I am a 3rd generation Filipino-American artivist. My grandfather was part of the “Manong Generation” and owned the first Filipino restaurant & pool hall in San Francisco in the 1940's. My grandmother led the San Francisco-based Philippine American Cultural Foundation whose specific purpose was to promote social and cultural awareness in the community and produce programs and performances in the 1960’s. My uncle, Patrick Salaver, was the founder of PACE and a civil rights student activist/member of the Third World Liberation Front at SF State. It is because of their self-actualization, their sacrifices, their struggles & their commitment to community that I am a thriving Asian American artivist living in the SF Bay Area today. My identity, family history and background influence everything I write & create. My family and culture has influenced my work as an artist since the beginning of my career and it continues to be a driving force throughout all of my creative endeavors. I am a firm believer that elevating our culture and helping heal generational trauma through art is part of my legacy. As Zimbabwean-born author Matshona Dhliwayo stated, “It is in the roots, not the branches, that a tree’s greatest strength lies.”
