa’s annual Nite in Manila. This Filipino cultural/variety show was held at Northwestern University on November 8th. Nite in Manila is one of the many events that Loyola Kapwa presents to the community along with Rice Bowl, the Santa Cruzan celebration, and Simbang Gabi on December 5th. The name “Kapwa” (translated as Fellowmen, Togetherness, and Unity) was suggested by the student organization’s first president, Reynaldo Nepomuceno. Kapwa has been a part of the Loyola community for 29 years now and has made a presence at the university by hosting successful events like Nite in Manila.

For the first time, Nite in Manila was held in November rather than in October (Filipino Heritage month). This decision was made because the celebration of the event would be close to the organization’s 30th anniversary which is on November 14th. The event’s theme was “Kap-wa-wee!” with an emphasis on Philippine game shows. Nite in Manila included performances from Loyola Kapwa, UIC’s FIA, NIU’s PSA, Nonstop Dance Productions, 312, Rochelle Amiscaray and Leslie Hiquiana, Ashlee Barrera and Anthony Roxas, Justin Quintos, Jason Alegro, and AJ Aguado and Lizel Rivadelo. The audience was treated to a night of cultural dancing, modern dancing, singing, and spoken word. In addition to the great performances, there was audience participation with the Kapwa’s version of Wowowee’s Hep-Hep Hooray and experiencing a few commercial parodies by the student organization.

After the show I was able to interview a few kababayans in the audience with everyone having only positive things to say about the event. “It brings me back to my days at Northern Illinois University (NIU) when everyone comes together to celebrate culture. I like how it shows the power of the Filipino Channel (TFC) because of this event’s theme, which is Kap-Wa-Wee (definitely from Wowowee). To see that Fil-Ams do something that is based in the Philippines and Kapwa making everyone aware of the devastation of Typhoon Ondoy was such a great thing to see. You get energy but at the same time you learn more about the culture. I love seeing fresh talent, it’s my line of work. It’s good to see that our people are always full of talent and potential,” Bboy Mangubat remarked. Attending this event also made me feel proud that younger Fil-Ams have not forgotten where they come from and have a burning passion to keep Filipino culture alive.

The video posted above is my exclusive interview with a few of the Kapwa Executive Board members. In this interview, Kapwa E-board discusses the purpose of Nite in Manila, their upcoming events, and what Filipino game show they would like to be on. Nite in Manila would not have been a successful event if it were not for the hard work of Loyola Kapwa and their E-board: Michelle Chua (Co-President), Tracy Laluma (Co-President), Lester Montesa (Vice-President/Cultural Chair), Jillian Singson (Treasurer), Kevin Ranchero (Secretary), Joe Corpuz (Sergeant of Arms), Andrew Balitaan (Internal PR), and Kristina Mascarenas (External PR).

For those of you interested in a Kap-Wa-Wee or Loyola Kapwa T-shirt, you can place your order of $15 for one t-shirt or $25 for both by sending an e-mail to kapwa.luc@gmail.com. For more information on Loyola Kapwa and their upcoming events you can visit their FACEBOOK Page or Kapwa on Myspace.