A Filipino barista in the Land of Espresso

It’s as charming as charming cafés go, at least as the photographs show – soft drop lights, high ceiling, art-deco here and there; a La Marzocco or that famed espresso machine behind the bar; a cobbled off white brick wall on one side and an inviting patio-like entrance with a welcoming vibe.

This is Barnum Cafe in Rome, a few steps from Campo de’ Fiori, a square south of Piazza Navona in the city.

The café is known for its interesting coffee selections from Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica, etc., a hearty breakfast, cocktails at night and its baristas who, says one review on Tripadvisor, make and serve coffee with experience, passion and skill from widely known roasters, Koppi, Garage brothers and more.

One of these baristas is our very own, Filipino barista Dan Johnsson “DJ” Nobleza, who has been creating the perfect espresso for Italians for many years now.

How do I know all this? I chanced upon a short video about him that’s been making the rounds on social media. It’s one of those #WeGiveTheWorldOurBest ads created by Paul Soriano and his team from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications, meant to honor overseas Filipinos.

I saw these ads as I’ve been researching the Filipino diaspora for a manuscript I’ve been working on for sometime now. There are two more videos as of this writing, but I especially like the one on DJ Nobleza because I love my coffee and I love it more when it’s made with love. It takes viewers on a magical coffee journey to the Land of Espresso.

But as the ad correctly points out, it’s not about the machine, it’s all about the barista.

“Coffee is like life. It’s all about how you make it. And when your barista is the best, you can taste love in every cup,” says the video, narrated by an Italian who is perhaps the one running the cafe. It shows DJ masterfully making a cup of espresso for Barnum’s visitors. At the end of the clip, he is smiling, happy and proud to be Filipino. 
The ad is meant to honor overseas Filipino workers and, controversy aside, it succeeds in doing so. It shows the passion, skills and, most importantly, the heart of the Filipino.

Indeed, it is what it is. Filipinos are everywhere, nearly in every corner of the world – in hotels, cruise ships, groceries, strangers’ homes, etc.

One foreigner even said that if every OFW would stop working, the world would come to a standstill.

The Filipino diaspora

It’s a reality that makes us proud but behind the Filipino diaspora are poignant and sad tales, because for decades now, the reality has not changed much. Our country lacks gainful opportunities for everyone in this nation of 114 million.

Beyond monetary considerations, others like our nurses say they don’t feel valued in their very own home – treated simply as second class citizens, as labor to be exported, as strangers in one’s birth country.

A reader went as far as saying that “no, we don’t give the world our best. They simply desert us.”

It feels like this sometimes because our best workers are indeed leaving the country to seek greener pastures.

There is nothing wrong with working abroad and it makes me proud every single time I see a kababayan in a foreign country whenever, say, I order food or drinks or check-in in a hotel or visit a multinational’s headquarters or office.

But it is wrong if our citizens are forced to leave by difficult circumstances.

Moving forward, we can also honor our overseas Filipinos, as well as the loved ones they left behind, by providing an environment that wouldn’t force them to leave their home to toil in distant lands.

Individually, in our own little or big ways, we can also honor the OFWs we encounter whenever we’re abroad. As they raise the Philippine flag in their different corners of the world – whether as a barista like DJ Nobleza or a nurse or what-have-you – let’s make them feel that they make us proud.

Indeed, overseas Filipinos are among the world’s best and they deserve nothing less.

A global village

On the other side of this diaspora, we also welcome visitors and their business to the Philippines.

The embassy of Romania in the Philippines organized some months ago a “Romanian Wine Tasting Evening” to showcase Romania’s wine heritage.

I, together with other guests, enjoyed a distinctive variety of Romanian wines such as Pinot Noir, Feteasca Neagra, La Colina Piatra Alba, etc.

H.E. Raduta Dana Matache, Ambassador of Romania to the Philippines, highlighted her country’s renowned winemaking industry.

“Romania ranks 6th as the largest producer in Europe and the 13th largest in the world. Wine exports are also continuously growing, and the industry is considered as one of the most prominent in the region,” she said that night.

Romania’s colorful wine heritage emerged in the region six centuries before Christ and was further developed with the historic infusion of Roman knowledge when the country became part of the Roman Empire and a strong French influence which raised the quality of wines produced in the region, she added.

In the Philippines, Romanian wines are steadily gaining its foothold in the domestic market, with the help of Brumms Quality Wines, an importer and distributor.

Cheers to Romania on its growing wine industry!

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.