Pinoys Love James Bond, and Vice Versa
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“Thought of posting this as First Resources Agency is in the business of placements, and Mr Sean Connery happens to be our previous client...although we did not place his pictured Pinoy caregiver. Now 90, and retired, James Bond is seen here walking the streets of NY in the care and comfort of his Pinoy caregiver.” posted by Nonoy Posadas on Facebook a few weeks before the death of Sean Connery
Sean Connery passed away in end-October 2020, at the age of 90. In its obituary, the BBC defined Connery as “the definitive James Bond.” The New York Times wrote: “Sean Connery as James Bond is forever.”
James Bond films starring Connery were blockbusters in the Philippines. The Pinoy fascination for James Bond, Agent 007, also manifested in local films patterned after his character and exploits. The older generations might remember the movies of Tony Ferrer aka Agent X-44, Eddie Fernandez, and Bernard Bonnin.
Add the spoofs or mimicries that featured Dolphy and Chiquito. A Pinoy actor who gained international stardom was called the “James Bond dwarf”—Weng Weng. (A primordial dwarf, he stood less than three feet.) He played the role of Agent OO in Bond-inspired films, which were hits abroad. He even became the subject of a documentary titled The Search for Weng Weng, done by the Australian film director Andrew Leavold.
Perhaps, the most engaging Pinoy memorial for Sean Connery comes from my grade school/high school classmate Nonoy Posadas. (In the US, Nonoy is called Manny.)
Manny Posadas, known to family and close friends as Nonoy. He owns and manages the First Resources Employment Agency in New York City, which places housekeepers, caregivers, nannies, and the like to a high-end clientele. Among his clients was Sean Connery’s family.
Nonoy owns and manages the First Resources Employment Agency. The company profile says it is “one of the first, if not the first, in the placement of Pinoys as nannies, housekeepers, companions, caregivers, cooks, baby nurses, and other household help to the rich and famous, to the high-end clientele in the NY Tri-State area.”
The “high-end clientele” includes families of American presidents—Roosevelt, Kennedy, and even Trump. Among authors, Nonoy mentions Kathy Braddock and the late Kurt Vonnegut. From the world of fashion and design, the names of sisters Paris and Nicky Hilton and Michael Kors appear. From the entertainment industry, the names include Robert de Niro, Sofia Coppola, Dianne Wiest, and, of course, Sean Connery.
Here is Nonoy’s remembrance of Sean Connery:
“Sad day today with the news of Sean Connery’s passing. Our condolences to his family.
“Will not forget when his wife called me some years ago looking to find a housekeeper/cook for their home along a golf course in the Bahamas. After her interview in their apartment in NYC, she called and sounded aggravated, ‘Manny do you tell your applicants who they are interviewing with?’
“I said, ‘Yes, of course, told her you’re Mrs. Connery, wife of actor Sean Connery.’ She said, ‘Well she kept calling me Mrs. James Bond!’
“Later I called the housekeeper and asked why she kept calling Mrs. Connery, Mrs. James Bond, and she said in Visayan tone (at siya pa galit), ‘Pambihira naman, para yun lang, eh idol ko po kasi si James Bond, nanduon nga siya, nasa sofa nagbabasa ng dyaryo, montik kong lapitan para magpa-autograph, pogi po!’” [Feeling offended, she said in a Visayan tone, “How odd, a fuss over nothing. James Bond is my idol. He was there, on the sofa, reading a newspaper, I nearly approached him to ask for an autograph, handsome!”]
The story does not end there. Our classmate Jun Dalandan interjects: “Akala ko yung reklamo bakit tawag sa asawa niya, Gyms, Gyms Bond.” [“I thought that the wife’s complaint was why the applicant called her husband Gyms, Gyms Bond.” For context, Pinoys love to make fun of the idiosyncratic Visayan pronunciation. The Visayan speaker, for example, tends to pronounce “James” as “Gyms” or “Jims.”]
“What caught people’s attention, more than the story of Connery’s passing, was the account of a Pinoy having a special role in the life of a global box-office superstar.”
Several weeks before Connery’s death, Nonoy posted on his Facebook page a photo of Sean Connery being assisted and accompanied by a Pinoy. Nonoy captioned the photo: “Now 90, and retired, James Bond is seen here walking the streets of NY in the care and comfort of his Pinoy caregiver.”
Nonoy reposted the photo, together with his vignette the day after Sean Connery passed away. Nonoy’s funny anecdote and the accompanying photo attracted the attention of many, in the wake of Connery’s passing. When I posted the story together with the photo on my Facebook page, it had more than 250 shares in two days.
To be sure, those who have seen the photo would like to know the identity of the Pinoy aiding Sean Connery. Nonoy says that he obtained the photo online, and that his agency was not involved in the placement of the Pinoy. I wish this person would become publicly known, for he has become emblematic of the overseas Filipino worker.
What accounted for the buzz surrounding Nonoy’s story about Connery? What caught people’s attention, more than the story of Connery’s passing, was the account of a Pinoy having a special role in the life of a global box-office superstar. It makes Pinoys proud to have a compatriot connected with an international icon, a Hollywood demi-god.
The question in everyone’s mind is how an ordinary Pinoy who works as domestic, cook, or caregiver got connected to Connery or for that matter, to other world celebrities?
For many Westerners, particularly whites, domestic work is a job that is avoided. It is considered a lowly form of employment. But migrants from developing countries who seek employment in rich countries will not refuse it, and they will even seek it.
The truth is, Filipinos are sought after for such kind of jobs. The Pinoys and Pinays have a good and solid reputation.
In a Zoom conversation, Nonoy proudly tells us that the Pinoys are incomparable. They are maalaga [caring], maasikaso [attentive], respectful, hardworking, and patient. Nonoy says that it is common to receive great feedback from his clients about Pinoys like: “She’s awesome, she is amazing!”
It’s common for Manny Posadas to receive thank you letters from his clients. This note came from the late Seymour Reich, a philanthropist, who wrote to Manny: “You have created happy and satisfied clients.”
But sometimes the endearing traits of the Pinay can lead to domestic trouble. There are stories of marital separation because the husband fell in love with the Pinay nanny.
Pinays, too, are known for their cooking. They whip up simple but delicious dishes that their wealthy employers relish. Another kind of reaction that Nonoy gets from his clients: “I love lumpia and pancit” [spring rolls and noodles].
Thanks to the Pinoy domestic worker, no-fuss Philippine home cooking has found its way into the kitchen and dining room of the global elite. When asked by a client what adobo (a marinated dish) is, Nonoy’s stock answer is that it is “fusion food,” which combines native ingredients with Spanish influences. Nonoy notes wryly that the chicken adobo has replaced the chicken nugget as the comfort food of his customers. The Pinoy cook, observes Nonoy, knows how to use her ingredients well—toyô [soy sauce], sukâ [vinegar], calamansi—that will please her employer’s refined palate.
Unfortunately, the Cebuana-Filipina interviewed by Mrs. James Bond, or rather by Mrs. Connery, did not know how to cook. Her application was declined not because Mrs. Connery resented being called Mrs. James Bond, but because the Connery household needed a help who could cook.
Nonetheless, the Connery family has leaned on the goodness of Pinoys for domestic services. Sean Connery’s caregiver, until his death, was a Pinoy. Also, Stephane, Sean’s stepson, and wife Tania, employed a Filipino nanny, referred to them by Nonoy.
Even before the Connerys became Nonoy’s clients, they had already hired a Filipina. Nonoy narrates that he first met the Connerys through a Filipina cleaning lady named Lily. It was Lily who recommended Nonoy’s agency to the Connerys who were then searching for a helper.
On occasion, Pinoy husband and wife work in the same household—-one acts as a caregiver and the other maintains the home. Here, the husband and wife pose in front of a Hampton mansion where they live and work.
Nonoy is popular among Pinoys seeking domestic employment in the New York area. The professionals among kababayans in New York also hold him in high esteem.
Before moving to the US, he was the Philippine embassy’s construction attaché in Saudi Arabia. He looked after the welfare of the Filipino workers there.
Nonoy is chummy, approachable, kind, and protective. Earning a profit from his business is secondary to ensuring that the Pinoy workers are protected and treated fairly. He is one who will help you when you need it. He asks nothing in return, but you can reciprocate by treating him to a bottle of beer. I have known him as the good and jocular guy since our days in prep school.
Those looking looking for jobs in the domestic sector and those households needing helpers are thus attracted to Nonoy and his agency. Through word of mouth, job seekers and employers go to him.
Nonoy’s recruitment or placement of domestic workers extends to non-Pinoys as well. He does not discriminate. He believes in equal opportunity employment. He opens the door of his agency to whatever color, and makes referrals or recommendations for applicants of different races or nationalities. Blacks have flocked to his office; so have women from the Caribbean and from Bhutan.
The income that domestic workers get from Nonoy’s referrals is nothing to sneeze at. A domestic worker can earn from between US$1000 and US$1500 a week. A baby nurse gets US$300 to US$400 a day.
The Pinoy job candidates are skilled and highly educated. They are college graduates, some from exclusive women’s schools like Assumption and Miriam. Nonoy has observed that recently, applicants come from the southern cities like Cagayan de Oro and Malaybalay. Some are graduates of Xavier University.
Because of their skills and education, they are in demand. The number of job seekers has not slowed down, either. On Zoom, Nonoy showed me a sheaf of application papers.
Manny (Nonoy) and wife Janet are in between Mel and Tata Taveros, The Taveros couple, originally from Mindanao, now works to care for a senior lady who spends her summer in Cape Cod.
The households looking for domestic help prefer Pinoys. But being an equal employment employer, Nonoy does not reveal the identity and the racial or nationality profile of the applicants. All he can say to his client is that an applicant resides in, say, Queens or Jersey City.
Well, Sean Connery and family are lucky to have gotten the domestic services of Pinoys. And Sean and his family have reciprocated the love of Pinoys for James Bond aka Sean Connery.
Perhaps, the Pinoys can have a new trope associated with James Bond. We can replace “from Russia with love” with “from the Philippines with love.”
Men Sta. Ana
Men Sta. Ana is the coordinator of the Manila-based Action for Economic Reforms and is a columnist of BusinessWorld.
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