Taotao Marianas Club changed it up this year at Extravaganza and decided to perform all its songs live.
Easton DelaCruz, a member of Taotao Marianas who is from Saipan, played the guitar and sang six songs, which the rest of the club danced and sang along to, during the annual International Extravaganza celebration on Friday. The free event features clubs that perform chants, dances, and songs from their cultural heritage and is open to students, staff, and families.
“[Friday] was a great turnout,” DelaCruz said. “There were a lot of people from different cultures sharing their own culture, which was very nice. For PIR (Pacific Island Review in October), we did the Chamorro blessing live; the rest of the performances were recorded audio, and I said, ‘This year, if we’re going to do the blessing live, let’s do everything live,’ it’s more meaningful.”
DelaCruz, a second-year student majoring in Communications, sang and played six songs: “Bendision a Chamorro Blessing,” “Hafa Adai,” “Tuleti,” “Ai Palaoan,” “I Puenge,” and “Making Marianas Again.” It was his first time attending and performing in Extravaganza. Taotao Marianas Club had a total of nine club members performing.
“With Easton DelaCruz making our live performance happen and (club member) Isabella Taisipic teaching the dances that she learned growing up to the club, it truly was an amazing performance with these wonderful people,” said Isaiah Atalig, the president of Taotao Marianas Club.
Ka Ipu Kukui Me Ke ‘Ie ‘Ie (Hawaiian) Club, Taotao Marianas Club, The Filipino Club (TFC), and Lumana’i O Samoa Club performed in this year’s Extravaganza. Students spend the whole semester preparing for their performances to share their culture, just like the Pacific Island Review. Extravaganza is a special event for graduating students as it is a final sendoff from college to their new endeavors after graduation.
During the ending of Taotao Marianas Club’s performance, the club invited the audience to join their dance. The club even convinced Chaminade’s President, Lynn Babington, for a dance. The rest of their performance was a library lawn filled with Taotao Marianas Club members and the audience dancing to DelaCruz’s live performance.
“This Extravaganza was the best performance I think Taotao Marianas has done because it took everyone’s collaboration to make it happen,” said Atalig.