BIEL CALDERON & ERIC SAN JUAN

THE LITTLE BIG PROJECT

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Small people of the Philippines think big. The 46 members of a little people association dream of building a village where everything is made according to their size and special needs. They know it would be difficult and they are ready to fight, as they always did in their lives. This is the story of their dream and of some extraordinary lives, like Egoy's is probably the shortest Elvis imitator in the world. Perry, the one who had the idea of the dwarf community thinking of the future generations off small people, like his own kids.

The story of the place where they use to assemble, the Hobbit house, a bar where all the waiters are short. And one story which has yet to be written, Josephine's, an 18 year old girl who just graduated from highschool and who doesn't feel sorry for being smaller. None of them does.

Perry Berry and his family

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Perry Berry is the president of the Little People Association of the Philippines. Having had himself a hard time because of his small height, he fights discrimination with energy and dreams of building a community for themselves in Manila.

In his hometown in the island of Panay (Philippines), Perry Berry was the only small person. This 55 year old Filipino spent his childhood feeling different, suffering when other kids or even older people used to tease him. “They were shouting at me, ‘Small man! Small man!’ I really felt hurt and lonely when I heard those words”, he recalls.

Seeing a bleak future ahead in the province, in his early 20s he decided to move to Manila, where, with a very basic education, he struggled to find a job. “It’s very hard for us to look for a job because we cannot even carry heavy things”, he remembers. Berry ended up becoming an actor for movies and shows, as many of his kind.

“In the beginning, I was enjoying it. But then as I went along, I felt bad because I found out that some co-actors just try to make fun out of us. Like for example, just to make the audience laugh they have to slap us sometimes. I really felt sad and low about that, because you can make the people laugh according to the script, but sometimes they did it even without the script,” says Berry.

Perry Berry and his brother who lives in Laguna. He has three brothers, none of them dwarf.

Perry Berry makes and sells bags and belts in his house in Manila.

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After a few years he realized his dignity was more important and he quitted. He started recruiting some of his friends telling them they had to stand up for their rights.

“We have to uplift our moral values, our dignity, by avoiding those kind of shows. We are not like dogs”

At that time, he used to work in the Hobbit House, a bar in Manila where all the waiters are small and where until today a dozen of dwarves escape work discrimination without being humiliated.

The Ringside Bar, in Manila, it’s famous because the funny figths between dwarf. They’re happy because at least they have a job.

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He was not a guitarist because his small fingers, but he had a music band for a while in the 80's. He studied the story of the Beatles and tried to recreate it in Manila with other friends of his kind. They had a few concerts in northern Philippines, but not enough to make a living and they gave up. Berry's story is full of surprises. Not only did he try to create the midget Beatles, he also ran for city councilor in a district of Manila in the late 80's. He was in the newspapers for a few weeks due to a disagreement with the Mayor over an eatery he used to own. And having put on standstill his Beatles dreams, he was the manager of the midget Elvis, his friend Egoy Peñaflor, when he went on tour to Europe and Asia. Now he makes a living making and selling bags and belts in his house in Manila.

Despite some daily life difficulties, like his struggle to ride the public transport jeeps whenever he wants to commute or the difficulty to do the grocery, since he cannot carry heavy weights, he lives a fulfilling life surrounded by his wife and his four kids, two of them small: the eldest, Perry Jr, who is 26 year old and the youngest, Josephine, who is 18.

It’s mainly thinking about them and the younger generations that he imagined more than twenty years ago a “Dwarf city” where people of his kind can make a living with the help of tourism. With that purpose, he founded in 1989 the Little People Association of the Philippines, consisting of 46 members. "I've been dreaming of that community", he says.

"I've been dreaming of that community"

Perry Berry ran for city councilor in a district of Manila in the late 80's.

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If not for the Hobbit House, Pidoy Fetalino doesn’t know what his job would be. His physical limitations and his very basic education level don’t allow him to get many jobs aside from some performances in stage shows. But almost 40 years ago he met Jim Turner, a young American who had just created the Hobbit House in the heart of Manila.

All the waiters in this restaurant are small, as Pidoy, who started as a waiter, became the cashier and ended up being the general manager. He now dreams of seeing the restaurant still working well when he retires. “There is no place like that in the world”, he proudly says.

Before meeting Turner, Fetalino, now 61 years old, was a young dwarf who had just arrived to Manila from is province in the southern island of Panay and who could manage to survive performing for television, movies and stage shows. Turner, a Political Science graduate in La Sorbonne, fell in love with the Philippines when he first arrived as a Peace Corps in the sixties and decided to stay. He translated his passion for JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit into a "Shire looking" restaurant where all the waiters are small.

Now in his seventies, he spends every evening in the bar, puffing one cigarette after the other, and sometimes he spends a few days in the new branch he opened in Boracay, the tourist paradise of the Philippines.

"When Mr Turner started this Hobbit House, they are the ones looking for us. Before that,

we are on stand by. It was a relief when Hobbit House started"

With its two branches, Hobbit House helps twenty little people to avoid work discrimination. "I don't know where we can find a job because we are small people, and we didn't finish degree in college, only undergraduate in college", he explains. Pidoy Fetalino at the Hobbit House Manila. He’s currently the

manager.

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Most of the waiters don’t usually feel being discriminated by the customers. Just a few times.

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Fetalino and other employees make shifts to work in the restaurant branch in Boracay, the most famous tourist spot in the Philippines. When they are there they don't really have time to enjoy neither the white sand or the clear sea water by the beach, but they are happy enough by discovering a different place. "It’s a beautiful place.

It’s the most beautiful beach in the whole world. For me it's really nice place, nice sand, clean beach and clean water. Every morning, I drink coffee beside the beach and go back to work.

Thanks to his job in Hobbit House, Pidoy was able to support his wife and his children, all of them of normal height. But the Hobbit House is not only an extravagant tourist attraction for foreigners or an escape from discrimination for little people, it also became a meeting point for other people of their kind. "Hobbit House is the place where we always used to assemble", says Perry Berry, president of the LPA and also former manager of the restaurant.

"If they have time, some of our friends who are small visit to chat with us"

Reaching the age of retirement, Fetalino dreams of making some trips with his wife and moving to the house hi built in his province, out of the bustling Manila where he worked 40 years. But before that, he wants to make sure the Hobbit House survives and keeps giving opportunities to small people.

Waiters from Hobbit House Manila and some customers pose for a picture.

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Nestor Peñaflorida, also known as Egoy the playboy (or Egoy Peñaflor), has been imitating Elvis performances for the last 30 years. The difference between him and the thousand of Elvis imitators in the world is his small height, which probably turned out to be an advantage when he went on tour in different parts of Asia and Europe.

Egoy takes the rol of Charles Chaplin in some performances. Egoy also performs in a private parties like birthdays.

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Whenever he goes on the stage, Egoy feels the audience is not really listening to the bunch of Elvis songs he performs. “I feel they ‘re all looking at me and laughing, I make them laugh. They laugh specially at how I dance”, he says before letting out a guffaw. Laughter is his natural state. He knows they find him funny because he is small but he doesn't care, nothing seems to really annoy him. Although it was not always like this.

"When I started singing in the hobbit house In 1981 I felt ashamed. I could only perform two songs. I was worried I would make a mistake. Too many foreigners. Now no more, it's ok even if I make a mistake", he admits. Egoy Peñaflor was just called by his real name, Nestor Peñaflor, when he started working as a security guard in Hobbit House in 1977.

A co-worker gave him the name of Egoy and another one taught him how to sing. When he remembered the Elvis songs his parents used to play at home when he was a kid and he made at home his first costume, a star was born.

"I like Elvis songs, Elvis voice. I cannot put my voice like him, just a little, I’m old. My parents used to like Elvis songs, they used to listen to them when I was a kid. I remember they l iked It 's now or never", he remembers.

"I copy Elvis but I have my style"

This genuine style allowed him in the early nineties to go on tour in several bars in Asia and Europe with his manager and good friend Perry Berry.

With his "too expensive" costume ("Elvis liked having too many stones on it, they're too pricy"), his toy guitar and his small piano, Egoy travelled to Japan, to the chinese island of Saipan, to Italy and to Switzerland.

"These boots were made there in Switzerland, they are 22 years old already", he says pointing at his white Elvis style shoes.

He design his own boots. Hi use these ones to perform as an Elfo.

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Family photo. Egoy also used to play exhibition basketball matches.

Egoy never finished High School. He pursues to give the opportunity to their children to do it.

Egoy’s wife. They got married 19 years ago.Egoy has 2 daughters (one of them dwarf) and one son, who is also dwarf.

Vhanesa Peñaflor, Egoy’s daughter. She’s at the High School.

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Now 51 years old, with weakening bowing legs ("they're sexy", he jokes) because of malformation, Egoy feels "very old" and only performs as Elvis once or twice a year in private parties, they don't call him anymore for bigger shows. He could complain, but he prefers to laugh. He enjoys his new job as wrestler in a bar in Manila where he performs with a dozen of small people. Sometimes the fake fights are a bit too hard and he gets injured, but he doesn't mind, it's already enough to get some income to help his wife and his five children.

"My business is down so I like this job. They like the way I play comedy. They laugh, even the owner always comes to watch us. Got wounded one time, 3 sticks in my feet. But I like my job I m happy. Even if sometimes it s not nice that they put oil, it s itchy. Sometimes it's painful, but these are only accidents".

Although he is happy performing, especially the comic basketball shows, he would prefer his three children who also were born with dwarfism could finish college and have better jobs. He would have liked to have a small store or a restaurant, but he didn't have enough money to invest. He could only afford to be Elvis.

Egoy enjoys a sunny day at the backyard with his family.

Egoy Peñaflor at his studio where he goes over Elvis songs.

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Josephine Berry is 18 years old and dreams of becoming a lawyer to help other people. The path is not easy, but it never was for this Harry Potter fan who learnt from the experience of her dad and her older brother that being smaller just means she has a different mission in life that she has to find.

When she was in preschool, Josephine already noticed all her classmates were taller than her. When she was 6 years old, it was difficult for her to find shoes that fit her and her mum needed to repair her school uniform to match her body size. She realized she was different. She assumed it but she never felt ashamed.

"I never felt bad about it. I see my dad and brother just like me, same size of legs. It’s inspiring to see how they manage. That's why I manage to live with this kind of body and this kind of legs", she says.

She least from her family that small people are just different, not inferior and they just need to use their best skills. "My dad is always there to answer my questions. He always says I have a special mission in this world and God gave me the situation cause I can handle it better than other people. I don't know my mission yet, my dad always says my mission is different, If others are meant to be firemen, police, maybe I’m meant to be a lawyer or to help other people with little things I can do", she explains.

Because they are not inferior, she believes they shouldn't accept any job just for the money, they shouldn't accept some humiliating stage shows if they have other options. She belongs to a new generation who was able to go to college and she doesn't imagine herself playing comical basket games or appearing as freak in movies. She wants to be a lawyer.

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"I want to have a job first so I can pursue my dream to be a lawyer"

Josephine just started the university. She’s following a business degree.

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It’s her dream, but she knows it will be hard to achieve. Knowing the economic situation of her parents is not easy, she plans to study first business management to be able to finance her law studies by herself in the future. "I want to have a job first so I can pursue my dream to be a lawyer", she says with a gentle determination.

Looking at her from afar, Josephine looks fragi le . But it 's just an appearance hiding a girl with a tough mind, ready to overcome all kind of obstacles she might encounter in life.

A toughness that is hiding behind her fragility, her gentleness and her constant smile. I’m very proud of myself. It's difficult for little people to finish high school in the public system. The population is so big and I'm the only one who is little so it s kind of hard, but I managed", she proudly says.

The difficulties at school don't stem from academic reasons, despite her allergy to mathematics, but because of her physical condition. For example, she cannot queue before entering the class for fear of getting squeezed, unnoticed by the other students. She just waits unti l everyone is inside to enter quietly. She is aware some students don't understand her situation but doesn't look bothered by it.

Although she is an exception among hundreds of students, she never felt alone since she has a loyal set of friends who walk her home everyday after school, who spend time with her in her house and with whom she goes to the movies on special occasions. "When the exam is over we go to the mall to watch movies, to give us a break after exams period. We stroll around".

It is on these occasions when she is in the mall, exposed to the world, when she sometimes experiences the discrimination, the cruelty of other people. "Sometimes they call me different names. When it's kids I don't mind because they don't really understand. It’s different when it's older people. I try not to get affected but it depends on my mood. But my father taught me that when people say bad things I should just smile".

And she smiles again.

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The 46 members of the Little People Association of the Philippines dream of building their own community where everything is made according to their size and where they would all work with the help of tourism. Although he has no statistics, he believes between 200 and 300 dwarves from all over the country with no chance to fully integrate in the society will join the project once it starts. “Many of them, especially in the province, don’t want to go out because they are ashamed of their physical condition. If we are all together nobody will be ashamed”, maintains Berry.

He imagines it with mushroom shaped houses, its own chapel, a flee market, souvenirs for the tourists…

Recently, a benefactor offered them to use a land of his property to build their town, but some legal disagreements thwarted the project. This event made some of them lose hope, while others still remain optimistic.

The prototype house they imagine for their community. Image courtesy of Little People Association.

Another prototype house they also imagine for their community. Image courtesy of Little People Association.

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“I started this project thinking about my fellow who don’t have any formal education. And besides, some of them don’t want to go out because they are ashamed of their situation, of their physical situation. So one day I start to think that maybe if we have a community of our own, where we live together there, it would be easy to be recognized. And whatever difficulty or inferiority, it’s on everyone, it’s easy to discuss right away to explain, to forget about this, how to overcome about this. I've been dreaming to have that community.

We want also to show to the people that even if we are small we are thinking also of how we be respected by the society and how could we also encourage some tourists to come over to our country. We've got a lot of things to do there if we start this community. We are seeking the help to other people all over the world. We are knocking at the door of their good hearts. Please help us”.

Perry Berry, 55 years old, president of the LPAP

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"It was one of my dreams too. It's different when we have our own village, we can do freely what we want to. People like us would be able to function well there, not like in the big city. The sizes of furnitures are not really made for little people. It s hard to go around and not being able to do stuff other people can do.

I çan imagine myself living there. We can live in the city with other people, but it's better in such a village, because things are made for our size.

Josephine Berry, 18 years old, student

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“I want the Little People Association to move, we need help. The lilliputian village is good to attract tourists but it's hard to get our dream. I would like it if all midget people live together. I love it. But I am sad, it's been a long time, time passes and there is no movement. It s a dream. It s nice".

Egoy Peñaflor, 51 years old, performer, member of LPAP

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"I don't want to get involved in the community. I m not involved in any association of little people. I heard they are going to build a community. They can do their own plan, but for me I don't want it. I am old enough, I work here and maybe some day I m going to retire and go back to the province. I don't want to put myself in another organization of the little people. It's up to them cause they are young people. I'm not sure it would work".

Pidoy Fetalino, 61 years old, manager of the Hobbit House

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"I want to make it real. But it should be not too far from the city in case we can't earn enough in the beginning, then we can still have other jobs. It's difficult for me, I used to work as an actor but as I got older, they stopped calling me. It would be a big help to support me and my wife, who is also small, and our kid".

Pidoy Fetalino, 61 years old, Hobbit House bar manager

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“I would like it to happen, for me but specially for my father, who told me about it long time ago. I dream of becoming an interior designer and of living in Korea, but it would be nice if they create the community for other people, I would be happy to move there if I live in the Philippines in the future.”

Jennilyn Flores, 20 years old, student

CREDITS

Photography, Video, Audio: Biel Calderón

Script: Eric San Juan - Biel Calderón

Editing: Biel Calderón

Research: Eric San Juan

Text: Eric San Juan

Music: 1) Video The President: La Madeline Au Truffe by JERIS

2) Video The Hobbit House: The Hobbit House

3) Video The Artist: Elvis Presley + Egoy Peñaflor

4) Video The Future: Chords For David (ft. jlbrock) by PITX

© Biel Calderón - Eric San Juan, 2012

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ERIC SAN JUAN, 1980. He holds a degree in Journalism by the University of Navarra. He worked for nearly three years as editor of Economics and Politics in the newspaper Noticias de Gipuzkoa, until he went to Vietnam with a scholarship. After spending a year in Saigon, he lives since late 2009 in Manila, where he works as a correspondent for Efe News Agency.

BIEL CALDERON, 1983. When he was 18 years old, he moved to Madrid to study BA Political Science, 2001-2006. He wanted to be a photographer. In 2007 he graduated MA Asian and Pacific Studies, Barcelona. He wanted to be a photographer. Finally, in 2008 he graduated MA Photojournalism.   And he became a photographer. Recently he have been exploring Multimedia Journalism along side his photography in order to test new ways of storytelling. Currently based in Beijing.

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© BIEL CALDERON - ERIC SAN JUAN, 2012

http://www.bielcalderon.com / http://thevietking.blogspot.hk/

biel.calderon@gmail.com / esanjuanh@hotmail.com