Mom Spotlight: Pamela Gotangco Hupp

On November 11, 2020 a just-turned seven-year-old boy received the most unique present: a kettcar freshly clad in carefully constructed cardboard boxes to make it look like an F1 racing car.  Not just any F1 racing car, but the 2014 Red Bull car driven by Sebastian Vettel.  Maximilian Aurich Hupp was so overwhelmed, he closed his eyes, characteristic of some with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  His mother, Filipina artist Pamela Gotangco Hupp also felt her heart swell.  At last!  A birthday present she was certain he loved.

Pamela Gotangco Hupp is no stranger to varied expressions of emotions, she herself admits that when she feels very strongly about something she says it in drawings.  “When I would write my husband love letters, I’d give him drawings. Artwork was my gesture of feelings,” she says.

Pamela was not always an artist though.  Her career includes having been cabin crew and purser for Etihad Airways, work for an IT company that brought in internet-via-satellite technology to the Philippines in the 90s, and working in publishing for a local magazine.  It wasn’t until her family had to relocate to Switzerland that art made its way into her life full time.

A new city, a language yet unlearned, and no opportunities of employment (due to the language barrier), she found herself unsure of her day to day.  Her husband, Mathias, encouraged her to pursue her passion. “He came home one day with a carload of art materials. Canvas of all sizes, paints, everything!  Six months to the day he came home with all those things I had my first exhibit in a small art cafe in Zurich.  This was in 2010.”

Pamela laughs at the thought of the exhibit, sharing that she twisted her husband’s arm to invite his colleagues and how her husband had admitted to her sometime later that her style was horrible.  Nevertheless, she was happy with her 11 guests and the painting she sold, giving her a first taste of success.

Ten years and a much evolved style later, her art has given her the avenue to promote Filipino culture and heritage, a platform to create awareness for indigineous people in the Philippines, and a means to empower women–all her art is anchored in the various advocacies she supports.  Pamela has had over 54 exhibits worldwide, and she collaborates with brands like Mommy Mundo to create unique pieces.  (Check out Pamela’s Mommy Mundo 2021 planner design here.)  In 2018 she received the Award for Visual Art from the Filipino Women’s Network for being one of the 100 Most Influential Filipino Women of the year.

Now, her passion has given her the medium to mother her youngest child uniquely.  About a year into being a full time artist, Pamela and her husband discovered she was expecting, and she was very excited.  She felt this was to be the perfect pregnancy and she now had the chance to be the perfect mother because she had more time than ever.  

“Sometimes life doesn’t come the way you plan it,” she says as she talks about how her son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  “But I think everything happens for a reason, and everything I went through and did was preparing me for this, for becoming a full time artist and mother.”

Aurich is semi-verbal autistic, only able to say words he practices in therapy.  This makes communication a process of observation and understanding.  “A lot of times we can’t hold a birthday party for him because it’s noisy and there are too many people.  He doesn’t like that.  It wasn’t like my other children who would tell me, I want this kind of party, or this is the present I want.  We really have to observe him to know what he wants.”

It was on a recent trip to Greece that Pamela observed her son’s fascination with the Red Bull logo.  She already noted his fondness for logos, especially bold coloured logos, and she was happy that he found a logo he loved looking at and calmed him down to boot!  Soon she found herself picking up empty red bull boxes from supermarkets so she could give him different versions of the logo and as many as she could find, and it was from here that an idea started to form.

Taking his old kettcar, which he never used, she started recreating a Red Bull F1 car.  Hiding in the basement and working over the course of two weeks, she tirelessly worked to customise the car.  As she documented her progress on Facebook, friends and family began reaching out to her to show support.  Then one friend offered to sponsor the car in exchange for her putting their business logo on the side.

Previously, Pamela and her husband already put up a fund called Autism is Love, which is reserved for the care of Aurich after they pass.  Because family and friends are always unsure of what to give him for his birthday or holidays, the fund gives them a way to give him a present.  So Pamela readily agreed to the sponsorship, asking the friend to deposit the money into the fund.  Soon, word spread, and more and more sponsors came.  Her heart was filled with gratitude, but the icing on the cake was seeing Aurich’s reaction.

“He actually put his head on the wheel of the car.  The emotion was too strong so he couldn’t handle it.  He closed his eyes, unable to look at it because he likes it that much,” she says.

The car came with a full Red Bull party that coincided with the carnival in Cologne.  Red Bull flags, homemade Red Bull IDs for guests, declaring them VIPs, and more.  Aurich beamed from ear to ear.  For her, it was the assurance she needed.  “He can’t tell me he loves me, but with his smile, I know it’s enough.”

Pamela hopes that the car inspires other parents whose children have autism.  “You have to be creative in showing your love,” she says.  “There is a purpose for everything, and I am grateful for a chance to be creative in parenting my son.  You know, parents to children with autism have such an interesting life.  It is never boring.”