During the 12 June 2014 Diplomatic Reception in celebration of the 116th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence, the Philippine Embassy in Rome simultaneously honored Filipino creativity, beauty and culture by featuring the works and performances of Filipino artists and performers in Italy, including an Italian photographer, who seek to elevate the Filipino identity by highlighting the unique contribution of Philippine culture and arts in Italy.

RICHARD GABRIEL 

Born on 16 December 1964 in Arayat, Pampanga (northern Philippines), Richard grew up in a family of politicians and professionals.

Destiny and curiosity would bring him to Italy, starting with his journey to
Milan in 1989 where he would visit exhibits and museums, enrolled at the free courses of the Academy of Brera where his imaginativeness and manual ability were first notices.

In 1997, he was called by Carla Tolomeo as assistant for the construction of her legendary Sculpture Chairs. Since then, Richard appeared on every catalogue of Tolomeo and he was always present at her international exhibits.

Richard also worked for Hermès, Meurice Hotel in Paris, Bluemarine, Puskin Museum in Moscow, Asia Museum in Seoul and for the Sicis Next Art worldwide.

In 2007, he received from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the Bagong Bayani Award for Culture and Art. This award is given to Filipinos that have distinguished themselves for their work abroad.

Mega Star

Richard’s Mega Star sculpture was designed especially for Filipina singer-actress "Mega Star" Sharon Cuneta. The piece is covered in Lampas which is woven in Pontoglio silk with golden thread enrichment. The textile used was from the King of Marocco which was donated by Countess Marta Marzotto. The Mega Star is also enriched with forty cabochon swarovski crystals and two stars in glass mosaic at on the lateral sides personally executed by Richard.

Madame Angel

Executed in 2013 through a mosaic of glass fiber and velvet, Richard wanted to tell through Madame Angel man's endless journey through the heavens (the wings) and continents (the shoe). The piece paraphrases the artist’s long journey from the Philippines to Italy.

EFREN DORDAS

Born on 18 September 1969 in Maayon Capiz (central Philippines), Efren, as a young lad used to help his mother make corsages to sell during graduation. This started his passion for flowers. After finishing his degree in Nursing, Efren aspired to go abroad in search of greener pastures to help his siblings who supported him through college.

In Italy, his determination and hard work landed him in all kinds of jobs which he did without complain. It was while he was working as a barman-waiter in a hotel that his growing passion for flowers developed. He volunteered to do the flower arrangements for the said hotel to the amazement of the owners.

His break came when one warm August day, a bride all the way from Ireland, was desperately looking for a florist for her bridal bouquet as most shops in Italy were closed for summer vacation. Efren gladly accepted the challenge and did the bouquet to everyone's pleasant surprise!

Soon thereafter, Efren fulfilled his dream of opening his own flower shop. Dordas Flowers now caters to several hotels in Rome by supplying their weekly flower requirements.

Efren’s floral arrangement is both innovative and unique.

PAUL ALEX SAMANIEGO

Born in 1989, Paul Alex graduated from the Via di Ripetta Art School in Rome. He started public exhibitions of his works at age 19, and since 2008 has conducted art exhibits in Florence, Milan and Rome.

The son of Filipino migrants, Paul Alex is a second-generation Filipino in Italy who has been inspired by Filipino migration in Italy. His mother and father, a teacher and a nurse in the Philippines, respectively, have migrated to Italy in the 80’s and previously worked as COLF in search of a brighter future for their family.

Paul Alex also has a promising career in visual advertising but had personally decided to work as a COLF himself to gain inspiration for his works and trace his roots.

His 15-minute video entitled “COLF” (COLF is an abbreviated term for “collaboratrice familiare” which translates into “domestic worker”) won the second prize ("Lorenzo il Magnifico") in the category Video Art time at the 2013 New Florence Biennale.

“COLF” was produced entirely by Mr. Samaniego from direction, script, cinema-tography, editing, performing and musical score

Mr. Samaniego created six art pieces specifically for the celebration of Philippine Independence.

STEFANO ROMANO

Stefano Romano is an Italian with a Filipino heart. Born in Rome in 1974, he is married to an Indonesian national. Stefano speaks fluent Filipino due to his extensive interactions with the Filipino community in Rome.

Stefano is a strong advocate to fight any form of racism and intolerance. Through his photos, he seeks to show beauty in diversity.

His motto is: BEAUTY MUST BE ALWAYS SHARED.

And his photos show the beauty of Filipinos in Rome in the midst of their diaspora.


PINOY TEENS

A group of young Filipino students, all residents of Rome, sharing a common passion for traditional Filipino music and dances. The group started around 5 years ago with only 5 members, but has now continued to grow with about 25 members at present, with ages ranging of between 6 and 15 years old.

Today,Pinoy Teens is engaged in different artistic activities as hobbies, among which are the cultural folk dancing, singing and modern dances. Since inception, it has been participating in both national and international events.

The Group shared with with guests the following:

“Ang Bayan Ko” (“My Homeland”)
A song which describes how Filipinos have fought for freedom against those who tried to conquer the Philippines.

“Binislakan” Originates from the northern Philippines. “Bislak” means “sticks” in the Filipino language and this is where the name of the dance came from.

“Tinikling”, is a dance imitating the movements of the bird called “tikling” as it tries to escape the bird trap that Filipino farmers put in rice fields to protect the grains from being eaten by bird.

DISTRICT CREW

District Crew is composed of Filipino youths from different dance groups. They have decided to band together to form a bigger crew for the sake of friendship rather than rivalry.

They have 22 members to date, most of whom are students. The members of District Crew dance and rehearse during their free time to further enhance their passion for dancing.

They performed for the audience a fusion of native and modern dances. A dance number composed of the seamless integration of the native Ifugao dance (Northern Luzon), the modern Hip-Hop, and culminating with the internationally-renowned Tinikling.

This dance piece has been created by the District Crew to honor and pay homage to traditional Filipino dances to propagate it even in modernity.