Aiah Arceta of BINI shared a touching message from a fan following the group’s historic debut at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival last April 11 (Philippine time).
On her Instagram Story, Aiah reposted a message from a Filipino-Canadian fan who expressed gratitude for the group’s representation of Filipinos on the global stage.
“Hi, I don't know if this will reach you or if you will even open this. I just want to thank you for saying that during your interview and for this post. Just when I thought watching your performance made me emotional, hearing you say those words started the tears all over again during your interview. You probably heard this a thousand times this week, but all of this has healed the inner child in me,” the fan said.
The fan went on to share personal experience growing up as one of the few Filipinos who lived abroad and seeing BINI perform on the Coachella stage would have meant everything to younger self.
“I am a Filipino Canadian. Imagine growing up being one of the only 3 or 4 Filipinos in your school for so many years. I had friends, but they made it hard to be proud to be Filipino; was made fun of for bringing rice or siopao for my lunch, for the color of my skin, etc. to the point I ran home and cried to my parents saying I didn't want to be Filipino anymore."
"If only my 10-year-old self could have witnessed your performance this past weekend on that Coachella stage. It would've been something else if I knew we had representation like this in our world. So thank you,” the fan added.
The message came after Aiah’s previous story where she emphasized that their milestone goes beyond the group and reflects a larger victory for Filipinos.
“Representation is such a powerful thing because it gives light, hope, a sense of belonging, and connection to those who have long fought for their flags and culture to be raised high. This is for the underdogs, for Filipinos who haven't always been taken seriously, for the young dreamers, and for the Filipino heart that is pure and kind (red heart emoji),” Aiah said in the expired Instagram story.
In an earlier interview with Tetris Kelly of Billboard, the group opened up about their emotions after performing a 45-minute set at the Mojave stage.
“Coachella has always been our dream as a group and to be able to perform at Mojave stage feels like [just] wow, it’s overwhelmingly exciting. I feel over the moon. Thank you, Lord. Thank you to our blooms,” BINI Stacey said.
Aiah then highlighted the significance of representing the Philippines on such a massive platform.
“Well, of course, we are so happy. We’re grateful for the historical moment. It’s not always that we get to be on the Coachella stage, you know? I mean, it’s like we are carrying the torch where all the Filipinos, by blood, by heart, all the young kids who look up to us are so happy seeing us on stage. We are also happy. Our younger selves, our little kids inside [us] are so happy because you know, we get to bring that light to everybody,” she said.
READ: Here's how to get tickets for BINI Signals Cebu show this July
BINI is set to return for Coachella’s second weekend on April 18 at 7:15 a.m. (Philippine time). The group also recently marked another milestone as their latest track, “Blush” surpassed 1 million views on YouTube less than a week after its release.
Following their Coachella run, BINI will kick off their BINI Signals World Tour on June 20 in Manila, with a Cebu stop on July 11, before heading to international destinations including the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Taiwan.