Today we’d like to introduce you to Misi Tagaloa.
Misi, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Tafesilafa’i started as a conversation in the Samoan community about creating safe spaces for the youth. One of our leaders was mourning the fact that gangs were recruiting her sister’s kids faster than confirmation classes at church. So in the fall of 1996 a call went out to local Samoan churches to see if any would like to do something about this trend among young people and Tafesilafa’i was born. Since then we have expanded the call to include other Pacific Islander faith communities and we are looking forward to expanding the table for everyone.
This year’s theme “When We Are Family” lifts up the basic fundamental organizing unit in the Samoan community: Aiga – Family. This is a group of people with shared experiences committed to love of children, compassion for neighbor, and stewards of creation.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We have had our struggles. In 1999, we outgrew our Church parking lot (neighbors were complaining about the drumming) and we had to go to a public venue, meaning additional costs. So we had to expand our community to include other supporters. Needless to say, the business community responded with such enthusiasm. As we opened up to other ethnicities, we lost a number of conservative groups. On the bright side, we started attracting other groups from outside the Samoan Congregational Churches.
To survive we had to become good stewards of resources and generate our own. We start charging for sponsorships, booths and ads. We even formed strategic partnerships to pull this event off every year. Many of our families were supportive of our efforts and would save up all year to give their kids the Tafesilafa’i experience. We have had families organize their family re-unions to coincide with Tafesilafa’i.
Another challenge is what I call the “exchange rate” between what we value in society today and what our cultured communities bring to the table for exchange. Time and money are valuable currencies in today’s economy. But how does one put a price on what our cultured communities bring to table that they deem valuable, such as their rituals, relationships, stories, ideas and ways of being? Our hope is that this space serves as a fairer arbiter of value for the Pacific Islander communities.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Tafesilafa’i – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are in the edutainment space. We educate from a Samoan and Pacific Islander perspective in addition to providing entertainment to the communities we serve. We put on this Festival every year, which is a culmination of young people getting together at their local groups practicing and preparing for the Tafesilafa’i Festival.
What are we most proud of? The fact that none of our young people at Second Samoan UCC are on the gang injunction list that LBPD keeps. We are proud of our young people who were 5 when we started who are now contributing members of society in different capacities.
What sets us apart is this growth over the years that is particularly organic, life giving and generative.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are looking at a couple of trends: [1] Increase in the number of young people of Pacific Islander ancestry in Southern California and [2] the strain this puts on our limited resources.
We are hopeful that the values that have kept our ancestors alive and well in the middle of the Pacific Ocean will sustain our people here in this great Island we have come to call home: The United States of America.
Contact Info:
- Address: 655 Cedar Avenue,
Long Beach, CA 90802 - Website: www.tafesilafai.org
- Phone: 562 628 9282
- Email: [email protected]
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
