ORLANDO, Fla. – Central Florida is home to a vibrant Asian American Pacific Islander population. If you meet someone from the AAPI community, they could be from a number of different countries with completely different cultures.
It’s a large diverse group of people from places like China, South Korea, Vietnam, Hawaii, Fiji, Polynesia, and India. Even some people from the Caribbean are considered AAPI.
Those with Indian lineage are referred to as Indo-Caribbean and have infused both cultures.
Arianna Thackurdeen,19, was born and raised in Orlando, attends UCF, and is a singing sensation in the Central Florida Indian-Caribbean community. Her father is from Guyana and her mother is from Trinidad and Tobago.
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“I sing Bollywood music with a twist of modern, more of the West Indies kind of Caribbean twist to it,” said Thackurdeen.
She even created a song and music video that pays tribute to her hometown of Orlando and her heritage. She started singing mainstream music but wanted to share her heritage, and now her music is on platforms like Apple and Spotify.
Along with the music, she wants to share other aspects of Indian culture.
“I feel like really portraying Indian ware, Indian heritage, Indian culture is very, very important because many people know about the outfits, know about the language, know about the movies, and songs but they don’t necessarily know the meaning behind it,” Thackurdeen said.
There have been many events celebrating the achievements of the AAPI community in Central Florida.
The first-ever Asian American Pacific Islander awards luncheon was recently held by the Asian American Chamber of Commerce along with several community partners.
Ninth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Denise Kim Beamer was the keynote speaker and is the first Korean American circuit court judge in the state of Florida.
Christine Burke is president of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida.
“Central Florida is actually the fastest growing community and so the populations that run strongest would be Chinese, Indian, Pilipino, and Vietnamese,” said Burke.
China Town on West Colonial Drive in Orlando, and Orange Blossom Trail near the Florida Mall are great places to experience the culture and contributions of the APPI community in Central Florida.
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