Scenes from the not-so-urban everyday

May 26th, 2007

I was standing along Katipunan road waiting for a cab, when from a distance, I spied this slow-moving, wagon-like vehicle. Yes, a karitela or kalesa is still quite alive (but barely–with all the smoke, heat and lack of greenery on the roads of urban Manila, you wouldn’t expect these beasts of burden to thrive and survive) in these parts. Sometimes you will see them parked along C.P. Garcia road on the University of the Philippines-Diliman Campus, the carabaos taking a breather, munching on grass.

Actually, I’m not quite sure what this type of karitela is called. I’m certain there’s a name specific to these carabaos who pull along with them entire inventories of lightweight household items to sell–baby swings, hammocks, brooms–mostly made from local materials like rattan, coconut tree leaves, etc.

Somewhat out-of-place against the urban landscape of pavement, overpasses and lamp posts, but no less a poignant reminder of our rapidly disappearing (or perhaps simply evolving) culture and customs.

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Posted by Yelle Filed in Random Stuff

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4 Responses to “Scenes from the not-so-urban everyday”

  1. jorge Says:
    May 28th, 2007 at 8:07 am

    lol that’s awesome

  2. Yelle Says:
    May 28th, 2007 at 8:17 am

    hey jorge. you know what that karitela is called? i can’t seem to dig up the term. aughhh.

  3. Mike Says:
    May 30th, 2007 at 1:41 pm

    Hey Marielle,

    Hope all is well. this is mike from berkeley.

    great photo and comment! perhaps this photo and the very existence of the karitela in metro manila offers us the opportunity in reassessing the very idea of ‘urban’. The concept of urban and rural may not be as clear as previously thought.

    enjoying your posts!

    peace.

    mike

  4. Yelle Says:
    June 5th, 2007 at 12:29 pm

    mike! :-)

    a karitela on the smoky streets of metro manila does challenge the concept of urban (in the general–western–sense). or, as you suggest, we could have a more localized concept of urban (including these scenic, fast-disappearing traditional images). either way, that’s something for you PhD candidates to figure out, and for me to romanticize about. hehe.

    glad you dropped by. hey, did you know there’s someone with your name who ran for councilor in QC? had me doing doubletakes.

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