About two weeks ago, Tutubi visited his brother-in-law (husband of his elder sister) confined at Manila Doctors Hospital on United Nations Avenue in Manila, where his parents and sister also dropped by to deliver to Tutubi his annual supply of sweet lanzones Paete.
After the brief visit and a tiklis of lanzones in tow, they headed off to Malabon to deliver again lanzones to another brother living there. The driver decided to traverse Roxas Blvd up to Bonifacio Drive
and Delpan bridge and came face-to-face with a familiar, once infamous site known as Smokey Mountain that currently has a new face and offer a ray of hope to Manila's poorest of the poor...
About 8 yearsa go, Tutubi always passed by Smokey Mountain when it was still a mountain of burnt garbage. He never saw the notorious mountain in its heyday.
This video from YouTube, shot by Romeo Candido, is a timely one to remind us of the struggle of the poor to escape the tight embrace of poverty.
How to go to Smokey Mountain, Tondo, Manila:
By car from Roxas Blvd, traverse Bonifacio drive passing through Delpan Bridge until you reach the site.
Tags: Smokey Mountain, 菲律賓, 菲律宾, 필리핀, フィリピン, Filippine, Philippinen, Filipinas, Filippijnen
Hello, titobi!
ReplyDeleteI clicked your alternative blog but it opens in a small window, the size of the comment page. do you have a url i can open in the normal full window?
That's interesting, what you posted about smokey mountain. (actually what snagged me was your lanzones lead... ahhh, lanzones. sweet translucent heaven.) you know, after watching shows like wowowee and wish ko long and other nonesuch, sometimes i imagine that the poor have taken to having it as their identity.
I do hope that one day poverty in the Philippines can be eliminated completely so that everyone can have a good life ahead.
ReplyDeletewow isang tiklis na lanzones! sarap naman!
ReplyDeleteBless the people of Smokey Mountain and their strength. Experiencing this place and it's people taught me incredible things. I will never cry again visiting Smokey Mountain for they are people fighting to survive and they will be always cherished. They do not need my pity. They do not need my money. It is left only to the ingenuity of those that bother to make this more than a reminiscent thought. What can I do? From someone who WILL NOT just become a stupid tourist and visitor.
ReplyDeleteboucherwhite, people needed help help themselves get out of their misery. You're right, they don'tneed pity, just understanding them helps a lot.
ReplyDeleteif only more knew of smokey mtn...
ReplyDelete