The Boracay Establishment
Roger De Paris
Proprietor, De Paris Boracay Beach Resort, Established in 1980
Photographed Over Lunch By Wawi Navarroza At Chez De Paris On October 16, 2007
Probably the longest-staying expat on the island, Roger De Paris first came to Boracay nearly three decades ago with Mandoy Romualdez. They were members of the Aero Club, and among the first people to access the island by flying there themselves. After Roger’s petroleum business in Hong Kong took a hit from the Bush-Saudi shenanigans in the Middle East, he packed his bags, followed his dreams, and opened a French restaurant on an undiscovered island paradise. Starting with six simple bungalows in Cagban, Roger accommodated guests until he moved to a larger space in Angol, until finally settling at the resort’s current location in the heart of Station Two. “The event of electricity,” he says, “I did not care too much for. Because that was the beginning of the disco, the big lights on the beach, the boom baboom baboom. But how can I complain? I have a beautiful wife and my own business. And how can I get bored here with all the diplomats, the gangsters, the film people, and the backpackers who visit my restaurant? In Boracay, I am free. I have the life people dream of.”
