Otay Ranch High School 5th Annual Culture Night

Otay Ranch High School

5th Annual Culture Night

By Danica Nocomora of Class of 2019

Pangkat Sayaw, Otay Ranch High School

 
On 19th April 2019, Otay Ranch High School opened its doors to the harmony of diverse cultures through its annual “Culture Night”, a night in which students, teachers and family members unite through the reminiscence of culture and the arts. This celebration of cultures was arranged by students from the Bayanihan Club, a Filipino club with goals of achieving unity, work, and cooperation among its members. The list of performers ranged from Ratco, a small yet capable jazz band, Ballet Folklorico, Black Student Union’s Hip Hop, Surreal Fidelity, Ethereal, Morse Islander Student Alliance, Mustang Theatre Company, Pangkat Sayaw and so much more. The community was able to connect together through the presentation of multiple cultural dances. Otay Ranch High School’s Pangkat Sayaw represented the Filipino culture through two performances.
 
A great number of performers were able to showcase the different cultures such as Nani Girl’s four variations of Tahitian dance, Ralph Inzunza’s Kendama performance, Full Effect Show Choir performance of “Someone In The Crowd”, Abigail Giao and Bryan Park’s duet of the Korean song “Eyes, Nose, Lips-by Taehyung”, and Pangkat Sayaw, an after school extracurricular activity dance club at Otay Ranch High School which performed two dances: Sakuting and Sayaw sa Bangko. Sakuting is a folk dance that presents a mock fight between Ilocano Christians and non-Christians through use of sticks. Sayaw sa Bangko is the folk dance in which  a couple dance on top of a narrow bench, with some performers stacking multiple benches for a better, beautiful performance that originated from the Pangasinan province. 
 
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Pangkat Sayaw members practice various traditional dances after school from 2:40 to 3:45 with the motivation to learn and promote the Filipino Culture, encouraging all to join and become part of the family.  Not only does the club promote Filipino culture and values, it allows students to discover the cultures for themselves, to understand the Filipino culture and to gain a better appreciation of one’s ethnicity, along with achieving community service hours, or just simply to meet new acquaintances. We are looking forward to more cultural performances in the future. You can contact Ginang Rizalyn Cruz, our Filipino language teacher, for more information.
 
Overall, the 5th Annual Culture Night at Otay Ranch High School was a big success with almost 400 people including performers who showed up to watch and enjoy the celebration. Proceeds of the event will help defray for the Senior graduation sashes, banquet, donation to the Philippine Red Cross and a budget for the club's field trip.