 "Photo:")
The Rutgers Association of Philippine Students sponsored the event that featured skits, cultural dances, modern dances and talent acts of Filipino students. Students from all of the participating universities came to support their "barrios" in the battle for the title of "Best Overall Presentation." Participating universities' barrios included Stony Brook University's Philippine United Student Organization, New York University's International Filipino Association, Seton Hall University's Filipino League at Seton Hall and Rutgers' RAPS.
There were prizes worth more than $100 and a chance to perform at the D5 Filipino Intercollegiate Networking Dialogue Conference - in late March at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Proceeds from the show went to Bantay Bata 163, a program that rescues and rehabilitates abused Filipino children and educates the public about the issues surrounding child abuse. RAPS supports the efforts of this program and believes in the ability of young Filipinos to make a difference in the world.
The Battle of the Barrios was the creation of Anna Mercado, former RAPS president. It began simply as a means to network with other FIND schools. Now in its third year, the battle has evolved as a way to bring together the different communities of Filipino-Americans from around the tri-state area, said Douglass College junior Marian Gamboa, co-president of RAPS.
"It allows everyone to come together to show off their talents," Gamboa said. "We usually don't have many chances to have a venue to bring everyone together, so tonight is a good opportunity."
Rutgers College senior Ryan Pidor, a FIND representative and first-time performer in the show, said he felt his involvement in the club brings him closer to other Filipino-Americans and the performance "promotes solidarity amongst Philippine clubs."
The program opened with the singing of the Filipino national anthem, followed by the American national anthem. Many students from all the schools watched as their teams performed for about 20 minutes. The schools were judged for each separate presentation and later for their overall act on criteria such as choreography and origination. Acts included dances, singing and comedy skits.
"I'm Filipino, but I haven't been exposed to Philippine dances, so I decided to come see the show tonight," said Aizza Garcellano, a Rutgers-Newark first-year student.
RAPS performers prepared for the show since the beginning of the year, but worked particularly hard the past two weeks, said Livingston College senior Rachel Gonzales - co-president of RAPS.
Rutgers performers appeared last in the program, presenting an ethnic dance complete with cultural dress and a modern dance that ended with an impressive array of streamers and crazy string.
Expressing the benefits of having taken part in the production, Livingston College junior D.J. Adan said, "Rutgers is such a big school, and this is an opportunity to feel like part of a group in a big place."
Winners were announced and presented with awards at the conclusion of the program. Individual trophies were awarded to RAPS for its cultural dance and NYU's IFA for its hip-hop dance. NYU won the majority of the awards.
"All the presentations were awesome," said Junas Quiba, a College of Nursing junior. "I thought Rutgers had a really good chance of winning, but the show was still great."
Be the first to comment on this article!