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Lydia Querian ᜎᜒᜇᜒᜌ • ᜃᜇᜌᜈ᜔

@msellekarayan

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

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

@houseofgongs for Darat Show by @ellekarayan @msellekarayan

📸 @larawancreative.bydee

#philippines #hawaii #kultura #photography #pinoy

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🇵🇭 DARAT BTS

Wardrobe

carpool buddies

🔥 POKANE | The OG @ellekarayan model duo

DARAT rehearsals

🌊LAYAG | I gotta make sure I stay snatched so I don’t outgrow this top 😂😩

Dressing room shenanigans

Closing night
Hair by @ready4warr
MUA @hc_beauty_

#mood

“but the bigger bottle is the better deal”

Golden Bears 🐻💙💛

After the show it’s the after party

🌱 DARAT
📸 @2ysaboo4u

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I love you all, Hawaii fam 😘😘😘
Thank you so much for the love and hospitality, and for giving me a safe space to share the culture and traditions of the Sama-Bajau from Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi. I will surely miss you all 😘

#DaratFam #houseofgongs

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I just went to the best show you may never get to see.

Darat had a two-show run in Honolulu. And I’m still thinking about it.

Marking 120 years since the first sakadas arrived in Hawaiʻi, the production followed the workers who left for the sugarcane fields and the families they left behind. Dance, live music, fashion, and Brian Adrias’s spoken word gave that history a physical presence. Dancers moved through and behind the crowd. You had to turn and follow.

I’m Filipina American, but I’m not Ilocano or Hawaiian. And I’m not a sakada descendant. I didn’t learn this history growing up. But Darat pulled me into it: the intimacy before a departure, the separation, the punishing work in the fields. You could feel what leaving cost and what staying demanded.

Created, directed, and choreographed by Lydia Querian, with music direction by Kevin Calamayan.

Follow Lydia and Ron’s work at @houseofgongs, Lydia’s fashion at @ellekarayan, and Ron’s fusion of Indigenous Filipino and electronic music at @kulintronica.
Keep an eye out for their next production. If you can get there, go. If you want them in your community, reach out. Invite them.

Read the full piece on 100 Ways to Filipino. Link in bio.

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Filipino & Kānaka ‘Ōiwi Exchange - Ulana Institute

Mahalo and Salamat to Al-Raffy Harun, master practitioner from Tawi Tawi, Lydian Quirian - Founder of House of Gongs and cultural practicioner, Logan Knight, Patricia Ong and Khara Jabola-Ing for sharing with our haumāna the art of Indigenous Filipinos.

Through movement, song and dance - inspired by our natural environments, we all seem to be connected by the ocean and our ancestors who sailed it!

Eō, E Ola Mau Nā Po’e O Ke Kai!
✊🏽🔥🌊

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A few moments from Darat, by House of Gongs that brings Filipino history, culture and Indigenous traditions to life through music, dance, fashion and storytelling.

There is so much beauty in this production, but also a painful history beneath it. Set against the legacy of the Sakadas who came to Hawaiʻi to work on the sugar plantations, Darat explores what generations of Filipinos have carried, preserved and passed down.

A little behind the scenes: performances by the incredible dancers and musicians, fashion by Elle Karayan, and spoken word by Brian Adrias. Music for this reel by Lotus Sky.

Not pictured: my panel, What We Carry, with Sakada descendants Ashton Obrera and Chef Eric Pascual, whose perspectives on family, identity and cultural inheritance added another dimension to the experience. I’ll follow up with that later.

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DARAT was created by @houseofgongs @msellekarayan in commemoration of the 120th anniversary of the arrival of the #Sakadas in Hawai’i. It offers a timely and rooted reflection on Filipino history in the islands. The production brings this history into the present through a contemporary lens for a new generation, with a predominantly Filipino diasporic cast and creative community. It is the first production of its kind in Honolulu to honor this history through the convergence of dance, @ellekarayan fashion, @houseofgongs music, ritual, and embodied storytelling.

Congrats @msellekarayan @houseofgongs @ellekarayan on amazing show! We hope that you’ll take this ALL ORIGINAL show (music, clothes, choreography) on the road so more people can experience what we were able to the last couple of days! Bravo 👏🏽
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#fahm #filipinoamericanhistorymonth #darat #inherpurpose

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I’ve been preparing to moderate a panel at House of Gongs’ Darat entitled “What We Carry,” where I’ll be speaking with musician Ashton Obrero and Chef Eric Pascual, two direct descendants of the Sakadas.

Earlier this week, I had the chance to revisit Hawaiʻi’s Plantation Village, where I was reminded of the arduous working conditions and often solitary lives of the Sakadas who came to Hawaiʻi to work on the sugar plantations.

Their experiences were shared in many ways by the Manongs of California and the Alaskeros who traveled north to work in Alaska’s salmon canneries. These were men who left their families and homes in the Philippines in search of opportunity, only to encounter exploitation, discrimination, and profound isolation.

And yet, they built communities. They organized, fought for their rights, preserved their traditions, and laid the groundwork for generations of Filipino Americans who would follow.

This year marks 120 years since the first Sakadas arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1906. It’s an opportunity not only to honor their sacrifices, but to ask how much of their history we actually know, how it continues to shape us, and what we have a responsibility to carry forward.

That’s what I hope we’ll explore at Darat.

Thanks to Lydia and Ron for inviting me to share and participate in this moment. And thanks to Jenn from In Her Purpose for walking this journey with me.

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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.⁠

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Behind every show you’re about to see is a crew that works tirelessly before the lights ever come up. As we gear up to bring DARAT to life, we just want to take a moment to appreciate the incredible people holding down the fort behind the scenes.

This production is in the best possible hands thanks to this team:

TJ Aranas & Dianne Deauna (Production Managers): Thank you both for being the backbone of this entire journey. From endless logistics to keeping us all grounded and ready, your leadership and heart make everything run smoothly.

🎬 Max Winig & Kupai Marx (Stage Team): Thank you for ensuring that ensuring cue, transition, and detail second nature will all be smooth comes the actual production dates.

💡🔊 Kaleikini Production & Twilight Audio (Lights & Sounds): The atmosphere you are built for this show is unreal. Thank you in advance for bringing the vision to life and ensuring every moment will look and sound pure magic.

We’re almost ready for curtain call, and we couldn't be prouder to share this moment with all of you. Let’s do this!

#DARAT #PreShow #BehindTheScenes #ProductionFamily #StageCraft LightingAndSound OpeningNight CrewAppreciation

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On behalf of the entire team behind DARAT, we want to extend our deepest and most sincere gratitude for your generous support and belief in our vision.

Bringing a production like #DARAT to life is a journey that requires passion, dedication, and partners who share a commitment to meaningful storytelling and community. The support from East-West Center, New Music USA, and Ho'akea Source goes far beyond backing. It serves as the very foundation that allows our creative vision to take flight.

Thank you for standing with us and making this possible. We cannot wait to welcome you to the show and share this experience with you.

With immense gratitude and warm regards,

DARAT Team

#FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth #FilipinoDiaspora #HonoluluEvents

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There’s a lot to MAGBATA. 🌊

It’s the ancestral work.
The ocean.
The Filipino food.
The breathwork.
The ceremony.
The movement.
The beauty.
The laughter.
The women.
The rest.
The pleasure.

It’s deep medicine and it’s delicious living.

MAGBATA was created for women who are ready to step outside ordinary time and experience what becomes possible when you have enough space to hear yourself again.

Four days on Oʻahu.
Four days of being held by the ocean, the land, ceremony, beautiful food, and other women.
Four days to slow down, go deep, be cared for, have fun, and come back to yourself.

MAGBATA: BORN OF WATER
February 19–22, 2027
@thelawnhi
Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi
12 women

Early Bird Pricing through December 1**
$500 deposit reserves your place.
Accommodations are separate.

If you’ve been feeling the pull, DM me “MAGBATA” and I’ll send you the details + inquiry form.

#oahulife #filipinoculture #womeninspiringwomen #wildwomen #girlswhotravel

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