Cultural Kultivators

Cultural Kultivators - AJ Rafael

We are so excited to welcome AJ Rafael, a talented singer-songwriter and a Youtube pioneer who has amassed over 1 million subscribers on YouTube and 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
 
A Filipino American game changer, AJ dives deep into his relationship with music and the healing effects music had in processing and honoring his late father’s memory. At the heart of his artistry is also community or kapwa and a way for listeners to get in touch with the universal and restorative potential of music. 
 
Since the height of his popularity, AJ has broken into the music industry while embracing the strengths which set him apart: the heavily underrated DIY-savvy hustle which proves how a genuine love for connecting with others, no matter what medium or discipline, can lead you to a grounded sense of empowerment and purpose. 
For OG fans and new listeners, check out this episode for a behind the scenes look at his upcoming Take Me Back Tour!
 
Music Credits: 
“We Could Happen (Lofi)”“She Was Mine”“We Could Happen”
All by AJ Rafael 
 
WHAT IS BALAY KREATIVE?BALAY KREATIVE is a pop-up Filipino-American arts hub in SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco, California.EXPLORE BALAY KREATIVEWebsite: www.balaykreative.com
Instagram: @balaykreative 
Facebook.com/balaykreative
Kumu: @balaykreative
 

Cultural Kultivators - Chef Frances Tariga-Weshnak

What gives Chef Frances Tariga-Weshnak, Top Chef star and Morimoto’s Sushi Master winner, her edge? Find out this Wednesday with guest hosts, Kristen Brillantes and JP Reyes of Kultivate Lab’s Seed Network and Bay Area food truck favorite, Sarap Shop! 
Born and raised in Manila, Chef Frances opens up about the ways that operating in survival mode ultimately impacts our collective experience as a culture and how we can come together for future generations to carve out a joyful existence despite the violence that comes with poverty, substance abuse, and scarcity mindsets. 
In the eye of the storm, is Chef Frances’ journey of personal growth through therapy and doing what it takes to achieve your dreams. Which for her, sometimes means killing an eel. As a bright source of inspiration for Pinays, new immigrants, aspiring chefs, and queer creatives,  Chef Frances is proof of how important staying true to yourself is in outlasting your ability to chase the bag, moving from surviving to thriving. 
Hone your skills, your time will come, and most importantly: It’s okay to be you.
Come for the inspo, stay for the food recs!
 
Music Credits:
“Cooking Dance” - Lil B“The Food” - Common“Stir Fry” - Migos
 
WHAT IS BALAY KREATIVE?BALAY KREATIVE is a pop-up Filipino-American arts hub in SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco, California.EXPLORE BALAY KREATIVEWebsite: www.balaykreative.com
Instagram: @balaykreative 
Facebook.com/balaykreative
Kumu: @balaykreative

Cultural Kultivators - Josh Dela Cruz

This Wednesday, we welcome Josh Dela Cruz! Blue’s Clues host and Aladdin in Broadway’s 2017 theater production, Josh made history as the first Asian American Pacific Islander to host a major children's show — Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues & You!.
 
Before jetting off to Thailand to star in the new musical Waterfall, Josh opened up about the times he's felt "not Filipino enough” despite being a representative of the Filipino American experience in mainstream media. Grounded in his community’s love and sacrifice, he also shares how he upholds the legacy of those that came before him by living a full life and embracing life lessons. This includes showing up for yourself & your community the way your community has for you. Especially in a world where, “Friendship means little when it’s convenient” (queue Jon Wick’s theme song).
 
From his fresh out-of-college days and wanting to be ethnically ambiguous to his most cherished audition for West Side Story, Josh has come a long way in developing a journey mindset, embracing the process of becoming the best you that you can be.   
 
For our aspiring actor-listeners, Josh also drops the key on how to make the dream work: the financial realities of the entertainment industry and understanding the value of your time. 
 
Spoiler Alert: Join the Union!
 
Song Credits:
​​"Radiant Child" - a.K.aye
"GWKS" - a.K.aye
"Fully Functional" - a.K.aye
 
WHAT IS BALAY KREATIVE?BALAY KREATIVE is a pop-up Filipino-American arts hub in SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco, California.EXPLORE BALAY KREATIVEWebsite: www.balaykreative.com
Instagram: @balaykreative 
Facebook.com/balaykreative
Kumu: @balaykreative

Cultural Kultivators - H.P. Mendoza

Joining us this week is H.P. Mendoza, Bitter Melon film director, musician and screenwriter, who invited us to soar at the Castro Theatre this past weekend with his new film on weightless grief and self recovery.  
 
Mendoza drops the curtain on this new project, The Secret Art of Human Flight and what it was like working with Hollywood stars like Academy Award nominee, Paul Raci and Grant Rosenmeyer as well as his early childhood influences growing up as a brown, Queer, Filipino boy. San Francisco native and accomplished composer, he shares about his relationship with self-doubt and the ways he has processed through it.  
 
In this episode, he also offers a candid examination of the pressures that we as Asian Americans experience in being measured up to Model Minority myth standards in our households, careers, and in the media. From the good, to the bad and mediocre, Mendoza is committed to celebrating the diversity of the Filipino-American experience. 
 
Tune in for Bo Jack Horseman philosophies and what the power of sleep teaches us in the battle against imposter syndrome!
 
Song Credits: 
"Hoi Polloi" - H.P. Mendoza
"Ticklish" - H.P. Mendoza
"Adult Contemporary" - H.P. Mendoza
 
WHAT IS BALAY KREATIVE?BALAY KREATIVE is a pop-up Filipino-American arts hub in SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco, California.EXPLORE BALAY KREATIVEWebsite: www.balaykreative.com
Instagram: @balaykreative 
Facebook.com/balaykreative
Kumu: @balaykreative
 

Cultural Kultivators - Nikbo

In this week’s episode, we are coming back to our roots with a past Kreative Growth Grantee, Nikbo. As a musician and songwriter, she shares her inspiration behind her songs such as “Grief is Love” and her highly anticipated, Breathe Underwater EP.
Nikbo also gives us practical ways to step into your power and potential as an artist, in what she calls “The Dig.” For our listener-creatives who might need more structure with their flow or are just beginning to invest more into your craft, this episode is for you.
In sharing about her experiences as a Filipinx Third Culture Kid, Nikbo shows us that we are not alone in experiencing the pushback that comes with spiritually and emotionally exploring our identities and gifts as multicultural, multi-hyphenated, and diversely talented Filipinx peoples.
And as we open up about our paths through decolonization as a deeply personal journey of exploration and oral histories, Nikbo explains the way she approaches healing in her music and her creative process with ears curiously planted in the ground to listen for what the natural world and our ‘plant-cestors’ are telling us.
 
WHAT IS BALAY KREATIVE?BALAY KREATIVE is a pop-up Filipino-American arts hub in SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco, California.EXPLORE BALAY KREATIVEWebsite: www.balaykreative.com
Instagram: @balaykreative 
Facebook.com/balaykreative
Kumu: @balaykreative

Cultural Kultivators - Allison Hueman

In this episode, Allison Hueman shares with us her thoughts on bridging both control and chaos in her professional career as a full time artist, pushing the boundaries of art and technology, and in parenthood. 
 
Listen in for Hueman’s creative process and critique on the set of risks and potential of the AI revolution and how we evolve alongside it in the art world. Multidisciplinary artist with a background in graffiti and mural art, Hueman also drops the curtain behind her immersive art experience, Homebody, that uses AI as a tool to explore the social-emotional dimensions of isolation during the pandemic and the grit it took to pull it off. 
 
For young and emerging artists, this is a must listen episode on finding the courage to bet on yourself and the impact of community and environment on your art practice. For artist-mothers and parents, tune in for an honest look that normalizes the challenges in surrendering to change and ways of adapting to parenthood as a full-time creative.
 
WHAT IS BALAY KREATIVE?BALAY KREATIVE is a pop-up Filipino-American arts hub in SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco, California.EXPLORE BALAY KREATIVEWebsite: www.balaykreative.com
Instagram: @balaykreative 
Facebook.com/balaykreative
Kumu: @balaykreative

Cultural Kultivators - Ruby Ibarra

For new and day one fans of Ruby Ibarra, this is a must listen episode bringing us into the mind of our Waray-Waray and Tagalog speaking rapper, director, and spoken word artist. Learn more about what it means to challenge colonial assimilation and redefine success by embracing our indigenous Filipino languages.
Hailing from Tacloban City, Ruby sheds light on the complexities of reaching true representation, unlearning imposter syndrome, and building a legacy of inclusivity in the Bay Area music industry and beyond. Co-founder of Pinays Rising Scholarship Program, she has grounded her purpose in giving back to the community with the rise of “Us,” her 2017 collaboration with Faith Santilla and Klassy. 
Join us in celebrating being unapologetically Pinay and, in Ruby’s words, “Being a fan of yourself” when it comes to authentically expressing your voice and creative energy!
Walang Makakatigil!
 
WHAT IS BALAY KREATIVE?BALAY KREATIVE is a pop-up Filipino-American arts hub in SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco, California.EXPLORE BALAY KREATIVEWebsite: www.balaykreative.com
Instagram: @balaykreative 
Facebook.com/balaykreative
Kumu: @balaykreative

Cultural Kultivators - Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales

From the Tiktok generation to the Third World Liberation Front, examining the meaning of community, collective liberation and self actualization are perennial ancestor-blessed paths to walk on. Tune in to the conversation with the key scholar of Pinayism, a radical form of love and decolonization process.
 
In this episode, I share space with Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, founder of Pin@y Educational Partnerships and Asian American Studies Professor at San Francisco State University. Motherscholar of color, Anti-Hustler, and my Ate, Allyson is also a former professor of mine and helped shape my journey in embracing my Pinay identity and learning about our collective legacy of resistance.   
 
Listen in for the ancestors called into the space, ways to shift in alignment with your purpose or your “why,” and Blackfoot wisdom on self actualization.
 
WHAT IS BALAY KREATIVE?BALAY KREATIVE is a pop-up Filipino-American arts hub in SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco, California.EXPLORE BALAY KREATIVEWebsite: www.balaykreative.com
Instagram: @balaykreative 
Facebook.com/balaykreative
Kumu: @balaykreative