By Alicia L’Archeveque
“Salingpusa is a very unique Filipino word,” says Alcaraz. “It is a metaphor for an immigrant person, because you’re both included and excluded at the same time. On the part of the main players, it’s an act of inclusion and acceptance, despite limitations. On the part of the salingpusa, it’s an act of courage.”
Salingpusa Creatives got its start in 2023, after Alcaraz attended the Mayor’s Celebration for the Arts event. The company name is fitting because, surrounded by artists of all kinds, Alcaraz knew she wanted to create something that would bring together Filipino artists.
In 2024, this manifested in the launch of Salingpusa magazine, an excellent medium to showcase Filipino artists. Next, Alcaraz, who describes herself as “an organizer at heart,” put together four art exhibitions throughout 2025. As Alcaraz and her colleagues put on these shows, they were also brainstorming for an event that “would bring in artists, but at the same time bring in the public, both Filipinos and non-Filipinos.”
With so many aspects of Asian media and culture becoming popular in the West, like “yoga and anime and K-pop,” Alcaraz considered what kind of cultural impact the Philippines could offer, given its 7,600-plus islands and over 100 different languages.
She ultimately settled on “aswang,” an umbrella term for the various shapeshifting creatures of Filipino folklore. Out of this came AswangCon, a Filipino folklore festival, for which Salingpusa Creatives received the Project Grant for Organizations from Calgary Arts Development.
The grant allowed Alcaraz to put on the most ambitious festival she could dream up. Held in The GRAND theatre, AswangCon featured many aswang-themed activities, including an amulet-making workshop, a Filipino-inspired adult spelling bee, an art exhibit featuring 12 different artists, a bazaar, a mini theatrical production titled Kapre Quest and a photo station with the famous and fearsome Filipino monster, the manananggal, by local Filipino visual artist Reva Diana.
Over 300 people attended the festival, a feat Alcaraz doesn’t think would have been possible without the help of the grant.
“The CADA grant is everything,” says Alcaraz. “There was no way we could have gone ahead without it.”
The reaction of the Filipino community was one of surprise. People couldn’t believe how extensive and steeped in culture the festival was, expecting something much smaller. The non-Filipino response was similarly positive, fascinated by the horror aspects of the folklore, but also learning about Filipino history and culture. With immigration an increasingly hot topic, Alcaraz believes festivals and events like this are important to show what immigrants contribute to society.
“Immigrants bring culture that enriches the existing Canadian culture,” says Alcaraz. “Aswang can be a Canadian thing as well.”
After the first AswangCon, attendees were already asking if it would be coming back next year. Alcaraz hopes to continue putting on AswangCon in the coming years, and to continue to have a place where Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike can appreciate Filipino culture.