This week we are closing out Season 2 and the final episode of Cultural Kultivators with Unsung Heroes student guest host, Jerard Del Mar! In this episode, Jerard interviews his father, Mario Del Mar. In this conversation, Mario reflects on the hardships he faced growing up in Cebu, Philippines and the trials and tribulations of his immigration jou…

In this episode we welcome a very special guest host: Soluna! She is a local Bay Area highschooler and graduate of our Unsung Heroes youth podcast program. In this student-produced episode, Soluna interviews co-founding member of Sama Sama Cooperative and a current advisory board member for Filipino American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity, …

This week we are kicking off the end of the year with a very special guest host: Amelia! She is a local Bay Area highschooler and graduate of our Unsung Heroes youth podcast program. In this student-produced episode, Amelia invites multidisciplinary writer, Zee Lacson, to talk about her journey as a published YA author of The Woolgathering Trilogy …

Happy Halloween and upcoming All Souls Day! This Wednesday, we are so excited to host podcaster, animator, and occultist, Sapphire Sandalo! As the host of SpectreVision Radio’s Stories with Sapphire podcast, she is also known for her work on The Ghost Town Terror and Paranormal Caught on Camera. In today’s conversation, Sapphire delved deep into he…

In this week’s episode, we’re honored to sit down with special co-host, Luna Salaver and the King of Latin Soul, Joe Bataan! As the first recording artist to create Latin Soul music, Joe has made a lasting impact through his innovative combination of genres, including Boogaloo, Salsa, and Disco, leading to hits like “Gypsy Woman” and “Young Gifted …

Kicking off Filipino History Month (FAHM), we’re honored to spotlight the storytelling journey of documentary filmmaker and video editor, Sondy Lucille! Sondy’s work captures the power of oral and visual storytelling, as well as cultural preservation. With a keen eye for detail and determination to shift the painful narratives embedded in our histo…

In this week’s episode, we’re honored to sit down with Kultivate Labs’ very own Desi Danganan, Founder/Executive Director of Kultivate Labs, a trailblazing cultural strategist, and human catalyst who is helping revitalize San Francisco’s Filipino Cultural District. With a nearly two-decade career spanning tech, hospitality, branding / marketing, an…

In this week’s episode, we are excited to welcome former UC Davis professor turned farmer, Dr. Robyn Rodriguez! As a widely published researcher, highly-sought after speaker, and long-time community organizer, she founded the Remagination Farm and Lab, a research and educational consultancy service encompassing the School for Liberating Education a…

Join us this week as we sit down with Cambio & Co. co-founder and CEO, Gelaine Santiago! Award-winning social entrepreneur and storyteller, Gelaine shares the inspiration and the journey behind the Toronto and Manila based Filipino jewelry company. In this conversation, Gelaine navigates the nuances of entrepreneurship under our capitalist systems …

Joining us this week is multi-passionate teaching artist and dancer-choreographer, Niki Saludez! As part of the original cast of the newest Broadway musical by Alicia Keys, "Hell's Kitchen,” Niki shares his journey from internet kid studying Lady Gaga music videos to achieving what it takes to dance on a Broadway stage. In this episode, Niki takes …

In this week’s episode we are honored to welcome Abi Balingit! As the 2024 James Beard Emerging Voice Award Winner, Abi opens up about the success of her first book, Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed. From her “Hotline Bling It” blogger days to experimenting with recipes in her low-lit New York apartment, Abi shines brightest as a Do-It-Yo…

Join us this week as we sit down with Bay Area multidisciplinary artist, ChiChai! As a past Balay Kreative resident artist, she catches us up on her most recent projects, large scale murals in Yerba Buena Gardens and the gateway to the SOMA Pilipinas District, Pagsasama Sama. Muralist, fashion designer, mixed media maker and more, ChiChai honors in…

Happy Pride Month! Queer-Pinay duo, AstraLogik, joins us this week to talk all things sound and healing. As the show’s first live recording session, they curated an inclusive soundbath experience with our in-studio audience. In this episode, the pair share their trajectory of their creative process and how they discovered their “why” in the simplif…

This week on Cultural Kultivators, we sit down with comedian and writer Kevin Camia, who is currently on tour with Sheng Wang. From his early influences of comedy legends like Andy Kaufman and Martin Lawrence to the serious undertones of historical research and personal resilience, Kevin opens up about the complexity of his craft and his approach t…

This week, we are thrilled to welcome mama of 5, educator, and founder of Raising Ancestors: Adrienne Esguerra! In this crash course on what it can look like to decolonize and re-indigenize the youth of future generations, Adrienne shows us that it does start with the revolutionary act of parenting. Building in solidarity with other BIPOC scholars …

Happy Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month! This week we are welcoming a triple threat- powerhouse team, Sarap Shop restaurant owners: Kristen and James Brillantes and JP Reyes! Join us as the trio share their journey from a celebrated Bay Area food truck to their brick and mortar grand opening this past March. They dive deep into what it…

Join us this week as we explore Jenn Ban’s journey as a queer, Filipinx-American multidisciplinary artist whose work lies at the intersection of healing and artistic living. Between being born into a military family, growing up in a red state, and leading her Catholic youth group, she shows us that learning and unlearning is an art in itself. Learn…

This week we are honored to welcome leadership coach, business consultant, and Art of Hustle founder, Anthem Salgado! In a metaphorically painted world of tree pruning and sports tournaments, Anthem takes us on a deep dive into his approach to professional development and artistic living. In this info-packed dialogue, he explores the starving artis…

This week we are proud to welcome Bay Area rapper and Kreative Growth 2023 alumni: Mikey Vee! Get the scoop on his highly anticipated debut album, R.E.M. (Realest Expression of Myself) inspired by 17th century painter Rembrandt and his unlikely source of inspiration. A virtuoso at translating challenge into ingenuity and imagination, Mikey opens up…

As our first Season 2 guest, we’re bringing in a fellow story teller from across the country, Future Ancestors Podcast co-host and Kalayaan “Filipina Heroines of World War II” author: Kathryn Serrano! In this Tri-State area x Bay Area crossover, Kathryn gets candid about using our privilege decisively and effectively as Filipino-Americans in a way …

This week we are proud to end Season 1 with our very own Nicole Salaver! In this special insider episode, Nicole shares the origin story of Cultural Kultivators, her artistry, and the deeply rooted inspiration behind her creative force: the love and mourning of her late father. From her early, humble beginnings slinging Uncle Pat’s VHS camcorder in…

This week, we are thrilled to welcome singer-songwriter and Birds of Prey actress, Ella Jay Basco! Niece of Dion and Dante Basco, Ella Jay and her family are no strangers to Hollywood. In 2020 she hit the big screen with her debut film role and gives us a behind the scenes look inside of the set of Birds of Prey and becoming Cassandra Cain. Ella Ja…

We are so excited to welcome another powerful pinay, writer, actor-comedian based in L.A.: Joy Regullano! From Sesame Street writer to Modern Family cameos, YouTube sketch artist to creator of Asian American comedy musical, Supportive White Parents, Joy is a multitalented creatrix in the entertainment scene. This week she speaks with us about her j…

Welcome back and Happy New Year to all of our listeners! For our first episode of the year, we are running it back full circle with past Kreative Growth artist, Ouida! As a SF born and raised singer-songwriter with rising national and international recognition, Ouida gives us an inside scoop on the new Bolo Music Group, Ruby Ibarra and Ian Santilla…

As we close out 2023, we are proud to welcome our final Unsung Heroes guest host, Rochelle Berdan! This episode features their mentor and friend, Jordan Raye, a queer, non-binary healer whose vulnerability turns out to be their greatest strength. Together, they dive deep into what healing intergenerational trauma looks like as an ongoing, non-linea…

Our next guest host episode for this week features Bay Area high school student, Benedict Del Rosario! Right in time for the holidays, this student-produced episode dives into Filipino cultural celebrations and its role in forming a strong sense of identity, belonging, and community. As Benedict interviews his father, Reynaldo, a first generation i…

This week we are kicking off the end of the year with a very special guest host: Luci Herrera-Set! Luci is a local Bay Area highschooler and graduate of our Unsung Heroes youth podcast program. In this student-produced episode, Lucy invites her uncle, Michael Herrera, to talk about his journey as a teacher nurtured by the Pin@y Educational Partners…

This week’s special guest brings decades of experience working with at-risk youth in San Francisco: Rudy Corpuz Jr.! Founder and Executive Director of United Playaz, a violence prevention program that serves the youth, Rudy has dedicated his life to the rehabilitation and development of previously incarcerated folks and our youth as an ex-felon. In…

As Filipino American History Month comes to end, we are proud to lead with this next episodes’ guest, Terry Valen! Organizer with the Bay Area Seafarers Coalition and Executive Board and International Coordinating Body Member of the International Migrants Alliance (IMA). In this episode, Terry bridges international gaps by connecting migrant strugg…

In honor of Filipino-American History Month, we are proud to share space with Luna Salaver! As the first half of the famous Jose Rizal quote goes,“Know History, Know Self,” Luna brings us home through nearly 100 years of Salaver family history in the Bay Area. From 10 cent Taxi Dance Halls to the introduction of Tinikling in the Bay Area and the Th…

Happy Filipino-American History Month! We are incredibly honored to welcome Gayle Romasanta as this week’s writer, art-tivist, mother, and executive director of the Filipino-American Development Foundation. Gayle unwraps her process behind her latest work Larry: The Musical about Larry Itliong with us and her decades long experience working in comm…

Find out what it takes to represent the Philippines in the Women’s World Cup in this week’s episode with Sarina Bolden! Bay Area local turned international star, Sarina lets us in on the secrets behind her success: her growth mindset, taking her mental health seriously, and good coffee. Behind Sarina’s many successes, is her soul searching journey …

We are so excited to welcome AJ Rafael, a talented singer-songwriter and a Youtube pioneer who has amassed over 1 million subscribers on YouTube and 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify. A Filipino American game changer, AJ dives deep into his relationship with music and the healing effects music had in processing and honoring his late father’s m…

What gives Chef Frances Tariga-Weshnak, Top Chef star and Morimoto’s Sushi Master winner, her edge? Find out this Wednesday with guest hosts, Kristen Brillantes and JP Reyes of Kultivate Lab’s Seed Network and Bay Area food truck favorite, Sarap Shop! Born and raised in Manila, Chef Frances opens up about the ways that operating in survival mode ul…

This Wednesday, we welcome Josh Dela Cruz! Blue’s Clues host and Aladdin in Broadway’s 2017 theater production, Josh made history as the first Asian American Pacific Islander to host a major children's show — Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues & You!. Before jetting off to Thailand to star in the new musical Waterfall, Josh opened up about the times he's f…

Joining us this week is H.P. Mendoza, Bitter Melon film director, musician and screenwriter, who invited us to soar at the Castro Theatre this past weekend with his new film on weightless grief and self recovery. Mendoza drops the curtain on this new project, The Secret Art of Human Flight and what it was like working with Hollywood stars like Acad…

In this week’s episode, we are coming back to our roots with a past Kreative Growth Grantee, Nikbo. As a musician and songwriter, she shares her inspiration behind her songs such as “Grief is Love” and her highly anticipated, Breathe Underwater EP. Nikbo also gives us practical ways to step into your power and potential as an artist, in what she ca…

In this episode, Allison Hueman shares with us her thoughts on bridging both control and chaos in her professional career as a full time artist, pushing the boundaries of art and technology, and in parenthood. Listen in for Hueman’s creative process and critique on the set of risks and potential of the AI revolution and how we evolve alongside it i…

For new and day one fans of Ruby Ibarra, this is a must listen episode bringing us into the mind of our Waray-Waray and Tagalog speaking rapper, director, and spoken word artist. Learn more about what it means to challenge colonial assimilation and redefine success by embracing our indigenous Filipino languages. Hailing from Tacloban City, Ruby she…

From the Tiktok generation to the Third World Liberation Front, examining the meaning of community, collective liberation and self actualization are perennial ancestor-blessed paths to walk on. Tune in to the conversation with the key scholar of Pinayism, a radical form of love and decolonization process. In this episode, I share space with Dr. All…