About Us

The SAMAHAN Filipino American Performing Arts and Education Center, Inc. (SAMAHAN FAPAEC) was organized in 1974 by the late Dr. Lolita Diñoso Carter with the purpose of helping the Filipino American youth acquire pride in their cultural heritage,  by providing them opportunity to participate  and experience Filipino folk dance and music as a social, recreational activity, and as a  professional performance venue.

Becoming a 501(c)3 non-profit organization immediately after its founding,  SAMAHAN Arts has endeavored for five decades to fulfill this primary purpose of advancing the Filipinos’  beautiful culture, reaching out to a large number of youth and  to the San Diego community.  SAMAHAN Arts has continued to sustain a milieu for the San Diego community to appreciate the Filipinos’ cultural arts through dance, music and living traditions, all to enrich cultural diversity.