Statement of Solidarity and Support (Lapu Lapu Day Tragedy, Vancouver Canada)

We stand in support of and solidarity with those affected by the tragic events at the Lapu Lapu Day festival on April 26, 2025 in Vancouver Canada on unceded Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh territories. We hold in our thoughts those who were killed in the tragedy, among them members of the Filipino, Vietnamese, Colombian and Brazilian diaspora communities in Vancouver. We mourn with their loved ones and community members. We also wish a complete and swift recovery to those who were injured at the Lapu Lapu Day festival, and those who continue to grieve.

As an association dedicated to scholarship on and by Asian diaspora communities and our artistic, academic and activist efforts, we are particularly saddened and enraged that the attack took place at a community festival meant as a space for Filipino Canadian community celebration in Vancouver. The festival was named after Lapu Lapu, one of the first to resist advancing Spanish forces in Southeast Asia, and who killed Ferdinand Magellan at the Battle of Mactan (1521).

We lift up the community-led efforts by Filipino Canadian and allied leaders and organizers to respond to the tragedy. We are in awe of the immediacy of community mobilization and mutual aid efforts, some of which came into being mere hours after the tragedy. Those efforts have taken the form of direct support to those affected, including free therapy sessions, child and elderly care, meal trains and arts-based gatherings for those directly affected.

The aftermath of the Lapu Lapu Day festival continues to be felt. The grief and loss remain, and the work to make sense of and recover from the tragedy continues. We send our love to all who have been affected by the Lapu Lapu Day tragedy, not just in Vancouver and Canada, but also globally.
In solidarity,
The Board of the Association for Asian American Studies