Delightfully Decolonized

Hau’oli Makahiki Hou to all you Hip Hapa Homeez! That’s Hawai’ian for Happy New Year, and we’re so HAPA that you’re sharing 2012 with us.

Please join our discussion forum group, Hip Hapa Homeez, on Facebook where we keep it real. For sure, you will never be bored with our multiple interactive postings that focus on multiracial folks, transracial adoptees, interracial relationships, and those who cross cultures.

And, if you’d like to contribute your support to our Watermelon Sushi feature film, check out Hapa*Teez t-shirts. Every purchase earns you a rear crawl credit on the movie. Both the Watermelon Sushi film and Hapa*Teez t-shirts have their own Facebook fan pages. So, please click “like”.

Andye Andinha Niakan

Speaking of the film, Watermelon Sushi is fortunate to have the assistance of several Associate Producers located around the world. In the past, we’ve highlighted some as our featured Hip Hapa Homee on this blog, and this month we’d like to present another. Meet Andye Andinha Niakan with the International Business and Cultural Exchange and Raqs Atlanta & African Asian Exchange of Atlanta. What a busy girl!

Andye, standing 2nd from left, at dance workshop

Q: Andye, what’s a nice, multiethnic woman like you doing being involved in so many social justice issues?

A: I've always been involved with social clubs, international community groups, culture clubs…you name it. I am a social butterfly. I feel most comfortable when I'm surrounded by other international individuals who speak multiple languages. My parents are to be credited for that.

My mother is Portuguese American and my dad is Nigerian. All of my relatives and my parents' friends encouraged me to be very proud of my cultures and never be intimidated by stereotypical expectations of those cultures.

Q: Whoa! You speak five languages! What are they, and don’t you ever get confused?

A: At home I speak a mix of French, Portuguese and some Arabic thrown in. My mother has always tried to get me to speak more Spanish and now that I am with a Spanish-speaking news network, I use it everyday. I do not use English unless I have to. I do use it a lot when interacting with large groups and, yes, the confusion comes when writing. I often forget how to spell things in English so the words look a little French or Spanish at times. Fortunately, I am working and living with multi-lingual people, and it’s overlooked.

Raqs Sharqi

Q: How did you develop your passion for bellydance?

A: I developed a passion for Raqs Sharqi (bellydance) when I got closer to my cousins who danced all the time. Every party, every gathering they were doing Raqs. It’s a traditional dance from the Middle East and Africa. Colonialism has left it being called "bellydance”, but the official name for it is Raqs Sharqi or Raqs Beladi (dance of my country or dance of my land). I could go on all day about it. It’s one of the most enriching forms of dance in the world. With a complex history, the dance has had a huge impact on music and entertainment worldwide. I don't think a day goes by that I’m not involved in Raqs in some form or fashion--from helping promote big Raqs conferences to helping bellydance costume designers create outfits that fit the up and coming trends with respect to the traditions.

www.askmissbellydance.com www.missbellydance.com

Q: Tell us about your involvement with Raqs Al Sharqi International.

A: Raqs Al Sharqi International is now owned by their parent company African Asian Business and Cultural Exchange. We founded RASI back in 1998 when we saw that there was so much misrepresentation in African and Asian music and dance. We wanted to provide a cultural education and dance shows that served the international community. After 14 years, we're really far into it by traveling and meeting with musicians, major Raqs stars and getting to know rising international community men and women who wish to represent the dance. I am in full force behind every step they make, and I spend a lot of time researching and promoting the best of the industry.

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/raqsatlanta/

Q: What about the African Asian Exchange—with its goal to recreate the bond between African and Asian communities that existed pre-colonial times?

A: The African Asian Business and Cultural Exchange (often called the African Asian Exchange for short) is all about making connections. We want to connect all African and Asian businesses by attending as many events as possible and by gathering contact info and relaying it to those who need the many different services that our community, as a whole, provides. We recently began adding a few European-based groups who have shown interest or have majorly supported African and Asian businesses. We won't lose our identity as Africans and Asians, but we're also very international and open to working with a diverse number of global groups.

http://africanasianbusinessandculturalexchange.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/hello-world/

Pam and Andye (right) next to their rock star limo

Q: Who are some of the musical groups that African Asian Exchange supports—the fan-generated clubs?

A: The music and dance fan-generated groups include Tears for Fears Superfans for the most part. That has been one of the most successful activities that go on everyday. Other fan groups are more Raqs-focused and are pretty much run by the actual artist. The activities we do consist of meet-ups before concerts, making sure everyone knows of good hotel deals and top quality yet inexpensive travel options. We check in on each other and try to relay band information to those who do not have the time sit online or sleep with their mobile device for social media updates. So far, the bands have been very receptive to our activity, ideas and presence so we'll just keep going as long as we can behave.

We're also big fans of the Villains band which has Filipino-American superstar Michael Magno.  http://www.thevillainsband.com/ 

The Villains

Q: What about some of the over 40 businesses that are involved?

A: The businesses that are involved with us are everything from retail shops to tax preparers. We cover everything. Oftentimes, members want to work with someone who speaks their language so we connect them with each other. Success stories have been restaurants, dance conferences and dance studios that want cultured faces to represent their national holidays and gala shows. We have a long database of musicians, teachers, photographers, video editors, show producers and bankers etc who can help get the event off the ground.

My goal is to keep cultures connected and to go the extra mile to make sure it happens. There should always be international exchanges on a non-colonial level. A group should be able to co-exist freely in multi-cultured societies without stripping themselves of everything that identifies them with the culture of their origin or choice.

Thank you, Andye. What a decolonized delight you are!

Hey Hip Hapa Homeez, here’s a postcard I received from my cousin in Tokyo. It depicts the dragon carrying all the other
zodiac animals on his back. Since January 23 is the Year of the Water Dragon, I bid you a Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Until next month, I am and will always be

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

Ending Of A Year, Beginning Of A Dream

Aloha no, Hip Hapa Homeez!

With 2011 coming to a close, Your Hip Hapa is taking this opportunity to express her gratitude to all who have supported us throughout the years.

Although I started this blog in 2006, after only one post I immediately lost interest. It wasn’t until 2008 and the Year of the Earth Rat, that I began again and, on a nightly basis, wrote about being biracial. Nightly! What was I thinking? By the next month, I was only posting twice a week, but soon regulated myself to a weekly format to keep from boring you readers with my venting about multiethnic identity issues.

By 2010 and the Year of the Metal Tiger, I was posting bimonthly and, last year, finally went monthly.

Your Hip Hapa

At some point, I had nothing left to say about my multi-culti life, so I began interviewing some of you as my featured Hip Hapa Homee. I've never regretted it. Not only have I learned through your stories that we're more similar than different, but I’ve also enjoyed knowing you on a deeper level. Thank you for your willingness to share!

Tonight, I interview myself:

Q: Your Hip Hapa, who are your parents and how did they meet?

A: My Japanese mother met my African American soldier father while he was stationed in Japan. I lived in Tokyo until I was two; then, in segregated Texas before moving on to Germany and, finally, the Northwest. As an adult, I’ve resided in San Bruno, Pacific Grove, Santa Monica, Anchorage, Honolulu and St. Thomas USVI. I credit all that moving around and exposure to various people to my need for absolute diversity.

Q: What is Watermelon Sushi?

A: Watermelon Sushi began as a film, but has now grown into a movement. I first wrote the script about two Afro Asian sisters in 1997 and attempted to shoot it as an indie project in 1998. After a horrifying experience with an unscrupulous producer, I hired an editor to cut a trailer from the footage on hand (which wasn’t much) in hopes we’d raise enough money for a re-shoot. Over the years, we’ve buried this project in the closet, but it won’t stay put. People from all over the world have contacted me, begging me to remake this movie because, ultimately, it’s a story about clashing cultures, family matters, love and desire…in other words, about all of us.

Q: What are some of the other ancillary products that go with Watermelon Sushi?

A: Besides the film, we have a novel we hope to publish soon as well as a script for a staged musical. We’ve had a chapbook since 2000, and still print copies whenever we get requests for it. There’s a Watermelon Sushi vegan cookbook in the works—we’re hoping fans will send us their favorite recipes for watermelon, sushi, or both. Because there are some vegan characters in the film, the recipes need to be, too. We also plan to launch a package of paper dolls along with fashions featured in the film. Since the story takes place in the late 1980’s, there’s a hip-hop-glam-rock flava throughout. Think: “The Fresh Prince meets Prince”. Of course, the album soundtrack will go platinum, and we have several known musical artists--both old school rappers and Japanese enka singers--lined up for it.

Your Hip Hapa with enka singer Jero-san

Q: What else you got?

A: Well, we have this monthly blog where we promote other mixed-race people, those who are in interracial relationships, those who cross cultures, and/or those who are transracially adopted. If you scroll through some old posts, you’ll find a variety of amazing stories. Oh, and our “Official Cause” is Tyler Ransom, a multi-racial child with some health issues. He could really use our help so Watermelon Sushi will donate a percentage of its profits to him. Check him out here:

http://healingtyler.blogspot.com/2011/01/gracie-mag-features-tyler-ransom.html

Tyler Ransom

Q: How can we help Watermelon Sushi get made?

A: Thank you for asking that! Wink, wink. The best way is to purchase a Hapa*Teez t-shirt at http://www.cafepress.com/hapateez We make very little profit on these shirts, individually, so the more we sell the more likely we will raise the necessary funds to reshoot the movie. Right now, we have several international producers interested in joining us, but if we come to the table with some of our own money we can definitely make this production happen. And, by the way, each purchase earns a rear crawl credit. That means your name will appear onscreen at the end of the film. If you’ve already bought a Hapa*Teez, please make sure we have your correct name. Sometimes people make purchases with someone else’s credit card and we want to be sure that the right person gets the credit. Email us at hapateez@me.com Right now, during the holidays, it’s an excellent time to give your favorite hip hapa a Hapa*Teez. Remember, hapa simply means “half” in Hawai’ian pidgin, so you can be of any mix, or not mixed at all, to enjoy our shirts.

get your Hapa*Teez at Cafe Press

We’re also currently running an Ask My Cuz @Oprah campaign. Since Oprah is my kin, I’ve been tweeting about her several times a week. There’s a “twitition” that people can sign that we’ll eventually present to Oprah when our numbers reach in the thousands. Here are those links:

http://ning.it/oEQYHS http://twitition.com/gneyv

Finally, we would be thankful if you “like” any of the following Facebook pages:

Watermelon Sushi Fan Page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/WatermelonSushi

Hapa*Teez T-shirts Fan Page

http://www.facebook.com/hapateez

Yayoi Lena Winfrey Fan Page

http://www.facebook.com/yayoilenawinfreyfanpage

Ahem, apologies for that personal fan page, but I get so many Friend requests that I’ve been at the limit of 5,000 for a couple of years. I’m now attempting to make my Fan page my Profile page and transfer all my info to it so I can personally connect with more of you. I said, “attempting” so please give me some time.

We also have a Hip Hapa Homeez Group page where we discuss issues of interest to people who are mixed, transracially adopted, interracially involved or who cross cultures. You can request membership by going to that page on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com

Of course, we’re on twitter and if you follow us, we’ll absolutely follow you back.

http://twitter.com/watermelonsushi

And, we’re also always on the lookout for more Associate Producers. Our AP’s are scattered around the world and keep us on alert for potential executive producers.

Jaz Dorsey

One of them is Nashville playwright Jaz Dorsey who has been instrumental in getting AAPEX (African American Playwrights Exchange) to recognize Your Hip Hapa. 

Here’s an award I recently received. Don’t let the applause scare you, and thank you to Dave Copeland: http://africanamericanplaywrightsexchange.blogspot.com/2011/09/yayoi-winfrey-wins-first-aapex.html

Derrick Holmes

Our man in Tokyo, Derrick Holmes, is responsible for promotion and publicity of all our products. If you’re on any social networking site, chances are Derrick’s a member so drop him a friend request.

Andye AndinhaNiakan

Thanks also to Associate Producer, Andye AndinhaNiakan of Atlanta, who recently blogged this:

http://africanasianbusinessandculturalexchange.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/yayoi-winfrey-japanese-african-american-film-maker-pioneer/

And, here’s a special shout-out to my long lost cousin Gregg Winfrey who has resurfaced to become an Associate Producer. Hey, cuz! got that direct line to the Big “O” yet?

Eva

Cassie

Also, last year, Robert Taylor and I began broadcasting Sexy Voices of Hollywood, an Internet series of interviews with show biz celebrities. This is another means of support for Watermelon Sushi although we’re currently on hiatus.

Teri LaFlesh

Julia Baker

So many of you have been wonderful supporters and since I don’t have your permission to out you, I’ll only list those who’ve sent me photos for publication—except for Carol Sugihara who rocks! with her multiple purchases of Hapa*Teez. Thank you, too, to our perpetual poster girl Cassie, Eva, Teri LaFlesh, Julia Baker…and Robert Taylor for this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKi0ie3SKpI

Amina of Mixed Child, Arana of The Topaz Club, and the rest of you, please get your pictures in so we can post you here and on the Watermelon Sushi website.

Hip Hapa Homeez, we promise that 2012 and the Year of the Water Dragon beginning January 23 will make all our dreams come true. Best wishes for a HAPA holiday season and, until next year, I am and will always be

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi