I couldn’t explain,

Our world seems so small,

We both belong from the south,

Each day you pass by,

Each morning you start your day,

And end the day,

By unnoticeably leaving me behind

A new day starts,

The sun continues to shine,

But I’m always left watching from afar,

Always looking for signs of you,

I guess I’ll have to wait,

When our paths would entwine,

When things would no longer be complicated,

For now, I’ll only have memories of you.

It was 2004 when I became aware of Havaianas, back then the only store they had was in Glorietta. On my first trip to the store, I was wondering why they had staffs which looked like bouncers guarding the entrance of the small store. As I was waiting for my pair, people started to arrive and I was amaze, how in a matter of minutes the place was jam-packed, thus the entrance was blocked by the belt.

It was then that I saw how people welcomed Havaianas in the Philippines. A few months after my first purchase, people were starting to be aware of what Havaianas were, but I still called them ‘tsinelas’ (slippers) because that exactly was the general term for it. But no, for most people – HAVAIANAS is not just a pair of slipper. It’s about comfort and the prestige one gets upon being notice to own one pair.

I get annoyed with people who made a big deal upon seeing me in my pair of slippers, it was such a big deal. How would you feel, if people spoke to you in such way, “Uy, Havaianas! *bends down to touch your slippers, and asks if they can try it*” The power of positive word-of-mouth of buyers to their friends and family made Havaianas even more popular, they started to collect. Some would cut down on their food expenses to save for a pair. Others would take photos and post on their blogs.

Fast-forward. 2008. Havaianas has become part of our culture, it’s a must in the lifestyle of most people now a days. One speaker in a seminar I’ve attended discussed how Havaianas affected the lives of people, her own niece traveled from Pampanga to Rockwell just to buy a pair of Havs and to their dismay no pair matched the size of her niece’s feet BUT still the teenage girl bought the pair even if it was too big for her to wear. Why did she buy it? She was going to attend a ‘Havaianas’ themed party.

Havaianas a.k.a slippers or tsinelas, still the same, though they may differ in the materials used, the soles would eventually wear-out, the designs would fade and it would still accumulate dirt.