Here's what happened, as I understand it. Last weekend, New Jersey-based hip hop group Triangle Offense had been scheduled, alongside other Filipino American musicians, to share the stage with Mexican performers at the official Pacquiao/Margarito pre-fight tailgate in Dallas. Which is cool, right?
But due to some inexplicable last-minute changes, Triangle Offense and all of the other Filipino performers ended up getting cut from the lineup, and it became an exclusively Mexican roster of musicians and entertainers. That's not cool! Here's a video with Bry and Sci explaining how it went down.
And here's an excerpt from the message Triangle Offense sent out:
Instead of an even representation of Filipino and Mexican artists, event organizers booked an exclusively Spanish-speaking line-up including musicians, entertainers, and the host.If anyone had should have had the opportunity to celebrate last weekend, it's the Filipino American community. But not at this tailgate. At least, not officially. And the guys from Triangle Offense came out all the way from New Jersey! That's a damn disappointment. More here: Dallas Recap.
"When we found this out, we were totally shocked," explained TO member Sci. "We later on realized that it was bigger than us artists because Filipinos as a whole were no long going to be represented. We definitely don't have anything against celebrating the Mexican culture, but we did feel that this event was for both cultures to be included."
Disappointed but united, Filipino fans created an impromptu tailgate on the opposite side of the stadium without the stage and fanfare. "Filipinos still held it down," said TO member Bry. Sci added, "It really meant a lot to us to see that our people stuck by each other and we really made the best out of the situation."