A Different Kind of Butcher

Last Monday, I was able to sneak in a few shots with Marie, a vegan chef I mentioned in a previous post here on the blog. My friendship with Marie has led me to an curiosity for people that, for lack of a better phrase, have one rung off from the rest of the ladder. Not crazies - although crazy people are interesting in their own right - but rather people in unique circumstances, whether by choice or not, like maybe a blind pianist or a missionary to North Korea.

The shot above plays on the central tenet of veganism which believes that killing animals for food is immoral. Marie is shown to be a murderer as well, for food, albeit with much less mobile victims -- a different kind of butcher, if you will.

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Street Vendors - Buko Juice

Meet John Lee. It is debatable if that's his full name, or his first name which happens to be a compound name, but that was how he introduced himself. This initially timid man with slightly jaundiced eyes is a street vendor, peddling coconuts (buko in Filipino) along the corner of General Luna Street and Makati Avenue.

He's not your noisy type of vendor, broadcasting presence with a horn or booming voice like the more ambulant ones. John stands unassuming by the street corner, waiting for customers he know will come. His strong piercing eyes foreshadow a confidence brought about by a sense of business savvy not normally expected from one with that office address.

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Marie: Answering the Vegan Call

Last month, I had the privilege of shooting Marie, an amazing vegan chef and a good friend who runs a nifty little outfit called Kitchen Revolution. Now Marie has always been gifted in the culinary arts, long before she discovered herself as a vegan. After the transformation however, she was a bit disappointed to find that in this meat-loving country, there aren't that many vegan-friendly establishments. And I quote:

She started Kitchen Revolution in 2008 when she was a new-born vegan and found herself in a conundrum: where can she find yummy vegan food in Manila? Unfortunately (or fortunately), in her own kitchen. Disappointed with lackluster vegetarian options offered in local food establishments, she launched Kitchen Revolution as the Philippines’ first vegan baking business because she realized that if she was craving for cake, she’d have to bake it herself. She worked for the corporate world by day and frosted desserts by night. After a year and a half of this tango, she finally hiked up her pants, temporarily closed the business, and went to culinary school.

While living and studying in New York, she was amazed at how easy breezy it was to be vegan. The lifestyle was embraced and accepted by many. The plethora of produce and vegan options in restaurants amazed her. The city was teeming with vegetarian cafes, pizzerias, fine dining restaurants, fast food restaurants, and even vegan ice cream parlors — being enjoyed by both vegans and non-vegans alike! She finally found her calling in life.

For you vegans or vegan-curious people out there, go check her out. She makes a mean plate of Asian Noodles, and although I don't think it's officially on the menu try and ask her for the fried mushrooms. Tell her Chris sent you, you won't regret it.

Street Vendors

I've lately been feeling like I haven't been paying much attention to personal photography. Of course I've been travelling a bit, but it's different, trying to beautifully capture what's already there versus shooting a photo, or a series of photos that you conceptualized. Unless of course the travel bit is what you conceptualized, but I digress.

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.