Micro entrepreneur earns daily bread from street artistry
By R. S. Lao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:43:00 09/14/2008
Filed Under: Economy, Business & Finance,Arts (general)
ARTISTRY can be found in the unlikeliest places.
I saw it recently on a busy sidewalk on my way to the LRT Central Station near the Manila City Hall. The following day, it was nowhere to be seen but was back on the same spot a week after.
Both times, curious onlookers were milling around the street artist. Like me, they were amazed at how this man, equipped with only a pair of scissors turned empty soda bottles and scrap plastic straws into fine, tabletop-worthy works of art … and make a little money out of these at the same time.
Ruben Delemon, or Ben as he likes to be called, or Manong as some customers insist on calling him, moves around a lot. He could be working by that corner near the Manila City Hall one day and in another part of town the next, selling his plastic plants and entertaining passersby with a demonstration of his craft. It’s a necessity, he says: Like the migratory birds that follow the season, he chases after the crowds.
He’s been doing this for three years, after learning the craft from some unnamed person years back. He eventually decided to turn his new-found skill into a money-making venture while at the same time, passing on to some of his wards the secrets of the trade.
At P25 each, the pieces may not be exactly cheap, considering Mang Ben neither pays rent nor taxes, and that he uses materials you and I would normally think of as bound for the recycling plant or the trash bin. However, with all the hard work and creativity that go into each creation, it is worth it and more.
An artist who bought two of Mang Ben’s pieces describe them as “mesmerizingly beautiful.”
Asked how many pieces he can dispose of in a day, he answers: “More than a dozen on a good day and a few pieces on a bad day.”
“Naku, eh di ang lakas pala ng kita ninyo (Wow, I guess you must be earning quite well then)” I kidded Ben.
He sighed, took a deep breath and in a soft hushed tone revealed that a good portion of what he earns peddling his wares end up in the hands of some individuals he’d rather not name.
But such is life, I thought, in the urban jungle, particularly in the streets where wolves often come clothed in blue and flashing a badge.
On lean days, he supplements his meager income by turning to one or more of his other skills that include, among others, shoe repair.
A man among the crowd, who turned out to be a regular buyer of his products, confirmed this. “Oo, gumagawa at nag re-repair din ng sapatos si Manong” (Yeah, Manong also makes and repairs shoes), whereupon Mang Ben proudly showed off his “handmade” footwear, which was a pair of patched-up, reconditioned Army boots. It looked well-made considering he had to make do with materials within his reach.
One leaves Mang Ben feeling not pity but growing respect and admiration. This little wisp of a man with a gentle demeanor personifies grit, hard work, and determination to survive, not to mention wizardry.
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