Journeying to La Union, Anthony Ramirez discovers the possibilities of their Abel Bangar. On V. Luna Avenue in Quezon City, a two-storey Jollibee branch rests on one corner of a bustling intersection.
Inside, punching in orders and handing over change from behind the counter (at least, for five months in 2009) was Anthony Ramirez . “That was my first job,” says the now-fashion designer in Filipino. Although he attempts to recall his stint at the fast food chain, the details escape him like it’s a truly uninteresting memory.
All he recounts is that he found himself there at 19, after family matters prompted him to drop out of college in freshman year. He likens it to serendipity; a cosmic pieces-falling-into-place moment for the young creative who yearned to trade a provincial life for a metropolitan one. Born in Tacloban, raised in Calamba, and presently based in Manila, Anthony is no stranger to unchartered territories.
He goes where the tides flow, and in 2019, the waves carried him to the vibrant coastal province of La Union in the northern region of Ilocos. The region is home to abel, a general term for handloom-woven cloth and the tradition of weaving it. Each town produces their own weave with distinct patterns and materials; in an essay on Abel Iloco for the book A Journey Through Philippine Handwoven Textiles , Rene E.
Gualto writes, “While the patterns of Ilocano abel are similar, there are subtle differences in color combinations, and the thickness of .