It was an unusual scene at Toronto Pearson International Airport. A six-foot-tall, broad-shouldered male mascot wearing a white barong Tagalog, a traditional Filipino salakot hat on his oversized head, and an unmoving, gentle smile on his face, stood near the airport arrivals at Terminal 1, anxiously waiting with a small Canadian flag and stems of assorted flowers in hand.
As the sliding doors opened, out popped a shorter, graceful mascot in a red Filipiniana bolero and a blue-and-white outfit. Her oversized head was framed with tied-back hair in a red head scarf. She pushed in a cart that had her luggage, a balikbayan box, and a basket on top as she waved hello with a small Philippine flag. They locked eyes and rushed toward each other, sharing an anxious hug and a reunion that was both heartwarming and attention-grabbing.
Male mascot “Kuya Popoy” was introduced in 2024 by Pinoy Ontario Vendors (POV), an organization that celebrates and supports Filipino businesses in Ontario. Seeing the crowd’s excitement as Popoy attended community events the past few months, the leaders of POV were inspired to take the storyline further with the introduction of his girlfriend, “Ate Basha.”
“Kuya Popoy first arrived in Canada, worked hard [and] became a ‘permanent resident,’” said Paulo Bucud, founding president of Pinoy Ontario Vendors. “Because of his determination, he’s now reunited with Basha, and now they have a new chapter of their lives together.”
They were formally introduced to hundreds of attendees at POV’s fifth annual summer barbecue party at Toronto’s Earl Bales Park on August 10. It was a significant moment as their story reflects the lives of many Filipinos who chose to migrate to Canada.
“They’re like love birds,” said Ian, who was one of the booth vendors at the event. “Last year, Popoy was sad and alone. Thankfully, they reunited.”
Entrepreneur and attendee Fred Oreal called it an exciting development.
“Usually I see animals [as mascots], right? This mascot is something different… a Filipino uniform,” he said. “The first time I saw Basha, [I said] ‘Wow, she’s very Filipina!’”
But Popoy and Basha are more than just two mascots marking an end to their long-distance relationship. They are the stars in a clever “support local” campaign that is already bringing smiles on social media.
“We were told it’s very witty, that POV was creative for thinking of this,” Bucud said. “We will use Popoy and Basha to promote businesses, especially the members of POV.”
Local businesses expressed their gratitude for this initiative.
“The good thing about POV is we support each other,” Oreal said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a big business or a small business; Filipinos support each other. That’s the beauty of our community.”
One attendee told OMNI News the initiative represents Bayanihan, a Filipino trait of helping each other. According to POV, the mascots are the first Filipino human-like mascots in Canada, bringing Pinoy pride and a whole lot of fun to Filipino events.
“Who knows, they may even get married,” Bucud said while laughing. “Our organization will discuss marketing strategies to promote businesses… It will be a huge difference because it’s unique. They will see there will be scheduling so people can anticipate which [businesses] Popoy and Basha will visit.”
Kuya Popoy and Ate Basha are set to appear at community events in September, carefully choreographing their appearances, using actions rather than words so audiences understand the emotion, whether they’re Filipino or not.
