I nternational House at U.C. Berkeley, a multi-cultural campus residence and program center, presents "Buffalo Soldiers and the Philippine-American War," on Tuesday, February 8, 2011, at 7:30 p.m. at 2299 Piedmont, Berkeley. The program will include readings from the memoir "Twenty-Five Chickens and a Pig for a Bride: Growing Up in a Filipino Immigrant Family" by Berkeley resident and retired I-House Events Coordinator Vangie Buell. Vangie was born in California, raised in the East Bay and is the granddaughter of Buffalo Soldier Ernest Stokes. Her other writings are included in Seven Card Stud with Seven Manangs Wild: Writings on Filipino-American lives, an anthology of Filipino American writers, and she is co-author of Filipinos in the East Bay (Arcadia Press, 2008).

There will also be a staged reading from the screenplay based on the Buell memoir, written by former I-House resident and Events Department staffer Jacquelyn Morgan. Morgan graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 1989 with a Master of Journalism degree. The stage reading will feature I-House Resident and U.C. student Hanif Houston, Author Evelyn Luluquisen, and Film producer Marissa Aroy.

Scholar, author and U.C. Berkeley graduate Abe Ignacio will present a power-point presentation on the Philippine-American War, and the role of the Buffalo Soldier. Abe was honored with the Ethnic Studies Department Distinguished Alumna Award for his book "The Forbidden Book: Political Cartoons." Ignacio’s presentation will focus on David Fagen, an African-American soldier who went to the Philippines as a soldier in the U.S. Army during the U.S.-Philippine War, but changed alliance a few months after his arrival in the Philippines to join the Philippine Army.

Noted playwright Jeannie Barroga will present excerpts from her play Buffalo’ed,and provide a power-point history of the Buffalo Soldiers. Buffalo’ed will have its world premiere in 2012. Ann Fajilan, Asst. Professor of Theatre and Dance Dept. of CSU East Bay, will direct the stage reading.

The Little Brown Brother Quartet, featuring Carlos Zialcita, director of the San Francisco Filipino American Jazz Festival, and vocalist Anna Maria Flachero, will provide music throughout. Little Brown Brother, whose name is from a term used by Americans to refer to native Filipinos during U.S. colonial rule, was formed in 2006 by Zialcita and Ben Luis. The band’s music combines elements of blues, R&B, jazz, and Latin combined with traditional Filipino music to create a very rhythmic, and soulful sound. Anna Maria Flechero is from San Francisco and is the daughter of an African-American father and Filipino mother. Her music is a reflection of that multi-cultural and multi-ethnic background, drawing from soul, R&B, jazz, gospel, Latin and Latin-rock influences. She is an award-winning songwriter and singer known for her highly personal style and improvisational skills.

Author, Writer Professor Oscar Penaranda, Ethnic Studies Filipino American History professor at San Francisco State University, will be the Emcee.

Contact: Vangie Buell 510 528-8177. Admission is free.