Canadian vlogger Kyle Jennermann on finally 'becoming Filipino' | The Final Word - video Dailymotion

CNN Philippines

Canadian vlogger 'Kulas' turned his dream of 'becoming filipino' to reality.  Kyle Jennermann took his oath of allegiance a few weeks back.   And he looked dapper for the special occasion with a custom made Barong Tagalog.   We catch up with Kulas and Julius Leaño, Jr. from the DOST Philippine Textile Research Institute.   Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

Transcript

00:00 Canadian vlogger Kulas turned his dream of becoming Filipino into a reality.

00:06 Kyle Jenerman took his oath of allegiance a few weeks back and he looked so dapper for

00:11 this special occasion with a custom-made barong tagalog made out of bamboo textile.

00:17 We catch up with Kulas and Julius Leano Jr. from the DOST Philippine Textile Research

00:22 Institute, the makers of this bamboo textile.

00:26 Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us.

00:29 Good evening.

00:30 Congratulations to you.

00:31 You're now officially Filipino.

00:32 Yeah, a little bit different being in here this time.

00:34 And he's wearing that special bamboo textile barong tagalog.

00:38 How does it feel like to be now a Filipino, a full-fledged Filipino?

00:42 I am living the best days of my life right now.

00:44 You know, when I go out on the streets or when I'm just anywhere right now, people are coming

00:48 up to me calling me a Kababayan, talking about the country with me in a positive way.

00:52 And it's really making me feel now that I'm, you know, motivated.

00:54 You're a true Kababayan, Kulas, because you also know Tagalog.

00:57 Yes, I know Tagalog.

00:59 Like I said, I'm a bit tired.

01:00 Sometimes I read, sometimes I speak Tagalog, sometimes I speak Hiligaynon.

01:04 Whatever you want to talk, we'll try talking.

01:06 But now that you have a Filipino passport, I mean, do you also still carry your Canadian

01:12 passport?

01:13 It's like a dual citizenship.

01:14 Well, you know what?

01:15 I have to first and foremost go and apply for my Filipino passport.

01:18 So I got my certificate in naturalization the other day.

01:21 And you know, like I said, I just focus right now on being a Filipino.

01:24 And so I have to still get that document.

01:26 So what was the feeling, the emotion, the sentiment when you raised your right and took

01:34 your oath of allegiance as a Filipino?

01:36 What was the feeling?

01:37 I think when you have 10 years of your life so deeply immersed and when the country's

01:41 really become a part of you, when you have that moment where you're just like, hey, I'm

01:45 ready to really fully give everything I can to the Philippines, it's very positive and

01:50 overwhelming and probably will be one of the greatest moments of my life for the rest of

01:54 my life.

01:55 And that will be its history in the making.

01:57 Yeah, very exciting.

01:58 And Julius, you're from the DOST, Philippine Textile Research Institute.

02:02 I mean, this barong, what do you call this, bamboo textile, is it even sold commercially?

02:10 Why did the DOST choose this occasion to showcase this new material?

02:16 Well, it was a convergence of some sort because we were about to launch it in time for his

02:20 swearing in as a Filipino citizen.

02:22 It was a very nice coincidence and what better way than to showcase it as well at such very

02:28 nice occasion.

02:29 So this bamboo fabric was actually part of a very recent research and development and

02:34 fortunately, Klaus was able to use it.

02:36 And how special and significant is this bamboo textile?

02:41 And what was the process in creating it?

02:44 Well, first, we are constantly in search of new materials for textiles here in the Philippines.

02:49 We cannot differentiate if we don't use something that's inherently ours.

02:52 Bamboo is of course a very Asian thing.

02:55 But bamboo for textiles, the proposition that we have is that it actually substitutes a

02:59 lot of materials that are going into the textile materials that we are using.

03:03 We're heavily dependent on cotton, for example, or polyester or other materials that are not

03:07 necessarily produced in the Philippines.

03:09 Now here is bamboo.

03:11 Everywhere bamboo grows and we are channeling it into the textile supply chain.

03:14 And that basically became the impetus for this.

03:17 And of course, now your model is Kyle Colas, a gentleman.

03:22 You know what though, I mean, having been all over the country and the province, the

03:25 ways I've seen Filipinos use bamboo, when this opportunity came up to possibly get involved

03:30 and showcase this and be a part of bringing this to more public awareness, I think it's

03:34 just incredible.

03:35 And this is really comfortable.

03:37 Is this even bamboo?

03:38 I mean, this is on my skin.

03:40 I'm not wearing underpants under these pants.

03:42 So your shoes is also bamboo?

03:44 The ones I had were bamboo, but basically there are bamboo shoes.

03:48 You guys are coming up with bamboo shoes.

03:50 The bamboo version of that shoe is coming up as well.

03:52 And of course, this Barong Tagalog is a creation of one of our world-class fashion designers,

04:00 Francis Libira.

04:01 Libira, yes.

04:02 It's a nice convergence.

04:03 It's a science and technology output and you have the creative industry coming into play

04:06 as well.

04:07 So they put on the flavor and the flair and here comes the new version of the Barong Tagalog

04:12 on our own materials.

04:13 And yes, I was just going to say, it was really exciting.

04:16 I'd never done anything with a designer my entire life and to see Francis Libira get

04:20 so into wanting to work with the Textile Research Institute and the local bamboo that's being

04:26 turned into textile and fibers, it's exciting.

04:29 Your headband should also be bamboo.

04:31 It should be.

04:32 I'm sitting next to the right person for that.

04:35 Coming up, coming up, yeah.

04:36 When will this bamboo textile be available commercially?

04:41 It's starting to be available commercially now because the weavers are now getting orders.

04:45 The interest has been created.

04:47 So we wanted the weavers to be the ones to talk to clients, to be the ones to respond

04:52 to the need of the market.

04:54 So they are now the ones dictating which yarns they would want from the Institute.

04:58 So right now, it's the Institute that's still producing the yarns because the technology

05:02 is in the fiber part where we convert it into yarns.

05:04 And yeah, we just supply them for now and then hopefully later on somebody will pick

05:08 it up, some yarn production will come in and the weaving will proceed as usual.

05:12 And where are these weavers?

05:13 Where are they from?

05:14 Yeah, these weavers are, well, at least those that we work with during the prototype development

05:19 is in Quezon, Isabela for one.

05:21 And we have a lot in Aklan because of the barong material.

05:24 So we wanted it as well to be blended with Philippine silk.

05:27 That's why we are working as well with the Aklan weavers.

05:29 And in Manila, we have some resident weavers also in our Institute.

05:34 And I'm sure, Kulas, you have been to many of these places where they weave the bamboo

05:40 textiles.

05:41 So how amazing is that you can wear something that really comes from a convergence of everything

05:45 all over the country.

05:46 You know, I mean, becoming a Filipino, the first thing I'm wearing is something like

05:49 that.

05:50 I mean, what a special moment.

05:51 You know what, ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure Kulas is even more Filipino than me.

05:55 He's traveled to so many places around the country which I have never been to or even

06:02 dreamed of visiting.

06:03 Yeah, but remember this too.

06:04 Can I tag along with you?

06:07 If you want to, anytime.

06:08 I'm sure you'd be a wonderful...

06:09 Kulas journey with Rico Hizon.

06:11 With your vibes as well, I feel like we'd be able to really learn some interesting stuff.

06:14 So anytime, you just send me a message.

06:16 So where's your permanent address now, Kyle?

06:19 Purrock, Nara, Cateo, Davao, Oriental, Mindanao.

06:22 Okay, we were just discussing earlier about the tourism investment summit with Alma from

06:28 the Management Association of the Philippines.

06:32 7,600 islands, which major places haven't you visited yet and would like to visit as

06:38 a Filipino?

06:39 Man, you know what, I think there's just some of those unique island communities that people

06:44 might not have even heard of like Cagayan, Silio, more islands off the coast of Tau Itawi.

06:50 Of course, I'd like to even...

06:52 I just want to revisit areas too, even up the coast of Aurora and towards the Sierra

06:56 Madres Mountains.

06:57 You know what, it's like when people ask you sometimes, "Oh, what's your favorite island?

07:01 What's your favorite place?"

07:02 Everywhere just has so much beauty to it.

07:04 I just want to go back everywhere.

07:05 Yes, unique personalities, unique culture and heritage, and unique Filipino with the

07:09 warm hospitality.

07:11 And I want to revisit places because when I found out, you go somewhere, but you really

07:15 can just keep learning and keep finding out so much when you go back.

07:18 You know, Kyle, one place that you have revisited now for a second time, the CNN Philippines

07:23 studio.

07:24 I still need to go around and fully soak it all in.

07:28 And Julius, of course, this is a creation of Francis Libiran.

07:32 Are there other fashion designers that are also very interested in using the bamboo textile

07:38 for their creations?

07:39 Yes, of course.

07:40 Avel Bacudio also made a feminine line using this bamboo textiles.

07:44 Oh, this is it.

07:45 It is.

07:46 Yeah, this is the fiber.

07:47 So you can see how the bamboo was deconstructed to give you the fiber.

07:49 And the fiber gets into another form, which I did bring here, before they get into the

07:53 yarns and before they get into the fabric.

07:55 So the creative industry is coming on board, which is also a very nice thing because you

07:59 get, as I said, get that creative twist in all of these S&T developments.

08:03 Do you think eventually bamboo textile for barongs will be as popular as the husi, the

08:07 piña?

08:08 It will be because I think the comfort level has been improved.

08:11 Can I feel it?

08:12 Oh, gosh.

08:13 Hey, Francis, don't forget.

08:14 I have him on Instagram.

08:15 I can send him a message.

08:16 Actually, this fiber and this fabric, it's really comfortable.

08:24 It's very good on the skin.

08:25 And even now, to be honest, I'm not wearing my correct undershirt.

08:29 This is on my skin and it feels good.

08:32 What's important right now, now that the bamboo textile has been launched, is to put it now

08:38 on major fashion catwalks around the world.

08:41 New York, Milan, Paris.

08:43 Create the awareness.

08:44 Yes, raise the awareness.

08:45 And the nice thing about this one is it's inclusive.

08:48 You're actually involving farmers and communities on the ground.

08:51 So the whole narrative gives us a very, very different Filipino flavor all to it.

08:57 And I think that's the way to go.

08:58 You just have to put the story of the Philippines in the very fabrics that we are making.

09:02 And here it is.

09:03 Congratulations to the Philippine Textile Research Institute and DOST.

09:08 And of course, your final word as a Filipino here on The Final Word.

09:13 Kulas, to all your kababayans watching you right now.

09:18 Just puso.

09:19 Big heart.

09:20 Malaki puso.

09:21 Very happy.

09:22 Just Messiah.

09:23 And I look forward to just getting out there and interacting with more of my kababayans

09:26 every day the rest of my life.

09:28 Are.

09:29 Oh, fare?

09:30 Oh my God.

09:31 Are.

09:32 Welcome.

09:33 Welcome to the Philippines and becoming a Filipino.

09:34 Sakto.

09:35 Salamat.

09:36 Kyle Kulas, gentlemen.

09:38 And Julius Leano, Jr.

09:40 Thank you, gentlemen, for joining us on The Final Word.

09:42 Thank you for having us.

Canadian vlogger Kyle Jennermann on finally 'becoming Filipino' | The Final Word

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