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Lydia Querian ᜎᜒᜇᜒᜌ • ᜃᜇᜌᜈ᜔

@msellekarayan

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PH | SF | HI📍
Gongster Mother | Dance Artist | Designer | Warrior
@ellekarayan @houseofgongs

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For the longest time, this dream was kept within our gongster family. Only @hella_pinay can put me in a vulnerable space to get this out there. A decade long of gongster life ain't easy while also raising children, but the same gongs are the blessing in itself. To the Papa Gongs, @kulintronica I think we work well together?! Hehe

@houseofgongs @loreleiharrel @paulglcosme @celesdina_ the continuous plot twists in this gongster journey you contribute to.

Thank you Violet Magazine for this feature and @mariehobro for these incredible photos!

May the gongs be with you all!

Article here or link in bio
https://violetluxury.com/house-of-gongs/ by @msellekarayan

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This post is presented by @lovedearflor, a Filipino American-owned small business. Preorder today. Save 50% when you spend $40 or more and follow @lovedearflor for more Filipino stories.⁠ by @msellekarayan

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by @msellekarayan

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This post is presented by @lovedearflor, a Filipino American-owned small business. Preorder today. Save 50% when you spend $40 or more and follow @lovedearflor for more Filipino stories.⁠
⁠
Behind the music of “Forgotten Island” are Indigenous musicians, teachers and cultural advisers who brought their voices, instruments and knowledge to the film. Meet some of the people helping audiences hear the Philippines on screen.⁠
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In U.S. theaters Sept. 25. by @msellekarayan

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We’re honored to be named an awardee of @newmusicusa’s 2026 New Music Organization Fund! This support helps us with our upcoming project “DARAT” in honor of the Sakadas this coming Filipino American History Month in Oahu, HI. Thank you, New Music USA, for investing in House of Gongs and the community we serve.

Meet our fellow awardees: link in bio (via @NewMusicUSA). Congratulations to all!

#ListeningForward #OrganizationFund by @msellekarayan

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What an honor to be in the same space with @kumuhina ! How I tried to keep my composure while talking to her I dont know how that happened but I've been a big fan.

Shortly after this, we chatted about language connections, and she was drumming a rhythm on kulintang that she said was similar to their ancient drum beat. And many more!!!

My @kulintronica and I gifted her a Kokak made by hand by @balugto the rainbow man.

Kanaka x Filipinx Cultural Exchange was so special. So much mana and everything felt very pono. Salamat @karlo_tanjuakio for creating this space and @decolonizefeminism for building this bridge that we hope we continue to build together. May the gongs be with you all!

📹 @umaonearth_ by @msellekarayan

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Happy happy birthday to my BeautyFULL Mama! Thank you for being youuuu! Labyu! 🥰 by @msellekarayan

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Panay was my favorite leg of the journey. It was new and adventurous, especially having to turn around after an hour-long drive and take another route in the middle of the night because we couldn’t cross the river. 😂

But more than the adventure, it was the community that stayed with me. I’ve found myself thinking about them consistently over the last couple of weeks since I’ve been back.

Inspired to the tee, I’ve been embroidering because we spent so much time together, hanging out, listening to call-and-response chanting, and stitching alongside one another. Maayad gid! ❤️ My heart has remained so warm.

Here’s my 7-day embroidery project so far. My speed is not the best, but considering I’m juggling two kids and everything else, I’ll take it. 😅

Rest in power, Nanay Supina. Some of these stitches were made in memory of you. Even though our time together was so short, it remains one of my favorite moments from this journey.

You left a stitch in my heart, too. ❤️ by @msellekarayan

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This is 43. Birthday dump edition.

Still breastfeeding, still somewhere at the tail end of postpartum... postpartum-ish? So today, I rested.

It feels like I've been celebrating my birthday for the last couple of months. Instead of a single day, it became a season—long van rides to the mountains with my two beautiful minis by my side, visiting chosen family and finding new family along the way.

One of the greatest gifts was being able to say goodbye to Papa Sapi. Even if it meant quietly sipping coffee outside his bedroom, staring at the sword hanging on the wall, I was grateful for that moment.

To my Daddy in heaven, I made pancit today for long life. While cooking, I thought about my 41-year-old self making the same dish, praying for just one more year with you. But you deserved peace, and I know that now.

Birthdays have felt different these last two years because they come just after your death anniversary. They'll never quite be the same. I still catch myself looking at my phone when I wake up in the middle of the night, hoping it's one of your random phone calls.

This trip was also a gift. Getting to know Panay more filled my heart.

So much gratitude to @pow_powru for welcoming us into your world. I have so much respect for the work you do and for the relationships you've built with the elders. It's something I honor.

@_ardlene, @ibb108, @kabbigat_108, and the entire Lilayan family, Istay Chiyoy. Thank you for always opening your doors and your hearts to our family. We love you.

Tatay @19wawaysaway69, Ate Jess, and the entire Sungco family, daghang salamat. Labyuu all, forever.

To Aileen and everyone at Nagbagcalan Weavers, it's always a joy to be with you.

To my Mama, Kuya Ten, Bubut & Fhel, Kuya Pedro, and Lhylsy, none of this would be possible without your love and support.

And to everyone who remembered me today, thank you. I carry your love with me.

Here's to 43. More listening. More creating. More gratitude. 💚 by @msellekarayan

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During our Panay leg, we had an opportunity to do a small workshop and panel with San Agustin University's music and fine arts class sharing our diapsoric experiences. Some students came up saying that something was awakened when they saw all of it. The @houseofgongs effect @kulintronica and I would call. If 1 person feels the impact that's a huge deal. Because as much as representation matters, we don't really play by numbers. :)

It was such a heart warming experience. Daghang salamat Mama Ros and @pow_powru for sharing this space with us and @carmellec for being so game to tag along. ❤️ by @msellekarayan

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After working the Plantation in the Big Island, my Lolo Manuel went back to the Philippines and got hin self and his children land in Solano, Nevada Vizcaya that would be our pit stop everything we go to Kalinga.

In the farm they have ducks, pigs, chickens a vast rice farm that would feed my entire clan to this day. The actual farm to table experience that many people pay a lot of money for has been a normal experience for my family. Vegetables (the bahay Kubo lind) grow in this beautiful land. Indigenous is the future but less commercial is my hope.

Today my breakfast was fresh duck adobo, Native tinola, Santos from pur tree and lots of love. I'm feel so fortunate to be able to share this experience with my 🌙 and 🌞. ❤️ by @msellekarayan

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