Actor cum writer, Xavi de Guzman has a flair for bringing people together through shared experiences — his acting, book ‘Peeled Fruit’, his Non Profit ‘The Play On Foundation’, and through food. Xavi’s book is a sweet culmination of his childhood memories and the immigrant experience. It will leave you thinking of family, community, and a little hungry. Let Jejune Magazine introduce you to the writer that is Xavi de Guzman.

Where are you based?
Currently based in Vancouver.

You are an actor turned writer. Can you tell us a bit about this process? Is writing new for you or have you always been a writer?
Not too sure there's a real process from going from one to the other, but being an actor definitely inspired me to take the bold path to pursue being published. I've always wrote, long before I even considered acting I'd jot poems down for fun. Acting however did introduce me to screen and stage writing, which I feel I've favored. Funny enough, I wrote this book as an animated short at first before deciding turning it into a book.

What about your childhood inspired ‘Peeled Fruit’?
Specifically that my mom always peeled fruit at the end of dinner for the family. A gesture I never really thought much of until I found myself doing it for friends.

Can you tell us about how you connected to your Filipino roots, growing up in Toronto in a predominantly Chinese/ Japanese/ Korean community?
Sad to say, I didn't. From the lunches my mom packed to speaking the language, I wasn't proud. All I really had was my incredibly large family, but even that I never really took in the filipino dynamics of our get togethers.

What does ‘Peeled Fruit’ represent to you?
First and foremost, this book is a love letter to my parents. And the second thing that I hope to get across is that brown stories matter. I hope to lend a voice to the entertainment industry that has non filipinos relating to the story. Because that's been the problem with the writing room, is that people are scared to tell their own story because they feel like people won't relate, but everybody relates to life.

The book was such a cute read! What do you hope your readers get from it?
What it feels to be Filipino (and of the oceanic community, from every island in the Pacific). There's a lot of easter eggs from indigenous designs to items to gestures that are specific to my culture. The goal wasn't to make them obvious, but present enough that even in your peripheral, it adds to the essence of the story.

Can you run us through your writing process for the book?
Like I mentioned before, it started as a screen play, so the first challenge was translating that to a different form of text. Then through that was finding my illustrator. I specifically wanted a filipino artist, so I put a feeler out on Instagram and I had many replies with so many amazing recommendations. I interviewed them, and finally chose Rhoda Domingo, all the way from New Zealand. Then it was all about marrying the text with the illustrations.

Do you believe that the immigrant experience has common themes running through different people’s lives?
100%. And even more common themes within the children born from first generation immigrants. And from what I've witnessed, there's even more potent themes within those immigrants who turned into parents. And I feel the specific struggle is tied with the concept of assimilation.

Asian representation is just starting to become a thing. Yet, it feels like all the Asian cultures are lumped together, despite there being many very diverse cultures throughout Asia. How would you like to see people recognizing the different backgrounds more? What would you like more people to know about Filipino culture?
I think the struggle that I'm learning to wrap my head around is that it's not just about going to the motherland, but understanding what the motherland was like before colonization, before an empire took over and established a societal norm by force. We learn a very specific history in North America, and further we learn an even more simplified world history. It took so long for north American education systems to incorporate indigenous affairs, which can only make us realize how limited that historical education scope would be covering the history of the entire world. So I cant speak on China or Japan or anywhere else in Asia, but the globe really only knows The Philippines post Spanish inquisition. That's what I'd like the world to know, and especially those in The Philippines who haven't given it a second thought, but there's a rich history that needs to be uncovered. From embracing our darker skin tones to clothing to language and dialects — down to the foods that we used to embrace that connects us more to the earth, like the mango.

Can you explain why ‘Love You Forever’ by Robert Munsch has such an impact on your childhood and the ideation and execution of this book?
When I was a kid, I managed to stay awake passed all the other cousins, and I found myself the only child up with all my titas and my mom, and I just found it incredibly interesting to have experienced a room full of adults enjoying a children's book, and not for the sake of a child being present. Going back to that memory more often than I can even count, it shows me that there's more to a story than who it's intended for.

What do you want Peeled Fruit to represent a few years or decades down the line?
To me? I just want it to be a fun memory of me daring to do something new. To others? I don't know. That's up to them. I'll just be thrilled if this book is still a point of conversation by then.

Wow, you have your own non-profit! Can you tell us about The Play On Foundation? What inspired you to form this organization?
This charity was created out of a need for understanding. My friend, Nathan Noel, passed away as a result of a rupturing brain aneurism and its all because it's an illness that isn't yet understood. So the hope is to generate funds that can be allocated to research that can make this more of a mainstream medical issue that should deserve just as much attention as cancer or strokes have in the passed two decades.

What link does your book have to your charity?
I'm using the book as a means to divert attention and promote the charity. The Play On Foundation! Help us raise money for brain aneurism detection and prevention.

Is philanthropy something that was induced during your childhood or have you always had a natural inclination for it?
I've always tried my best to live according to "do onto others what you would want done to yourself." So the inclination to be helpful has always been something I've tried my best to commit to. Provided I had the capacity for it.

What is your motto in life?
Just do your best. Everybody is just trying to do their best.

It has been a rough few years, how have you been staying positive during these times?
Oh Jejune... this is a loaded question lol. All I can say is that mental health is important, talk it out, and get a therapist if you need.

To learn more about Xavi, his book, and his non-profit, please follow the links below:
Instagram: @peeledfruitbook
@xdeguz
@playon2013

www.LetsPlayOn.org
Spotify: The Play On Foundation pres: The 2 Degrees Podcast

Enjoying ‘Peeled Fruit’ With Xavi de Guzman