Arci Muñoz opens up about obtaining Spanish passport and her family in Spain

July 31 ------ "Kasi ano, 'di ba, nagkaroon ng amnesty 'yung Spain. So, all of, like, na merong mga families, or kung may apelyido ka na Spanish – my dad's Spanish, eh. So, he has a Spanish passport. So, before he passed away, my sister was like, 'Sabi niya, "Anong gagawin natin? Sayang naman, if we're not gonna avail it,” she said.

The process eventually brought her to Spain, where she found out exactly where her family came from – the southern region of Andalusia. "So, we went to Spain and we learned that our grandparents are all from Andalusia," she said. While she was there, she also came across a street named after her family's surname and finally learned how it is actually supposed to be pronounced. "And may street pa doon, Muñoz. Ay ay ay, Muñoz is not Muñoz. Munyot. So pagpunta ko doon, Munyot ako, Munyot ako. So pagpunta ko doon, 'No, your last name is Munyot,'" she said.

For Arci, though, the passport is not just a privilege – it comes with homework. One of the things asked of her was to learn Spanish, which is easier said than done for someone already juggling two other languages. "Sabi ko, siyempre required din na mag-aral, kaya sabi sa akin pagkuha ko nung passport ko, 'Make an effort to learn the language.' Sabi ko, 'I am, I am.' But in my head, I'm like, I'm studying Korean right now kasi nga gagawa ako ng 'Kumusta.' Sabi ko, 'Wait lang.' Tapos favorite ko naman anime, kaya nag-aaral din ako mag-Japanese. Ano ba 'yan? Required kami mag-aral ng Spanish," she said.

She admitted that the whole experience has been a lot to take in, especially once she was on the ground and actually hearing the language around her. "Pero pagdating ko doon, parang pagkausap ko na sila, naiintindihan ko na, 'Si, si, si, hindi, hindi, hindi, hindi, hindi.' Ano pala 'yan, overwhelming," she said. Arci has been to Europe several times over the years, but Spain was never on her list – until a BTS concert in Madrid finally pushed her to make the trip.

"Kasi alam mo, honestly, kahit na from Spain ang Papa, parang wala akong trip na pumunta ng Spain. Paano ko gagawin? Anong gagawin ko doon? Eh, nagka-BTS concert. Ha! Kaya talagang pumunta ako ng Spain, ha. Tatawirin ko 'yung Dublin. Kasi ang dami namin, 'yung Europe tour, eh. Every year nasa Europe tour kami, eh," she said.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com