Litratong Pinoy: SAPATOS (Shoes)

Kakaibang karanasan ang Night Cafe sa Divisoria ng Cagayan De Oro. Dalawang araw- Biyernes at Sabado- linggu-linggo, isinasara sa sasakyan ang isang pangunahing kalye ng lunsod upang maging isang higanteng pasyalan kung saan mahahanap ang pinakamasasarap na pagkain, pinakamahuhusay na musikero, at pinakamalawak na pagpipilian ng mga bilihin- lahat sa pinakasulit na halaga. Kabilang na rito ang mga sapatos na may iba't ibang tatak para sa iba't ibang pagsusuotan. Mukhang patok naman ang mga paninda, isa marahil na positibong kabahagi ng nararanasang krisis pinansiyal sa buong mundo...


SAPATOS = SHOES The Night Cafe of Divisoria is a wonderful experience unique to Cagayan De Oro City. Twice a week- Friday and Saturday- of every week, a major city thoroughfare is closed to vehicular traffic and gets converted into this massive marketplace where the most delicious food, most talented musicians, and widest selection of wares- all at the lowest cost- can be found. Included in the for sale items are shoes that will fit every need of any feet. Sales seem to be brisk, one of the positive impact perhaps of the global financial crisis...

Divisoria, Cagayan De Oro City, March 2009, using a digicam.

Litratong Pinoy: BAG

Hindi halos nahabol ng aking mata at kamera ang kumakaripas na tricycle na ito. Lulan nito ang may walo kataong dala-dala ang pangkaraniwang laman ng isang shopping bag sa Kamaynilaan: dalawang tig-kalahating sakong bigas, dalawang dosenang sardinas, at anim na litrong matika. Nguni't hindi galing sa ordinaryong pamilihan ang mga ito: mula sila sa Pulahang Krus at World Food Program ng United Nations. Dahil hindi rin naman sila pangkaraniwang "mamimili:" sila ay kabilang sa may 1000 pamilya na nanantili sa mga evacuation camps sa Pikit, Hilagang Cotabato, mga nakaligtas sa punglo ng mga nagbabakbakang armadong grupo, pumila sa plaza sa harap ng munisipyo para makuha ang mga biyayang ito na harinawa'y magtatawid sa kanila hanggang sa Abril.

Sa harap ng mga hirap na ito, sila ay nananatiling buhay, nagsusumikap, umaasa na sa gitna ng labanan ay makikita nila ang katuparan ng pangako ng kapayapaan.

BAG My eyes and my camera can hardly track this speeding tricycle. Loaded into this local transportation are about eight men and women, along with a nondescript set of items typically found in a Manila household's shopping bag: two half-sacks of rice, two dozen cans of sardines, six liters of cooking oil. These folks did not come from your usual supermarket; the foodstuff came from the Red Cross and the United Nations World Food Programme. It is likewise because these men and women are not your usual "shoppers:" they are internally displaced people who have lined up in a plaza in front of their municipal hall to get their share of blessings that will hopefully tide them over 'til April. They are survivors of the armed conflicts in their areas, evacuees living atop soil that is not theirs for the last nine-odd months.

In the face of crises, they remain alive, continuing to struggle, hopeful that they will live to see the promise of peace in Mindanao become a reality.

along the National Highway in Pikit, North Cotabato, March 2008, using a digicam.