CHARMAINE LUGTU NOBLES
COMMUNITY SESSIONS
Flower Farmer, Horticulturist,
Small Business Owner Flora Narra and Piety and Desire Chocolate
Growing up in Quezon City, I remember staying up well past midnight for Noche Buena, when we’d have a long table full of hands that almost always composed of: lumpia, queso de bola, fruit salad, embutido, palabok and pancit. From early evening into midnight, our neighborhood always felt so alive. With all the fireworks, people caroling, and other sights and sounds of the barangay, you could really feel the energy of each home vibrating with love. I feel so grateful to have experienced Noche Buena for the first 10 years of my life.
BEING A FILIPINA IN NEW ORLEANS MEANS BELONGING TO A PLACE WHERE I GET TO EXPERIENCE AND TO BE A PART OF THE CREATIVE PULSE OF THIS SPECIAL CITY FILLED WITH ART, MUSIC, AND CULINARY IMPORTANCE. EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO EITHER "FIND THEMSELVES" HERE OR JUST TO BE A WITNESS TO THE MAGIC OF OUR NOLA.
In what ways do you stay connected to your Filipino roots?
Surrounding myself in nature with plants is my true calling. In my early 20’s, when I initially went back to the Philippines to live there for 7 life-changing months, my only real goal was to reconnect with my family. Soon after traveling much of Northern Luzon and visiting my grandmother’s farm in Nueva Ecija, I realized I was making an unshakable connection with nature — the smell of the rain coming, the roosters letting you know it’s time to wake up, the smell of a wood fire burning coupled with the lingering aroma of a stew, the way the wind sways the trees to let you know a fresh breeze is coming, and, of course, layers and layers of plants and their flowers all mingling with the insect surround sound that you didn’t think you’d miss until you come back from a bustling city. I believe I truly made those connections during my stay, and once I came back stateside here in New Orleans, those connections made themselves abundantly clear with the similarities in our climate and plant life.
As I type this on my back deck in the heat of July in New Orleans while my mother watches and speaks straight Tagalog to my 11-month-old son inside my home, I look up to my banana tree leaves swaying in the wind, harmonizing with the buzz of insects nearby, and I remember that I am always connected to my Filipino roots.
What part of your heritage do you hope never gets lost?
Tradition is important to me, so I asked my Mother to share her answer to this question: She hopes to pass down family recipes and the necessity of honoring the elderly with “Mano po,” and the use of “po” and “opo” while also keeping the use of Tagalog alive. Also, hanging a parol for xmas.
We actually have our parol hung up at the chocolate cafe year-round, but we only turn it on during the “Ber Months.”
"For me, the genesis of who you become starts at home. Sharing meals at home in the Philippines where I grew up felt like the true meaning of belonging, while also being an important time to simply sit and connect with one another. Now, at our chocolate cafe, I get to host people of all walks of life, from local regulars coming for their own treat or a special gift to visitors from all over coming in for a simple caffeine fix or a bit of what-is-THIS? magic. Hosting so many people over the years has instilled in me the desire to share a space where everyone is welcome to take a break, sit down and enjoy a moment with the vibes of our cafe and of course with chocolate."
