Elaine Ficarra discovers the land of her mother
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As Miss MidState’s Outstanding Teen 2017, Elaine takes the lead in a local spaghetti dinner fundraiser.
In July this year, Pennsylvania-born Elaine Ficarra joined three other youngsters on a trip to the Philippines. She traveled with Bronx teen Feih Hidalgo, IT student Calvin Santiago from New Hampshire, and Alexandra Brown, a Filipina who lives in Australia. There is a common thread tying Elaine, a 17-year-old singer and local beauty titlist, and Alex, who works in human resources in Sydney: Both are biracial with Philippine-born mothers.
“She was my roommate,” said Elaine on what bound them even closer.
For 11 days, the group toured the Mountain Province, a chilly region in the north known for its hanging coffins, and visited traffic-choked Metro Manila and its sprawling urban malls.
The Ifugao children of Batad Elementary School in Banaue, who welcomed them, took her breath away. She was full of admiration for the children who hiked for miles to go to school, navigating a slippery path that is narrow and muddy.
“I was in my Teva hiking sandals, and it was difficult,” she noted.
They visited the elementary school and learned the kids walk 30-40 minutes just to get to school even in horrible weather. “Imagine young kids at ages 5 to 10 walking on these paths. They have to walk to school while people like myself are able to take the bus to school,” she said.
The school children prepared a program with dances and local chants. They showed their visitors some of the games they like to play, one of them looked like “wrist to wrist wrestling.” The four joined in the dancing and spoke to the children mostly in English. Although they live in the remotest region, the children understood most of the language and responded with the few words they knew. English is spoken in the country and is used in schools and offices.
The Ficarra family of Glenmoore, PA. From left: Paul, Jeanilyn, Elaine and Victor
“Diskubre Tour” is the name of the immersion program where the young travelers participated in historical and educational tours, food trips, cultural exchanges, and nature excursions. It was organized by the Philippine Consulate in New York in partnership with the Department of Tourism. It is Elaine’s first foreign travel without her family. Her mother, Jeanilyn Olarte Ficarra, told her to always stay with the group and to always remain alert.
Born in La Union, Jeanilyn has lived most of her life in Glenmoore, Pennsylvania since her marriage to Paul Ficarra, a businessman who owns a local company, BartcoTech, that sells coolant pumps. Glenmoore, a historic town with an abundance of pretty parks and wineries, has a population estimated at 9K. Jeanilyn and Paul have raised two children here: Victor, 20, who goes to school at Penn State University; and Elaine, three years younger, a high school senior at the Downingtown STEM Academy. Both are deeply involved in the Filipino American community through volunteer programs; Elaine is a sought-after singer and beauty queen.
“I recently have applied to some colleges around the area,” she said when interviewed by The FilAm. She chose biochemistry and pharmacy as possible areas of study, inspired by a Biology class she had taken and a pleasant pharmacy internship she took part in.
She would like to return to the Philippines to stay much longer, maybe a year.
“It was an inspiring and eye-opening 11 days tour of the Luzon island,” she said. She would like to visit the islands of Visayas and Mindanao as well.
“Not only are the traditions beautiful, the land itself is beautiful. People are so kind, hospitable and intelligent,” she added.
She and Alex had enthused conversations about their mothers, and how around the same age as they are now, they were making difficult decisions to leave the Philippines to go the U.S.
“I’ve been thinking about that, about how our mothers made those decisions as they try to find purpose in their lives, and how we should be thankful that this is our background,” said Elaine. “I’ve been thinking about what would we would do if we were in their shoes.”
© The FilAm 2018
The ‘four strangers that became family’ play ‘sungka’ while on Diskubre Tour. Elaine with traveling friends Alex Brown, Feih Hidalgo, and Calvin Santiago.
