Hyphen magazine - Asian American arts, culture, and politics

We’re bringing you our signature event of the year, Mr. Hyphen, with four fresh and outstanding API men committed to making a difference for our API communities! Come watch our talented and charismatic candidates perform and compete for the crown and a $1000 cash prize to benefit the non-profit they represent.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 27 event, hosted by 2011’s Mr. Hyphen, Terry Park, and Ryan Takemiya. 

Want your tickets? Purchase them HERE.  

MEET THE FINAL FOUR

Miguel N. Abad, Asian Students Promoting Immigrant Rights through Education (ASPIRE)

What do you see as a challenge or injustice for the Asian American community? How do you think this can be fixed?
I feel that one of the challenges impacting the Asian-American community relates to immigration. Many young Asian Americans are being affected by our county's archaic immigration laws. With Asian Americans being a more vocal presence in the undocumented immigrant movement, we are hearing more and more stories of Asian American families being displaced and torn apart with children and parents being deported every day. I feel that the only remedy to this issue is comprehensive immigration reform that provides a pathway to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants. This kind of reform will only be a reality if people of color of all stripes (especially Asian Americans) rally around this issue and pressure our representatives to make this reform a reality.

Niño-Pierre Galang, Mabuhay Health Center (MHC)

If you win the title of Mr. Hyphen, what do you hope to accomplish in your year-long reign?
Valuable local outlets for the expression of Filipino heritage have recently been endangered. Since I’m not a native speaker of Filipino, if it weren’t for the Filipino language courses that I took at Berkeley, I would be far less able to help Filipino patients at MHC navigate the language of barriers they face in the health care system. During my undergraduate career, however, the availability of these courses was threatened by University of California budget cuts. It is clear to me that Asian American cultural outlets not only encourage familiarity with and sensitivity to Asian American heritage but also allow Asian Americans to interpret “Asian American” for themselves. The title of “Mr. Hyphen” would enhance the credibility of my efforts to preserve current outlets for Asian American cultural expression and would also offer me a platform from which to champion the creation of new such outlets.

Tim Huey, Asian Law Caucus

How are you Mr. Hyphen material? 
Mr. Hyphen is about being yourself, being comfortable in your own skin no matter what the world tells you. I am all about self-love and self-respect. I believe in myself as a person and the work that I do for the community around me to make the world a better place. But Mr. Hyphen is not only about being crowned as an individual. I recognize that it takes a village to raise a child, and I have been so blessed to be raised by a village of family, friends, teachers and random strangers that have taught me the value of integrity, relationships and social justice. To touch on one of those, I’ll say that social justice for me is a mentality, a set of core principles and a commitment to concrete action, things that I believe in wholeheartedly. Think globally, act locally.

Sean Miura, Tuesday Night Project

If you could have dinner with anyone (living or dead), who would it be and why?  
When I was 13, I was angry about the world. I read APIA books and blogs, sat frustrated with Guantanamo news flashes, and got impatient with my friends in our New Jersey suburb who weren't as mad about "injustice" (not understanding the scope of the word). Also I was kind of a misfit. Enter a Margaret Cho DVD. Margaret taught me that anger should lead to action, that introspection is key, and most importantly that I wasn't alone and that even misfits turn out ok! And they get their own comedy specials! I moved from anger to action. From impatience to Movement. I looked for the humor in the awful and the Love in this complex community. Treating her to a thank you dinner is the least 13-plus-11-year-old Sean can do. Also she seems pretty cool and would probably pick a good restaurant. Something fusion-sounding and organic, perhaps.

Congratulations to these amazing finalists and thank you to all of you who applied!

EVENT DETAILS

When?
Saturday, April 27, 2013, 7-10pm, doors open at 6pm

Where?
Brava! Theater
2781 24th St
San Francisco, CA, 94110

Our esteemed panel of judges features:

• Tanzila Ahmed, Voter Engagement Manager at Asian Pacific American Legal Center
• Lisa Lee, former Hyphen publisher and co-founder of Thick Dumpling Skin
• William Nguyen, Co-Chair of Gay Asian Pacific Alliance (GAPA)
• Tamiko Wong, Unofficial Mayor of Bay Area Asian America
• Eddy Zheng, Project Manager at Community Youth Center of San Francisco

Designers and stylists to jazz up our finalists include:

• [blank]shoppe
• Intwined
• Seasoned

Special performances by:

• John Paul Alejandro of Youth Speaks 
• forWord
• Toshio Hirano 

Stage management graciously provided by Rama

Questions about Mr. Hyphen 2013? Email us.

About Mr. Hyphen
Hosting a pageant like none other, Hyphen magazine planned the first Mr. Hyphen in 2005 to celebrate Asian American men who devote themselves to worthy community causes. Mr. Hyphen is an energy-filled evening of fun and charity where four contestants compete in talent, fashion, and Q&A . The man crowned Mr. Hyphen will win a cash donation of $1,000 for his chosen nonprofit organization.

*** SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS BELOW FOR MAKING THE MR. HYPHEN 2013 EVENT POSSIBLE ***

 SILVER CROWN SPONSORS: Asian Art Museum and Prologue Vision/TC Charton