On growing up Filipino in Seattle: a battle of love and war in white spaces

The show is called “We’ve Battled Monsters Before.” It’s not about the monsters. It’s about what happens to you when you battle.

The two main characters are Filipino-American siblings. Diego’s classmates tell him the lunch his grandmother packs him is “gross.” His sister Adarna’s classmates laughingly make anagrams out of her name. The brother and sister respond to the bigotry -- and to their insecurity -- by learning never to apologize. Sadly, they turn their resentment against each other. Songwriter Justin Huertas says he lived this story, growing up in white spaces in Seattle.

“At first trying very much to hide that side of me. I wanted to assimilate, I wanted to fit in, I didn't want people asking me how to say something in my language. I didn't want people asking me what kind of food I eat,” Huertas said. “This song and this play feel like a love letter to pieces of myself that I had buried.”