Ang Dabawenya
This is the first of a series of personality features that will be published in this blog. I’ll be featuring Davao people who have somehow made a mark in their particular fields of interest, and in Davao. And what better way to embark on this series but with the Dabawenya herself, Jojie Alcantara.
The citizens of Davao came to know of vibrant, vivacious and literarily valiant Jojie when she first published Witerary. It started out as her column in one of the local dailies, and eventually found its way on the pages of Sun•Star Davao. Witerary was like a breath of fresh air that breezed through Davao — and even beyond our borders. Jojie’s brand of wit and tireless humor quickly became sought-after articles, and Witerary instantly became a buzzword. Now, Jojie’s writings, as well as her “other stuff”, are online at Witerary.com. And, she’s restarted her own blog: Dabawenya.com (neat huh?).
One of the many facets of Jojie that I like is that, her character is almost exactly how you’d perceive it to be by reading her. Witerary is funny and insightful — that’s Jojie. Her column is very interesting — so is Jojie. And she is passionate about what she writes.
Jojie was born on 10 Jan 19xx in Mati, Davao Oriental, but she grew up in Davao City. Grade school and high school found her at Stella Maris Academy (I wonder how the nuns fared?), and for college she attended Ateneo de Davao. As is common among educated Dabawenyos, she is fluent in English, Tagalog and Cebuano (the Davao variety). But what I find enviable is Jojie’s command of the native Davao tongue, Dinabaw, also called Camayo. This attests to my friend’s deep roots in the land of her birth. Reading her travelogues, you can see that she is in touch with Davao and her people.
And this is most probably why Jojie has made it to prestigious publications, such as Mabuhay, Philippine Airlines’ in-flight magazine. She’s even been featured by Cosmopolitan.
To many who don’t particularly know her, Jojie may seem a happy-go-lucky and somewhat crazy gal, what with her seemingly whimsical jaunts and über-adventurous nature. But those are just manifestations of her passion for life.
This accomplished Dabawenya is a writer, photo journalist, and an artist. She claims to have had no formal training, but she’s certainly made a name as a cartoonist and graphics designer. She even has the temperament of an artist (like, it irks her to have to do mass-produced “art”).
Oh and she’s also into I.T.! When I and Tope Cubos were starting our own website development businesses, Jojie wasn’t very far behind. I was more into content development; Tope was more heavily leaning towards design. But Jojie had the best of both worlds: she delivered captivating content wrapped in unique designs.
Anything wrong with this girl? Of course! Otherwise she wouldn’t be so intriguing and alluring. 
This is not a paid post. But Jojie will treat me to coffee for this.
May 17th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Nice personality profile Blogie. =) Jojie is a celebrity and I secretly admire her from a distance when I see her at the coffee shop or at the mall. It is very rare that you can find a good writer and a good speaker at the same time but even more rare that you find those talents in one beautiful package wrapped with, what now seems (from your profile of her), down-to-earth personality.
Congrats on this interesting series, can’t wait to read your next Persona =)
May 17th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
By the way, you do realize that you and Jojie are the official represantatives of Davao Blogosphere right? hehehe Ang Dabawenyo taken, Ang Dabawenya taken, Ang Dabawenoyot is still up for grabs, any takers? LoL =)
May 17th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
ako na lang ang dabawenoyot…
May 17th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
@Jap — Thanks, glad you like the idea. And yes, Jojie is a local celebrity, isn’t she? But in all the years I’ve known her, I’ve never seen her let this get to her head.
@maui — go da!
May 19th, 2007 at 1:53 am
nice Blog..keep it coming.
LiamLeeâ„¢ - Davaosale.com
May 19th, 2007 at 8:38 am
first of all, i don’t let anything get into my head because once in a while, i like it empty.
i came across this page to find that my good friend has written juicy words to actually describe me as someone admirable! i am so overwhelmed i almost peed in my pajamas. then i remember it was because i just returned from one of my uber-adventures…this time conquering mount apo on a whim…and i haven’t seen a decent toilet in the forest the whole time.
i am touched by your kind words, dabawenyo, and you know me too well for me to even dare correct you! however, you missed out the fact that i was a breakdancer in my humble beginnings before i became a ramp model, a beauty titlist and eventually a tv show host. then age, weight and cellulite caught up so am back behind my pc to cover my flabs. or that i once had a shortlived crush (30 minutes) on you which you were oh so proud of in mid90s.
but because you know me too well, i should just be relieved you only skimmed the surface of our solid friendship, and that you ommitted my age, praise be!
but seriously blogie-o (rhymes with fabio), you just don’t know how much am proud of you too. the Blog was really named after you. i owe you barako coffee big time.
thank you for making me look so smartass and kickass than i really am.
May 19th, 2007 at 10:30 am
See what i mean, people?
May 19th, 2007 at 10:49 am
[...] look! Blogie Robillo writes about me in his Ang Dabawenyo blog. [...]
May 29th, 2007 at 1:54 am
oopsie…shouldn’t it be “omitted”? (from my comment in the 3rd to the last paragraph, sorry delayed reaction ito) giggle
May 29th, 2007 at 6:57 am
LOL! Jojie my friend, OC rin sya when it comes to language..
March 14th, 2008 at 3:53 am
[...] night I was invited to a press conference that was certainly not run of the mill. When Jojie (who’s actually my colleague of sorts as we both contribute to Sun•Star Davao as [...]