14 March 2013 – Filipino and Filipino-American students from six colleges and universities in New York and New Jersey converged at Rutgers University in New York on March 10 for the 12th Battle of the Barrios.
The Battle of the Barrios is an annual musical skit and dance competition throughout the US Northeast including Maryland and Virginia. The participating schools are divided into five (5) districts.
District 3 held its 12th Battle competition before a jampacked Trayes Hall at the Douglass Campus Center of Rutgers University.
Nearly 500 students and family members were around to support the competing teams: Philippine United Student Organization (PUSO) of StonyBrook University, International Filipino Association (IFA) of New York University (NYU), Pilipinos of Hunter College (POH), Philippine Americans Reaching Everyone (P.A.R.E.) of St John’s University, Rutgers University Association of Philippine Students (RAPS), and the Filipino Student Association (FSA) of the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).
Each performance lasting a maximum of 15 minutes incorporates elements of Philippine culture and history, folk dance, modern dance, and music.
Many of the skits presented touched on searching for acceptance, identity and embracing being Filipino-American. The different teams used pop culture references such as films, Filipino and American music, expressions, and folklore in their presentations.
For the first time, the Philippine Consulate General in New York took part in the Battle of the Barrios with the presentation of a comedic skit on Dual Citizenship and Filing a Report of Birth. The skit was presented by volunteers from the Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UniPro) a second-generation led organization and students of Rutgers University. The script was written and staged by Filipino-American Mark Anthony Libatique with inputs from the Philippine Consulate.
Leaflets on Report of Birth and Dual Citizenship were likewise distributed during the event.
Deputy Consul General Theresa Dizon-de Vega, in her brief remarks, expressed appreciation to the Battle of the Barrios organizers for providing the Consulate with an opportunity to reach out to the emerging generation of Filipino-Americans and to their families. She was joined by Vice Consul Khrystina Corpuz and Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) Officer Charlie Nabo at the event.
The Consulate skit drew laughter and praise from the audience at the Battle of the Barrios.
PUSO, IFA, and PARE all won special category prizes while Rutgers-RAPS won the covered Best Overall Performance with their creative take on a Philippine “Aswang” adrift in New York City skit.
The event was covered by GMA Pinoy TV.
The video of the Philippine Consulate skit may be viewed on the official facebook page of the Philippine Consulate General in New York. END