As an activist-scholar group, the Critical Filipina and Filipino Studies Collective (CFFSC) seeks to organize educators and scholars to interrogate and challenge histories of Western imperialisms (Spanish and U.S. imperialisms), ongoing neocolonial relations in the Philippines, and their relationship to past and present Filipina/o migrations through our research and teaching both within the university and beyond it.

I was born in 1984 in Quezon City, Metro Manila. My parents are both artists. My dad Danilo Garcia is an abstract visual artist. My mother Lolita Garcia is an educator. She was a visual communications and fine arts professor at the University of the Philippines at Dilliman. It was natural that I picked up the arts. I started with pencil and Crayola crayons. My parents did not want an artist’s life for me because it is difficult especially in the Philippines. They’d hide my pens and pencils because I was drawing ninja turtles. Ninja turtles made me want to draw! My mom said “Uh-oh.” They wanted to stop me but they could not. When they saw that my passion for art was unstoppable, they introduced me to Fernando Cena. They took me to a class every Sunday at The Heart Center, a kind of hospital. The lessons took place in their big hall and it was there that I learned the foundations of art. Although my father definitely influenced my work ethic, his abstract style of art is his own. I am more drawn to traditional fine arts. 

In terms of content, I draw social justice art. I was almost 17 years old when I left the Philippines. Since my mom was a professor, I would see students drawing on placards messages like “No to Student Hikes!” I wondered why they were writing that. What was going on? I began to comprehend the balance of society in the Philippines through the perspective of students’ protests and activity. They opened my eyes and made me question things. My mom also helped me develop that social consciousness.

At the end of high school, I won an art contest in which the grand prize was a full scholarship to a fine arts school in Texas set up by a Lion’s club. One week after I graduated, I took the art exam in high school to qualify for the University of the Philippines in Fine Arts. That very day, my mother told me, ”Oh yeah, you’re flying to Texas, America, in one week.” I was totally taken by surprise by the news. I didn’t even get a chance to properly say goodbye to my friends. My initial experience in Texas was complete culture shock. I barely spoke English. After a couple of weeks, I told my parents that I wanted to move to L.A. where I could attend vocational school and also link up with my father’s college friends. And that is when I met the chair of Habi Arts, Danilo “PAPO” De Asis in early 2001.

Under De Asis’ influence, I returned to the questions that began with my exposure to the students from the Philippines.  I began to connect that history to the present. What is really going on in the Philippines? Papo showed me everything. I realized things about the Philippines that I didn’t know when I was actually there. Many years later in 2012, Habi Arts co-curated my solo art exhibition “Kiskisan” which means "to clash.” In this exhibition and my art in general, I try to show the richness of the struggle and history of the Philippines.

Raffy Piamonte has been dancing since the age of 4. However, it wasn’t until the age of 15 that he decided to take it seriously and audition for teams locally in San Diego. Since then, he’s danced in companies like FORMALity, The Effect, CADC & Boogiezone’s Breed. Currently, he is one of the Artistic Directors for Boogiezone’s Offspring Young Directors Program and a newly indicted member of Culture Shock Los Angeles. Aside from dance, Raffy serves as a Flood Control Engineer for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and enjoys his work as a public servant. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, going to concerts and riding his bike.

Janice L. Sapigao is a Pinay poet born and raised in San Jose, CA. Her work has been published in Quaint Magazine, Jacket2, AngryAsianMan.com and the anthology Empire of Funk: Hip Hop and Representation in Filipina/o America (Cognella Academic Publishing, 2014), among others. She earned her M.F.A. in Critical Studies/Writing at CalArts. She co-founded an open mic in Los Angeles called the Sunday Jump. She now lives in the Bay Area where she teaches at Skyline College and San Jose City College.  She enjoys drinking green tea, running, and playing with stuffed animals. She is at work on a poetry collection about immigrant women who build the Silicon Valley, microchips for millions. Please visit her website for more reflections: janicewrites.com

Born in the Philipines and currently residing in Brooklyn, Francis Estrada is a visual artist, museum educator at the Museum of Modern Art, and freelance educator of Filipino art and culture. Francis has a fine arts degree in painting and drawing from San Jose State University, and he has taught in a variety of studio, classroom, and museum settings to diverse audiences, including programs for adults with disabilities, cultural institutions, and after-school programs. He was also an administrator and educator at the Museum for African Art, where he enjoyed teaching about the amalgamation of art and culture through objects. Francis exhibits his work nationally, including online publications. His work focuses on culture, history, and perception.

Born in the Philipines and currently residing in Brooklyn, Francis Estrada is a visual artist, museum educator at the Museum of Modern Art, and freelance educator of Filipino art and culture. Francis has a fine arts degree in painting and drawing from San Jose State University, and he has taught in a variety of studio, classroom, and museum settings to diverse audiences, including programs for adults with disabilities, cultural institutions, and after-school programs. He was also an administrator and educator at the Museum for African Art, where he enjoyed teaching about the amalgamation of art and culture through objects. Francis exhibits his work nationally, including online publications. His work focuses on culture, history, and perception.

I was born in 1984 in Quezon City, Metro Manila. My parents are both artists. My dad Danilo Garcia is an abstract visual artist. My mother Lolita Garcia is an educator. She was a visual communications and fine arts professor at the University of the Philippines at Dilliman. It was natural that I picked up the arts. I started with pencil and Crayola crayons. My parents did not want an artist’s life for me because it is difficult especially in the Philippines. They’d hide my pens and pencils because I was drawing ninja turtles. Ninja turtles made me want to draw! My mom said “Uh-oh.” They wanted to stop me but they could not. When they saw that my passion for art was unstoppable, they introduced me to Fernando Cena. They took me to a class every Sunday at The Heart Center, a kind of hospital. The lessons took place in their big hall and it was there that I learned the foundations of art. Although my father definitely influenced my work ethic, his abstract style of art is his own. I am more drawn to traditional fine arts. 

In terms of content, I draw social justice art. I was almost 17 years old when I left the Philippines. Since my mom was a professor, I would see students drawing on placards messages like “No to Student Hikes!” I wondered why they were writing that. What was going on? I began to comprehend the balance of society in the Philippines through the perspective of students’ protests and activity. They opened my eyes and made me question things. My mom also helped me develop that social consciousness.

At the end of high school, I won an art contest in which the grand prize was a full scholarship to a fine arts school in Texas set up by a Lion’s club. One week after I graduated, I took the art exam in high school to qualify for the University of the Philippines in Fine Arts. That very day, my mother told me, ”Oh yeah, you’re flying to Texas, America, in one week.” I was totally taken by surprise by the news. I didn’t even get a chance to properly say goodbye to my friends. My initial experience in Texas was complete culture shock. I barely spoke English. After a couple of weeks, I told my parents that I wanted to move to L.A. where I could attend vocational school and also link up with my father’s college friends. And that is when I met the chair of Habi Arts, Danilo “PAPO” De Asis in early 2001.

Under De Asis’ influence, I returned to the questions that began with my exposure to the students from the Philippines.  I began to connect that history to the present. What is really going on in the Philippines? Papo showed me everything. I realized things about the Philippines that I didn’t know when I was actually there. Many years later in 2012, Habi Arts co-curated my solo art exhibition “Kiskisan” which means "to clash.” In this exhibition and my art in general, I try to show the richness of the struggle and history of the Philippines.

Born in the Philipines and currently residing in Brooklyn, Francis Estrada is a visual artist, museum educator at the Museum of Modern Art, and freelance educator of Filipino art and culture. Francis has a fine arts degree in painting and drawing from San Jose State University, and he has taught in a variety of studio, classroom, and museum settings to diverse audiences, including programs for adults with disabilities, cultural institutions, and after-school programs. He was also an administrator and educator at the Museum for African Art, where he enjoyed teaching about the amalgamation of art and culture through objects. Francis exhibits his work nationally, including online publications. His work focuses on culture, history, and perception.

Chelo Aestrid is a Cebu-born, LA-raised, London-educated, and Manila-residing singer, dancer, host, writer, designer, actress, and entrepreneur. With powerful vocals, energetic dance moves, thought-provoking lyrics, funky style, and fun stage persona, she loves to thrill any crowd. She has performed in Asia, North America, and Europe and has opened for international acts such as Justin Timberlake, Ne-Yo, Timbaland, Nicki Minaj, and Pussycat Dolls. She has toured in Southeast Asia as an adidas Originals sponsored host with urban music legends Ali Shaheed Muhammad of Tribe Called Quest, Maceo of De La Soul, Tony Touch, and the Triple Threat DJ’s. She received “Best Dance Recording” from the Awit Awards, “Female Style Icon” and “Best Music Video” from the Urban Music Awards in Manila. She is a founding member of the Philippine Allstars, the two-time World Hip-hop Dance Champions. She also has experience in acting (TVCs and feature film), hosting, modeling (print), teaching dance, and organizing events. She is a founder of the clothing lines Capital G and BY:CHelo; and of the webstore BarongWarehouse.com, which sells quality barong tagalong at the lowest prices. She has studied Performing Arts, Architecture, and Fashion Design, and she finished a First Honours (Summa Cum Laude) Business Administration degree at Middlesex University, London, U.K. Lastly, she has been involved in non-profit organizations such as Gawad Kalinga, Child Hope, Rock Ed, Greenpeace, and Change.org. She also volunteered for disaster relief efforts including personally raising funds for her provincial hometown of Cebu after Typhoon Haiyan, which led to the creation of the song and foundation “Chance for Change” with XienHow.

XienHow was born Zen Seville and has had a very interesting life to say the least. Having moved 30 plus times by the time he was twelve, from Baja California all the way up to the Bay Area, he has a perspective that only people who have spent a lot of time traveling can have. Coming from parents with a spiritual background and belief system, he is very open minded and identifies himself as a spiritual person.  Having spent the greater part of the last 15 plus years honing his artistic talents and simultaneously working a full time “career job” in the construction industry, he is considered by many as an active member of many philanthropic and artistic circles. His professional experience has allowed him to develop an outstanding work ethic, which in turn helped him fund a lot of the community work and artistic platforms he continuously has provided to artistic communities throughout his career. In 2006, XienHow made his first trip to the Philippines where he fell in love with her people and culture. He has returned 13 times since then and has worked with the local entrepreneurs/philanthropists “Konektado” to continue creating positive and productive outlets and platforms for the people. Through his working relationship with Konektado, he met Chelo Aestrid, which is how the “Chance for Change” collaboration came to life. 

Born in the Philipines and currently residing in Brooklyn, Francis Estrada is a visual artist, museum educator at the Museum of Modern Art, and freelance educator of Filipino art and culture. Francis has a fine arts degree in painting and drawing from San Jose State University, and he has taught in a variety of studio, classroom, and museum settings to diverse audiences, including programs for adults with disabilities, cultural institutions, and after-school programs. He was also an administrator and educator at the Museum for African Art, where he enjoyed teaching about the amalgamation of art and culture through objects. Francis exhibits his work nationally, including online publications. His work focuses on culture, history, and perception.