In a historical period like the current one, where the problems of Italian cities are entirely blamed on "foreigners"—and trust us, at this moment we are not taking a stance, we are just telling a real fact (because talking about such a delicate topic requires preparation, culture, and above all, real, non-ideological data)—we like to tell the story of a guy with Filipino features and a Roman accent.
MATT PANGILINAN
Scorpio (yes, we are still trying to convince the Spaghetty team to create our personal horoscope), 31 years old, a sweet, clean smile, and a lot of shyness. The kind of person who speaks with calm attention but, above all, politeness—that kind of politeness that sometimes gets lost, convinced that raising your voice makes you stronger (we'll let you in on a secret: those with b***s don't scream to be heard, they don't need to).
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO THE PHILIPPINES?
Mat belongs to that generation born in Italy, raised in Italy, but with parents who came from the other side of the world, in this case, the Philippines. Someone who watched his parents make sacrifices, wake up at dawn to work, and end up working up to 3 jobs a day. So it shouldn't surprise us that today he works as a bartender in two different places; what surprises us is his answering "ALL GOOD" to the question "how are you?", when 90% of us complain about the oppressive heat every single day (yes, it's killing us, but we created a bit of this greenhouse effect ourselves). Respect for other people's work—perhaps this is what fascinates us about him.
“Doesn't working two jobs weigh on you? Maybe it was tough at the beginning, not having fixed hours, but I got used to it now... I have the example of my parents who are still working; my father works a lot and when he has free time, he goes to help an elderly lady. My mother works three jobs in different time slots—they are the ones who show me the meaning of sacrifice. They gave up so much to get to Italy.”
MULTICULTURALISM
Often, when you are born in a country that doesn't belong to your parents, what happens is that during the early stages of adolescence you try to distance yourself from that culture; in sociology, it's called an "intergenerational cultural conflict." During adolescence, out of a need to belong and to avoid being considered "foreigners," people can end up rejecting their culture of origin, considering it incompatible with daily reality. And we don't need to go to the other side of the world—this attitude also belonged to many young people born in Northern Italy in the 1960s (but we often forget our own history, too busy judging everyone else's).
“When I was a kid, I used to hang out with Italians a lot more; growing up, I got a bit closer to my roots. In the Philippines, we are obsessed with basketball. They used to tease me because I didn't know how to speak Filipino. Now I've gotten very close to my Italian colleagues. Have you ever been to the Philippines? The last time was when I was 16.”
LIKE SOMEONE ONCE SAID
"An old wise man I knew always told his students: 'Find something you love to do and you'll never have to work a day in your life.'" Arthur Szathmary
At least once, every single one of us has repeated this phrase, but how many of us actually believe it? How many times do you wake up in the morning and say, "S***, I have to work today too?" Even though nowadays the most popular phrase is "I'LL START AN ONLYFS AND SELL FOOT PICS" (only 1% actually manages to make money from it).
“Triplo and La Dogana. At Dogana, I started as a waiter first, and then one day I started making drinks (A DISASTER), but I decided to throw myself into it. I found myself behind a counter; I like making drinks, but above all, I like the energy behind it—chatting with the customer, the sound of the shaker. It's not just passion, but I can't stand still and stay away from the bar. At Triplo, I work as a bartender, but it's more rowdy, you have more fun... I only have one day off because I work two jobs; theoretically, I would have two from Dogana, but I use one to work at Triplo, and when I have my actual day off, I turn off my phone and truly rest.”
CHASED BY A DOG
It sounds like the beginning of a horror movie, but it stems from a simple question: "How do you speak English so well?"
“I spent a short period until I was five in America with my mother, in California, and the English just stuck with me. I was staying with my grandmother there. A small memory from that period goes back to Halloween (knocking on doors): I knocked on a door and a dog chased me through the whole neighborhood (a trauma, maybe it's still with me). And then I nurtured it by watching TV series and talking to colleagues; I have a colleague from India with whom I prepared the speech for GIFFARD—I wanted it to be perfect.”
I STILL HAVEN'T REALIZED IT
And this ability to speak English was one of his strengths—obviously, the drink was crucial too because, in the end, Mat, with his shyness, is going straight to Angers to try and win the GIFFARD WEST CUP world title against 20 other competitors from all over the world.
“After a week, I still haven't realized it. The fact of going to the world championship makes me a bit anxious, but representing Italy gives me a boost I've never had before. Before, they were just a game; instead, I understood that it allows you to make connections, with guys like me. Kos (referring to the former Global winner) gave me some advice: 'put a bit of your family into it.' My girlfriend is the person who urges me to do everything; a few minutes before going on stage, she told me: 'IF YOU DON'T GET RID OF THE ANXIETY, I'LL PUNCH YOU.' What were you afraid of? Anxiety about being judged, making mistakes makes me a bit anxious.”
And now Mat asks the question to Pierre Giffard:
