With that in mind, I decided the other day to revive a old idea that was lying dormant in the corner of my todo list -- Street Vendors. Once upon a time, I thought of shooting all the different types of street vendors the Philippines has roaming about its streets. Between the balut ladies, the fishball manongs, takatak boys, and mamang sorbeteros, we have in us an extremely rich plethora of...roadside entrepreneurs. How this little piece of our culture evolved is beyond me, but here it lies and being the lover that I am of all those things-that-your-mom-tells-you-not-to-eat-when-you're-young, it is extremely close to my heart.
Despite this, other priorites kept on piling and piling until it teetered on the edge of being forgotten before receiving a lifeline from my friend Tine who persistently kept it on my mind. So finally yesterday, off we went to the streets of Manila to see what we could find, stomachs half empty and jars of hope quite full.
We barely got as far as my car when we came across Manong Philip. A familiar face to most from DLSU, Manong Philip sells assorted candies and cigarettes across the North Gate of the school. Owning the spot for as far back as I can remember, he is to me as iconic a character in the cast of my college life as was Jenny the Beggar, Ate Ems or even Mang Jack.
The concept of co-branding is clearly not lost on him, although the fact of whether the other brand is aware of this remains a bit vague. He came off as a bit gruff at first, as most street denizens do, but a small purchase and the promise of a printed portrait delivered a smile (not shown in photo).
We shot one more before the rains forced us to seek shelter in a wonderful little Indian restaurant, but that shall be for another post. Adios muchachos.
love this, chris!
ReplyDeletei can see this series evolving into something very, *very* interesting. we take it for granted, but our street vendor culture is so uniquely and richly Filipino.
i look forward to seeing more... would you mind if i repost a few of them on my blog?
-- reina/@pinayobserver
Sure thing, Reina! And yes, I've been itching to shoot more street vendors. I've been a bit busy lately to go around but this Holy Week should give me the free time I need.
ReplyDeleteI agree, our street vendor culture is very Filipino indeed, something we do take for granted. I'll admit guilt by saying that unfortunately, this particular project was only sparked by my observance of street vendors in other SEA countries. It's never too late though, so here we go. :)