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Being in Carson City, California, is like being in
the Philippines. If you are not Filipino, you would seem to be a
visitor. Filipinos here are very much part of mainstream USA. There
are so many business establishments here that are owned and managed
by Filipinos—restaurants, groceries, boutiques, freight
forwarding, beauty salon, spa, among others. They also provide
employment for many fellow Filipinos.
One such enterprising lady is
Irene Castillo (Those who remember her as a friend, colleague,
classmate or neighbor may call her at +1 310 818 1238). She owns and
operates a boutique and a dance studio at Long Beach, California.
Irene came to the USA in the
early 70s when her husband, who was a serviceman, petitioned for her
and her two kids. For a long time she was a housewife and bore two
more children. When their kids where grown enough, she worked as a
teller at Bank of America; climbed up the corporate ladder; and is
now a loan officer.
Even while working and serving as
a secretary to the United Filipino-American Association, USA, she
was in charge of dance activities for their members. Enjoying what
she was doing, she started to organize Friday dances on her own;
first at Golden Sails Hotel, then at Naga Restaurant.
Business was brisk, as Filipinos
naturally love to go ballroom dancing. When the restaurant was sold,
she stopped for a while to rethink her dreams and plans. She wants
to do more. Her numerous customers, friends and dance instructors
egged her to find a better and bigger place. Fortunately she found
this vacant warehouse that used to be a mattress store at 3092 Long
Beach Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90807. Last April 2006, she formally
opened her Ballroom Craze Dance Club that offers ballroom dancing
starting at 7 p.m. daily.
Irene says that business has
always been great especially on Fridays and Saturdays. It is
definitely a family affair with sons and daughters and in-laws
working together and delineating different roles as floor manager,
business manager, dance instructor, housekeeping manager (janitor
baga) and others. Last November 2006, Irene opted to work part-time
(28 hours/week) only in BA because she needs to rest more during the
day for her nightly duty at the dance club.
Their main attraction was their
superb mix of music handled by her very talented son, Ernest, who
finished Broadcast Communication at CalTech at Long Beach and who
formally trained as a DJ. Likewise, the atmosphere at her dance
studio is friendly family and their dance instructors are very
talented and professional in their job. Visit them at
www.ballroomcraze.com.
They also attract a lot of
foreigners (hahahahaha) like Mexicans (who love to Salsa and Rhumba),
other Asians and Americans. To keep the interest of these dance
aficionados, Irene concocts monthly specials like Latin Fiesta,
Luau, Filipiniana, Western and also commemorate special occasions
like Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas. On Mondays and
Tuesdays, they give private and group dance lessons. Wednesdays to
Sundays are strictly for social dancing.
As always, they have raffle
prizes to offer. Filipinos are addicted to raffles.
Take note, these dance nights are
dressy affairs from head to toe, including borloloys for the ladies
such as dazzling pieces of jewelry and the de riguer dancing shoes.
As a result of this successful
venture, Irene also opened an equally profitable boutique that sells
dancing shoes, outfits and accessories. On certain days, she sublets
her dance studio for private parties like weddings, baptismal,
birthdays, meetings and others.
BIG, BIG THANKS to my hosts in
Canada. My Kappa Gamma Omega Sorority sister Millette Asuncion-Rabanillo
and her husband Jerry and daughters Christine (husband Jason) and
Jennifer. In Montreal, Delta Omega Delta Fraternity Bro Pons Abdon
and wife Cora. In Toronto, Volet and Ivan Guerrero.
And here in the land of milk and
honey, my best friend Gina Camacho, her husband Frank, sister Pinky,
brother Stephen and wife Cora, niece Kathryn and nephews Jade and
Sidney. Next week, we will have a reunion of former employees of
Resins Inc.
I am having a great ball and
I’ll tell you more about it. Promise, babalik ako sa Pinas. As my
sons would say, the Philippines is still the best place to live in.
We were entering the DJ
Bibingkahan, a big and popular restaurant here that serves Filipino
dishes like Mom used to cook them, and there was the family leaving
the restaurant. The mother (looking every inch a matronly
American—well dressed, blonde, fair-complexioned) was admonishing
her child in impeccable English con todo American accent. Then, she
tripped into something, and suddenly she exclaimed, Ay P.... Ay,
Pinoy pala. Hahahahaha
(www.learningandinnovation.com;
www.paradigmsandparadoxes.ronjie.com; moje@mydestiny.net)
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