Filipino-Canadian youth use the power of music and the spoken word to reconnect with their culture.

Born and raised in Canada, Jill Laxamana talks about a common experience of children of Filipino immigrants. "A lot of us kind of grow up not wanting to know our language, even hating our own culture, and always wanting to assimilate into western culture," the 25-year-old fashion designer tells the Georgia Straight.

Laxamana began to discover her roots when she volunteered with a cultural show three years ago. The event was organized by the Philippine Women's Centre, a Vancouver-based group that advocates for the rights of migrant Filipino women, particularly live-in caregivers. She recalls that in the course of working with the organizers, she learned more deeply about the country her parents came from.

"I realized that as a second-generation Filipina here, you don't have access to that kind of information," Laxamana says. "When I started learning about the history of Filipinos and the history of our migration here in Canada, I realized there's something to be proud of."

She also discovered another aspect of her creative self when she joined the Vancouver chapter of the Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance (FCYA). With her group's encouragement, the Art Institute of Seattle graduate began singing. And last year, she picked up a guitar and started writing songs that deal with the experiences of the Filipino immigrant community. Noting that she grew up listening to Mary J. Blige and Lauryn Hill, she describes her music as "soul and a little bit of everything".

"If it weren't for my activism, I probably wouldn't be making music," she says.

Laxamana will perform in the 10th presentation of the FCYA's signature cultural event, called Roots, Rhymes and Resistance: Our Beautiful Struggle, to be held Friday evening (May 25) at the Sir Charles Tupper Secondary auditorium (419 East 24th Avenue; for more details, see www.ugnayan.net/) as part of Asian Heritage Month.

Featuring hip-hop, spoken word, poetry, and dance, the annual show explores concerns of Filipino-Canadian youth such as difficulties in school, racial discrimination, and the search for identity as migrant youth, says event organizer Carlo Sayo. The event also highlights current social issues in the Philippines like human-rights violations and poverty, he adds.

Sayo is himself a second-generation Filipino-Canadian, and he recalls his own experience growing up.

"You come to realize that something sets you apart because of your culture and background, and yet you don't fully understand," the 25-year-old graphic designer tells the Straight. "You're Filipino in your house–the food you eat, the language–but when you go out, you get exposed to other cultures. I think that's something very confusing to immigrant communities."

Sayo, also a spoken-word artist, says that a full appreciation of one's identity as a Filipino-Canadian requires an awareness of the reasons why Filipinos left their native country. He asserts that the continuing economic and political turmoil in the Philippines is the main cause of the Filipino diaspora. Migration, he says, has become a necessity for a huge number of Filipinos.

"We have to understand those conditions," he says. "There really has to be a bigger perspective. Then you'll have a better understanding of yourself."