It’s a Sunday afternoon and a couple of men walked into Sizzling Fillo, a Filipino restaurant a stone’s throw away from Lidcombe station in Sydney, for a very late lunch.What they didn’t know was that they were just about to gatecrash an intimate party – a ‘send-off’ party if you like – for two Filipino-Australians who dare to dream big. Albert Dimarucut, a well-known Filipino dancer and choreographer, and Brian Lorenz Babon, a multi-talented artist who won a major singing competition, have set their eyes on going to the VIII Gay Games, Cologne 2010.
Competing in the ‘dance’ sports category, Albert and Brian have to be at the eight-day event to be held from July 31 to August 7. To be in the running, they had to be nominated by an association and were chosen by FLAGCOM and Friends (Filipino Lesbian and Gay Community). The catch is, they have to finance the trip themselves and, with less than a fortnight to go, are yet to secure company sponsors to help fund all their expenses. But as the saying goes, if there’s a will, there’s a way. One of their close friends, Armando ‘RC’ Reyes, hosted a despedida with the help of Sizzling Fillo’s owners (who gave the venue at no charge) and invited guests.
Brian said they have wanted to be part of the Games for a long time now. “It’s held every four years and we thought, we should do it – this is the year,” he said. Not that their end goal is to get the gold. Asked what they would do to differentiate themselves from their rivals, Brian smiled and said they’ll just show their best and have a good time. “We’re just going to have fun,” he said. Judging by their passion and pedigree, there’s a good chance they might just make history and become the first gay Filipino-Australians to go to the games.
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