Of ‘Peeled Fruit’ and Brain Aneurysms
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After friend Nathan Noel died from a brain aneurysm at age 25 in 2013, Xavi and three fellow philanthropists formed Let’s Play On Foundation to raise “awareness for brain aneurysm detection and prevention.”
An aneurysm is a weakness of a blood vessel that can lead to a rupture. According to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, “One in fifty people walk around with an unruptured brain aneurysm, with 30,000 people a year rupturing and half of those people dying.” Xavi observes that a blood clot can lead to a rupture.
Xavi runs the Foundation from Vancouver, BC, where, coincidentally, Easter Sunday was filmed. “Let’s Play On is my effort to raise money for a specific field of research on risks of aneurysms to youth and young adults.”
Xavi De Guzman
A Great Kids’ Book for a Worthy Cause
The publication of Peeled Fruit is a new initiative to fund the Foundation. Written by Xavi with illustrations by Fil-New Zealander Rhoda Domingo, the children’s book follows Fernando de Guzman as his relationship with his favorite fruit, mango, changes as he matures from toddler to parent.
Xavi named the protagonist after his father, a steel mill worker, who met his mother, Jesusa, in Toronto, where she works as a secretary in an accounting firm. Four years ago, Xavi left his parents and older brother, Joseph, to seek his fortune in the Vancouver entertainment industry.
Xavi realizes that North Americans generally think of adobo and lumpia when the subject of Filipino cuisine surfaces. “Adobo has strong South Asian roots. The origins of adobo and lumpia are connected to the Asian continent. Peeled Fruit departs from mainstream perceptions of Filipino food by appreciating how our native fruits connect us more authentically to our island ancestors.”
Xavi’s family. Clockwise in order from Dad Fernando, Mom Jesusa, Xavi, and older brother Joseph.
Rhoda Domingo’s illustration of Xavi’s family.
Filipino Markers and Mannerisms
For relatability, Peeled Fruit brings in cultural motifs like “psst!” gestures for calling someone’s attention, flowered preparation of mangoes, and the nickname kuya for big brother.
I know from experience that a rite of passage for parents is finding that children’s story they can read to their young children every single night. The kiddos drift into sweet dreams on a blanket of magic, never into boredom. My two children and I kept on enjoying the Airport book by Byron Barton. If the world is the beautiful, compassionate, and hopeful place they envision when they decide to bring children into their homes, Peeled Fruit will be the serendipity berry for a new generation of Fil-Am and non-Filipino parents and their toddlers.
Peeled Fruit is available on eBook release on October 31, 2022. The hardcover book can be ordered from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Powell’s City of Books on November 9th. For those in the giving spirit, your purchase from Powell’s Books will support Let’s Play On Foundation while helping sustain an influential and deserving independent bookseller as it fights for its existence.
Anthony Maddela went to Mass this morning to pray for his Positively Filipino audience. He is against cancer and for the birds.
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