Pao Xiong Oral History

Pao Xiong Oral History

B-boying/B-girling (Dance)

Hmong people

Hmong New Year

Ground Control (Crew)

Bumz (Crew)

Smurfs (Crew)

Gangs

Pao Xiong was born on April 30th, 1979. His parents immigrated from Thailand after the war and worked for the county after several odd jobs. Initially, they lived Portland but moved to Fresno to be closer to family. In the interview, Pao notes that his parents did not have to struggle as much financially and he grew up in North Fresno, attending Edison High School. He discusses the issue of fitting in with fellow Hmong after having very little exposure to the community other through family, and how he did not feel exclusion from white people until he started hanging out with other Asians. Pao got into dancing at the end of middle school, and was influenced by an older breaker in the Bum crew. In the interview, he mentions his parents response to his dancing, and how many parents wanted the younger members of the community to focus on school. He started dancing with a crew called Ground Control, noting that many of the older crews (Bums, Smurfs) in the area started recruiting people. Pao emphasizes the importance of the breaking community and specifically how dancing gave him somewhere to fit in. He recalls performing at Hmong New Year and noticing how many younger members of the community would recognize them afterward. However, he also mentions that, due to perceived gang affiliation, they were not always welcome at Hmong New Year. He also discusses the difficulty of finding people to dance with back in the day, and how technology makes dance innovation easier for modern breakers.

Harley Hall (interviewer)

Oral history interview, 1 digitized recording, Straight Outta Fresno, Fresno State University

Digital publisher: Claremont Graduate University

The Valley Public History Initiative: Preserving our Stories holds all rights, title, and interest, including literary rights and copyright, to the oral histories and documents collected as part of Straight Outta Fresno: From Popping to B-boys and B-girls project. Oral history narrators retain the non-exclusive right to copy, use, and publish their oral histories during their lifetimes.

MP3

English

Sound

sof_0057

Fresno (Calif.)

Edison High School (Fresno, Calif.)

North Fresno (Calif.)