By Rissa Gimenez

IT is said that one could find a Filipino in almost every corner of the world. And in a charming little corner in southwest Brittany, France called Quimper, a provincial lass from Mauban, Quezon sparkles.

Quimper pronounced “kem-pair” is a quaint, medieval town with cobbled streets, low flat bridges that cross the river that glides along the impressive Saint-Corentin cathedral.

Half-timbered buildings are festooned with geraniums and chrysanthemums this time of the year. Within this ancient city, the oldest cities in Brittany actually, are ultramodern buildings that blend tunefully with the city’s old world charm. Quimper is a storybook land from the medieval quarter. And this is where Margo Calderero-Palud’s story unfolds.

Down the boulevard of cafés and creperies, and among pottery shops and other tourist attractions is a much loved jewelry store, owned by a humble yet feisty Filipina. In fact, Margo Calderero-Palud heads and runs not just one but three well-known shops in this fabled city, in southwest Breton — Bisoux, which sells high end, fine jewelry pieces, Kisso Kisso, which specializes in the more fun and funky trinkets and charms, and Pilgrim, a jewelry, fashion accessories and fashion store.

Margo’s fairy-tale like story began in 1992, when she married Intercontinental Manila’s celebrated French Executive Chef Michel Palud. After 4 years, the couple flew to France to start their own restaurant, Le Spices. Margo, a University of Santo Tomas Fine Arts graduate and stranger to a foreign land, was determined to support her husband no matter what. And as a dutiful wife and partner, she summoned every fiber in her body to help make their restaurant a success.

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By Marjorie Gorospe
INQUIRER.net

“Bili na kayo [Buy now], kamoteng kahoy”, this is the line which Aling Feliza dela Cruz would always yell to encourage passers-by to buy her product.

Dela Cruz, 60, lives alone in Baseco, Manila and sells kamoteng kahoy for a living.

To costumers, eating this crop means satisfying their hunger. But for her, it means survival. Dela Cruz gets her income from selling kamoteng kahoy for her weeklong supply of rice. If she’s lucky and earns extra, she might have something to buy coffee.

Sadly, a small portion of her sales goes to her because her supply of kamoteng kahoy is provided by her neighbor.

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By Izah Morales

A loss of one is a gain of another. When someone dies, not everyone weeps for a few make the dead their living.

Lolo Roque Rafon and Mang Rommel Ocampo are among those few people whom I recently met at the Manila North Cemetery.

Since 1961, Rafon has been a caretaker of the graves of Jose Rizal’s family and the late president of the Philippines Manuel Roxas when the former caretaker got him from the province as replacement. During his first few years, Rafon revealed how scared he was about the idea of living in a cemetery.

“Nakikiusap ako na ‘wag naman akong takutin dahil natatakot ako [I was asking them not to scare me since I scare easily],” said Rafon referring to supposed spirits that he felt. Nonetheless, Rafon had no choice but to stay in the cemetery since he could not leave his job.

“Parang nasiyahan na rin ako ditong magtrabaho kasi nakapirmi na ako dito. Una, di ko rin naman kayang magtrabaho ng mabigat dahil may diperensiya ang katawan ko [I eventually liked working here because this is where I eventually stayed. In the first place, I cannot do hard labor because there’s something wrong with my body],” explained Rafon.

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By Quay Evano, Contributor
INQUIRER.net

“MGA Iskolar ng Bayan na nasa ibang bayan, tumutulong para sa Iskolar ng Bayan at sa Inang Bayan.”

What’s the best way for “Iskolars ng Bayan” who work as overseas Filipino workers in the United Arab Emirates to escape from the fast-rising temperature of the summer desert heat? Not to mention the monotony, stress and pressures of everyday life and being away from their loved ones and their beloved home country, the Philippines?

How about raising funds for a fellow Iskolar ng Bayan, while at the same time having fun doing it?

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By TJ Burgonio
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Despite his name, he is no potato patch mailman.

Floro “Pol” Camote is a modern-day postman who continues to make his job relevant in the age of the Internet.

Camote, a letter-carrier of the Quezon City Central Post Office, enters seedy slums peopled by pickpockets and robbers, and puts up with threats from thugs just to bring letters, checks and bills to the residents.

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By Tarra Quismundo
Inquirer

LEGAZPI CITY–Many of them have been away from the Philippines for several years and most have never even seen the majestic Mayon Volcano. But on a trip to the homeland they so missed, they are foregoing vacations and sightseeing to instead extend a helping hand to their countrymen in dire need.

This is what Filipino-Americans serving in the United States Navy are currently doing as part of a humanitarian mission called Pacific Partnership.

The four-month mission is carried out by 1,000 American sailors aboard the USS Peleliu, which is currently anchored in the Philippine Sea off Albay.

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By Kit Bagaipo
Visayas Bureau

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines–The tricycle driver who returned $17,000 left by a female passenger continues to reap rewards for his honesty from people and organizations here.

A business organization and Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Lim expressed appreciation to Iluminado Boc.

On June 23, Boc found the money, left in the passenger’s seat of his tricycle, sparking an outpouring of tribute.

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By Christian V. Esguerra
Inquirer

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey–Filipino success has a lot to do not just with skills but the right disposition.

“Sometimes, it really depends on the person if he has the right attitude and the clarity of vision that should go with his skills,” Mila Mendez, 54, tells the Inquirer in an interview at the sprawling Tropicana Hotel and Casino here.

This was the formula Mila and her husband Fernando “Nanding” Mendez used when they first arrived in the United States in the 1980s. Mila has since moved from a clerical job at Dow Jones to a top marketing official at the American publishing and financial information firm. At one point she was earning more than $80,000 a year.

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