The live rondalla performance view at CSULB Pilipino American Coalition's annual Pilipino Cultural Night (PCN) at Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, CA on March 24, 2024.
Thank you to Ryan Sumampong for the video!
RONDALLA CLUB OF LOS ANGELES was formed in 1991 by Nitoy Gonzales, renowned rondalla maestro of Bayanihan, the National Dance Company of the Philippines, his son Leonilo “Boy” Angos and Tagumpay “Pi” M. de Leon, son of Philippine National Artist for Music, Felipe Padilla de Leon.
For over three decades, RCLA has had the honor of performing at festivals, social and civic functions as well as cultural events throughout California and beyond. In doing so, RCLA continuously shapes the Filipino-American rondalla music identity through an applied historical perspective combined with entertainingly immersive instruction.
In 2021, founding member Tagumpay M. de Leon was named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)-the United States’ highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.
Characterized by a signature, highly-improvised style, each RCLA performance is a unique musical conversation.