Located on the on the outskirts of Metro Manila, Maharlaka is home to a mostly Muslim population. If you ask people in Manila where the most dangerous place is, many will answer: Maharlaka.
It took me 3 taxis to finally make it there. The first two gestured a slitting of the throat motion and told me it was too dangerous.
A nice welcome on the outskirts of Maharlaka
Around 50 kids came out to draw
Some were too shy to participate so they stuck to the sidelines
An older fan showing love
Some of the great works produced that day
The chef of the day. I brought the spaghetti, she produced the magic
Dude killed this plate of spaghetti
If I was that close to Maharlaka, I wanted to venture into the heart of it. This also took some convincing and persuasion to the taxi drivers, but they eventually took me there. The first sight, a rare one in the Philippines a mosque and...
Of course no hood would be complete without the local hustlers...
This guy was no older than 20. He had a fat stack of bills in his hand from selling Shaboo, or Meth.
It took a couple of jokes, a basketball game and a few pictures, but I was granted access to the entire neighborhood.
The families inside were bright and full of life. Very friendly people who thanked me for coming and wanted me to share my pics and experience with the outside world.
The women and girls were very shy, but curious of the camera. They eventually warmed up and allowed me to take some photographs of them.
Mindanao Avenue, ask about me..
Runs the street corner through intimidation and colorful attire
No comments:
Post a Comment