Electrohop trio Triangle Offense released a brief video on YouTube on Friday detailing their experience of getting excluded from the official Pacquiao-Margarito pre-fight tailgate in Dallas, Texas. Triangle Offense, alongside other Filipino-American performers and DJs were slated to share the stage with Mexican entertainers in celebration of the highly anticipated fight. Last minute changes to the performance line-up kept TO off the stage and left Filipino fans feeling intentionally excluded and unrepresented. Instead of an even representation of Filipino and Mexican artists, event organizers booked an exclusively Spanish-speaking line-up including musicians,
entertainers, and the host. “When we found this out, we were totally shocked,” explained TO member Sci. “We later on realized that it was bigger than us artists because Filipinos as a whole were no long going to be represented. We definitely don’t have anything against celebrating the Mexican culture, but we did feel that this event was for both cultures to be included.”

Disappointed but united, Filipino fans created an impromptu tailgate on the opposite side of the stadium without the stage and fanfare. “Filipinos still held it down,” said TO member Bry. Sci added, “It really meant a lot to us to see that our people stuck by each other and we really made the best out of the situation.”
Tecate and its parent company Heineken International are yet to respond to the community’s concerns on how the event was handled.

Triangle Offense comments on Filipinos Being Excluded From Pacquiao-Margarito Festivities

Recap of Triangle Offense trip to Dallas:

Hours before boxer Manny Pacquiao raised his hands in victory in front of over 40,000 people in Dallas’ Cowboys Stadium, many that make up the core of his fanbase – Filipino-Americans – were found cheering and chanting his name at a tailgate party in parking lot #10. The impromptu tailgate formed as an alternative for Filipino fans that felt out of place at the official pre-fight tailgate party organized by the event’s sponsor. Despite the wave of success and media promotion the Filipino fighter rode leading up to this fight, many Filipinos found that spectators weren’t welcomed to the stadium as fans of either fighter or even as fans of boxing, but rather as Mexicans.

What was originally planned to be a celebration of both Mexican and Filipino cultures ultimately showcased an exclusively Mexican roster of musicians and entertainers including a Spanish-speaking host on the party’s main stage. This came as a surprise to many, including Filipino-American artists who until the weekend of the fight were scheduled to share the stage in front of the audience of thousands.

“We were so honored to be performing on behalf of Pacquiao and, more over, on behalf of our Filipino people,” says Sci, one-third of the electro hop group Triangle Offense. “We’ve been waiting for this day for months. We made the trip all the way from Jersey City, New Jersey just to be a part of it!”

However, the performers quickly realized what transpired was bigger than a promoter canceling a gig at the last minute. Sci explains, “I can’t even describe the feeling I felt when I found out that not just Triangle Offense, but ALL the Filipino acts were removed from the event. This was supposed to be a celebration for BOTH the Mexican AND Filipino cultures.”

Manny Pacquiao became source of pride for the Fil-Am community since becoming a household name after earning the title of world champion in eight divisions, making several appearances on late-night televsion, and being elected to the House of Representatives of the Philippines. Therefore, it was a shock to many when the 6-to-1 favorite’s fanbase wasn’t acknowledged by the fight’s main sponsor.

“I am very disappointed about the decision made to cut the Filipino performances out of the tailgate,” says New York City based DJ Nano, who was scheduled to perform sets with Filipino-American DJs from across the country. “The Filipino community has a right to representation at a Manny Pacquiao fight.”
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