WATCH: Surprise Kitchen Hula Dance at Michael Dondi Reyes’ Stockton Birthday Bash

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Stockton, CA • March 7, 2026. Liane and friends perform a surprise hula dance in the kitchen during Michael Dondi Reyes' birthday celebration. Video captured by J.F.R. Perseveranda.
Stockton, California • March 7, 2026

Surprise Kitchen Hula at Dondi's Birthday Bash

Liane and friends caught in a spontaneous, joyful moment — pure Fil-Am party spirit in Stockton.

I accidentally came upon them and got the video! While the music played outside for Michael Dondi Reyes' surprise birthday celebration on March 7, 2026, Liane and her friends were caught in a beautiful, impromptu hula dance in the kitchen.

This candid Stockton moment perfectly captures the spirit of the Hogan Spartans family and the vibrant Filipina/Hawaiian culture that defines our community celebrations.

✨ POST HIGHLIGHTS

  • Surprise hula performance by Liane & friends.
  • Michael Dondi Reyes' 2026 Stockton birthday bash.
  • Caught on camera: spontaneous Filipina dance.

Posting this here for the peeps who are not on FB/IG so they don't miss out on the vibes!

🇵🇭 TAGALOG WOD

Sayaw: The Filipino word for dance. What Liane and her friends brought to that kitchen wasn't just a hula — it was pure sayaw ng puso, a dance from the heart. Spontaneous, joyful, and unmistakably Fil-Am.

🌺 FIL-AM HULA NOTE

Aloha + Barkada: Filipino and Hawaiian cultures have been intertwined since the 1900s. From plantation fields to kitchen dance floors, the blending of aloha spirit and Filipino community warmth is a living tradition in California and beyond.

🌺 Fil-Am & Hula: Did You Know?

The Filipino and Hawaiian connection runs much deeper than most people realize. Filipino laborers began arriving in Hawaiʻi in 1906 to work the sugar plantations, and by the industry's peak, Filipinos made up more than half of the plantation workforce. Living and working side by side with Native Hawaiians, they absorbed the spirit of aloha — including hula. History also records Jose Sabas Libornio, a Filipino member of the Royal Hawaiian Band who stood loyally with Queen Liliʻuokalani when she was deposed in 1893 — directly inspiring a mele composed for a hula in his honor. Today, hula has spread far beyond the islands to California and across the diaspora, carried in part by Filipino-Hawaiian families who have long called both cultures their own. When Liane and her friends broke into that kitchen hula, they were part of a tradition more than a century in the making. 🇵🇭🌺 More Filipina stories →

Author & Photographer: J.F.R. Perseveranda

J.F.R. Perseveranda is the architect and lens behind PinoyBuilt. From IT Product Manager to Fil-Am storyteller, J.F. bridges the diaspora through photography and culture.

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