Travel stories of the life and times of a Manila waitress and an American tourist. Sing and dance your pain away.
The first time I discovered Manila--several decades ago--I was backpacking through Asia and had just come from Hong Kong and Singapore. Manila had a romantic and musical ambiance about it which those other cities lacked. I can still remember the sprightly young waitress, wearing a red scarf, who served me at a small café in Ermita. Singing a popular song, she danced over to my table.
"I am poor," she volunteered. "But when I sing and dance, I forget all my troubles."
Her upbeat attitude and effervescent spirit amazed me. My fellow Americans sometimes whined and complained when their cars broke down. She didn't even have one.
My waitress was not the only resident of Manila with such a heartening approach to life. Everywhere, the people I met--by and large, poor people--showed an impressive joie de vivre. Later, it became clear to me that their remarkable resilience, even in the direst of circumstances, usually derived from a deep and abiding religious faith.
Back then, on Sundays, young mestizas dressed up, opened their pink or yellow parasols, and paraded in twos and threes through Luneta (Rizal) Park. To either side, young local men serenaded them with guitars and love songs. Two of these young women stopped to talk with me and, giggling, asked me their routine questions: What is your name? How old are you? Are you married? What country do you come from? Then that final one: Are you a pure American? This question flabbergasted me. I remember trying to explain that America was a country of immigrants, so how could anyone be a pure American? Whereupon they informed me, quite seriously: "We are pure Filipinas."
Manila was a city of great charm, history, and energy. I don't mean that everything was rosy. The airport was chaotic, many taxi drivers cheated with fixed meters (once I had to jump out of a taxi on the way in from the airport), and violence did occur (guns had to be checked at the doors of clubs, and some visitors simply disappeared into the night). But optimism and exuberance prevailed--along with singing and dancing into the wee hours.
What about Manila now? I last visited the city about a year ago. Like all big cities--like all places--Manila has changed significantly over time. At Luneta Park, homeless street urchins from the poor southern islands have replaced promenading senoritas; this is no longer such a safe place for visitors. But the airport is now organized, protected, and relatively hassle-free. Music, singing, and dancing still inject vitality into everyday life.
Religious festivals are popular. A foreign visitor will still find hospitality and friendliness wherever he or she goes. In fact, some of the residents have become entirely too friendly.
In Ermita, with the constant harassment from touts, my temper started to flare. Then, back at my hotel, I had the sudden realization that these obnoxious people behaved this way simply because they had to survive and feed their families. My anger dissipated, and my attitude improved. Later, walking down the street, I saw in the distance a woman with a red scarf just outside my favorite café. There she was--my waitress! I ran after her as fast as I could, but by the time I reached the café entrance she had disappeared. Tears came to my eyes. Inside my café, the jukebox was playing an old, popular song. I lifted my chin, took a deep breath, started to sing, and began to dance.
A.T. Allan is a freelance writer whose passions include travel, fishing, and gardening. He has published a variety of non-fiction articles, as well as poetry and the satirical novel, Tropical Fugue (1995: Dan River Press). He has lived most of his life in the tropics: Hawaii, Guam, and the Philippines. To contact him:
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i've read your story and thought of going to manila when i arrived in june to stroll with my boyfriend.i am thinking of going to manila ocean park and manila bay.have you been there?you know,i have always wanted to travel around the philippines.i have been to Ilocos Sur in one of the beaches there,also to baguio city,and pangasinan.
hope to read more stories from you about your trip to baguio,anywhere.
more power and god bless!