Moreno Morena

MagazineIssue 01

Jul 26

Written By Hella Pinay

An ongoing Philippines-based photography project in appreciation of dark skin.

Photography Juro Ongkiko

From Hella Pinay Issue 01: Resilience - Spring/Summer 2021.

“I started getting interviews for magazines, and the questions would be like, how do you feel about being moreno? I would never know how to feel about that because I’m like, it’s the skin I grew up in. It’s what I am.

I feel like, you’re praising me for something that should be normal in this country. And that’s where I feel like, that’s such a big problem already, right? Like, you’re praising someone for being brown? In the Philippines?”

— Angela

**Model** Ara N. **Beauty** Dorothy Mamalio. **Styling** Kyla Laceda. **Photography** Juro Ongkiko.

“I’m really blessed to be morena. It gives off a certain glow because Asians usually have a yellow-ish undertone and when you add the tan to it, it’s almost gold. But being filipino I believe is all in the blood and in the super solid culture we share. Filipinos are known for being kind and good-hearted and I like to believe that’s what really matters.”

— Ara

**Model** Julia Saubier. **Photography** Juro Ongkiko.

**Model** Isabela Lucia Aguirre. **Beauty** Dorothy Mamalio. **Styling** Kyla Laceda. **Photography** Juro Ongkiko.

“As a Morena woman, I had always felt alienated from my own nation.
The culture of today is fixated on Western standards of beauty. Filipinos and Filipinas are forced to survive in a country that belittles its own people. Mere survival in itself, however, is far from living. Survival is having to prove that one’s worth and potential lies beyond the color of one’s skin. Living, on the other hand, is a faraway dream: a vision of a world that is free from discrimination.

Being a dark-skinned Filipina woman is an honor to me. In the end though, beyond colors, shapes, and sizes, beauty runs deeper than the color of one’s skin. While I am proud of being a morena woman, it is the meaning behind my skin, and how it connects with the goodness of the heart, which makes it even more beautiful.

My shade carries a history of bravery, boldness, and of beauty in the midst of homogenized systems. My skin holds stories, legacies, and the promise of showing future generations that self-love is not arrogance, and that there is nothing wrong with being who we are: morenos and morenas with unwavering spirits, and hearts that shine as bright as the sun that rises each day, just like we do.”

— Bel