Some souls are brought together by common roads; ours was orchestrated by a quiet whisper of fate.
It was 2017, inside the familiar walls of the Cebu Provincial Tourism Office of the Cebu Capitol. My boss, Sir Boboi Costas, had held a lottery, a solitary chance to enter the sanctuary of Cebu’s “Chocolate Queen” at Casa de Cacao. I have no idea what it was, but it brought me curiosity what the realm of Cebu’s Chocolate Queen looked like.
In a room full of people, my name was the one called out into the air, 3 of us where chosen out of a number in the office. I thought I had simply won a ticket to taste artisanal chocolate. I didn’t know I had been chosen by the universe to have prepared me for a friendship that I least expected – a friendship with the Chocolate Queen herself, Ms. Raquel Toquero Choa.
I was in awe – she was everywhere – in the media, had a Ted Talk session, and her footsteps in every corner of different consulates in the country and rubbing elbows with the ambassadors and officials.
Our friendship began in the warmth of that afternoon, rising like the rich, intoxicating steam of traditional sikwate. It was an instant, gentle locking of gears, a recognition between two spirits who didn’t need to explain themselves to be understood – both of us are artists, that with wild imaginations and turning our crafts into something sublime.
There is tenderness in the way how I look at her today. Ms. Raquel has become my creative north star, a living breath of pure inspiration, that every time I need some inspiration, I go head her store called The Chocolate Chamber in Robinsons Galleria and sip sikwate. It has always been my creative relief.
Over the years, my taste, my eye for design, the way I crave depth and storytelling in every physical space I create—it has all grown to mirror hers. To look at my own aesthetic choices today is to see a love letter written in her handwriting.
We see the world through the same lens of quiet drama. We are moved by the same rustic textures, the exact same alignment of a shadow in a room, and the silent poetry of an elegantly staged space. Our design instincts don’t just align; they dance together. A single nod from her is all the confirmation my creative soul ever needs.
I still revisit that day at the Capitol with a sense of quiet awe. If that random piece of paper hadn’t been mine, where would my creative heart have anchored itself? It wasn’t just luck; it was destiny opening a heavy door so that two artists could find their rhythm.
Ms, Raquel Toquero Choa, for everyone else, she is The Chocolate Queen, but as for me, she is a dear friend, a muse, and a boost of inspiration.
