The is the full-length version of the Peabody winning audio documentary produced by Dmae Roberts in 1989. The story of a mother and daughter traveling to Taiwan together and coming to terms with their cultural differences and a mom's tortured history of being sold and abused during WWII.

Mei Mei,  A Daughter's Song

A feature piece on a Tongan Sewing Circle in Portland.  We'll hear songs and stories Kato Kakala Kavapalu and Kolini Fusitua for the Migrations project  focusing on little known immigrant and refugee arts in the Portland area.

We'll hear about the Pacific Islander Sewing Circle, a group of women who get together to sew and sing in beautiful harmonies as they work. Learn how this one group is the hub for hundreds of Tongan families in the Northwest.

This project is part of a year-long series on immigrant and refugee artists called Migrations with funding from the Regional Arts and Culture Council-  http://racc.org/.

For more info on the Migrations project visit:  https://www.facebook.com/MigrationsArts

PHOTOS OF TONGAN FEATURE BY NISA' HARON.

Aired locally on Stage & Studio: http://stagenstudio.com/2014/09/from-tonga-to-tonkin/

Tongan - SewingCircle

Dmae Roberts grappled with most of her adult life. In a country that likes to think it celebrates cultural diversity, race and identity continue to be a complex topic. As Dmae charts four decades of history, we hear from her perspective what it's like to be a "Secret Asian Woman." 

Secret Asian Woman is a personal exploration of identity and Mixed Race by Independent Producer Dmae Roberts, who has to make a daily decision to reveal her ethnicity. Through her personal story, Dmae charts four decades of a search by multiracial peoples for a name. The politics of calling out racism has changed through the years as has identification. In this half-hour radio documentary, Dmae talks with other Mixed Race Asian women with identities not easily recognized and addresses with humor the complexities involved in even discussing race.

http://dmaeroberts.com/radio.html

Secret Asian Woman

Rong Shing Children's Choir - Train Song

Rong Shing Childrens Choir - Choral 1

Rong Shing ChildrensChoir - Choral  2

Rong Shing Childrens Choir - Choral 3

Rong Shing Childrens Choir - Choral 4

Street ambience in marketplace

Temple outside ambience

Woman sings AmiTofo atTemple

These tracks are raw audio recorded in Taiwan by Dmae Roberts. They make up a historical archive of sound...some of which was used in the making of the Mei Mei audio documentary. 

Quiet street Taipei Taiwan 2

Quiet street Taipei Taiwan 3

Hear some clips and short pieces from work as an independent radio producer. 

An audio postcard with sound on location in Taipei, Taiwan recounting the search for the White Temple. A personal essay with a sound-rich score of field recordings from Taiwan in two minutes.



The White Temple in Taiwan. (2002)

Hear some clips and short pieces from work as an independent radio producer. 

New Zealand 'Wai' combines hip hop with traditional Maori music. (2003)

Dmae Roberts is a Peabody award-winning producer and writer living in Portland, OR. 

DmaeRoberts

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