PAGBABAKAS

Despite their dire circumstances, seeing the people of Tondo live in the community they’re in and work in an environment that is less than desirable, is something short of amazing. Their struggle to make ends meet and live with what they can find in their surroundings is astonishing.

What is even more surprising is that even in the midst of the chaos that surrounds them; they have still found a haven of sorts for their families. What can be observed is that usually, you see groups of people working, playing, eating and yes, even having fun together. It made us realize that no matter how difficult their situation is, as long as they are not alone, they can live through it, survive it.

Pagbabakas in Filipino means partnership. Commonly a term used in business and in gambling… yes gambling. This term connotes being with someone in an endeavor or activity. For this exhibit however, our focus will be to show how the people of Tondo have bonded together, gambling their lives everyday to survive. We want to show how working together can be a positive element even in an environment that is surrounded by hopelessness and negativity.

In other adaptations, “pagbabakas” can be considered as seeing their everyday life, the way they live and their way of survival. Our photographs will be the medium in which our audience will understand the situation in their community not as merely being unfortunate but simply showing them that you can still appreciate life even if the situation is unkind.

This photo exhibit is a partnership between Sunday Love Affair, UP Film Institute (UPFI) and TUDLA Production.