Mary Talusan Lacanlale

Mary Talusan Lacanlale is associate professor and chair of Asian-Pacific Studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills. She is the author of Instruments of Empire: Filipino Musicians, Black Soldiers, and Military Band Music During US Colonization of the Philippines, co-editor of Our Culture Resounds, Our Future Reveals: A Legacy of Filipino American Performing Arts in California, and co-producer of Kulintang Kultura: Danongan Kalanduyan and Gong Music of the Philippine Diaspora. She performs with the Pakaraguian Kulintang Ensemble.

Filipinos in Greater Boston

May 24, 2024October 13, 2023 By Mary Talusan Lacanlale

This book highlights the rich histories of Filipinos in Greater Boston and aims to inspire more works that document our immigrant community that has grown in the early 21st century to over 25,000 people.

Kulintang Kultura: Danongan Kalanduyan and Gong Music of the Philippine Diaspora

March 7, 2022February 25, 2022 By Theodore S. Gonzalves and Mary Talusan Lacanlale

Co-produced by Theodore S. Gonzalves and Mary Talusan Lacanlale, Kulintang Kultura, from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, pays homage to the late Danongan “Danny” Kalanduyan, a talented musician and generous teacher who championed traditional Filipino kulintang gong music in the United States, helping to keep the memory and practice alive.

Instruments of Empire: Filipino Musicians, Black Soldiers, and Military Band Music during U.S. Colonization of the Philippines

November 15, 2021November 5, 2021 By Mary Talusan Lacanlale

The untold story of the Philippine Constabulary Band offers a unique opportunity to examine the limits and porousness of America’s racial ideologies, exploring musical pleasure at the intersection of Euro-American cultural hegemony, racialization, and U.S. colonization of the Philippines.