Proudly Pinoy

“Yabang Pinoy” sounds like the name of a punk-rock band or a street gang, or an in-your-face attitude.

But it’s none of those things. Yabang Pinoy, it turns out, is a movement made up of mostly young entrepreneurs, all proudly Pinoy and proud to be Pinoy, and proudly declaring that there is a premium to being Filipino, to living and working in this country and sharing its heritage and history.

For a decade now, Yabang Pinoy’s main avenue for advocacy has been the “Global Pinoy Bazaar,” which gathers Pinoy entrepreneurs in “successfully championing the excellence of proudly Filipino brands, proving that we can compete with big international labels.” This year, the Bazaar takes place on Aug. 22-24 at the World Trade Center, its largest venue yet.

At this week’s Bulung Pulungan sa Sofitel, part of the function room was given over to booths with products on display, from handbags to jewelry, T-shirts and shoes, and even bottles of body-care and home-care products bearing the brand “Messy Bessy.” All of these are proudly Pinoy, most of them products of small home-based enterprises managed by, invariably, young entrepreneurs.

“We are all Pinoy at Magagaling (Pinoy and Excellent),” said Maricris Sarino Joson, one of Yabang Pinoy’s leading lights, who spearheads a publishing venture that produces children’s books extolling Philippine history and values.

It’s a feeling they wish to instill among the youth, especially high school and college students and young professionals who might otherwise be nursing dreams of finding work abroad and establishing a niche in the global economy. While there’s nothing wrong with seeking to expand one’s horizons, it is rather dismaying that young people who have the most to contribute to the country’s development are instead choosing to migrate and set down roots elsewhere.

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BEING “mayabang” (proud or boastful) and “Pinoy” is not necessarily a negative, says Mark Tan, another volunteer with the movement. Through the Bazaar, he points out, they wish to display the full range of Pinoy talent and initiative, while featuring the best local produce and innovative ways of manufacturing and marketing these products.

“People are always surprised when they learn that our products are locally made,” says Mark Carillo of the men’s lifestyle brand Feldge Clothing. “We are joining Global Pinoy Bazaar to support the local industry and show the quality of local independent brands.”

Another vendor, Martha Rodriguez of Vesti, says she founded her brand in 2010 “to showcase the beauty of handwoven indigenous fabrics from Mindanao.” Joining the Bazaar, she says, is the result of a realization that it is “the perfect venue where people appreciate local art, culture and heritage.”

You don’t even have to be a nationalist to appreciate the offerings at the Bazaar. Vendors offer merchandise that would otherwise not be available in malls or regular outlets, because their marketing efforts are, for most, confined to online orders or word-of-mouth marketing. But if you do buy these unique and all-Filipino products, Yabang Pinoy says it hopes to “support and empower local micro, small, and medium enterprises, and develop the community of globally competitive Filipino brands.”

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ALSO in its way promoting Filipino culture—but this time by way of cuisine—is the 1771 Group of Restaurants, which held a “soft opening” the other day for the media at its newest outlet, Sentro 1771 at the Capitol Commons.

It’s a two-story, airy space. And when we entered the building, we found the ground-floor dining area nearly full, with two long tables occupied by a group of matrons celebrating the birthday of a friend. One ascends a winding staircase to the second level, where there is a sizeable open dining area as well as a nook reserved for private parties.

Headed by founder and CEO Ricky Gutierrez and chef Vicky Pacheco, the 1771 Group has promoted “cross border” cuisine with emphasis on the continental through its “Chateau” restaurants, and “modern Filipino” through the

“Sentro” restaurants. The most popular of the Filipino specialties is the “Sinigang na Corned Beef,” beef short ribs and boneless shanks in a tamarind-soured broth, that was an immediate hit when the first “Sentro” opened at Greenbelt 3.

Also introduced in the Sentro menu are classics tweaked with Chef Vicky’s individual touch: Lengua with Mushrooms Salpicao, Sugar-free Humba, and Papaya Salad, a takeoff from the Thai original but flavored with such Filipino ingredients as  hito  flakes and  patis  dressing.

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BY WAY of disclosure, I have been enjoying the 1771 Group’s restaurants starting with the original location in Malate and on to its five existing outlets. I was a regular customer even before I found out that Ricky’s wife is Annette (nee Manahan), a classmate at Maryknoll College since our days in kindergarten.

While I find all the Group’s restaurants enjoyable, my heart still belongs to Chateau (now Café) 1771 at El Pueblo in Ortigas. This is still my “go-to” place when the choice of restaurant is left to me.

The story of the Group’s founding and why and how it has endured through over 25 years in the uber-competitive local restaurant scene is told in a book, “Behind the Doors of Chateau 1771.” It reads like a family saga, because Ricky and Vicky and their partners consider their employees and their loyal clients “family.”

The new Sentro in Capitol Commons, says Ricky, will also become “the standard in design interiors for all Sentro restaurants, which will soon be renovated to fit this mold.” Which is fine by me, as long as they don’t tinker too much with the recipes of my favorites!