Glasses clinked and echoed through the room, traditional folklórico skirts swirled across the stage and crimson fans fluttered through the air. Cultural performance groups from across campus assembled for the 2025 Unity showcase, a culmination of months of preparation.

On March 1, the Porter Dining Hall shed its usual cafeteria attire to host the four-hour event, bringing together students of all backgrounds through a celebration of creativity, diversity and performance. By 5:30 p.m., all 200 of the available seats were filled with overflow being directed toward the overlooking stairwell to watch the night’s performances. 

Over the course of the showcase, Unity featured 12 separate performances from a variety of disciplines. From spoken word, to mariachi, to hip hop and traditional Filipino dance, the night embodied the event’s namesake. 

Members of Bayanihan welcomed the crowd and introduced the night’s performance groups. 

This assemblage of campus culture was made possible through coordination by Alay, a Student Media publication composed of written and visual art, and UC Santa Cruz’s traditional Filipino dance organization, the Pagkakaisa Dance Troupe (PDT). Both groups are subdivisions or “aspects” of Bayanihan, UCSC’s largest Filipino student organization.

“It’s really nice to just see everybody come together and share their culture and their performances,” said event organizer and Alay member Elyse Billedo. “I feel like it’s really crazy and just kind of surreal because we’ve been working on it since fall quarter.”

Along with visual performances, the entrance of the event offered live caricature drawing and showcased a photography, art and poetry exhibition curated by Alay. 

PDT member and event organizer Hector Moreno spoke to the importance of Unity as a platform for underrepresented organizations. 

“We want to express the culture, our culture, but it’s not like we’re closed [off] to the people that aren’t a part of the culture,” Moreno said. “We want to share it.”

Performances

The showcase featured a variety of mediums from student groups including modern and traditional dance, live musical performances, a musical skit and a spoken word reading.

Haluan Hip Hop Dance Troupe.

Korean pop dance group StarChrome.

Sabrosura Latin Dance Troupe.

Pop, Japanese and Korean pop choreography group JK Fam.

The modern dance component featured hip hop dancing by Haluan, K-pop dancing by StarChrome, Latin dancing by Sabrosura and Pop, Japanese and Korean pop choreography by JK Fam.

Chinese Student Association’s T-Dance.

UCSC’s Bharatanatyam dance group Kalanjali.

Mexican folklórico dance group Los Mejicas.

Traditional Filipino dance group PDT

Traditional dance exhibitions included performances by the Chinese Student Association’s T-Dance, the Bharatanatyam dance group Kalanjali, Mexican folklórico dance group Group Folklorico Los Mejicas and traditional Filipino dance group PDT.

Acapella group Isang Himig

Mariachi group Mariachi Eterno

Acting and improv group People Power

Renditions of Glue Song by Beabadoobee and poster boy by Lyn Lapid were performed by acapella group Isang Himig. The Mariachi group Mariachi Eterno performed a setlist of fan favorites with a 12-piece ensemble, and a musical skit was presented by acting and improv group People Power.

Former Alay authorized representative Aljon “Jiro” Claveria reading his spoken word pieces, “I Missed the Bus” and “To Achieve Unity With No Uniformity.”

The singular spoken word showcase of the night was performed by former Alay authorized representative, Aljon “Jiro” Claveria. The reading was the only solo performance of the night, remaining distinct from other groups. The intricate garb and expressive movements of the prior performances were replaced by a white collared shirt, black slacks and impactful cadence.

Accompanied only by a microphone and the glare of stage lights, he spoke to a captivated audience and was met with a sea of applause.

“They want unity to mean obedience, to mean swallowing our tongues, to mean holding ourselves to something smaller, so we can all fit into a space too tight for difference,” Claveria said. “But unity isn’t about shrinking, it’s about expanding. We are not meant to fade. We are meant to stand, to shine, to take up space in every hue we carry.”