Tante Urban – Truly Local

by Vic A
(as published 4 years ago in MVP)

with his late mother

When we started the Magsingal Virtual Plaza (MVP), we had high aspirations to have it as the virtual ‘tambayan’ of everyone who call themselves Magsingalenos or anyone remotely associated with Magsingal.  Five months on, we could have never hoped for a better outcome - it’s all because of your support and that common yearning to reconnect with our town and its people.  The website has reconnected relatives, rekindled old friendships and even introduced Magsingalenos who are in the different parts of the globe.

Manong Tante is one person I would have never had the pleasure of getting introduced to if not for the website.  It turned out he is a second cousin too.  The way we tracked down Manong Tante is an amazing story on its own.

It started when Manong Mario Ugalino shared an article on the site about the Filipino Fiesta in Hawaii in early May 08.  By chance, I left a comment on the message board asking for any notable Magsingalenos in Hawaii who we can feature on the site.  I know that there are so many great Hawaiian stories to tell, we just don’t know who they are.  Manong Mario responded saying that he saw on TFC in Hawaii, two successful Magsingalenos featured in one of their programs.  He mentioned the names of Tante Urban and Linda Rosario (hopefully we can track Manang Linda too so we can feature her here).  Manong Mario also mentioned to me that he thinks he is the cousin of Manang Imelda Pagador-Viloria, who has earlier contributed an article on our site.  I emailed Manang Imelda (who is also a second cousin) and she did confirm that Manong Tante is her first cousin.  Her mother and Manong Tante’s father are siblings.

A day after we made that discovery, a message on the site came out announcing a reunion of TMI Class 66-67.  It was posted by Manong Bart Concepcion who happens to be from Sydney.  Interestingly enough, one of the contact persons listed in that announcement is Tante Urban from Hawaii.  Since Manong Bart is from Sydney and I am all too keen to meet other kailians here, I emailed immediately to find out where in Sydney he is and also to confirm if the Tante Urban on the TMI announcement is the same Tante Urban that we’re trying to track down.  When I received the email response from Manong Bart with his phone number, I immediately picked up the phone and had a lengthy initial conversation with him.  He gave me some background information about Manong Tante especially during their time as school friends in TMI and that they have kept in contact up to this present day, together with some of their batch mates.

A few days after that, I rang Manong Tante in Hawaii and introduced myself as someone from MVP and a cousin as well.  I was very surprised how welcoming he was despite not having met him in person.  We talked probably for an hour and discussed about everything from family, his successes in the restaurant business in Hawaii and even a potential community project for our town.


Manong Tante’s family history (Details supplied by Manong Tante)

Manong Tante was born in Magsingal to Macario Urban (now Daniel in Hawaii) and Felicitas Tolentino.  He spent 16 years growing up in their family home in Magsingal until he moved to Hawaii after high school.

with his wife and parents

Let’s start the family’s history when Manong Tante’s father sailed off for Hawaii.  Right after WW2 in 1946, the young and single Daniel boarded the ship Maunawili with 1,000 other Filipino men, determined to look for a better life in Hawaii.  He was on the first of four trips the Maunawili would eventually make to Hawaii, bringing more than 4,000 new Filipino immigrants.  The first Filipino migrants who went to Hawaii were called sakadas or “pioneers” in the Tagalog language.  They are probably the first batch of OFWs and possibly the largest post-war influx of Filipino immigrants to the Aloha State.

Manong Tante’s father began work on a plantation in Keaau then moved to Molokai after a few months to work in the pineapple fields there.  After five years of working in Hawaii, he decided to return to the Philippines to visit his family and more importantly to find a life-time partner.  One of the first things he bought when he was back in the Magsingal was a jeep, which he used to transport paying passengers between the towns of our province.  It was in one of these trips that he met an attractive young store owner with the pretty name of Felicitas.  After courtship, the couple married on July 14, 1950.  By the time he returned to Hawaii, his wife was one-month pregnant with their first child, Tante.

with cousin dodong

Manong Tante’s mother stayed back in Magsingal to raise him, while his father continued working on the Big Island.  He made return trips to Magsingal and in 1960 the couple’s daughter, Donna, was born.  By 1967, Manong Tante, then finished with his high school at The Magsingal Institute (TMI), went to Hawaii to be with his father.  A year later, his mother and sister followed and the family was now reunited.

They lived on a farm in Captain Cook.  By this time, Manong Tante’s father was working at the Kona Inn making better wages.  His next job was with the Keauhou Beach Hotel, working there for 15 years prior to retiring in 1985.  His mother on the other hand was first employed at the King Kamehameha Hotel, then the Kona Galley Restaurant before retiring.  Manong Tante’s dad has made only one more return trip to Magsingal in 1975 for his father’s funeral.

Manong Tante and sister Donna, have thrived in their Big Island home.  In 1980, his sister was crowned Miss Hawaii Filipina.  She has since been successful in various ventures.  Manong Tante on the other hand graduated from the University of Hilo with a BA degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management in 1970.


Tante, the Restaurateur 

His degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management became his ticket to the vibrant hotel and restaurant industry in Hawaii - a major source of income for the Aloha State.  After graduation, he held different positions in the culinary field before starting Tante’s Restaurant in 1996.

Tante’s Restaurant has become a local institution in the Big Island.  It has carved a reputation for quality food, friendly service, affordable prices and has developed signature dishes reflecting a variety of tastes and cuisines.  The restaurant has become the meeting place for local people to catch up on community events and happenings.  Manong Tante credits the support and efforts of his wife Araceli, and that of their four children for the success of his business.

A major reason for the restaurant’s popularity is Manong Tante’s willingness to listen to his patrons and adjust the menu as necessary to keep with the ever-changing customer preferences.  The restaurant serves both continental and local tastes, especially authentic Filipino food.  Readers of the local newspaper West Hawaii Today have chosen Tante’s Restaurant as the “Best Filipino Restaurant” three times in the paper’s annual poll.

his parents and his aunties (his dad's sisters)

In addition to his successful restaurant, Manong Tante also operates the employee cafeteria for the 485-room Marriott Waikoloa Beach Resort on the Kohala Coast of the Big Island.

His achievements in the restaurant business were formally recognized when in 2004, Manong Tante was among six national honorees (hospitality category) in the 10th annual Asian Entrepreneur of the Year Awards held in Las Vegas.   This was a major achievement for Manong Tante considering that this is a national award and the honorees are across different industries.  The criteria for selection were wide-ranging and not purely on financial performance and business growth.  Among other things, the set of criteria included:  job creation, number of employees, ability to overcome economic and or ethnic barriers and challenges, quality of product or service, customer satisfaction, etc.  Also in 2004, Manong Tante was Hawaii Entrepreneur of the Year Award Nominee by the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii.

He proudly attributes the successes he has achieved in his life, to his parents Daniel and Felicitas, who molded his character based on a the principles of hard work, perseverance and focus.



Other pre-occupations

On top of his restaurant business, Manong Tante also dabbles in real estate investing, building affordable housing in Kona, Big Island.

He is well-known in the business circle especially in Kona.  He is the founder of the Kona Filipino Chamber of Commerce, and a two-time past president of this Filipino organization.  He saw that there was something missing in the local Filipino community – a professional voice.  That’s when he started the local group, which provides business education and networking opportunities for local Filipino business people as well as the general community.

his mom and monsignor ted mercado

He also plans to join his TMI Class 66-67 in their planned reunion in Magsingal in April 2009.  This is the reason Manong Tante inquired from me what would be a good community project for Magsingal.  He and his batch mates have been thinking of putting up a project for the town and indicated that if we can all band together and extend this project to the rest of our town mates who are willing to participate then it would be something we can all get involved in.  He believes that children’s development is very important and because of this, he thinks a sports complex and/or educational learning centre furnished with modern research materials, books, computers, etc, would be a worthwhile project for Magsingal.  He is convinced that with sports and education, kids will be more motivated to learn and compete nationally and globally.