From vision to action: Behind the success of YAMAN NYC exhibit

By Marivir R. Montebon

New York – Oftentimes, the back story is more painstaking and thrilling than the luminous event itself. The resounding triumph of YAMAN NYC Exhibition on October 31-November 2 at Marriott Marquis was no exception.

With the 25 pioneering trade and cultural exhibitors and artisans going home happy and earning more than they expected, that had been enough for organizers Edwin Josue and Jerry Sibal of the nonprofit Friends of the Philippines Society USA Inc.

The new year 2026 is set to stage a much larger YAMAN NYC. Just a little over a year ago, life partners Josue and Sibal pursued their extravaganza project despite the lukewarm attitude of some friends and skepticism of others.

YAMAN NYC Honorary Chair Loida Nicolas-Lewis and event chairpersons Dr. Frank and Rachel Lopez.

The Big Apple already has a lot of festivals and heritage events enough to fill in one’s calendar. What’s YAMAN for? The skepticism was understandable.

Sibal, an artistic event producer and floral designer, said he wanted to do something “meaningful and compelling” for the Filipino community in New York and for the artisans in the Philippines. 

It’s a dream he’s been envisioning since many years ago, a project that bridges the Philippines and the Filipinos in the diaspora in an impactful way.

Jerry Sibal and Edwin Josue

YAMAN means treasure in Tagalog. For Sibal and Josue, the cultural and trade platform they’ve created meticulously curates Philippine treasures: artisanal products and inspirational practices and professions of Filipinos and Filipino Americans. It’s Sibal’s dream project birthed through the non-profit organization Friends of the Philippines Society USA.

The first exhibition was finally taking off this year after Sibal was an international guest artist to the Philippine International Flower Festival, under the auspices of Likha 2, a pet project of First Lady Liza Marcos. This was where he initially met the indigenous artisans who would later join YAMAN NYC.

In New York, the two are known to mount heritage productions such as the Noli Me Tangere, the Opera in NYC in 2013. They have a reputed impeccable taste which is also frighteningly expensive. For this project, Sibal and Josue shared their ideas to their friends and some organizations but had to cough out their own resources to put the dream into reality.

A Tableau of Filipino’s Glorious Culture and Heritage

Retired Philippine Ambassador Cecilia Rebong was totally impressed. “YAMAN was a resounding success! It was like a tableau, presented with pride on one stage, our people’s glorious culture, heritage and living traditions. It also showcased our people’s artistry, creativity and craftsmanship. It also highlighted the inspiring stories of many Filipino Americans. I was awed at what Jerry and Edwin had accomplished.”

Retired Philippine Ambassador Mario Lopez de Leon shared the sentiment of Rebong. “Being a groundbreaking project, YAMAN NYC had proven itself to be a trade and culture platform for Filipinos in the diaspora and in the motherland.”

De Leon said there was so much hope for YAMAN NYC to thrive as the idea was relevant and the challenge was how to sustain such high-financed project.

Both Rebong and de Leon once served as Philippine Consul Generals for New York.

A T’boli cultural presentation freezes spectators the Big Apple in awe.

Local and Philippine Exhibitors

There were 25 exhibitors of YAMAN, all carefully curated, coming in from the Philippines and the local community in New York.

The substantial turn-out was a measure of success for Sibal and Josue only thought of having 10 exhibitors for starters.

Cultural master Raquel Eliserio weaving pina and abaca.

Top of the line exhibitor was Jewelmer, an international high jewelry house founded in 1979, known for its golden South Sea pearls, and maker of the prestigious Miss Universe crowns.

Josue said that they were thrilled to have Jewelmer on YAMAN, as it has never joined any Philippine festivals abroad. “And for next year, they are partnering with us. It is such an honor,” beamed Josue.

RJP Gems owner Reagan John Rada was delightfully surprised by quick and expensive sales on the first day. His jewelry store of precious and semi-precious gems is in the Diamond district of NYC.  “It’s the first time I’ve joined a Filipino trade show, and I was not disappointed.”

Pinas Sadya, customizing contemporary Filipiniana.

The People Behind the Success

Behind the successful exhibit were good people who executed the plan. While Sibal had designed the program, the key people delivered it well. “We’re blessed. We have become a family,” said Sibal.

FilAm billionaire philanthropist and lawyer Loida Nicolas Lewis has believed and fully supported YAMAN NYC since its inception. A close friend of Sibal and Josue, she served as the honorary chair of the heritage platform.

Both Nicolas-Lewis and co-chair Susan Beer shared a remarkable impression on YAMAN’s pioneering exhibition. “You created in a short time something powerful culturally with a future potential economically,” said Beer, writer and founder of a tech entertainment company.

Event chairs Dr. Frank and Rachel Lopez managed the fireside chats efficiently, which deeply substantiated conversations on immigrant stories of struggles and successes. Alongside Kat Suarez, Mandy Magahum, and the rest of the volunteers, the chats drew attention from the media and audiences.

Josue said that the response to the event was overwhelming with more than 2000 Eventbrite registrants and 300,000 views on YAMAN’s social media platform. 

He commended the expertise of YAMAN’s website creator, Rane Rose through her company, ResolutionX, and acknowledged the guidance of Christine Pomeranz of the Fashion Institute of Technology.

The Artisans, the Heart of YAMAN

The Philippine artisans were the heart YAMAN’s success, quipped Sibal. “They are the forgotten, obscure connection to the diasporic modern Filipinos in New York. And we wanted to highlight them.”

Working on their visas and flights was an absolute stress for the organizers. It was two weeks before the show that their travel visas were approved. Prima Guipo Hower, now known lovingly as the ‘mother of the artisans’ thoroughly guided the artisans to process their immigration and travel papers.

With a little time left to the exhibition date, Sibal had to quickly construct their looms in a friend’s residence in Queens, based on the artisan’s specifications.

Weavers from Lake Sebu, Mountain Province, and Abra demonstrated the ancient art of weaving and embroidery to guests at the Marriot Marquis. It was the meeting of two worlds, of the East and West, and modern and the indigenous, something that does not happen every day.

YAMAN NYC, as an elevated trade exhibition, was an interactive learning experience for attendees, especially the youth needing to get out from their digital world.

Sibal and Josue gave the weavers a chance to fly to New York at their own expense. “We wanted to treat them as important. Hindi lang yong nasa isang tabi lang sila (they’re just being set on the side),” said Sibal.

Maria Elena Balbas, a weaver from Abra and her daughter Elaine gushed at the experience. “First time lahat, from riding on a plane and going to New York,” Elaine wrote on her Facebook page.

Balbas, who learned the craft from her mother and taught the same to her children, said that a major challenge for the artisanal business is the constant market.  

Pina and Abaca weaver Raquel Eliserio from Aklan demonstrated her craft before awed audiences. Known as a cultural master, Eliserio runs her enterprise composed of 300 weavers, mostly women, with great care “because families depend on this artisanal livelihood,” she said.

Esterllita Godwino, master weaver from Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, presented the t’nalak weaving. T’nalak is the clothing of the T’boli tribe, made from abaca and uses its natural colors of red, black, and cream. Esterllita created the outfit of Miss Universe Catriona Gray, a supporter of YAMAN NYC.

Kalinga master weaver Jennifer Bawer Young showed her artisanal weave of the Laga tradition in the Mountain Province. Now based in California, Bawer-Young runs her company called Kalingafornia Laga, and demonstrated how the weaver’s body alignment controls fabric stability and accuracy.

Brooklyn-based artist and designer Cynthia Alberto was pure joy in showing her weaving techniques. Her company Weaving Hand integrates traditional loom systems with contemporary textile design.  She said she’s looking forward to participating in YAMAN next year.

The Fireside Forums

The series of fireside conversations were the meaty part of YAMAN NYC, a media favorite that brought in the serious and substantial side of the exhibition.

On its opening day, philanthropist and billionaire Loida Nicolas-Lewis and LinkedIn co-founder Lee Hower shared their life stories in a forum called “How to be a Successful Filipino American.”

Opening event: Fireside chat with Loida Nicolas Lewis and LinkedIn co-founder Lee Hower.

Journalist Kristine Johnson and Hower likewise had an eye-opening media forum where the former recounted her life story as a daughter of an immigrant Filipino mother and an embracing family of two heritages.

The forum with Grace Sacro, the Deputy Bureau Chief at Office of the New York State Attorney General Letizia James, was mind-blowing.

The poetry reading which featured the poetry book “Stay, Go” by Dr. Listrino Baquiran appealed to both young and adults. Summer Hower, daughter of LinkedIn’s Lee Hower, had been so delighted to have read a poem about her Filipino heritage.

That’s the Spirit

After a successful launch, YAMAN NYC is on to becoming an annual event in New York. Sibal and Josue are already working on the event in 2026, with a much bigger venue and participation.

Shakers and weavers dining at Loida Lewis’ Manhattan residence.

All the pioneering exhibitors will be on board, said Josue, and many have already signed up to join.

More private and government offices have signified to be involved in 2026. Apparently, many have bought into the spirit of YAMAN NYC, which for Sibal and Josue, is the acronym for the intention to “serve, preserve, integrate, reconnect, inspire, and transcend.”

It’s when times are hard that it’s perfect to connect and support each other, hopefully partnerships with government and private sector will be forged through YAMAN, said Sibal, “that’s the YAMAN NYC spirit.”#