Sinelas, Tsinelas, o Chinelas?

sinelas
Originally uploaded by joeypip

"What is this tsinelas, you ask? Well, they’re an indispensable part of Filipino culture. They’re basically Havaianas–rubber thong sandals (or slippers, as they’re called here)–except without the hisbiscus flowers and the exhorbitant price. Everyone who’s a Filipino has to have worn them at least once (before the Havaianas craze). When I was a kid wreaking havoc on the streets on my bike, I did it in my tsinelas. And so did my other childhood playmates. Nobody wore sneakers or anything; we just ran around and played our games in tsinelas. What’s incredibly interesting about this whole slipper fad is that two years ago, if you decided to wear tsinelas to a school like Ateneo, people would look down on you or think you were poor or something. Tsinelas are so cheap, even palengkeras and (most) street beggars can afford to wear them. Hell, before the tricycle ban in Katipunan, my school imposed a dress code on the tricycle drivers that could go in Ateneo, and one of the no-nos was–you guessed it–wearing of slippers. (So much for being “men and women for others”) Now everyone’s all “look at me, I’m so cool in my 900-peso flip-flops.” - from Lauraganism.com, "The Evolution of the Flip-flops"

Marikina Shoe Expo, Cubao

marikina
Originally uploaded by silverakshi

"Back when Cubao was a thriving shopping center during the late 70's and early 80's, Marikina Shoe Expo was a haven for good sturdy shoes. I remember the brand Gregg's which was known for making quality and affordable shoes. Now, it is a new place for artists and vintage stuff that surely is still worth coming for."

"...not content with the success of the shoe fair, many of the stallholders, led by Florinio de la Paz would occupy the New Marikina Shoe Fair on Tuason Avenue. It was initially a success. But it did not last long. After their negotiation for a lease purchase of the building with Filinvest fell through, the stallholders withdrew and joined the exodus to Cubao. One group led by Geronimo Santos (Jerome Shoes) opened the Marikina Shoe House on Aurora Blvd. in 1969. It closed down soon after it was destroyed by fire. Another group led by Pacifico Enriquez, opened Marikina Shoe Expo, across the street from Rustan's Cubao. " - Shoe History of Marikina

The Bakya

bakya mo neneng
Originally uploaded by laz'andre

"Fashioned from light wood initially with the use of the bandsaw, bakya was afterwards smoothly shaved, and carved with floral, geometric or landscape design, then painted or varnished to a high sheen in the distinctive Paete style. Uppers made of clear plastic or thin rubber were then fastened to the sides with tiny nails ("clavitos") and the bakya was ready for export.

In its heyday (1930s to 1950s), American tourists and soldiers bought bakya as souvenirs for their girlfriends and mothers. But for Filipinos, bakya was the footwear for all seasons. You wore them in water or on land. Bakya was easy to get in and out of, which made it convenient for use by people who wore them on the ground but took them off when climbing upstairs into their houses. My mother, Laureana Cajipe, used to say that you could tell how well-mannered a person was by the way he left behind his bakya before entering the house, "Kabastusan yung iiwanan mo ang bakya mo na nakahakbang!"

When I was growing up in the early 50s, bakya shops were veritable channels of Paete culture where apprentices were trained, families worked closely together, traditional songs and poems were passed on to the young, friendships were forged and romances blossomed. Bakya was Paete's rice-and-fish. The industry that fed, clothed, and sheltered us also taught us responsibility and gave us wisdom. It nurtured our dreams and led us to believe that we would grow up to become good people, just like our parents. And Paete prospered.

- from Marie Cagahastian Pruden's "Romancing the Bakya"

What was the "shoe" of your Generation?

We take shoes for granted. But what most don’t realize is that shoes have always been there throughout history - in the most significant moments of our country’s history, from the absence of shoes in pre-colonial Philippine society, to the change of that society upon the arrival of the shoe-clad Spanish colonizers who labeled our barefooted forefathers “uncivilized” indios.

Shoes or footwear have inspired early artists, musicians and poets, that’s why our music, poems and folklore are riddled with reference to the lowly “bakya”, “tsinelas” and “sapatos”. In time, shoes have subliminally become an instrument for labeling and separating people in our society according to their economic class, social status and even differing ideologies. The “bakya” for example is now used to label individuals of low cultural taste and social status. The “tsinelas” have for a time been used to categorize the “aktibista”. I remember when I was in elementary school you will not be part of the “in” group if you don’t sport “Sperry” topsiders and later on “blah-blah” shoes. Then in high school, it was black “stick-out-flap” Reeboks that makes you part of the “barkada”. Come to think of it, if you look at pictures and statues of Rizal and Bonifacio, you will notice that Rizal always wears his European shoes and Bonifacio, the plebian, is almost always portrayed barefoot...well, except for the statue in Tutuban of course.

Today, the shoes we wear not only project our personality and our beliefs, it also unjustly brands and labels us the way we discriminately use it to unjustly label others as well. It is really ironic how shoes, in a way have symbolized both the Filipino’s fight for a national identity and the loss of it. This was why I made a documentary about it before, and is why I am doing this web log now.

So I ask you…what was the shoe of your generation?