Lex Perinion

This interview was originally published on January 19, 2016.  Note that some links may be broken.

Lex Dominique Domingo Perinion of the Mufftorship,[1] second-year soprano and Pre-Business Econ major, quite possibly has the longest name I know. As usual, Lex takes the paternal surname as her own, and in accordance with Filipino tradition, the maternal maiden name as her middle name.[2] The unusual aspect, however, comes from her first names "Lex" and "Dominique," both of which also originate from her parents' names. Her father, Felix, was nicknamed "Lex," and "Dominique" directly comes from "Domingo."

Being Filipino-American defines Lex, born in the former country and grown in the latter. Despite originating from the Philippines, she has taken on American aspects and mannerisms over the years. "I'm an American citizen, and I also follow my [Filipino] culture," she declared. "I'm a mix of both."

Lex moved to the city of Hawthorne, California when she was six years old, though her family currently resides in Burbank. "My friends were like, 'When we tried to talk to you, you could barely speak [English].' But now I can barely speak Filipino. Hopefully, I can try [Filipino] classes to be fluent again." She enjoys SPCN, or Samahang Pilipino Cultural Night,[3] and its related activities, as an opportunity to learn more about her Filipino heritage, her history. "That's where my roots are, [and I would like to know] how the Philippines came to be."

Accordingly, the traditional dances are a particular favorite of hers, having first learned them at her church and later discovering more with SPCN. Lex knows how to do tinikling, jumping and twirling between moving bamboo sticks that keep the beat. She knows banco, a dance performed with partners atop benches. She has learned Moro dances, gracefully waving fans and scarves in coordination with other performers.

Yet music itself seems even more significant to Lex. "Music is everything to me," she said. "When I get nervous, I sing to myself. When I'm sad, I sing. When I'm happy, I sing." She sings for nearly every occasion, every emotion, excluding only anger. "Then I'd be yelling," and that would be too similar to the heavy metal genre she dislikes[4] ("Anything with 90% of the song screaming"). In such a situation, Lex would instead listen to rock music.

"I'd be really sad if I ever lost my voice... sad that I wouldn't be able to sing."

Although Lex was part of her middle school choir for two years, she did not join in high school. The notoriety of the school's choir, listed as one of the top two, ensured intense, time-consuming rehearsals; Lex instead focused on her academics. "Okay, I'm a nerd," she admitted. "I took more than ten AP classes: one my sophomore year, five in my junior year, and six my senior year." Despite this, Lex humbly claims that she's "not smart."

Besides choir, Lex also gave up Taekwondo for her schoolwork, though first reaching black belt status. As for hobbies that she has maintained, Lex cites hanging out with friends ("It's really fun when you meet a group of people and can just be yourself"), sleeping ("Wait, no that's not a hobby"), and finding new places to eat. She favors sweets, particularly boba and ice cream, consuming the latter even when ill. "It's okay, I'll eat one spoonful," she tells herself. "My body won't notice."

Additionally, she has remained highly involved in her church, which encouraged her musical abilities as well as her cultural enthusiasm. "I help plan out youth events. I'm also part of the youth band. Sometimes, every other Sunday, I sing with the [regular] church people," who she distinguishes from the youth.

 Other musical abilities besides singing?

Taught by her friends, Lex knows some basic chords on the ukulele. She's taken piano lessons in her younger years, but admits to forgetting nearly everything. "Also, I can't play the piano as well because... super short fingers. It's hard for me to reach the keys." Continuing the ukulele, and perhaps learning guitar, are her current goals.      

"Maybe a small guitar because I have a hard time reaching—making chords," she continued thoughtfully, "because yeah, my fingers are short."

Lex first heard of Tinig at an SPCN Choral practice, having met either Jeff,[5] or Claire,[6] who encouraged her to join. Although Lex refused last year due to a time conflict with her Moro sessions, she remained interested, and has happily stayed with Tinig since Fall quarter this year. "People here are awesome. It's like another family I can turn to—and sing with them as well!"

Summed up in one word, her general experience in the group, would be "fun." She continued, "It's not just singing—you're free to express yourself. When one person isn't... when you're having trouble with something, Tinig won't leave you behind. They'll help you through it."

Lex wants to improve in her singing, to know if she's hitting the correct notes. Although she knew how to sight read from her middle school choir days, she now reports being barely able to tell notes apart. She suggests Tinig workshops on music theory, how to harmonize, how to sing from her diaphragm rather than her throat. She wants to learn instruments, basic chords on piano and guitar, how to sing and play simultaneously. She wants to learn the history of Tinig.

Referring to a workshop on "Dahil Sa Iyo" last quarter,[7] Lex was particularly enthused by "the one with Jenine, where we learned a lot of facts. Didn't stick in my mind, but it was fun! At the moment I was like 'Wow, I didn't know about this.'"

Unfortunately, Lex will be unable to go to Winter Retreat, where much of Tinig history is covered; however, staff will work to implement more cultural workshops during rehearsals. Other Tinig activities in which Lex is participating include the Spring Sing audition ("I'm nervous. I love Spring Sing, but it's a different feeling when actually auditioning for it"), the Assassins game ("Hopefully, I don't get killed"), general Tinigkin hangouts ("It's another family in Tinig. [It went from] getting as much points as possible to stay ahead of the game, taking pictures every time we saw each other, to actually hanging out") and the Shadow Program, for which she will learn the duties of our Business Admin Anne.

"I hope to learn a lot. There's a lot of things that I don't know, about being behind the scenes, actually pulling the strings, making stuff happen. I want to be a leader, [though] sometimes I feel like I'm not creative enough. When I want to give my opinion, I still hold myself back. Still I know I'm capable, it's just me [needing to be] more confident, like just putting myself out there."

Overall, Lex appreciates Tinig because "it's not like the normal choral groups. There are games, and we actually bond together... and no auditions!" Despite only having been with us for little more than a quarter, she feels that Tinig has changed her.

"I can express self a little bit more. I'm still a little shy, but I feel like I can open up more—thinking about doing solos and just being comfortable in my skin. I'm not letting people stop me."

1. Mufftorship: Lex's One Step Ahead (OSA) mentor is Claire Garcia, with whom she is in the Mufasa kin (Muffs!)

2. Some info about the history of Filipino names, if you're interested: here for wiki, here for the data aggregation by a Filipino history buff, here for a simple article about middle names.

For the second one, try finding yours in the list! I couldn't find either of Lex's names, but "Manalili" made it. I've heard that my last name is from Spanish descent though... and my father is Kapampangan, not Ilocano like my mother.

3. Learn more about SPCN here, Tinikling, and Moro.

4. She also dislikes country music, the only exception being Taylor Swift, who she claims is more pop than country, and Carrie Underwood. "[The latter] is country but the songs (of hers) I like aren't as country... so heavily country that I want to turn it off.

5. Jeff Borreta is currently our Tenor Section Leader.

6. The aforementioned Claire was Alto Section Leader last year, and is our current Assistant Director.

7. The aforementioned Claire was Alto Section Leader last year, and is our current Assistant Director.

8. Jenine Sahagun is our Culture and Aesthetics chair. The diagram for her workshop is below.  If you would like a closer look, you can ask me or J9 for a copy!