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Samantha Casuga

@labonitafunk

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Freelance Bar Consultant 🎱
Sparkly ball @ciaociaodisco 🪩
Hired goon @attaboy134 🧟‍♀️
Yoga teacher @newlovecity_ 🐙
New things @labonitalunchbox 👩🏻‍🌾

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Finished out the season strong. I’ve gone full autumnal now.

Yogi wedding. Bestie birthdays. More karaoke. Dolly died, and I’m still in mourning. One last pool party. Professional dog sitter status. Went back to formal dance classes—WOWIE! Experienced deep sweater weather denial, and apparently only like to don men’s size medium second-hand pullovers. Baked 2 1/2 cakes for 2 1/2 birthdays. Worked on my swing (with my dad’s oversized driver). Taught a ton of yoga and got Piss to nail his Chaturanga Dadasana. Made myself laugh a lot.

See y’all in October. Go Dodgers. by @labonitafunk

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16 days ago

I’m a quintessential summer baby, and it shows. 🌞

Touched a lot of grass as of late. Arguably the best summer of my life. They were right about staying present—it’s pretty sweet. Endless magic & whimsy if you know *how* to look. A few more weeks left to run around barefoot (outside of the city streets, please) with sun-kissed, salty skin. I like to think that my hair, when let loose, looks like a hypnotic—perhaps venomous—sea creature in the water.

Picked blueberries of which half of them made it into my belly, and not the bucket. Practiced the dying art of cursive on a baby shower quiz. Watched a Tita play songs on the piano by memory. Let melted marshmallows cover my entire face and all my fingers. Fed said fingers to baby goats. Devoured delicious conjured up food in a time when meals from scratch feel like a luxury. Honoured my ancestors. Forgot about makeup, and let my skin breathe. Attempted my fire escape garden: RIP to the Thai basil.

Perhaps I’ll cut my hair in the fall, but for now I’m in full mermaid mode.

If you’re still reading this I hope you are having the best day. 🩵 Go get some sun, and eat something tasty. Teehee. by @labonitafunk

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2 months ago

👼🏻Last day of Cancer season!👼🏻

& sitting in sweetness after a wonderful birthday week.

What a difference a year makes. Any time gone by, really. Change & growth in ways you never saw coming. Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude. It might sound cheesy, but I love cheese, and I love love, and I love my loved ones!

A LOT OF US are going through MAJOR SHIFTS, and we are becoming different versions of ourselves. I might not seem like the same girl you once knew, but deep down it’s the same heart. She’s just softer, more protected, and wiser.

TEEHEE TO 37!

Joseph Coleman & I are basically the best cocktail competition judges of all time.

What a fun time with one of my dragon bbs. JOE! You sweet, FEELING, wise, and incredibly fun man.

First birthday in a while not at Tales, and honestly it was kinda awesome hehehehe!

GOT TO SEE MY FELLOW CANCER SISTER @arianagrande THANKS TO THE GORGEOUS @colinhutzler !!!!

Divas, divas, divas! Rikki and I are really on a roll in our concert series hehe.

Angel 🩵

Late night lard bread with my lover, and we ate the whole loaf.

WEEEEEEE!

Making t-shirts that say: WE SURVIVED A TAYLOR FARMS SALAD & DIDN’T POOP OUR PANTS!

Side note: Noeli is left-handed.

No week is complete without a midweek walk with my girly pop Madi 🩵 …Did I carbo load with more bread in the form of a tomato pastry? Yes.

POV: Your best friend is making you a birthday martini, but he’s over your shit.

I dipped my burger in the martini btw.

Thanks @dannysnyc lol

DK said we had to take to the driving range inside because of the smoke. But hey! Knocked some balls out.

BTW: Yeah, I know I need to hit the ball harder. My dad already told me.

And I feel it, too. It’s already begun.

I only had one crash out on my birthday, but everything else was perfect.

Thank you, friendos. 🥹

Oh, and the Dodgers won.

Some things never change (although we MIGHT invite new friends in… sometimes)

“A Rose for a Rose”
Amanda always knows how to make me feel so special.

Killian Charara = husband of the year

I got emotional watching children dance and sing at the World Cup.
I’m emotional about it now.
Sigh.

Can’t count how many bike rides I went on this wee taken in New York, New York by @labonitafunk

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3 months ago

What healing looks like:

Gratitude for this timeline. Family. Friends. Girlhood. Saying yes to once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Witnessing good things happen to good people. Celebrating milestones–big or small. Dancing. Nature. Sharing meals with other humans. Falling in love with your own skin. Reading instead of waiting by the phone. Seeing the beauty in everything again. Allowing space for grief. Closing chapters. New life. Unexpected connections. La scarpetta. Signs from God. Inviting romance back in. Re-learning how to trust. Neverending play. Letting go.

Three months of incredible magic could have not come at a better time! ✨ by @labonitafunk

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3 months ago

🇵🇭 TYPHOON RELIEF GUEST SHIFT🇵🇭

Monday 11/24 - 6-9pm
@barsnack.nyc - 92 2nd Avenue

Featuring:
Kitty Bernardo (@viddy_kitty)
Sam Casuga (@labonitafunk)
Darwin Pornel (@darwinpornel)

Join us and some of your favorite Filipino - American bartenders for a cocktail or two on Monday 11/24! 100% of proceeds from the event will be donated to @nafconusa to assist with their relief efforts on the ground in the Philippines.

A huge thank you to our sponsors and family at @barsnack.nyc for offering their time, resources, and space to us! taken in Bar Snack by @labonitafunk

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a year ago

Honoring Samantha Casuga (@labonitafunk), Canadian-born Filipina Bartender, Bar Advisor, and Wellness Facilitator whose core is rooted in hospitality and service to others. From honing her craft across Canada to shaping bars in New York from The Dead Rabbit to Temple Bar, Samantha has always been grounded in the kind of geniune generosity you can’t fake or force. Centering community over clout, the care in her style of hospitality is not performance; it is an ancestral inheritance 🇵🇭

Carrying the wisdom and strength of her Lolas into every room, Samantha embodies a culture where care, grace, and emotional intelligence are not soft skills - they are pillars of community.

Hospitality is how she tells her story - generosity first, empathy forward, excellence through the lens of her Filipina culture. She is a woman who gives her time, presence, empathy, safety, dignity ... and fun! Living proof that serving up radical kindness can fuel a rise to the very top of the Bar World. And the industry is better because she chose not to trade her heart for hardness of the ego. In an industry that once called emotional fluency “weak,” she turned it into a standard.

Radical love, Filipina strength, big-heart leadership, service to others and hospitality that heals, this is Samantha Casuga ✨️

Happy Filipino-American History Month! Here’s to Filipina strength, to service as leadership, and to those who raise the standard of the true meaning of care in the Bar Industry.

Tag someone who needs this reminder and follow Samantha at @labonitafunk

📸 @aryanaalexa - @iammoustache - @jbrasted taken in New York City by @labonitafunk

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a year ago

🦐Life as a Black Coat: Part III🦀

Thanks to everyone who came to my extended birthday celebrations in New Orleans. Legend says my ghost of TOTCF ‘25s past is still lurking the Ritz-Carlton wishing for more birthday surprises & dollar bills to pin.

Another Tales come and gone, and this year might have been my most favourite yet. Every year I am reminded why I do indeed adore this industry, and I do not take advantage of the opportunities I get to be a part of one of the best mentorship programs in the world.

To all the new and returned CAPs, and especially to Platoon 3: Thank you for letting me love you all unabashedly & openly. I am so proud of y’all it makes my heart soar. I love to make you guys cry. If a heavy metal cover of the Harry Potter score doesn’t full encompass our vibe, I dunno what would. Muahahaha!

TK, Cris, Alexis, Kaleena, Aaron, Juyoung, Richie Rich, Rylen, Thrashie, Glennifer, & ALEX SMITH: Besties.

Ta-ta for now! Will report back once Mr. Nic crushes World Class Globals! taken in New Orleans, Louisiana by @labonitafunk

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a year ago

ONE WEEK AWAY! 🗽

Join us at BCB for a very special Seminar!
We’re coming together to share our stories of immigration, adaptation, and success—and how these experiences have shaped our careers, sparked our creativity, and influenced the hospitality industry. This powerful session highlights the resilience, innovation, and cultural contributions of immigrants in the bar and restaurant world. Whether you’re behind the bar, in the kitchen, or anywhere in between—this conversation is for you.

We’d love for you to join us in celebrating culture, sharing stories, and finding connection and inspiration in the journeys that shape our industry.

👉 DM us for a 25% discount code—we’d love to see you there! by @labonitafunk

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a year ago

👼🏻SWEET BABY ANGELS👼🏻

Despite a lot of loss and heartache there was also an insane amount of joy and laughter in 2024. I got a big big heart yet sometimes I forget to love on myself. Thankful for the family & friends who remind me to do so.

I’ve been told my vulnerability is my super power, but it can feel like my greatest weakness most days. Connecting to my inner child has been pivotal in maintaining what makes me me – that little bug eyed sweet baby angel close to my heart.

It can be uncomfortable feeling like a stranger in your own skin, but it’s in the discomfort that we grow and level up. Leaving behind the things I no longer need, and only taking the best parts ahead with me.

I love y’all & I hope you love you too!

*Highly recommend time with puppies to heal the heart

**Meant this to just be a photo dump, but as always and in true Sammy C style it became a big word vomit of LOVE! AHHH! by @labonitafunk

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2 years ago

Join Us for a much needed Collective Breath Together 🙏 Let's Come Together to Just Breathe Guided by @labonitafunk and Hosted by @tarathirsty - a quick easy 10-Minute Reset to calm and center your mind for the week ahead.
In times of uncertainty, we come together and this Community Reset will be beginner friendly exercise to welcome anyone who has been struggling with anxiety, running thoughts or any other mental health issues lately.
This will be LIVE on IG but available for you to visit on your own time and come back to anytime you need it.
We all have 10 minutes to dedicate to ourselves and our mind. Offering this to you all in kindness, care and friendship - we hope to see you LIVE next Monday. taken in IG Live by @labonitafunk

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2 years ago

I love this Woman ❤️ @labonitafunk has become my Sister. Samantha is a true angel amongst us and beyond a tremendous gift to this industry and everyone who gets to know her or spends time with her as she runs @templebarnyc. Thinking back on 2023, Samantha was an ever present magical force in my life. Our projects, schedules and lives just seemed destined to intertwine; I have to believe that she was placed in front of me so frequently as a bright light to help illuminate my path forward. Samantha is a tremendous talent and her resume beyond speaks for itself (running things @thedeadrabbitpub, @tales_of_the_cocktail CAP program and of course Temple) but her professional body of work success pales in comparison to her heart - who she is a friend, mentor, educator and sister. Equal parts recipe of beauty, brilliance, artistry, compassion, generosity, dedication, understanding, confidence, fearlessness, silliness, hilariousness & hotness ... and I can keep going!
As I think about the magnificent Women whom I consider my angels, Women who have helped guide me back to the light and keep me safe here, especially in the last year - I think of Samantha and I need to send all my love, devotion and gratitude to my sister @labonitafunk 🖤 BBO Forever! Thank you for loving me - I love you mama! taken in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato by @labonitafunk

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3 years ago

✨🫀NEW LOVE SAMMY🫀✨

Wild to think it’s been nearly four years of being a part of this studio – three of them as a teacher! So much love for this gang of yogi baddies. Teaching is a gift. Our bodies are sacred. To move with others is a blessing. Still so much to learn, and so much room to grow, and I wouldn’t want to do it anywhere else. taken in New Love City by @labonitafunk

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3 years ago