Thursday, June 07, 2007
SCENES: RECTO/AVENIDA EVENING RUSH
posted by Señor Enrique at 9:07 AM
40 Comments:
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carlotta1924 said... ahh,,, this is one of the reasons why i always come back to manila. =)
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Reno said...
Hi Eric, thanks for visiting my blog! I've been visiting your site for quite some time now, it started when I needed references for Metro Manila buildings and was directed to your blog. If you need to email me, just send it to renom1@yahoo.com. :)
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Señor Enrique said...
You know what, Carla? When I was your age, while in NYC (no Internet then), I'd get teary-eyed whenever I'd accidentally come across a picture of Manila :(
So now, I promised myself, through my blog, I'd feature some scenes (like these) for the benefit of fellow Pinoys living somewhere outside of the city and have very fond memories of it :)
I bet as beautiful as those cities you recently visited this summer, nothing like Manila, right? Hehehe.-
Señor Enrique said...
Hey, many thanks, Reno.
I'll definitely send you an emal and arrange to feature your works. I'd be honored to be amongst our local bloggers to showcase your talents :)-
said... Manila
Maraming beses na kitang nilayasan
Iniwan at iba ang pinuntahan
Parang babaeng mahirap talagang malimutan
Ikaw lamang ang aking laging binabalikan
Manila, Manila
I keep coming back to Manila
Simply no place like Manila
Manila, I'm coming home...
I walked the streets of San Francisco
I've tried the rides in Disneyland
Dated a million girls in Sydney
Somehow I feel like I don't belong
Hinahanap-hanap kita Manila
Ang ingay mong kay sarap sa tenga
Mga jeepney mong nagliliparan
Mga babae mong naggagandahan
Take me back in your arms Manila
And promise me you'll never let go
Promise me you'll never let go
Manila, Manila
Miss you like hell, Manila
No place in the world like Manila
I'm coming home to stay.
- (The Side A Band)-
said...
I loved Manila albeit I was there only for ten days. But ... I fell in LOVE with the place. I'll be back, definitely!
[:-
mgaputonimimi said...
pag black n white ang pics.. madating talaga...
nice shots!!!-
pusa said...
hi señor enrique, sorry this is not related to your post but this is the only way i know how to reach you...
i have a question about the globe that used to be in the center of the skating rink at luneta, is my memory correct that it used to be afountain or something, i've posted a picture here http://mayniladailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/06/jungle-in-manila.html
thanks a lot-
Photo Cache said...
like a snapshot from my past. thanks for this walk down memory lane, well in this case, CM Recto.
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NOYPETES said...
Manila is not going to be the same without those images you photograph!....Include a round belly'd cop sitting idly in his personal "stainless steel owner jeep" manufactured in Malabon next time to complete the scene!
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-= dave =- said...
I've chanced upon an entry in urbandictionary.com about "trainsurfing" where they hang (sabit) by the passenger train cars as it moves along the tracks. I bet they've never done that with a more unstable jeepney, else they won't be bragging about their trainsurfing skills. Even inside the jeepney they'd be hanging for dear life!
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Señor Enrique said...
Many thanks for sharing, Rhoda! Interesting lyrics; I can definitely identify with them. Is the music as good?
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Señor Enrique said...
Hi Kyels! Will you be visiting this summer again?
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Señor Enrique said...
Hi Mimi,
I want to share with you what Ansel Adams though of black & white photography:
"Color photography usually takes advantage of the obvious. Black and white photography fares better, as its inherent abstraction takes the viewer out of the morass of manifest appearance and encourages inspection of the shapes, textures, and the qualities of light characteristic of the region."
Am reading his biography :)-
Señor Enrique said...
Beautiful picture you got there, Pusa!
If I'm not mistaken, this weekend, they're going to have major festivities right in that area you speak of.
I'm not sure about where that globe used to be, but our fellow bloggers might. I will also ask around this weekend and get back to you :)-
Señor Enrique said...
Many thanks, GE! Appreciate it :)
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Señor Enrique said...
My pleasure, Photo Cache! I enjoy doing this kind of photography :)
Let me share with you a passage from Ansel Adam's biography which keeps me busy reading at night. I've a feeling you'll appreciate this as much as I do:
"I cannot command the creative impulse on demand. I never know in advance precisely what I will photograph. I go out into the world and hope I will come across something that imperatively interests me. I am addicted to the found object."-
Señor Enrique said...
Know what, Noypetes, these cops you described so well are now mostly in partnership with MMDA's traffic enforcers. You'd see them working in tandem especially near the lunch and merienda hours ... hehehe.
The MMDA guy would be the one to flag down unwitting motorists, while the round belly'd cop remains seated behind the wheel of his stainless jeep, but with his ticket book menacingly displayed.-
said...
Yup, the music is as good, Eric. It's got a bouncy tune, actually. This song became quite a hit a few years back. Side A band is one of the finest Filipino bands of this time. :)
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Señor Enrique said...
Funy you should mention trainsurfing, Dave. Just the other day, I was riveted to CNN's special report on the boys of Soweto who perilously do just that. Amazing!
But with jeepneys? Hmmmm...
When I was in high school I grabbed the "estribo" of a leaving jeep, but it came right off. The jeepney sped off while I was left behind holding the "estribo" with my right hand right on Avenida.-
Señor Enrique said...
Yes, I am a fan of Side A, too! Great band!
Okay, Rhoda, I will ask around and see if anyone has a copy of that song so I could give it a listen.
Thanks!-
NOYPETES said...
Eric and Rhoda,
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that "Manila" song was composed by the Garcia brothers and sang by their band "Hot Dogs" way back in the 70's.
About the round belly'd cops sitting in their "katas ng kotong" stainless steel Malabon Jeeps(stainlees steel to withstand the rusting effects of seawater in Malabon and are favorites of seafood wholesalers to haul their merchandise to the wet matkets)these cops are normally picking their teeth after a free meal at the nearest karinderia or smoking cigarrettes taken from the street vendors in Avenida Rizal.-
Señor Enrique said...
Hahaha ... how true, Noypetes.
Okay, enough fun this morning ...
Let me take a shower and head to Quiapo. By the way, I might take some pics of sampaguita garlands while I'm down there today. Will email them to you.-
palma tayona said...
i would like to ask for your permission to use some of your images. i particularly enjoy your shots of the avenida/recto areas - the people, the street etc. i find them interesting and am doing some small paintings about street life in manila.
thanks. :-)-
Señor Enrique said...
Daniel, of course, you may. I'd be honored.
BTW, I will email this weekend you about having coffee in Quiapo!-
said...
I also remember that globe at luneta. Right now that globe is gone replaced by the statue of lapu-lapu.
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Señor Enrique said...
Thank you very much, Leo. That should answer Pusa's question :)
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said...
Eric, Noypetes is right. 'Manila' song was originally sung by the Hotdogs, (70s?). But you probably are not familiar with this group, as you were living in NYC. :)
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Señor Enrique said...
You're right, Rhoda. I've totally missed the local music scene at that period :(
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Ai Dihayco said...
Senor Enrique, nakakamiz din na eksena to. I remember very well..my uncle used to go in this area every weekend..grabe tao but I love it. But beware ka nga sa mga pickpocketers and all....Galing ng pics mo poh.
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Ai Dihayco said...
I used to go with my uncle pala...para lang bumili ng dvd's. The first time I was there..i was kind of a shock sa dami ng tao..natakot ako but nasanay narin ako..hinahanap hanap ko na ang eksenang ito. heheh! kakamiz..salamat sa pics mo po..reminiscin ako tuloy.
More pics pa po..-
Señor Enrique said...
Hello A!,
I was overwhelmed by the both the crowd and the heat in this neighborhood the first time I visited it after a very long absence. But now, I'm quite used to it.
Yes, don't wear your golden earings, either. They have kids who can snatch them from your earlobes without you even noticing until too late :)
It's a crazy area but colorful as well. Glad these pics brought back fond memories :)-
reyd said...
Manila in the 70's is not that bad, medyo mahirap nga sumakay, pero when you are dating with your gf, mas-trapik or walang masakyan, yun ang gusto ko. :D
Natawa ako dun sa naiwan sa iyong estribo -- hahaha!
Riding a Marikina bus naman when I was studying in USTe, pag baba ko sa Gov. Forbes, may biglang sumampa na matabang babae -- hahaha, bagsak kami pareho. :D
I guess, I might agree on opening up Avenida again to decongest the traffic along recto. Buti pa si Apeh sa picture mo, walang problema on his bike.-
Señor Enrique said...
I happen to love this photograph of Apeh, Reyd. He personifies the unperturbed image of Manila's easy rider ... hehehe.
A lot of things in this area of Manila will be changing with the incoming new mayor. Let's see what happens.
Ang daming ngang nakakatawang experiences dito sa Maynila, ano? I think lahat tayo my kanya-kanyang hindi malilimutang istorya, eh :)-
palma tayona said...
hola eric!
i was only able to check my emails this sunday after a long hiatus and read your note about that coffee tete-a-tete in the downtown area. my apologies too for a pretty late response. (i still feel a bit heady from a two-week long vacation down south.)
aie, it'd be nice to chitchat with you my dear sir and exchange neural contents over some cups of caffeine. i would look forward to that. ;-)
ciao!-
palma tayona said...
note:
i saw that you placed that photo of a couple of men hanging on the edge of the jeepney. i find it quite funny that when i was in iloilo, i saw the exact same scene of men precariously clinging at a jeep. my cousin remarked "namumulaklak yung dyip".
methinks it's a pretty good imagery for a "flowering" jeepney ride.-
Señor Enrique said...
Great, Daniel! Give me after this week, because it'll be crazy for me schedule-wise, ok?
I'm always afraid for these folks who ride the jeepneys this way, Daniel; those handles might just give or something :(-
gmirage said...
Ola Senor! Ayan di na ako anonymous! I heed your advice to make an account lol. Yes, I was until 2001 in UST covering the events when Erap was ousted...I surely miss those days! I unfortunately didnt pursue photojourn but I am a hobbyist now in line with portrait and macro.
I got stories from these places too...Recto and Avenida...Aside from the embroidery and crosstitch shops to invitation printings and cellphone stalls....there's the underground diploma printing din lol.
During our investigative Journalism class, our Prof. (Joselito Zulueta) required us to take on subjects as this...the group which I was included on chose this nga, diploma printing sa Recto. It was easy to find one really, ask a person from the Crosstitch shop and he/she will point you where to go...
And why aren't they arrested? Same reasons why the vendors are still there. We interviewed a police official at the Manila City Hall, he's life story was actually portrayed by Rudy Fernandez sa pelikulang pinoy hehe....something like 'Sharp shooter,' I forgot his name. He showed us the stamps they confiscated from those people in Recto, kumbaga, galing din daw sa Universities yun...oh my!
OT: Hello Gita andito ka din pala! haha-
Señor Enrique said...
Aha! So that's where they get those official document stamps from to begin with. No wonder they look so authentic. Thanks for the tip, G. Mirage!
Macro photography is fascinating. Perhaps, one day, when I have the appropriate lens and whatnot, I'd love to get into it. It's like getting into an alien world, especially with garden bugs.
Welcome to blogosphere, G. Mirage! Have you visited, Gita's photo site?-
jan strings said...
wow thanks! seeing these pics make me remember the smell of smoke-belching jeepneys, i hated it then but i miss it now! also yung mga street food sa ilalim ng mga train stations.... and especially the busy surroundings. nothing like manila!
