
Sunset CypHER

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.