About

The Mango Seed: An Origin Story

Sliced Mango Collective is the brainchild of two friends who reconnected in the summer of 2020. One day they were reminiscing over high school memories, as per usual; meeting in Grade 8 in a theatre production, annual choir trips, AP Physics class. Then they caught up on their lives as students about to finish university. Claire spoke to her involvement in zines and Filipinx student organizations in Ontario, while Kathleen broke down what her first research study was about: a study on how children of Filipinx-Canadian immigrants learn and use Philippine languages. The conversation shifted to exploring Filipinx-Canadian identity through their separate projects. They paused. “Growing up in Metro Van, why didn’t we have any Filipinx youth organizations around?”

We’ve seen other avenues to connect with the Fil-Can community in and around Vancouver, but the vast majority of them are religion-affiliated. Yet as we delved into our explorations of Filipinx identity and culture, we’ve come to understand how our experiences in the Canadian diaspora should reflect those in the Philippines. The nation is not a monolith; the islands are home to astounding diversity in its people and cultures. So as Filipinx-Canadians, especially those born or raised on these foreign lands: not only do we all have a unique story to tell, but we also have a deep and wonderfully diverse heritage to reach out to and connect. And in our combined experiences and interests, we are passionate about exploring these stories through art, performance, and conversations.

We asked the question, and couldn’t find an answer that checked off all our boxes. And we wanted to be a part of one…so we made one.