Among Penguins and Pinoys in the Falklands
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The author enjoys being in the company of penguins in Stanley, Falkland Islands. (Photo courtesy of Gonzalo Ibarra)
The Falkland Islands (Source: Google Maps)
There is only one main road in the capital, Stanley, and it does not take long to bump into Filipinos. In my conversations with some of them, they expressed anxiety about living in a strange land and long for the Philippines. But they appreciate the Falkland Islands, and they help make it more vibrant and interesting.
Sheena Mae Servan (Photo: Rey E. de la Cruz)
Sheena Mae Servan (Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu) is a waiter at Rose’s Coffee Shop. What does she miss most about the Philippines? “The food, my family, and the sea,” she replied. However, she likes the peace and safety in the Falkland Islands. Because there are few of them, there is a sense of family among the Filipinos.
Shielou Esperanza (Photo: Rey E. de la Cruz)
Shielou Esperanza (Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu) is a cashier at Rose’s Coffee Shop. “Homes and cars are usually not locked in the Falkland Islands,” she told me, “and I feel good with that kind of trust and security.” She always thinks of her family in the Philippines. And she misses Pinoy food, which she can’t easily cook in Stanley because of the lack of ingredients.
Jonalyn Baguioro (Photo: Rey E. de la Cruz)
Jonalyn Baguioro (Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu) is also a waiter at Rose’s Coffee Shop. She prefers the tropical weather in the Philippines. By contrast, the Falkland Islands is cold and windy. The Internet is costly and limited, but she manages to communicate with her family through social media.
Jun Alfredo Neug (Photo: Rey E. de la Cruz)
Jun Alfredo Neug (Cebu City, Cebu), also a waiter at Rose’s, has a baby boy, John Carlo, and he believes the Falklands is a good place to raise him. He misses his dogs in the Philippines: Pink, Boss, Bossing, and Basha.
Ace Basit (Photo courtesy of Rey E. de la Cruz)
Ace Basit (Mabini, Batangas), a cashier at Rose’s, loves the penguins and the cold weather. He misses the food and the people in the Philippines.
June Vincent Alburo (Photo: Rey E. de la Cruz)
June Vincent Alburo (Bogo City, Cebu) is a firefighter at the domestic airport in Stanley. He likes the employment opportunities in the Falklands. “Oh, I miss the food, malls, and people in the Philippines,” he said. “Also, I miss my family and pets.”
Klyde Ann Macaraig (Photo courtesy of Rey E. de la Cruz)
Klyde Ann Macaraig (Lipa, Batangas) is the manager at Capstan Gift Shop. She likes the Falklands because it is peaceful and quiet. She misses the food and the city life in the Philippines.
Aldin Tuballa (Photo: Rey E. de la Cruz)
Aldin Tuballa (Dauin, Negros Oriental) is a customer-service representative at Crozier Café. He likes the employment opportunities. He misses his family and the food in the Philippines.
Isiah Abenis (Photo: Rey E. de la Cruz)
Isiah Abenis (Tagaytay City, Cavite) is a barista at Teaberry Café. He finds the Falkland Islands a unique place. He misses the food and his family in the Philippines.
There is a community of about 500 Filipinos. And it keeps growing because they can bring their families.
Harold and Caroline Reyes (Photo courtesy of Rey E. de la Cruz)
Harold and Caroline Reyes are from Porac, Pampanga. He works in house construction, she works at Chandlery Supermarket. Harold likes the employment opportunities. He misses his chicken farm in the Philippines. Caroline enjoys her Pinoy friends and the penguins in Stanley. She misses the nightlife in the Philippines. Both look forward to their children joining them in the Falklands.
Jam Jam Devila, John Matthew Amper, and Pableo Ricafort Jr. (Photo: Rey E. de la Cruz)
Jam Jam (Cebu City, Cebu), John Matthew Amper (Anda, Bohol), and Pableo Ricafort Jr. (Cebu City, Cebu) work in the deli section of Crozier Café. They all like the employment opportunities but miss the food and their families in the Philippines.
Gonzalo Ibarra (Photo: Rey E. de la Cruz)
My host, Gonzalo Ibarra, is the “honorary Filipino” in the Falkland Islands. Originally from Santiago, Chile, he is a fuel ninja at the domestic airport in Stanley. He remembers the comment of his high school teacher: “Let us not forget our missing sister in Asia: Filipinas.” He is knowledgeable of the history and culture of the Philippines and is popular in the Filipino community. “I even ate a balut (duck egg/embryo),” he recalls. “A Pinoy in Stanley made it.”
Rey E. de la Cruz, Ed.D., Positively Filipino correspondent, writes from Chicagoland when he is not loving the arts and longing for his hometown in the Philippines: Ballesteros, Cagayan. He was the first documented film student (University of the Philippines) and high-school film teacher (San Beda University) in the Philippines. An educationalist, he originated and disseminated the use of the ancient Philippine board game sungka as a teaching strategy. He was awarded the Gawad Balagtas for Drama in Filipino by UMPIL, the Philippines’ largest organization of writers, “for his pioneering creative spirit that imagined and expanded what can be possible for today’s modern theater.” Far-out dreams, visionary storytelling, and bold theatricality defined the plays he wrote and directed.
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