MABUHAY AMERICA 250: FILIPINO CONTRIBUTIONS, CULTURE & CONNECTIONS
About this Event
Date & Time: Sunday, October 4, 2026 | 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM CST
Location: New Orleans Jazz Museum, 400 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA
Admission: Free & Open to the Public
Event Description
Join us at the historic New Orleans Jazz Museum for MA250NOLA, a milestone gathering celebrating over 250 years of Filipino history and legacy with cultural connections along the Gulf Coast and throughout the Americas.
Kicking off at 3:00 PM CST with an exclusive Artist & Filmmaker Meet & Greet, culinary PATIKIM (Filipino Amuse-Bouche), and gallery installations, this dynamic program brings together visionary filmmakers, movement artists, poets, and musicians across three curated acts: Contributions, Culture, and Connections.
Experience exclusive double and festival sneak previews, living archives, evocative stage rituals, and an electrifying live concert celebrating the 250-year shared musical lineage between Manila, the Caribbean, and New Orleans during National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Run of Show (CST)
- 3:00 PM — Community Meet & Greet | Visual Art Exhibits Open | Culinary Mentorship Showcase
- 4:00 PM — Part 1: Contributions | Headline Panel & Advance Film Previews
- 5:00 PM — Part 2: Culture | Spoken Word & Indigenous Contemporary Dance
- 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM — Part 3: Connections | Papa J & The LatiPino All-Stars Live in Concert
Featured Panelists & Presenters (Part 1: Contributions)
Dr. Randy Gonzales — Historian, Author & Filmmaker
Dr. Randy Gonzales is an educator, community historian, and poet deeply dedicated to documenting Louisiana’s Filipino diaspora and the legacy of the historic Saint Malo settlements. At MA250NOLA, Dr. Gonzales will deliver a featured reading of his poem "The Colony Theater" and present an exclusive sneak preview of his upcoming film debuting at the New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF), shedding light on the historical roots and narrative power of Gulf Coast Manilamen.
PJ Raval — Award-Winning Filmmaker & Academy Member
PJ Raval is an internationally acclaimed documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Call Her Ganda, Who We Become). Renowned for fearless, character-driven storytelling exploring identity, social justice, and queer API experiences, Raval joins the panel for an exclusive double sneak preview of two anticipated upcoming films, offering behind-the-scenes insights into independent storytelling and narrative reclamation.
Ani (Anito) Gavino — Movement Artist, Choreographer & Cultural Worker
Ani Gavino is a Filipinx movement artist, ritualist, and cultural organizer whose interdisciplinary work focuses on decolonial dance, ancestral memory, and embodied archives. On the panel, Gavino speaks to how physical movement, dance traditions, and oral history preserve community resilience and lineage across diasporic landscapes.
Nasreen Khan — Multidisciplinary Visual Artist & Educator
Nasreen Khan is an Indianapolis-based visual artist, writer, and educator whose practice examines cultural hybridity, colonial memory, and belonging. Born in Honolulu of Pakistani and American descent, Khan works across printmaking, mixed media, and narrative staging. In the series Boodle Fight—featured in New Orleans at The Front Gallery—Khan investigates communal eating rituals and the pre-colonial kamayan, confronting how brown bodies and culinary traditions have historically been commodified. Her vivid, staged tableaus transform the banquet table into a site of reclamation, bodily autonomy, and diasporic solidarity.
Cultural Performers & Activators (Part 2: Culture)
AniMalaya
Directed by Ani (Anito) Gavino, AniMalaya is an embodied performance project that weaves traditional Philippine ritual, indigenous rhythms, and contemporary movement into a living, breathing archive of liberation, diaspora memory, and collective power.
Malaya Ulan
Malaya Ulan is a multidisciplinary sonic and spoken-word project blending evocative indigenous instrumentation, atmospheric soundscapes, and radical verse into a soul-stirring live performance honoring ancestral roots and personal sovereignty.
Visual Art & Installation Curators
Nasreen Khan (Curator)
Khan presents a site-responsive visual installation engaging themes of community healing, immigrant memory, and maternal lineage, inviting attendees into an intimate dialogue on diaspora and belonging.
Bryn Jackson
Bryn Jackson is an Indianapolis-based Filipino-American interdisciplinary artist, curator, and cultural organizer whose work centers ancestral lifeways, ecological justice, and communal memory. Holding degrees from NYU Tisch and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Jackson works across sculpture, photography, and environmental practice. In his collaborative series Boodle Fight (with Nasreen Khan)—which was featured in New Orleans at The Front—Jackson reimagines the communal Filipino banquet (kamayan) into a visceral interrogation of colonial consumption, resilience, and bodily autonomy. Through living systems and collaborative ritual, Jackson’s practice grounds diasporic heritage into enduring acts of cultural stewardship.
Mecia Serafino-Rivera
Serafino-Rivera debuts a visual storytelling installation drawing from personal artifacts, archival photography, and generational narratives that bridge Filipino-American heritage across time and family lines.
Culinary Art Activators
Hot & Soul — Culinary Mentorship Spotlight
Celebrated Mid-City neighborhood Hot & Soul headlines the culinary activation, highlighting community care through intentional culinary mentorship and guiding the next wave of culinary talent honoring Filipino flavors.
The Three Bibingkas
Specializing in the beloved traditional baked rice cake of the Philippines, The 3 Bibingkas brings ancestral recipes to life, serving warm, fragrant, banana-leaf-baked bibingka and other delectable sweets that center Filipino heritage in every bite.
P.S. I Love You (PSILY) Chef
Bringing modern flair to classic tastes, PSILY Chef serves forward-thinking comfort cuisine fusing traditional Filipino ingredients with innovative vegan street-food concepts.
Musical Feature (Part 3: Connections)
Papa J & The LatiPino All-Stars
Headlining the finale, Papa J & The LatiPino All-Stars, featuring NYC percussionist Harold Love, bridge continents with an explosive, horn-driven dance set. Honoring National Hispanic Heritage Month and the Manila-Acapulco Galleon trade that linked Mexico, the Caribbean, Spain, and the Philippines, this powerhouse ensemble fuses salsa, mambo, and Afro-Cuban polyrhythms with Filipino soul and classic New Orleans second-line syncopation.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00 to USD 268.61
