Peter Romar Guerrero, Bogz, as he is better known, came to Australia in 2013 as a student during which time he met his wife, Rosary Jay (Jay). Within two years Jay and Bogz welcomed little Jairus Blake Guerrero, Jabs. Those early days were challenging because of the need to juggle their time between study commitments, shift work and caring for a newborn son. Added to that, living in Sydney as a growing family was a struggle due to cost of living pressures and significant commute times meaning that everything had to be perfectly planned. For example, Jay was working from 5am to 2.30pm and Bogz started work at 3pm through to 11pm. By 1pm, Bogz and Jabs had to travel from Granville in Sydney’s west to the City where they would meet Jay at Darling Harbour to hand Jabs over too allow Bogz to start his shift. After much effort and diligence, Bogz completed his studies in Commercial Cookery in 2016 and both he and Jay we able to obtain fulltime employment resulting in a more stable lifestyle.
I asked Bogz about working a chef. He explained that working as a chef has been challenging but rewarding. He says that it needs genuine passion to be able to stick with it. Bogz added that he needed to exercise mental strength to survive in a high pressure environment wherein you work with and for people with very different personalities and attitudes, aside from the physically demanding nature of the job.
In 2019 Jay, Bogz and the little Jabs acquired a 489 visa which required them to move to a regional area. They moved to Armidale in northern NSW. At first, it was a difficult transition. It was very different to what they had been used to. Compared to Sydney, Armidale was very quiet and secluded. Many times they wished to return to Sydney. That was until they established a strong circle of friends in and around Armidale. Filipinos highly value friends and an active social life. They always get together whenever they can. They always invite their friends home to eat and hangout. According to Bogz, their friends have really become their family and as a result of this connection he and the family eventually learned to love Armidale too.
Bogz met an Armidale local by the name of Neville Yates and he became a huge support for Bogz and the family. After knowing each other for a while, Neville took an interest in Bogz’s passion for cooking. He encouraged Bogz to open a restaurant out of a shop he owned in West Armidale. Bogz explained that Neville’s trust and encouragement has motivated him to push through with it. In addition, their close circle of Filipino friends in Armidale have also helped to build the restaurant. Their voluntary contributions of time, talents and skills are the things which have made the dream of a Filipino restaurant come true. Much joy and laughter has been shared along the way with the restaurant diner and grocery store finally opening its doors in 2021. Bogz is very clear that his confidence is as a direct result of those who believed in him and his family and extended that support and trust to him.
The latest addition to the family, Reevo Blake Guerrero, arrived in April 2022 in Armidale. Little Reevo, along with his big brother Jabs are bundles of joy. Jay, Bogz, Jabs and Reevo are much loved parishioners of Saints Mary and Joseph Cathedral Parish in Armidale where there is a growing Filipino community.
Speaking of the faith, Bogz recalls that as he and Jay began and continue to run the business, there have always been disagreements. At times, and as a result of those disagreements, their relationships with each other, the children and God are affected. In fact, Bogz admits that progressively, their faith decreased because of the pressure and stress in trying to balance everything. There have even been some very low periods of depression and even thoughts of suicide. Bogz recalls that both he and Jay grew up in very religious families, but those traditions and practices were slowly disregarded due to other priorities. One day, however, a friend in Armidale spoke to Jay and Bogz out of care. This friend noticed the toxicity in their relationships and wanted to lead them back to the faith. Their friend asked Jay and Bogz to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and to pray the Rosary every day. Jay and Bogz followed the advice of their valued friend, and eventually enlightenment came. Jay, Bogz and the children try to attend Mass every Sunday and feel their faith has been renewed. Bogz says, “I have rekindled my relationship with God and it has changed me as a person.”
Bogz has asked me to thank his friends, including the Yates family, Alvin Hilwa, the Nacilla family, Jorge Ganab, Marlon Macatangay, Kelly Cuyno, Natividad family, the Cabang family, the Davis family, Roel Alcazar, the Mallo family, the Valles family and God, our Father. Bogz is most grateful for their confidence in him and his wife and family, for giving their time and efforts for free in building Eat Street Philippines. Filipino bayanihan is still alive.
The Bayanihan (pronounced as buy-uh-nee-hun) is a Filipino custom derived from a Filipino word “bayan”, which means nation, town or community. The term bayanihan itself literally means “being in a bayan”, which refers to the spirit of communal unity, work and cooperation to achieve a particular goal.
The concept of Bayanihan is traced back to in a country’s tradition which can be observed in rural areas, wherein the town’s people were asked especially the men to lend a hand to a family who will move into a new place. The relocation does not only involve moving the family’s personal belongings but most importantly it concerns the transfer of the family’s entire house to a new location. A traditional Filipino house (Bahay Kubo) is made of indigenous materials such as bamboo and nipa/anahaw leaves.
The Bayanihan spirit shows Filipinos’ concept of helping one another most especially in times of need without expecting anything in return. Filipinos strongly believe in helping their “kababayans (fellow countrymen)” in any possible way they can do to extend a helping hand. It is a beautiful Filipino mentality of helping one another.
Bogz and Jay Guerrero
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