Les Talusan
Activist on the Dance Floor
Les Talusan has helped cultivate some of Washington, D.C.’s most vital artistic spaces for Asian Americans, women of color, and queer communities. Beginning their career as a DJ, photographer, and organizer in nightclubs and underground parties, their work has ascended to arenas including the White House, the Kennedy Center, and museums across the city. This chapter traces the span of Talusan’s career of over 25 years bringing people together in the name of joy and music.
First Ladies DJ Collective
Talusan began their career in Manila, Philippines, where they DJ’d a weekly community event featuring non-mainstream music, art, fashion, and skating. Upon immigrating to D.C. in 1999 and taking on local DJ gigs, they noticed a lack of venues that offered the kind of eclectic music that they were passionate about. They eventually found a community in the First Ladies DJ Collective, an all-women group dedicated to creating dance spaces of inclusion, empowerment, and solidarity. Finding its home bases in the Black Cat in the U Street Corridor, Blue Room in Adams Morgan, and Galaxy Hut in Arlington, Virginia, First Ladies led to life-long friendships, and it was Talusan’s first exposure to how D.C.’s cultures of politics and nightlife blend—inspiring them to seek more ways to intentionally collaborate with artists.
Taking the Piss
Taking The Piss was Talusan’s longest-running DJ residency. It was held at Marx Café in Mount Pleasant from 2002 to 2019. Mount Pleasant is a neighborhood where a local association once tried to ban live music and dancing at commercial establishments. In their early years in D.C., Talusan made ends meet by DJing weddings and corporate events with strict setlist requests, and Taking The Piss was an escape that allowed them to experiment and grow their personal craft as a music curator, as well as to create space for new and occasional DJs. A favorite among the local creative scene, it was here that Talusan formed relationships with some of D.C.’s most beloved artists and musicians, including Dan Searing and members of the indie rock band Velocity Girl.
Girls Rock! DC
In 2007, Talusan became part of GirlsRock! DC, an organization that offers accessible music programs to girls and non-binary youth of color. Talusan helped run the DJ program while also serving as the DJ crew coach and camp band photographer, further establishing them as a multifaceted community organizer. Hosting DJ workshops at local libraries and youth organizations across the the D.C, Maryland, and Virginia metropolitan area ignited a newfound passion for youth arts education, which was further fueled by their DJ gigs in public spaces, where they were often approached by young people curious about their career path. Today, they continue this work on an international scale, most recently co-founding the Sampaguita Rock Camp for Filipina/x/o Girls in California’s San Francisco Bay Area in 2022. In 2023, they also conducted a DJ workshop for women and gender-expansive people in Cebu City, Philippines, with local multimedia publishing group PAWN Records.
Sulu DC
As Talusan’s reputation grew, they increasingly became the go-to DJ for D.C.’s Asian American organizations, including the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program. In 2009, local poets Jenny Lares, Regie Cabico, Alex Cena, and Simone Jacobson invited Talusan to be the resident DJ for Sulu DC, a newly established Asian American arts showcase. Sulu DC put the city on the map for the close-knit Asian American spoken word, performance, and music communities across the country, and it quickly became a key stop for artists on their national tours. The event encouraged Talusan to share Asian and Asian American music, cultivate more relationships within the Asian American arts community, and to consider their role as a DJ in elevating the visibility of Asian American voices. Eddie Lee, an artist who regularly performed at Sulu DC, went on to become the associate director for the Obama administration’s White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and he invited Talusan to DJ a White House event—further demonstrating how D.C.’s grassroots community and political scene are often interwoven. Sulu DC helped Talusan recognize their identity as an Asian American and form a deeper understanding of their role in evolving the local AAPI artistic community.
SAMASAMA
In the wake of the 2016 presidential election which resulted in unrest among some local communities in Washington, D.C., Talusan felt the need to create a safe space to celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and encourage connection across cultures. They co-founded SAMASAMA, which stemmed from the concept of an art show and gathering that centered AAPI, queer, and other creatives of color. The first two art shows were co-curated with artist Sherry Meneses. In 2018, artist and entrepreneur Seda Nak stepped in as Talusan’s co-curator. SAMASAMA arrived amidst a rapid rise in the visibility of local Asian American arts and has partnered with organizations such as the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. In 2021, SAMASAMA started collaborating on events like Umpukan and Lumpia Disco with Vanessa Maneja and Elaine Benisano of Kam & 46, a local business specializing in Filipino and Hawaiian-inspired cuisine. While Talusan DJs and sometimes photographs the events, SAMASAMA is the first project where they are a chief organizer, focusing on building up the next generation of artists and creatives.
Les The DJ a.k.a. Les Talusan is a DJ, whose musical practice immerses people in the joy of community-powered discovery. Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, and now based in Washington, DC for over 20 years, Les continues to find inspiration behind the decks in the U.S. and abroad. Fueled by their own story of resilience, liberation, and courage as an immigrant, parent and survivor, Les brings to the center the songs long cherished, remembered, and celebrated by people of the global diaspora.
Les is the co-host of OPM Sundays, an online program and an archival project that aims to celebrate and preserve the rich musical heritage of the Filipino. They are also the co-founder and co-curator of SAMASAMA (Art, DC). SAMASAMA’s mission is honoring ancestral and indigenous roots while pushing creative boundaries, and understanding of current and future generations’ multicultural identities. Les is also one of the founders of Sampaguita: Filipinx Girls Rock Camp in the Bay Area.
Groove Collective party flyer designed by MISS CHELOVE, 1990s
The Washington, D.C. of the 1990s was rich with stories of how music, art, and community organizing are interconnected. Sightlines features ephemera such as this Groove Collective party flyer designed by MISS CHELOVE, who honed her artistic voice in hip-hop and other underground music scenes.
