Twins Cris and Evan Ramos, who live on different continents, were able to celebrate their birthdays together through the Portal sculpture in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig City.
Cris, who lives in Dublin, Ireland, bought a cake and candles for her twin brother in the Philippines to mark their birthday on January 28, despite the significant time difference.
The twins met at the Portal sculpture in BGC at 2 a.m. Philippine time, which was 6 p.m. in Dublin.
Cris, his twin sister, admitted she was “late” to their meetup because she had bought him a cake and candles.
She also sang “Happy Birthday” to him, even though the Portal had no audio.
Later, Cris was joined by others at the portal, who also waved back at the Filipinos.
“Happy Birthday, Kuya Van. Finally, nagkita din sa Portal,” she wrote in an Instagram post on January 29.
View this post on Instagram
Cris’ post caught the attention of the Portal Organization, the group behind the global art initiative that connects people through real-time video feeds installed in public spaces.
“Awww, this is amazing! Happy birthday, both of you!” it commented.
Evan also shared a post from a publication that covered their virtual meetup.
“Ehem, ate Cris Evert Ramos. Happy b-day [satin] uli, hehehe,” he wrote in a reshare.
Meanwhile, some online users asked why the twins did not simply schedule a video call.
Evan explained that they tried the Portal sculpture because there is also one installed near his twin sister’s area.
“Meron din po. Bagong install po ‘yang portal sa BGC – triny namin – kung malapit po kayo sa area, puntahan niyo po – masaya din ‘yung experience, hehehe,” he responded.
The Portal in BGC is the first Portal sculpture to be installed in Asia.
It provides a 24/7 video feed connecting to five other “Portals” around the world, with locations switching every three minutes.
The other Portals are located in Vilnius (Lithuania), Lublin (Poland), Dublin (Ireland), Philadelphia (United States) and Ipswich (United Kingdom).
Through the Portal, people can wave and hold up cards with messages to one another, bridging distances in real time.
The Manila Portal is located on 5th Avenue, directly in front of the popular 3D LED screen in BGC. — with reports from Philstar.com/Kathleen Llemit
