“Sa Nayong Pilipino po” was what I told the cab driver in the morning of October 1, 2011. Funny that it my 28 years of existence, it was my first time to go there. I remember watching plays at CCP and Shangri-La Mall during my elementary days, but never a visit at Nayong Pilipino. That is why I was very much excited to join this year’s Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk. I was originally on the waiting list but due to the high number of participants, it had a parallel walk. Both leaders of the walk by the way are members of the D60 Krew namely Tita Bambit Gaerlan and Sir Andy Rodriguez (I have a post about the group, just search the archives :-D).
I committed myself to this event. Even though I went home around 3am the previous night due to a bachelor’s party, I tried my best to wake up at 6am. By the time I arrived at Nayong Pilipino, there were already quite a number of photographers there. I tried to look for familiar faces and there they were at the registration booth. I may have been considered late but I was just in the nick of time before the D60 Krew started their walk around the park.
You could tell that park was once upon a time, the place to be. If it still had a beauty to show, it was just a glimpse of what it really was. At around 9am, Atty. Anota who is the current Nayong Pilipino Director, gave a short presentation on what Nayong Pilipino used to be and what it will be in the future. I got a better picture of it. Like most cultural places, Nayong Pilipino died for a while. In fact, Atty. Anota said that it even became a shooting ground for airsoft players.
It is remarkable that the new management is trying to restore the Nayong Pilipino to its greatness. I hope the plan to grow 30,000 orchids and culture more golden tilapias will be met. I also hope that the shows will once again be played. We need this. As country that is composed of different cultural backgrounds, misunderstandings are expected among its people. It is through projects like these that cultural gaps can be bridged. A child from Luzon should learn more about his brothers and sisters in Visayas and Mindanao and of course, vice versa. The park is about us. Ikaw. Ako. Tayo.
