- Union Square moved to the Soul and Rhythm of TFC Artists Jaya and Jay-R while celebrating the 120th Anniversary of Philippine Independence
- Jaya and Jay-R had a tremendous time performing for the audience that sang and danced with them at Union Square
“The TFC show was a very big hit this year! Jay-R and Jaya both had such warm and infectious personalities, in addition to their obvious singing talents. Not only did they win the small crowd in the press conference, they also won the large audience during the TFC hour,” enthused KalayaanSF Chair Radi Calalang.
At the press conference earlier in the day, Consul General Henry Bensurto Jr. emphasized that the message of KalayaanSF is to put Filipino culture at the center. He said that “Part of our identity is our historical past, and it’s very important for the younger generation of Filipino Americans to know and understand the struggles of those who came before them. That helps them recognize and accept their identity and give them the confidence to be good Filipino Americans being able to help the larger community.”
KalayaanSF is an annual celebration of Filipino culture and pride, organized annually by the Filipino-American community in the Bay Area with the support of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, with TFC as an active media partner.
This year, TFC flew in the Philippines’ Queen of Soul, Jaya, and the RnB King of the Philippines, Jay-R, to entertain the huge crowd at Union Square during the TFC Hour hosted by Adobo Nation’s Ginger Conejero and Barangay USA’s Gelo.
The show was a big hit, drawing in even passersby crossing the square to stop and watch, as Gelo and Ginger hyped them up with fun games and trivia questions, giving out TFC swag to sweeten the engagement.
Calalang also observed “We had a much thicker crowd in Union Square during the KalayaanSF Festival this year. We even ran out of our 2,000 bandanas very early in the day. I think our message is resonating, and many in the community are embracing this new tradition of loudly celebrating cultural pride and identity through our KalayaanSF Independence Day events.”
Jaya reflected that when she found out the real purpose of KalayaanSF is to embrace and celebrate cultural pride, “it just woke me up and made me realize how privileged and fortunate it is to be a Filipino and to serve the Filipino community.” Jay-R also understood that aside from just singing onstage, their performance “is about bridging the generation gap within our culture.”
Sonia Delen, KalayaanSF co-chair, shared “I heard many comments from attendees about how much fun it was: Jay R and Jaya’s performance, the enthusiastic crowd, the bouncing beach balls, the dance-off, and even the surprise impromptu marriage proposal from an audience member on stage!” Delen also observed that “we also had many more non-Filipino attendees, including many who signed up as volunteers.”
Jaya and Jay-R had a tremendous time performing for the audience that sang and danced with them at Union Square. The chemistry between the two artists was palpable, they were feeding off each other’s energy and the crowd loved it.
The day ended when one of the audience members proposed marriage to his long-time Filipina girlfriend on stage, to the delight of everyone who witnessed this very important moment. It was an afternoon to remember, seeing Filipino culture celebrated loud and proud in the heart of San Francisco.
