Quezon City Night Life:A Journey of Adventure 

Report Authors: EJava, HNguyen, MGarcia, RAplacador Institution: West Negros University, Hue University, Silliman University, Urios University

Objective

To gain a deeper understanding of local knowledge in the area of night life entertainment in Quezon City.

Methodology

1. Orientation (objectives, restrictions, budget) 2. Identification of: (a) nature of night life activities and (b) pre-

and post- “night life” tasks3. Immersion 4. Interviews 5. Documentation

Activity 1: Food (a)

Isaw Place @ the University of the Philippines

Items: Isaw (chicken intestines), atay (chicken liver) Market: Diverse; cross-social classAccessibility: Open (legal; no entrance fee)

Quick Biz Facts: 1,000+ sticks of isaw are sold daily by 1 tindera

Activity 1: Food (b)

Off the Grill (Restaurant)

Items: Filipino food (specialties: grilled meats) Market: Diverse; cross-social classAccessibility: Open (legal; no entrance fee)

Quick Biz Facts: Peak hours: 8PM-12MN; Th, F, S

Activity 2: Comedy Bar

Off the Grill (Restaurant)

Items: Singing, Comedy Market: Diverse; cross-social classAccessibility: Semi-Open (legal; w/ entrance fee; no minors)

Quick Biz Facts: Peak hours: 8PM-12MN; Th, F, S

LaffLine

(Video was removed to protect the identity of the person/establishment. Presentation of the material with the video was exclusively for academic discussion purposes. Further interest may be directed to smark.ideas@gmail.com)

Activity 3: Prostitution

Quezon Avenue (Overpass)

Items: Short-time Sex Market: Diverse; cross-social classAccessibility: Discreet (illegal)

Quick Biz Facts: Working Hours: 8PM-4AM; Income: P5k-P10k (est.)

Prostitution

(Video was removed to protect the identity of the person/establishment. Presentation of the material with the video was exclusively for academic discussion purposes. Further interest may be directed to smark.ideas@gmail.com)

Provided on the succeeding slides are transcriptions of the video:

Profile of Cindy (respondent) Age: 19

Education: 2nd year high school

Father: Deceased

Mother: Factor worker; remarried; relocated with 2nd husband

to Dumaguete

Siblings: 2 sisters: 29F (married),

11F (elementary)

First Job: Bar

Experience: 2 years in prostitution

Ave. Income: P5k-P10k/month

LOE: 10PM-4AM

Q & A with Cindy

Q: How long have you been doing this? What you got you into it?

A: I’m 19 years old. I’ve been into this for 2 years already. I stopped schooling when I was in 2nd year, after my father passed away. I felt the lack of concern from my family, and the hard life prompted me to get into prostitution.

Q: If your father were alive, would you have gotten into prostitution?

A: No, I don’t think I would do this. My father was very caring and strict.

Q: What services come with your fee of P700?

A: P700 only covers the lower part; I take off my shorts and underwear. The upper part is not included; that requires another P500.

Q: Do you see yourself quitting prostitution? When will you stop?

A: Of course, I see myself quitting this. I can only quit when my sister has graduated from college already. I am the one who is supporting and sending her to school.

Contemplations

1 The Tree of Culture and Local Knowledge 2 The Circles of Comfort3 The Circles of Cultural Tolerance

The Culture & Local Knowledge Tree

Assumptions: • Local knowledge is a component of culture; culture is composed of

various local knowledge• Local knowledge is interest-specific while culture is area-specific

thus encompasses interests • Culture provides a historical and traditional perspective to local

knowledge; (challenge) local knowledge struggles to take root from and/or prove its continuing relevance to culture

• Identity cannot root from one local knowledge alone.

Local Knowledge (entertainment)

Local Knowledge (education)

Local Knowledge (politics)

Local Knowledge (business/economics)

CULTURE

The Circles of Comfort

Assumptions: • The more familiarity you have with your environment (place,

people), the more open and interactive you become. • There is a wider space within which your actions come to play when

there is lesser pressure in terms of proving yourself and protecting your identity/integrity.

• The space you work around becomes smaller when your actions are selective and made in consideration of prevailing restrictions (written and unwritten).

FOOD

COMEDY

BAR

PROSTITUTION

Circles of Comfort

The Circles of Cultural Tolerance

Assumptions: • Known restrictions (by law, norm, practice) expand the space within

which you adjust to find a meaning in the experience. • There is almost always a struggle to appreciate the experience from

a “cultural” perspective – the set of biases formed over time from values, tradition, and sets of community beliefs and practices.

• There is minimal effort required to gain and process experience that is perceived within socially acceptable bounds.

PROSTITUTION

COMEDY

BAR

FOOD

Circles of Cultural Tolerance

Authors:

Earnie Java West Negros University, PhilippinesHuy Nguyen Hue University, VietnamMark Garcia Silliman University, PhilippinesRobert Aplacador Fr. Saturnino Urios University, Philippines

Thank you!