10. Lilacs Fade to Lights (From UCB PCN 46: "Salamin ng Puso")
Channel: Cal PCN 46 Music Composition
Date: 2022-10-14

UC Berkeley's PCN 46: "Salamin ng Puso" Official Soundtrack is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and iTunes now!
Link: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/pilipinxculturalnightatucberkeley/pcn-46-salamin-ng-puso

"Lilacs Fade to Lights" 
Written by Jason Simbre
Performed by Jason Simbre, Abigail Grace Camacho

LILA
Spring standing still
Reminiscing, unsure 

Forward, stepping through
And yet, an unknown venture

Daylight breaking
Horizons glistening 
Flowers flowing,
Smiling

Before, disheartened 
Yet now, inspired
To brave a new realm,
Embarking

Lanterns blooming
Streets fluttering
Moonlight aglow 
Alive 

Then I’ll know, where I’ve come from,
Beautiful, as my future stands bright 

When the lilacs fade to lights
And my dreams no longer 
Rest in my nights

I’ll know I’ve arrived...

---

What is PCN?

PCN, or Pilipinx Cultural Night, is a student-run theatrical production hosted by UC Berkeley’s Pilipinx-American Alliance. The production allows participants to explore their Pilipinx identity through creative mediums such as dance, acting, and music. By holding PCN every year, we hope to provide a creative space for our cast to learn and grow. At Berkeley, we also choose to use PCN as a platform for activism and education on Pilipinx hxstory, culture, and current issues.

PCN HXSTORY @ UC Berkeley

PCN started in 1976 at the YWCA on Bancroft and Bowditch. The original show was a community dinner with traditional/folk dances that included a cast of about 10-15 members. In the 1980s, the show evolved into a full-scale performance, and by 1989, the Pilipinx American Alliance became the first student group on campus to hold a performance in Zellerbach Hall. Since then, the UC Berkeley Pilipinx community has continued to foster the annual tradition of Pilipinx Cultural Night.

About PCN 46:

PCN 46 tells the story of a family searching for and redefining “home”. 

Lila, an artist, is preparing to leave for New York with partner Hiraya, in search of opportunity. She struggles to tell her mother, Uma, and her grandmother, Anya, about the move. Frustrated, Lila faces internal and external conflicts with Hiraya, Uma, and Anya. 

As Lila is met with mixed reactions- Uma's defensiveness and disapproval, in contrast to Anya's support and care- these women are forced to reckon with the lifelong, generational traumas that have been interwoven in their “normal lifestyle."  Looking into their destructive family, we get a glimpse into how this cycle has rendered them both victims and perpetrators, simultaneously complicit and hurt.

Amidst building the foundations, they reflect on themselves and one another, in pursuit of new definitions of home, and new ways to love and be loved. The characters and audience are called to ask: "What does love look like? To what extent is It hereditary? How do we break cycles?"