A dear friend, a pioneer travel blogger, Eric Dormido (known in the blogosphere as Byahilo) passed away yesterday, October 5, 2018. He suffered a cardiac arrest while undergoing routine dialysis for his Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). He was 39.
Eric was one of the first bloggers I got to know when I began blogging in 2006. At that time, he was already starting to make a name for himself as a travel blogger. There were very few travel bloggers like him back then.
Eric was such a credible and trusted travel blogger that, in 2009, when Nokia (the top mobile brand then) launched Ovi and got a group of bloggers together for an ad, Eric was one of them. Watch this.
As early as 2005 (based on the first video he uploaded on YouTube) Eric was already featuring the beauty of the Philippine festivals, especially the Masskara Festival from his hometown. I remember some of his social posts where he was heavily involved even with the costumes that were being worn by participants. He himself has lots of photos wearing Masskara costumes. Eric is fondly called the Festival Queen because of all his efforts to bring our Philippine festivals to the forefront. Check out Eric’s YouTube channel where he has over 500 videos about the festivals and his trips all over the country.
I recently bumped into Eric at a blogger event for a brand held at the National Museum of Natural History. I had not seen him in ages. He had been undergoing dialysis but traveled all the way to Manila from his home in Laguna for this event. He had just began his journey with essential oils (which I was also into) and we chatted about it and his medical condition for some time. He obviously lost a lot of weight but his spirit was high and his spirit was undaunted. At the event proper, Eric and I sat together the whole time. How was I to know then that that would be my last encounter face-to-face with him?
Here is my tribute for Eric which I first posted on my Facebook wall but since there are many more who know Eric, I decided to put it here on my blog as well for posterity.
My Tribute to You, My Friend (Eric) – October 5, 2018
I am not quite ready to say goodbye, my friend. The news tonight was totally unexpected.
Despite life’s challenges, you’ve always managed to be the Byahilo we all came to know and love – funny and authentic. You tried to live life as normally as possible, even going back to attending blogger events whenever you could. And true to being a blogger, you kept posting on FB and Instagram even up to a few hours before you were gone.
You were one of the earliest travel bloggers — an institution (Byahilo: Ito ang Trip ko!). The history of travel blogging will always include your name as a pioneer. Your love for the beauty of this country and its many fiestas, seen in the photos you have posted, reflected how colorful your own life was. What will the Masskara Festival be from now on without our FestivalQueen?
Now, you have traveled again to still another place but this time I know it is the best place to be. What is the fiesta like up there? Say hello to our friends who have gone ahead and who must now be laughing and enjoying your blogger reunion. Tonight, I will say a prayer for you. Godspeed, Eric. I’ll miss your comments on my wall and on my IG, even our short conversations on Messenger. I am just thankful that it was a recent blogger event that brought us together once again so we could have this one last photo. 😔
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One of our blogger friends, Tonyo Cruz, wrote about Eric’s passing. You can read it HERE.