modern school building

This is the campus of supposedly a premiere university in the city located just at the edge of Claveria St. It now presents an elegant and contemporary facade, which was a relief. About a decade ago its campus used to be, in my opinion, a drab, coldly utilitarian, seemingly art-clueless structure complex protruding from out of the downtown area. More than two decades ago it was a hotspot for idealistic radical students and academia critical of a dictatorial era.

There's an added scene at the lower left corner of the picture. It portrays the diversity of the local populace as one can trace Spanish, Chinese, Malay and Indigenous races intermixed in the Dabawenyo blood. I wonder what the scenario was all about, the sunglass peddler probably tried to convince a senior citizen that he looks pogi (handsome in local dialect) if he buys his shades.

culture shock

I had taken a wrong route to my destination and bearing it when I witnessed this scene along the way. It was taken near a monument marking the site of a pre-colonial settlement between San Pedro St. and Quezon Blvd.



The lady from an indigenous tribe wore her striking ethnic costume that starkly contrasted the drab concrete that surrounded her. Yet her intense facial expression vividly portrayed the emotion of being in a state of culture shock. Hopefully, this city would be sensitive and aware enough to accommodate individuals like her who have contributed to Davao's formidable identity. Hopefully, this city won't seem a cold, concrete jungle amidst the prerilous situation of her ancient culture struggling to survive in the modern era.

Witnessing this rare scene, perhaps the 'wrong' route that I took may not necessarily seem to be.

rap boy

We were strolling along another controversial park in the city, the Baywalk, when a thin, haggard-looking kid approached us. He said he will do a rap performance in exchange for mere peso coins. We sat by a bench as he prepared to do his number. Then...



...Amazing. Without skipping a bit, we were transported to the stark realities of this little boy's life with such intense, melancholic expression on his face as he narrated the hardships, the abuse, contempt, the determination to live as he held precariously his priceless dignity, expressed with the rythmic harmony of his frail, rapt voice. We witnessed this actual rendition of a work of Art. Then he prodded on, and with childlike strength he carried a fragile light of hope for him and his generation.

whitewashed wall

This whitewashed wall (no pun intended) is one of my favorite slabs. It is steps away from the park with a tiny sidewalk that makes a twosome stroll clumsy, and threesome a virtual impossibility. It is actually the wall of a pioneering hotel in the city. It is called by a name reminiscing the view of the country's tallest peak, Mt. Apo. But that's no longer accurate. The view had long been blocked by a nearby mall, so it may aptly be called Mall View Hotel.

If you're on the first or second floor, that is. The hotel is actually a nine-storey midrise that had been added years later, so there could still be left peeks of the peak. But then, the mall is eight levels too (plus basement) so the name may remain a dilemma. However, the mountain is more than 10,000 feet, so there goes enough reason for the hotel to keep its name and not push through with my suggestion of renaming it as Mall View hotel :)

a hole by the park

This place gets a view of the newly built People's Park with its durian shaped dome. It's the city's new attraction not only with original sculptures and landscaping by local artists, but also with tasteless imitations of walt disney figures and artificial flowers butted in by uncultured wannabes to keep it from being proclaimed as one of the world's more unique parks (pastilan!).

Anyway, throngs and busloads of park-starved people keep pouring into the greens so it seemed like the whole country is invading it, which only exposes the national government's lack of priority for providing parks around the country. It's a good thing that the local government here is doing its initiative. Still, on any day (and night, especially) the park would just get too crowded one could bid bye-bye to relaxation (as parks are supposed to offer) and say hello to stress.

I'd rather be in this corner hole with my priceless need for tranquility, and it's good that the small pitstop is a wifi hotspot too.