Our Roots

Magdalena Arguelles

Magdalena Arguelles was born in Iloilo City,Philippines and immigrated with her family initially to Canada then to the USA in 1969. After finishing pharmacy school in Boston, she studied painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she received her BFA. She spent 2 years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bitam, Gabon where she taught science and english. Currently she works as a clinical pharmacist, has an active art practice and tends her garden. She and her husband live in Chicago and have 3 adult children.

She grew up watching her Tatay garden in Iloilo then later in Chicago where he raised asian vegetables such as upo, ampalaya, sitao, dahon camote and ube. Now in her own Itty Bitty Urban Garden (IBUG) in Chicago, she grows the same vegetables that her Tatay did. Over the years she has been saving seeds, like him, to share with fellow gardeners as well as to use for the next year’s garden.

Her practice of and interest in seed saving led her to the work of Vandana Shiva which eventually led her to the work of Global Seed Savers in the Philippines. She is excited to be a GSS board member and to be a part of helping create seed sovereignty on the local level and helping to support sustainable communities.