For this story, I joined photographer Jilson Tiu and producer Nayna Katigbak—both my dear friends—on a trip to Barotac Nuevo.
There, we spoke to local authorities and figures, looking to uncover and understand the town’s charms, including its uncanny love for football.
What we found is a town that’s not only enchanting in its character (as many small towns in the Philippines are) but a story of flight. Barotac Nuevo is well-known for developing our country’s homegrown football talents. But they eventually leave to play elsewhere, in pursuit of bigger dreams. It’s one of Barotac Nuevo’s microcosmic traits; one of the ways it symbolises the Philippines as a whole.
“We like to think of this story as a celebration, not just of Barotac Nuevo’s sporty quirks, but of the Philippine small town,” writes Kristine Fonacier in her editor’s letter for this issue. “Barotac Nuevo is very much like many other small towns throughout the Philippines: what it lacks in size and skyscrapers, it makes up for with warmth, personality, beauty, and charm.”
