JASPER GARVIDA’s iBangui roots confirmed

Today we got the final arbiter on Jasper Garvida’s roots!  Jennelle Garvida, Jasper’s very own sibling, left a comment on the earlier blog entry last month.  Here’s Jen’s comment in its entirety:

“First off, I want to thank you for this article. I am commenting to finally help resolve the roots of Jasper, my brother.

Roy Padre mentioned that the ones embracing and congratulating Jasper after he was announced the winner toward the end of the above video are his grandparents. That is an incorrect statement. Those are in fact our parents.

Roy is correct though in stating that Jasper’s dad is Modesto Agullana Garvida (from Bangui). Our mom Liza, hails from Solsona and Laoag from the Laureta and Marcos clan.

Prior to my family migrating to Canada, we were raised in Project 4, QC and had opportunities to visit our parents’ hometown and had visited relatives in Bangui, Pagudpud, Solsona and Laoag. From our childhood memories, we remember our heritage and of course our longing to someday visit Ilocos Norte soon.

Once again, thank you for your support.”

Frankly speaking, the first time I saw the videos on Jasper on YouTube, they reminded me of a few familiar faces from Bangui and I suspected right then and there that this phenom must have roots from there.

In any case, our heart swells with pride for Jasper.  Such as when an interviewer asked him:  “Apart from winning, what was your highlight on Project Catwalk?”  To which Jasper replied:  “For me the highlight was actually seeing my parents again after the show because I hadn’t seen them for such a long time and they hadn’t really seen what I’ve been doing and for me that was the biggest highlight.”

An erstwhile lecturer for fashion students at Havering College in London, Jasper has moved on, saying “it would be unfair for me not to give myself entirely to that job so I decided to stop teaching and just work in fashion at the moment.”  He revisited Alternative Fashion Week 2008 where, he admits, “it all started for me.”  He had his own collection featured on Oli Fashion (oli.co.uk).  Jasper, we are proud to note, is on an enviable trajectory in his life:  from iBangui roots to conquering a much grander international stage in haute couture.