By Babylove (@nandilim)
ALAB invites artists to celebrate Filipino music and arts through ALAB Fiesta, an online concert slated for May 15. The opening of submissions was formally announced through the organization’s official Twitter account last Wednesday, April 28.
ALAB’s current Executive Producer Julian (@yourskuroo) shares that the core team wanted to highlight the Filipino identity while somehow intertwining that with the muses that we roleplay. ALAB Fiesta strives to put OPM and Filipino culture in the limelight as the event celebrates all things distinctly Pinoy through original art, vocal and instrumental covers as well as spoken word poetry.
That being said, ALAB is no stranger to organizing events. Members of the HQRP community might be familiar with ALAB at this point because the organization is also behind Siklab and Lakambini, both successful concerts that saw the attendance of hundreds from the HQRP and Anitwt community. ALAB’s latest success is in the form of CinemALAB, a movie viewing event held on Discord last Sunday, April 24.
With such a large scale of success from their previous events, it is undeniable that there’s a level of expectation for Fiesta to perform as well as its predecessors. Julian mentions how the organization has coped with its growth in the past few months to maintain the integrity of their workforce, in response to the pressure that the team experiences while preparing for future events. “Using our growth to our advantage, we delegate micro tasks to individuals that have a macro effect in the production itself,” he explains.
When asked why it is essential for ALAB to hold an event like Fiesta and how it aligns with the organization’s existing goals and advocacies, the EP discusses ALAB’s roots and how the event is something created with the community’s welfare in mind.
“Every event, I think it is important that we go back to why ALAB exists in the first place. This organization was created as an avenue for different HQRP members to showcase their talents in literature, arts, and of course, music.
It is essential to have an event like ALAB Fiesta because not only that it celebrates the talent of these many amazing people, but it also serves as a reminder that despite the struggles we are experiencing right now, we will always go back to art as a means (to) express.
I’m sure everyone working to make this event happen experiences struggles, and this is why I think a night of celebration to relieve all the stress and anxiety is what we all need once in a while.”
The EP warmly invites everyone to join the event.
“Currently, there are already 16 artists who registered and we just opened the call for artists form yesterday. The night of ALAB Fiesta is, as what I have said earlier, a celebration. It is a night wherein we can relax and spend time with our fellow hqrp-ers and enjoy what these artists and contributors have in store for us.
Join us on May 15, 2021 at exactly 8PM. We’d love to see you all there!”
For the Fiesta submissions, song covers must be OPM or alternatively, are original compositions of the artists. Monologues and spoken word poetry must be performed in Filipino while original artworks must embrace and highlight Filipino culture and traditions.
If you find that you’d like to be part of the artist roster for Fiesta, submissions will be accepted until May 8, 2021. Further information can be found on ALAB’s Twitter page.
Mabuhay at kita-kits sa ALAB Fiesta!
Special thanks to ALAB’s executive producer, Kuroo “Julian” Tetsuro for the interview.
Tsukishima “Knox” Kei is an associate editor and news writer for LAGABLAB. Contact Knox through Twitter at @nandilim.
