Asian Awareness Month ended with a bang on April 30^th with PUSO’s annual PUSOFest, accompanied by the usual dancing, singing, and President CJ Cancino posing like a model – just the way we like it. This month, the club collaborated day and night, through brutal sweat, tears, and AMP’ed up bodies in order to birth yet another great night of performances. And despite the fact that I myself wasn’t able to contribute much to PUSOFest (or PUSO in general...), the night certainly didn’t fail to reinstate and reinforce the “Pinoy (or in my case, Pinay) Pride” that I’m certain is innate in every “pare” and “mare” out there.

The night was emceed by PUSO’s own Chris Reyes and Rosh Valdez, and accompanied with many moments of performers hurling orange t-shirts at eager crowds (other lucky winners had the desirous prizes tucked under their chairs) to keep the audience thoroughly engaged. Whether it was during the Philippine National Anthem sung by the PUSO Choir (I teared a little here, guys!) or James Bello trying to get “the girl” during the Pinoy Meets World skit, there wasn’t a single moment where I felt my interests waning or the pure drive and passion emanating from the performers fading.

PDC (AKA, the beastly winners of Battle of the Barrios PUSO Dance Crew) certainly stomped it out – literally, with their new Step Routine, and PUSO Ballroom held their own – which is a lot, trust me –  as they cotillion’ed like all Filipinos (and some, what I like to call, complimentary Filipinos) tend to do. All in all – it was badass, guys.

Some particular highlights, however, should be attributed to the modeling of FOAM Apparel (FOAM Apparel is a Filipino-based fashion company whose purpose is “bringing out the best in you along while making you look fresh”), and the – to me, anyway – surprise appearance by YouTube star and Glee-hopeful Manny Garcia. The Illinois-based singer-songwriter showed no signs of fatigue, however, as he lyrically poured his soul out onto the stage of the SAC Auditorium through power ballads like his Defying Gravity/True Colors mash-up (that was Tweeted by a Glee cast member for its sheer awesomeness) to his first and personal childhood favorite, Somewhere Over The Rainbow. It was his presence on the stage that made me appreciate the Three Degrees of Filipino Separation – AKA, the fact that every Filipino knows every other Filipino…somehow.

So if you’re reading this and regretting not attending PUSOFest while you do – SHAME ON YOU! It was only $3 ($5 for non-SBU students), and a very wise and worthy investment to make – I can attest to that. But if this recap piqued your interests at all, don’t forget to check out PUSO in the fall, which is going to be led by “James Bello the Yellow Fellow” as the 2010-2011 President!

(Hopefully) See you then!