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The Little Prince By Antoine De Saint-Exupéry Is Now Available In Chabacano!

While Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) written by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry in 1943 now has over 300 translations in different languages worldwide and is now considered the world’s most translated book (not counting religious works), there have been surprisingly only two translations of his book in the Philippines (Filipino and Bicol). El Diutay Principe is only the third edition featuring a Philippine language. The Little Prince is a classic French novella about a pilot who gets stranded in the desert after a plane crash and encounters a little fellow who asks him to draw a sheep for him. Through the course of their meeting, the pilot rediscovers the true meaning of life and what people should value the most. When I came across the book in 2013, I found that I could relate very well to the negative image given to “growing up” in the book. When the idea to translate the book into my mother tongue was presented to me, I didn’t think twice. I thought, ‘a lot of people my ...
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Chabacano's Resurgence in 2025

A pretentious Chabacano (?) sign at the airport

Perhaps it was because of the pandemic that saw a lot of people from the big cities go back to their hometowns but last year, I was very surprised to hear Chabacano making a comeback in Zamboanga city's downtown. 

March 2024 was the first time I was able to return to Zamboanga city because of a medical requirement forced upon the population that I refused to take, and during my trip, it was very noticeable that even in places like hotels and malls, there were a lot more people speaking Chabacano.

I thought that maybe I was just imagining it so I waited until going back to Zamboanga city in 2025 before making any conclusions. Folks, the revival is real!

A lot of the employees you encounter in the malls seem to understand Chabacano now but will result to code-switching and borrowing from other languages when speaking it.

Just a typical sign (in Chabacano) found all over the Philippines

At a restaurant, I spoke in Chabacano and was surprised to hear the employee respond in Cebuano. She seemed to understand Chabacano but couldn't speak it. I can understand very basic Cebuano but have a hard time forming sentences so everything worked out between the two of us. 

Don't get me wrong, a lot of Tagalog is still heard in the downtown area and I'm afraid we have arrived at a point where that would already be a permanent fixture. However, the good news is that more Chabacano is now being heard spoken compared to before the pandemic.

An elevated road being constructed in ZC 

The first time I saw an elevated road in person was in Manila. Back then, I didn't even know these things existed and now here they are being constructed in Zamboanga City.

The truth is Zamboanga city is no longer recognizable from the place it used to be when I was growing up. A lot of local tourists now visit Zamboanga city which is unheard of when I was growing up. I think it is because of social media that Zamboanga's reputation is now getting better.

Here is a collection of signs from my recent trip that show Ramadan promotions from some restaurant chains from Manila that make Zamboanga City unique. You probably won't see this in other parts of the country.



At KCC, Chabacano is still rarely heard perhaps since it's the biggest mall in Zamboanga city and that is where most tourists tend to go to. However, I think most employees can understand Chabacano.

Another trend that has been taking off is Chabacano adoption by content creators in Facebook. These creators post videos and text in Chabacano so they are doing a very important job in keeping the language alive.

Another sign in Chabacano found outside a store in Zamboanga city's downtown area

There are also noticeably some Chabacano ads shown in Youtube and Facebook when you are in Zamboanga city, a sign that businesses understand Chabacano's importance in localization.

Chabacano's comeback in Zamboanga City is a heartening development. Its growing presence in everyday conversations and online content suggests a promising future for the language. As the city's cultural identity continues to evolve, it's encouraging to see Chabacano thriving, even if it's alongside other languages. With continued support and promotion, Chabacano can remain a vibrant part of Zamboanga City's heritage.

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