BIGHARI- the lost goddess of the rainbow

​

After reading the mestiza consciousness which Anzaldua introduced in her book plagued my mind. As I dug into my own history and considered our mixed identities as Filipinos due to colonialism, I asked, “isn't the Filipinx grappling with being in this place of nonbelonging and in-between ness as well? Therefore, is the Filipinx a mestiza?”

​

A reimagining of the Filipinx complex identity is reimagined through the embrace of our multiplicity resembled by our multiple colors of the rainbow. 

​

Sunset CypHER is based on a Filipino mythological folktale about the goddess of the rainbow, Bighari,presented as part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival honoring the goddesses of our ancestral past. Through physical theater, I created an experiential performance engaging with the audience (my village) and the fading of the sun (nature god). Reimaging the past helped me cope with a future that involved care and healing.

​

This performance allowed me to meet more Filipinx in the Philadelphia community. Many expressed that this was the first Filipinx centered performance they witnessed as part of a Philadelphia Fringe Festival.