The FilCom Center is scheduled Saturday to hold a play called “Sakada Through the Years,” reenacting the life of Filipino plantation workers, also known as sakadas.

The sold-out play comes about a week before Dec. 20, also known as Sakada Day, which was established as a day of recognition in 2015 to commemorate the day that the first Filipinos arrived in Hawaii over a century ago.

“Many of the modern Filipinos are not aware of these experiences or that part of their history,” said Allan Alvarez, one of the organizers of the upcoming event. “It’s important for Filipinos to know about their history and where they came from so that they know where they’re going.”

The first 15 sakadas arrived in Hawaii on Dec. 20, 1906, on the SS Doric and were assigned to Ola‘a Sugar on the Big Island. By 1946 about 125,000 Filipinos were enlisted by the Sugar Planters Association to work on sugar and pineapple plantations in Hawaii.

Aside from establishing a Filipino community in Hawaii, the sakadas were also heavily involved in the labor movement, which resulted in establishing more equitable working conditions for the plantation workers.

Saturday’s play was put together by Raymund Liongson, who used to be a Philippine-­studies professor at Leeward Community College, Alvarez said.

The performance will feature local actors and singers who will depict the sakadas’ life prior to their first immigration up until the present day. It also will include traditional music and dances, he said.

While it’s important for Hawaii’s Filipino community to understand their heritage, Alvarez says the sakadas’ history also holds significance to those of other ethnic backgrounds.

“It’s very important, I think, for Filipino people, those who are married to Filipino or have some kind of Filipino influence in their life to know the story,” Alvarez said. “They can also tell their children, and hopefully, when we do these celebrations, it continues and it really gives character and identity to modern Filipinos in Hawaii.”

Visit givebutter.com/Sakada Hawaii for more information.

Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.