It felt like a substantial (seriously large) spouse and children reunion, with hundreds of Filipinos and good friends gathered for an exuberant, open up-air “Night of ‘Pinoy’tainment” at the Ford on Sunday. The Filipino American comedians, rappers, singers and dancers ranged from recognized names such as comedian Rex Navarrete and rapper Apl.de.Ap of the Black Eyed Peas to up-and-coming comedian Lila Hart and rapid-soaring rapper Ruby Ibarra.
Singer-songwriter AJ Rafael hosted his sister, Jasmine Rafael, danced with her crew. From the back again of the dwelling, members of the dance crew Kaba Modern-day (a spin on the Tagalog word kababayan, or “fellow countrymen”) cheered them on. The backstage spots resonated with the very same camaraderie, as performers joked and mingled.
Comedian Erick Esteban’s set was highlighted by a bit about the Ewoks from “Star Wars” speaking Tagalog, one of a number of languages spoken in the Philippines singer Jules Aurora wowed with “Kailangan Kita,” sung in Tagalog — which she does not converse. VJ Rosales of the a cappella team the Filharmonic joined her for a crowd-pleasing rendition of Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are” (Mars is also Filipino American).
Hart, who likes to say she’s “as tall as a parking meter,” received massive laughs with energetic — and blue — humor pinging off her expertise with spina bifida. Ibarra was joined by 14-yr-previous singer Ella Jay Basco (for their collaboration “Gold”) and fellow Bay Space rapper Nump (for his “I Gott Grapes”). Ibarra closed with her very best-recognised song, “Us,” rapped in English, Tagalog and yet another Filipino language, Visayan.
Navarrete’s routine imagined Manny Pacquiao in “The Expendables 2″ the laughs showed that viewers users weren’t also deeply bruised by their champion’s convincing reduction the prior weekend.
Closing the evening was Apl.de.Ap, who brought out new Peas singer J. Rey Soul (a Filipina he uncovered while web hosting “The Voice of the Philippines”) for the Filipino American hip-hop anthem “Bebot.”
AJ Rafael wrapped up the festivities like a lumpia, stating: “Food, pals, loved ones is what I think about when I think about being Filipino.”
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