Smokey Mountain Tour: Exploring Manila's Biggest Slum Area

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Life in a third world country is terribly bad if you're among the poorest of the poor. Imagine having to live in the dumps of the Metro and surviving on extremely below minimum wage earnings. I cannot fathom how an individual can manage to live in a forsaken surrounding more dreadful than an informal settler's area. With heaps of dirty and disgusting trash, and a smell that can intoxicate and make you vomit, you couldn't stomach the suffering one has to endure just to survive Manila's largest landfill and mountain of garbage.

For the residents of Smokey Mountain, life must go on amidst the sickening dirt and the foul smell. They have very little choice, so they cannot afford to be choosy. Resources are too rare to worry about looking for a cleaner and safer neighborhood. They have to make do of what is available. They have to make ends meet in order to make it throughout the day. Even if majority of the Filipinos are in a deplorable state of "isang kahig, isang tuka", noone can beat the Filipino resilience.

Sometimes, it pains me to realize we may have been too resilient that we made very little effort to change our mindset. I know we deserve more than what we are getting right now, and I know our government should intensify their efforts to enrich the lives of the Filipinos. The thought of hearing from the news of how our taxes were spent irregularly in lavishly wrong ways, that benefited only the few, makes me want to shout out for blood.

OPM Run for Stricter Implementation of EO 255

Wazzup Pilipinas!


Abra was one of the OPM artists who joined the Pinoy Music Summit which was recently held a few weeks ago. Incidentally, he was my group mate during the more "intimate" discussion on how all stakeholders can go about the improvement of OPM appreciation and support among Filipinos. We all gave suggestions and pledged full support of the cause.

Like everyone has been saying, we should all love our own Pinoy music. I am at one with them in fighting for a better government support on OPM. We need to promote OPM more than foreign songs and artists. We have lots of talented singers and bands pero natatabunan sila ng foreign acts. Establishments should prioritize Pinoy artists, and this includes the radio stations.

The Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM), in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), will host a campaign run for the stricter implementation of Executive Order 255 on 18 May 2014 at the G-Strip in Greenhills, San Juan. The race will kick off at 5AM.

Dubbed “Mission: EO 255”, the event aims to raise awareness of and encourage the radio stations’ full adherence to the above-mentioned Executive Order, issued by former Pres. Corazon Aquino in 1987, requiring all radio stations with musical format programs to broadcast a minimum of four (4) original Pilipino musical compositions in every clock hour.

Reconstruction of Memory Exhibit: Where Art Embraces Photography

Wazzup Pilipinas!

We are at an exceptional epoch, a photographic time wherein the world of art embraces photography as its own—without a shadow of a doubt--as never before. Images are now identified as 'art' and many photographers consider independent space, gallery and the museum as refuge to their work.

This photographic moment is where Michael Vincent Manalo (b. 1986) thrives, a young artist who dabbles in photography, photo-manipulation, and installation. Manalo has established an undeniable poetry through the use of nostalgia. For the artist, "imagined memories of the nostalgic, dreamlike environments, and altered realities" serve as templates for his work.

Galleria Duemila Inc. presents “Reconstruction of Memory” by Michael Vincent Manalo (b. 1986) a young artist who explores new pursuits in photography through photo-manipulation and installation.

Manalo has developed a distinct poetry in employing stock images, photo-manipulating applications, and photography—resulting into compelling narratives that strike a chord in the domain of human emotions, memory, and appropriating nostalgia.

The exhibition will feature his most recent works, all of which depicts a confident balance between austerity and beauty, loss and gain, and time and space.

Below are some samples of his works: