Tita Collective: Not Your Ordinary Type of Titas

What pops into your mind when you hear the word “Tita?”

When you try to look for the English meaning of the word “tita” on the internet, the first thing that you will see is that it is the Filipino equivalent of the term “aunt” or “auntie.” Assuming that you are a non-Filipino, perhaps you only call someone your “tita” if you are referring to the biological sister of your parents or your parents’ close friends. But living in a country where one of the most precious traits is having close family ties such as the Philippines, the definition of the word is not only limited to their immediate relatives or family friends, but is extended also to their parents’ female colleagues and even to older strangers as another way to address them without having to ask for their name.

Although we came from different clans, surely most of us can relate to having different types of aunts in our families. Don’t you just want to talk with your friends how it can sometimes get annoying to have a ‘judgmental tita’ who keeps telling you to lose weight and make fun of your lack of a romantic relationship every family gathering, in addition to your ‘showbiz reporter tita’ who knows everything and brings the hottest chika (gossip) among the members of your family? These are the “titas” we refuse to make eye contact with or else, we’ll find ourselves on the hot seat. But opposite to them, we also have the ‘sought-after’ aunts whom we are overly excited to see in the gathering. There is our ‘elite tita’ who showers money and branded clothes to their nephews and nieces so they would not look like a ‘peasant,’ and also our ‘kalog (cool) tita’ who gets along well with millennials and the Gen Zs.

Needless to say, one of the highlights in our family reunion aside from games and prizes is our ‘multi-talented tita’ who gives her all out performance, from her little dance moves to beating everyone’s high score in karaoke that surely entertains the crowd. This type of “tita” is best to describe the people behind the group called “Tita Collective.”

Coming right up to the Philippine Canadian Inquirer (PCI) stage for the first time are these five ‘not-the-only-literal-titas-who-have-immediate-pamangkins,’ but Filipina multidisciplinary artists who aim to not only entertain and engage their audience but also to share narratives about some issues in today’s world that maybe many of us find hard to discuss.

The Spice Girls of Theater

 For sure, the name “Spice Girls” rings a bell especially to the 90s babies. Hearing that name makes them automatically think of the iconic British pop girl band formed in 1994 which originally had five members: Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice), Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice), Emma Bunton (Baby Spice), Mel B (Scary Spice), and Geri Horner (Ginger Spice). Twenty-four years after these women made headlines in every part of the globe, another girl group has risen, claiming to be the “Spice Girls” — not of the music industry or the concert stage, but of the theatre.

Being the ‘multi-talented titas’ they are, the Tita Collective is not just about singing and dancing. With a touch of theater and comedy, this Toronto-based group aspire to tell stories about the Filipinx diaspora in their community. Formed in 2018, the Tita Collective is composed of “the best collaborators an artist could ask for” namely Ann Paula Bautista, Belinda Corpuz, Isabel Kanaan, Alia Rasul, and Maricris Rivera.

Ann Paula, is known in the group as the musical theatre “globe-trotting” thespian. Since graduating from Randolph Academy, she’s performed on stages all around North America. Ann Paula is currently in the 2019 TD Confederation Centre Young Company, a part of the Charlottetown Festival.

Belinda, a graduate of the University of Toronto, where she earned her Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance degree, is a multidisciplinary theatre artist and musician who released her own EP titled “All I Am.”

Isabel, on the other hand, is a comedian and television actress known for her roles in “Haunted or Haux,” “Doghouse,” and “Sisters of Mercy.” She is also a member of CBC’s Air Farce, an alumnus of the Canadian Comedy Award-winning troupe “The Sketchersons,” and a 2018 RBC Top 25 Immigrant awardee.

As a Canadian Comedy Award-nominated writer/performer and Bad Dog Theatre’s inclusion director, Alia’s focus is to create work that challenges the Toronto comedy scene to be more inclusive and diverse, such as Fringe 2018 hit “Generally Hospital.”

Last but not the least is the group’s “Tita Bunso,” Maricris, who is a dancer and musician but acquires deep knowledge of stage management and arts administration.

These five artists found connection the moment they knew that they all craved the same thing: the ability to produce a craft that will represent who they are, their community, and the culture they grew up in. That’s why without having any second thoughts, they presented themselves on the theatrical stage as Tita Collective, satisfying their thirst for women of color representation, stories, and advocacy.

In naming their group, they have thought of the stuff they can draw inspiration from, and among those, the only thing that stood out in their minds are all the strong and amazing women in their lives.

“In Filipino culture, we treat everyone as family, so we call every woman ‘Tita.’ With the name, we’re paying homage to the wisdom of our elders and our community,” Alia, who stands as the mouthpiece of the group for this interview, told PCI.

The ‘Performer’ Titas

It was between 2016 and 2017 when these multi-talented titas first met and worked together when they are tasked to perform a play with a Filipino theatre company, but some of them have known each other already since their high school days. March 2018 is perhaps one of the memorable months for them as it was when they performed their first ever project called “Kwento: An improvised Filipino Folktale” at the Bad Dog Theatre’s Test Drive Festival.

“We wanted to use Filipino folk music and narrative style to improvise a brand new story using modern ‘morals of the story’ such as ‘don’t text while driving.’ We collaborated with Pantayo, an amazing Kulintang Synth band, and we used Shadow Puppetry to help illustrate our stories.”

Lights went off, curtains have closed, and a round of applause was heard after they performed, but that wasn’t the real ending of their ‘kwento (story)’; these performer titas were actually just about to get the show on the road.

Following their “Kwento” act, Ann Paula, Belinda, Isabel, Alia, and Maricris have not been separated since, producing even more performances, including Tawa Festival (the first Filipinx Comedy Festival), Island Womxn Rise (a sold-out all Filipina show), Tang Ina (a play written by Alia), and Tita Jokes (a sold-out run that won the Steamwhistle Producers’ Pick at Toronto SketchFest 2019), to name a few.

Although carrying out a performance in an entertaining way, talking about difficult subjects like queerness, sexism, classism, and body shaming, among others, will never be an easy task for them. “We are often a little nervous about how our work will be received.”

It may be ironic but despite how they have been a performer their whole lives, stage fright is still one of the biggest obstacles they have to face as they wait in the wings, even up to this day.

To conquer nervousness, the performer titas said they just think of it as a “reminder” for them of how much they care about the performance they are about to show on stage, wanting to make sure that they will do well. “We also have a very rigorous rehearsal schedule so that helps!”

Apart from stage fright, plotting a schedule that will match for these five titas who have their own artistic disciplines and very busy careers is also hard. But learning how things will work for everyone in the group, the Tita Collective eventually has become “very good” at planning in advance.

There may be countless of hurdles — just like the ones they mentioned — that will stand their way but these won’t stop them to pull off a performance every time that gives them a sense of deep and rich fulfillment both as performers and as persons.

“Everything about performing is amazing. Especially when you look at the audience and actually see them connect with the stories we are putting on stage.”

Chillax Time with Titas

Working in several acts that requires them to be together for more than the normal office hours and working days has made them grow fond of each other, turning their colleague relationship to a strong bond of friendship to the point that they are not just the best collaborators one can have, but they eventually become each other’s constant source of strength.

From being the amazing multi-talented titas to being passionate performer titas, Ann Paula, Belinda, Isabel, Alia, and Maricris certainly deserve to transform themselves to the ‘chillax’ type of tita every once in a while.

Off the stage, the five of them spend most of their time visiting each other’s houses which serve as their stomping ground.

“We always end up doing a little work when we are together! Free time is limited, as an artist, you are constantly juggling many projects to pay the bills and balancing that with making work that keeps you artistically fulfilled.”

Apart from hanging out at their members’ flat, chillax time is also enjoyed by seeing various crafts in Toronto’s vibrant arts scene by watching a lot of theatre productions together, going to live music shows, and visiting museums. Of course, they won’t forget the highlight of their bonding (probably most of the other people’s bonding)… the food trip!

Belinda, Maricris, Ann Paula, Alia, and Isabel have just celebrated their first anniversary last March 24 as Tita Collective. Alia shared that they have been highly satisfied with what they have achieved so far in their theatrical journey and can’t wait for more projects that will live up to the hype. Perhaps, having their own television show wouldn’t be too much to ask?

While hoping for that, let’s all be “abangers” for now for the comeback of Tawa Festival on June 27 and 28, and Tita Jokes, a bigger and more “bongga (extravagant)“ version that will have a seven-show-run this July 4 to 14.