“ I started to become more aware and embracing of Lao culture as I was growing up in my late teens. I realize that it sounds a little late for that to happen, but honestly, it's never too late to start immersing yourself in your culture.”
- Cerina Keota Vilayphone, Modesto, CA
“I always thought of the idea that one day I could take my friends to the temple in April on Lao New Year. I want to show them the amazing and gratifying traditions that I take part in annually and how fun it can be. This is one of the ways I hope to embrace Lao culture.”
Roughly around there are 50 to 80 of us in the Lao community so we are very connected with each other. We treat each other like family. My family and my grandparents, especially, have inspired me to grow into the person I am, and into someone who will uphold our Lao tradition.
“ What became difficult as I began going through the process of embracing my Lao roots was that I hardly got to be around any of the OG's, and many people with much access to Lao traditional foods and clothing.”
- Cerina Keota Vilayphone, Modesto, CA
“ I took a second look at the people my age who could hardly speak Lao, but are able to understand it. My advice to my younger self is, you can learn and speak Lao fully to understand better while also loving yourself for being Lao and love the community you're in.”
“ In the next three to five years, I want to spread more awareness about Laos and our culture all around social media. I want to show the world what Laos has to offer and all of the rich beautiful culture that comes with it. I hope to create jewelry that has elephants or Buddha pendants that I could share with the rest of the world as well.”
- Cerina Keota Vilayphone, Modesto, CA
Someone who has has influenced many Lao people and inspired me is Alexandra Bounxouei. She is a Lao singer who created a documentary on Laos back in 2014. I was educated on how Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world. The documentary shows that behind Laos, one of the most beautiful countries in the world, there is great sadness and tragedy.
“That is one of the moments where I really love looking into the history of Laos and how they are currently. ”
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