Ignite Open Mic Turns 1 Year Old
Ignite Open Mic, SoMa’s monthly all-ages performance showcase, produced and presented by SOMCAN’s Youth Organizing for Home and Neighborhood Action (YOHANA), returned with a bang last Friday, June 16th. Themed “Love and Resistance,” the special first anniversary edition commemorated the event’s ongoing success as a supportive space for youth and neighborhood empowerment.
Alexa Drapiza, age 20, was first involved with SOMCAN as a member of YOHANA before joining the staff as Youth Organizer. She explained that, in addition to providing a platform for youth to express themselves, showcase their talents, hang out, support each other, and have a good time, Ignite Open Mic also gives emerging organizers a chance to take on concrete leadership roles within their own community. “We encourage our members to take on different tasks: MC’ing, serving food, decorating, selling merch, coordinating with the venue, or booking talent. They practice how to nurture their community through creating space for others,” said Drapiza. Although not initially intended, the event also serves to recruit new members into YOHANA. “At first, we thought it was going to be a small event with just folks from West Bay [Pilipino Multi-Services] and United Playaz, but it’s really been expanding in attendance.”
The show usually runs from 6pm to 9pm, features about fifteen performers, and is held at either Bindlestiff Studio or Kearny Street Workshop, two grassroots, SoMa-based arts organization. Occasionally, an adult performer might be invited to headline, but the main focus is on giving youth their shine. “One of the rappers– he’s from East Oakland– he told me he’s never seen an environment as inclusive,” said E.P. Hagape, 17 years old. E.P. performed at the first Ignite Open Mic before joining YOHANA as a member for the second event. He added: “Youth can express themselves as much as the want.” And however they want. Whether it’s spoken word, singing, playing an instrument, or dancing, everyone who graces the stage is met with support and encouragement. Sometimes, a performer might make a mistake or falter in the middle of the performance and will simply ask to restart. People in the crowd will begin to cheer for the performer, shouting words of affirmation and motivation for them to continue, and the performer continues every time.
The June show featured two guest performers: Mr. Rey and Bwan and Joal Vargas. Mr. Rey and Bwan performed halfway through the show, paying their respects to SoMa, as both spent their formative years in and around the neighborhood. They called everyone sitting in the audience to stand around the stage to dance as they performed a set list that consisted of songs in both English and Tagalog. Joal Vargas closed out the show with an emphatic performance, calling for the continued fight against gentrification. Vargas even called up SOMCAN’s own Tenant Organizer, Raymond Castillo, to freestyle with him.
One of the original organizers of the event, Ramon Bonifacio, a sixteen-year-old incoming junior, has seen firsthand the benefits of a space, like Ignite Open Mic, that is of, by, and for folks from around the neighborhood. “There were other people my age that I knew going to school when we were kids,” said Bonifacio. “I would see them around, but as we got older and went on to different high schools, there was nowhere we could go to catch up or hang out. Ignite Open Mic and YOHANA provides that space,” said Bonifacio.
