Going to Manila and Other Horrible Places, Pt. 2

Bustos, Bulacan, Filipinas


Topic: Vacation Trip

When my relatives arrive to pick me up from Manila, and take me to our ancestral town, they were all a little shocked to find out I’m here alone. No one said anything but they probably assumed I was a typical male tourist in Manila (i.e. whoring and ogling the sex shows). They probably wouldn’t have believed me if I told them that I hadn’t.

Filipinos are definitely a family-oriented people. Everywhere you go into the Philippines, you see families, and not your 2.4 kids American version either. All my relatives have at least 4 or more children. I remember hearing a theory that fewer children allow more quality time with them. It’s strange then how half the families in America are from broken homes.

Do you know what addiction Filipinos are truly susceptible to? It’s not the inexpensive beer or American culture, it’s air conditioning! How do a people that have lived in these islands for thousands of years suddenly aren’t able to stand the heat and humidity. I tell my relatives that I don’t like air conditioning and they politely turn off the wretched thing, then a few minutes later, they turn it back on because it’s hot. Oh Filipinas, so far from God and so close to durable goods.

My family in Bustos, Bulacan, is friendly, polite, and suffocating. I took a walk after lunch one day. A few minutes later they come chasing after me in a car to find out where I went. I tell them I just wanted to take a walk. My cousin tells me that we should get back. I become concerned and ask if it’s safe to walk here (i.e. will I get kidnap or mugged). He tells me, “No, it is very safe here.” Apparently leaving someone alone is a breach of hospitality to Filipinos, or at least to my family. That and nobody ever walk there if they don’t have to. It’s almost like being in LA.

The most amusing part of the visit was being taken to this fast-food chicken joint called Jolly Bee. We would drive past all these little open aired cantinas to get there. I asked my Tito (Uncle) Franco if these places where any good? He tells me “They’re terrific!” “Then why don’t we go to them?” I ask him. He has no response. The next day he takes me to Jolly Bee again.

So what’s so horrible about this town? Nothing, it’s no worse than any other town in the Philippines. The horrible part is that no one greets a stranger on the street. You nod or say “hi” and they look at you as if you’re about to sell something or kill them.

I admit it; I’m a bourgeoisie suburbanite that likes common courtesy. I understand that it’s a cultural difference and the Filipinos don’t want to get close to anyone outside of their family or friends. You have to help someone if you know him or her. In a poor country where you can barely feed your on family, you don’t want responsibility for someone else. Still, they could at least make a friendly gesture. Even the New Yorkers would nod back to you if you greeted them.

Going to Manila and Other Horrible Places, Pt. 1

Barrio Dagupan, Tondo, Manila

Topic: Vacation Trips

Who am I? What would have happened to if I turned left instead of right? And where should I go for vacation? Why don’t I combine the questions and see what happens. With these thoughts, I started my big adventure in the Philippines. Let me be specific, I went to Manila, the ancestral home of the Cruz familia, and a resort island called Boracay.

As usual on my vacations, I went to all the tourist spots but always include a sightseeing tour to the worst parts of the town. I’ve seen lousy neighborhoods in New York, Miami, Chicago, and my hometown of Oakland, CA. Yes, there’s incredible poverty in Manila but I won’t bore you with the details. We have all seen these places on TV or in the movies. What you don’t see is the liveliness of the poor that the Manileños exhibit.

They are poor and will always be poor. You know it and they know it. For the most part, they except their faith and make due as best they can. I personally would wallow in my beer or start shooting people if I were in their worn-out flip flops. But I digress.

Go to the most affluent neighborhoods in America and you won’t see hardly anyone walking at night. If they are in the streets, they’re usually inebriated or expecting a mugger/rapist to jump out at any moment. We are a frightened people.

In the barrios of Manila, you’ll see laughter and life we have long forgotten. You’ll see young couples ordering some San Miguel beer they can barely afford, you’ll see shopkeepers bored but chatty, you’ll see street urchins having fun playing in the gutter. And the way they move in these crime infested slums. Yes, they can be mugged, killed, or raped but why let that stop you from living your life is what they say. Not in their words but by their action.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a horrible place (hence the title) and I thanked my father for getting the family out of there. But the people of Manila and the rest of that archipelago were fascinating.