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The Filipino flows of Logistx and Ronnie
Red Bull BC One All Stars Ronnie and Logistx explain how their Filipino heritage influences their art and drives them on to bigger and better accomplishments.
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Ever since its inception in the Black and Puerto Rican neighbourhoods of the Bronx, New York, hip-hop art forms like breaking have offered a creative refuge for immigrant youths. When the West Coast breaking scene exploded in the '90s and early 2000s, it brought new styles and new kinds of dancers into the mix. Among them were Filipinos, or 'Pinoy B-Boys'.
“Filipinos are the closest to the Pacific. We’re like the Puerto Ricans in the East,” explains Red Bull BC One All Star Ronnie Abaldonado, who advocates for Filipino dancers. “We're all over the scene and still going strong, as you can see with young dancers like Logan Edra [more popularly known as Logistx]."
Despite the generational gap, the somewhat parallel journeys of Filipino Red Bull BC One champions Ronnie and Logistx show just how cultural history can profoundly influence one’s art. But what does it mean to be a 'Pinoy B-Boy' or 'Pinay B-Girl'? Let's take a deeper dive into the histories of these two breakers through the lens of Filipino expressions.
Logistx and Ronnie with fellow Red Bull BC One world champion Hong 10
© Adam Rose / Red Bull Content Pool
01
'Angkan' and family ties
'Angkan' is the Filipino word for 'clan' – evoking a tribal history. Now, tie this in with the hip-hop concept of crews. “Our logo is a tree,” says Ronnie emphasising the origins of his crew, Full Force, which started with his family. When the Abaldonados first migrated to Las Vegas, Ronnie lived in a cramped home along with their many relatives.
Ronnie and his older brother learned breaking from their California cousins and so began Full Force (which just recently celebrated its 27th anniversary). Their philosophy is to keep growing in all aspects of life while remaining deeply rooted in their history – a migrant mentality indeed.
Logistx, too, has her family to thank for introducing her to dance. The Red Bull BC One 2021 B-Girl champion used to be a timid kid until her father, a first-generation immigrant with a love for hip-hop, pushed her to learn street dance.
Logistx does the Airfreeze
© Kien Quan / Red Bull Content Pool
“He would train me and take me to jams. It was extra bonding for us,” recalls Logistx, who immersed herself in both the freestyle and choreography scene in San Diego. She attributes much of her upbringing and self-development to this densely Filipino community. In fact, her first mentors were hometown veterans Dynorock and Val Pal, who are both Filipino.
More with B-Boy Ronnie
In very hip-hop fashion, the tribalistic energies of 'angkan' extend to the wider community. Unsurprisingly, Filipino dancers tend to gravitate towards one another.
02
'Gilas' and Pinoy pride
Logistx actually met Ronnie at her very first jam – a Red Bull BC One Cypher in San Diego. She couldn’t resist getting a photo with the then newly-crowned champion. "I definitely looked up to him in the beginning, especially because he was Filipino," she adds.
Ronnie and Logistx first met at a Red Bull BC One Cypher in San Diego
© Logistx
For better or for worse, there's the pop culture expression 'Pinoy pride', but perhaps a more fitting term would be 'gilas' – a word also attached to the name of the Philippine national men’s basketball team. 'Gilas' doesn't have a direct English translation, but it's often used to describe the rush of pride Filipinos feel when they see their countrymen succeed in big ways.
Ronnie knows this feeling too. “If you see a Filipino do it, you feel you could do it too,” he explains, almost echoing Logistx.
Ronnie looked up to Filipino West Coast legends like Wicket and Remind when he was just starting off. And when he began to forge a professional dance career, he rose alongside other prominent Filipino entertainers like Black Eyed Peas' Apl de Ap and comedian Jo Koy – both of whom, by the way, also know how to get down.
As somewhat of an 'OG' in the Filipino-American scene, Ronnie continues to pave the way for the next generation. At the Red Bull BC One World Final 2019 in Mumbai, he comforted Logistx after her defeat and reminded her that “every champion has lost in the first round.” Since that moment, Logistx regularly turned to Ronnie for advice. Two years later, she would go on to win the Red Bull BC One in Poland – making her the second champion of Filipino descent.
Hailing from the hotbeds of America’s entertainment industry, Ronnie and Logistx can attest to the power of representation in popular media. It's driven them to constantly conquer bigger stages throughout their dance journeys.
03
'Angat' and rising above
The underdog story is beloved by all, especially migrants who leave their homelands to make a better living. The full expression for this – 'aangat sa buhay' – can be watered down to the operative word 'angat' [meaning 'to rise'].
What better way to capture this theme than through the arts? Hailing from humble upbringings in Filipino-American society, Ronnie and Logistx took the leap and pursued unconventional artistic careers. Filipino migrants are greatly represented in healthcare and hospitality, but not as much in the arts. Just by pursuing breaking as a full-time job, Ronnie and Logistx already push the envelope. But by continually opening new opportunities for breakers, they also redefine what it means to be a professional dancer.
Ronnie recently explored hosting and commentating in addition to dance
© Ronnie poses for a portrait at Red Bull BC One Cypher in Boston, USA on August 7, 2021
With his all-B-Boy Super Cr3w winning America’s Best Dance Crew in 2008, Ronnie proved that breakers can excel outside of the cyphers and put on a professional stage show. Both he and Logistx also participated in NBC’s World of Dance, which the latter won with The Lab – a junior division champion boasting a mix of dance styles.
Logistx’s multidisciplinary approach to dance is an example of unbound Filipino creativity. “When I started doing solo performances, I mixed breaking with contemporary dance,” explains Logistx. “I’ve seen others do it before, but I hadn’t seen them do it the way I do it.” An all-round artist, Logistx draws inspiration from all sorts of disciplines.
Logistx uses non-breaking influences to enrich her dance
© Daniel Zuliani / Red Bull Content Pool
Indeed, it seems that among Filipino breakers, thinking outside the box is a virtue. Between well-regarded names like Cloud, Mouse, Dyzee, AB Girl, Reveal, Jeromeskee, Kevo, and others previously mentioned, there doesn’t appear to be a singular 'Pinoy style'. They aren’t just dancers, they’re innovators.
“It’s not about winning the competition, but winning in life,” concludes Ronnie, whose constant growth-mentality has taken him from dancer to organiser to judge – and now, a host and commentator for Red Bull BC One.
Through creativity, Ronnie and Logistx continue to explore new frontiers, just like their migrant parents before them. Indeed, their stories ripple from their ancestors – tribal seafarers who roamed over 7,000 islands in the Pacific.
The story doesn’t end there, however. Every journey has its homecoming – and with Filipino culture, it all comes back to the community.
04
'Ambag' and diasporic duty
In line with the bonds of 'angkan' and 'gilas', there's a particular drive that compels even overseas Filipino workers to give back to their motherland in some way – also a very 'hip-hop' virtue.
This concept is known as 'ambag' [meaning 'contribution'] and it's emphasised by the fact that the global Filipino migrant population sustains one of the highest remittance economies in the entire world.
In 2020, Ronnie travelled with comedian Jo Koy to the Philippines to film the latter’s Netflix special. As part of the show, Ronnie called on other international Pinoy B-Boys Dyzee (Canada) and Mouse (UK) to perform with b-boys on the streets of Manila under the banner Project P-Noise.
This was the last of Ronnie’s many homecomings prior to the pandemic. Before then, he regularly visited and taught workshops to uplift the domestic Philippine scene.
Logistx is eager to follow his example. As a second-generation immigrant who's never been to the Philippines, Logistx’s self-curiosity has compounded over time. She describes the feeling as “not exactly knowing how Filipino culture feeds into my life, but knowing that it does."
“Part of me is still missing,” she adds. “I want to connect with my ancestry and help build the community over there somehow.” As she matures from solo champion to community leader, Logistx’s next journey will surely be an odyssey into self-identity. This is the way of the Pinay B-Girl.
7 min
Logistx's best moments at the World Final
The 18th World Final saw B-Girl Logistx crowned the new world champion. Check out her best moments here.
There's a common narrative that defines the diasporic experience, and we've caught glimpses of it through dance. Sometimes we see the history in specific movements – like Neguin’s Brazilian capoeira combos and Issue’s Korean martial arts flourishes.
Other times we see it even off the dance floor. When Ronnie celebrates his 'angkan' each year at the Full Force Anniversary or when Logistx unveils her hidden talent for singing, they inevitably perpetuate Filipino traditions. They ultimately become a part of the tradition.
Having each grown up a world away from their ancestral homes, Ronnie and Logistx both found a cultural outlet in hip-hop and dance. It was through these urban art forms that they reconnected to their Filipino roots. Hip-hop and heritage – these concepts go hand-in-hand.
The parallel histories of Ronnie and Logistx remind us that culture is dynamic; it's both inherited and adopted. This is the migrant mentality. This is the evolution of expression.
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