Collaborator Highlight: Charito Soriano and Flex-Maxim Dalit
A R T I S T B I O:
Charito is a Bay Area native, music educator, a performer, and lifelong student of mental-spiritual-creative wellness.
A G A S A N T E S T I M O N I A L:
I feel very blessed to live a good life with lots to have gratitude for. However, my ability to be in gratitude takes a tremendous amount of work to maintain. I am a workaholic, something I learned from my immigrant parents, who are the people responsible for bringing both their families to America. And because of this constant instinct to hustle, the work to keep my spirit in balance can be difficult to put into practice
My saving grace really is my community. The folks in my circle who are leaders in spirit, action and thought - they remind me to take some time to reflect. A couple of months ago I was invited to an Agasan workshop offered by Rachel, the founder of Agasan - and it was a breath of fresh air for my spirit. We were able to dive into movement, sound, creativity & in a way where I was allowed to free myself from constructs and structures I subconsciously put myself into on a day-to-day basis (especially with movement because I'm soooo shy when it comes to dance). I was thankful to be in a space where my vulnerability and expression were welcomed.
Rachel asked me a couple of months later to be a part of the team running the next set of offerings. I jumped at the opportunity! I was honored to be asked to support Agasan, a project that gave me necessary reflection & release through my walk in this human reality. As I met more and more of the facilitators and production crew, I honestly was in awe. Everyone has such a big heart, spirit, and presence in their intention to offer resonance & release.
And through this work, I am excited to commune and breath with you all!
A R T I S T B I O:
Flex-Maxim Dalit is a Storyteller first, & Artist second (a very close second). Flex’s focus aims to tell important, intersectional and imaginative narratives. They feel a mission and a privilege to be able to bring diverse and accessible stories to life. In their free time, they like to make playlists, get lost in Astrology, tend to their plants or play with their three cats.
A G A S A N T E S T I M O N I A L:
Before working with the team, “agasan” made me think of an aloe plant my Ilokano Mom would cut to use on booboos, it was simply medicine. Co-creating with these multidisciplinary and multifaceted souls has reminded me that medicine comes in more forms than what’s perceived, and that Agasan is something that is always available, accessible inside each of us.
As we explored the senses, we exhumed pockets of restorative joy--something our ancestors may have meant for us to inherit but have buried deep down due to circumstance. Through shamelessly rolling with the punches, experimentation, and laughter, we’ve rediscovered these inherent remedies. And through our passion, ingenuity, and conversation, we’re devoted to making sure these medicines are passed on.
As an art-school survivor, working with this team has helped me mend my severed connection with my endless child-like imagination. This innate creativity I lost over time was a product of internalizing the expectations of not just elders around me, but family, friends, would-be employers, and whole industries. I was struggling to swim through a demanding environment I had found myself in and working with Agasan threw me a lifeline. An opportunity to simply play again. To doodle with no expectations. To create for the present. To make mistakes without fear or shame. To be able to let go. To remember the very real power of the uninhibited imagination–the ability to envision the preservation of our thriving communities, the ability to manifest a future for ourselves and our children, all of which mean nothing without the imagination’s ability to radically transform ourselves. These remembrances are all keepsakes I intend to propagate.