Inside the Heart of San Juan: A Sociological Analysis

By: Aaron Tan 113826  (Individual Work)

Section: SA21-T

*Note: personal reflection per task is with the answers to the blog questions already

Strategy for organising the order of tasks: 

I started off with going to the churches because it was probably the simplest thing to do and I had an idea of the churches within the city. Afterwards, I happened to pass by the cemetery and then I would go on to ask by-standers the directions to the significant places in San Juan (art galleries, unique foods, market, city hall, etc.) to create the social map. 

TASK 1: MAP OUT SAN JUAN (Social Map)

Persons Interviewed: Trike driver, city hall security officer

The task of mapping out San Juan given the descriptions given out by the trike driver and security officer was really hard. As I was roaming around San Juan, I felt like a foreigner who was witnessing an entirely new world happen in an instant. It feels very difficult to describe a place that you are not familiar with given that we as people are so used to the places that we go to everyday with our routines and such. It was definitely fun to have explored a city like San Juan. While i enjoyed the trip, I could not hide my feelings of disappointment towards the local government. Their first priority should be to provide needs to the poor, but based on what they have done with the new city hall they are only concerned about themselves rather than for the welfare of the less fortunate.

Sociological Reflections: 

Karl Marx's argument on social structure is very evident when making the social map. The people I interviewed mentioned the local Agora market, Pinaglabanan Church and San Juan Medical Center as important spots of the city. However, what struck me the most was that the city had two city halls. The old one is now a relic and historical figure of the city, while the new one has just been recently funded and established to operate immediately. We can see how the Estrada family (base) is the big factor in the construction of the new city hall. This influences the local government (superstructure) to take action immediately and wipe out the squatter's area that would eventually be made into the new city hall. We see how the bourgeoisie (high class) controls the means of production and division of labor through their power, class and status (as mentioned by Max Weber). 

TASK 2: Praying is Caring (Churches)

I visited 3 churches within San Juan: Mary the Queen Parish, Sanctuarium Church and Pinaglabanan Church.

Mary the Queen

-mostly for middle-class/ high society people of different ages since it is located near the Greenhills area; well-lighted and very presentable structure from the outside

-  sophisticated structure (lights, floor tiles, ceiling paintings, statues of Mary and Jesus, crucifix, etc.)

-  patron was obviously Mary as there were about 2-3 statues of her inside

-  paintings consisted of various highlights of the life of Mary (Ascension, conception)

-  Chinese inscriptions written on the walls of the altar (value of Chinese heritage)

-  glass windows can be seen

Sanctuarium Church (East Greenhills)

-mostly middle-class/ high society people of different ages since it is located inside an exclusive village where the people can actually afford houses and other things; Church is well-lighted and seemed to look like an office building form the outside

-statues of Jesus were all over the Church (even a coffin with Jesus was seen)

-the altar and the crucifix had gold designs around them; monitors were also seen

-lighting structures similar to Mary the Queen

-paintings depicted important episodes from the Bible (Isreal’s freedom, last supper, etc.)

-patron is St. Joseph (Oblates of St. Joseph order)

Pinaglabanan Church

-looked old from the outside (tarnished walls)

-  paintings inside were not professionally made

-  looked quite dark inside; no proper lighting

-  rosary sessions were on going, very devoted lower class citizens inside

-  statues of Mary and Jesus around but not as sophisticated as the other 2 churches

-  traditional stone structured Church 

The physical structure of the Church does in fact have a say on the profile of the church goers. From my observations, Mary the Queen and Sanctuarium had very sophisticated and extravagant structures inside and outside the Church. It is no surprise that the people who hear mass at these specific Churches are of the upper class of society. For Pinaglabanan Church, I observed how dimly lit and old the Church seemed to be. The structure was unappealing from the outside and it did not look like the extravagant churches we see today. Hence, it is no surprise that the people going to Pinaglabanan Church are of the lower class of society, people that cannot afford to hear Mass or say worship at the extravagant churches. I think that this also disappoints me in that churches are supposed to be venues where people of all social classes can gather around and hear God's word. It is surprising to see the segregation of people even within the holy structure that is the Church.

SOCIOLOGICAL REFLECTION:
Social stratification is easily seen with the physical structures of the churches mentioned earlier. The hierarchy in society is easily seen in the profile of the church goers of the respective churches: For village-exclusive churches, they are usually made with extravagant gold emblems, television sets, speakers and sometimes even chandeliers. The lighting is good and there is a cool breeze inside the church which is visited by the high society who enjoy the benefits of such churches. Public churches (like Pinaglabanan) seem to be dark inside, with poor ventilation and no sophisticated designs or speakers found. Basically, these types of  churches represent the very people who go here: the lower class people of society devoted to prayer and worship even if the inadequacy of the church itself is seen.

TASK 3: THE WALKING DEAD (CEMETERY)

Because the cemetery was too big, I could not really explore the entirety of the location due to time constraints. From among all the tombstones I could find, the oldest tombstone probably was one of the tombstones etched in the walls or ont he floors because you could see how poor the maintenance was. This also comes with the 5-year contract for the said tombstones on the walls or floors mentioned by the person in charge. After 5 years if the contract between the member of the deceased and the person in charge is not renewed the tombstone is not to be maintained. The newest of the tombstones probably are the ones in the mausoleums (like those of the Estrada family) because they are compensated by the high society families and because they bought a huge chunk of land for these tombs. The more land you get, the more money you have and so a bigger contract for maintenance can be formed instead of the short contract formed when getting a tombstone on the floor/walls. 

SOCIOLOGICAL REFLECTION

Again, the concept or Marxism can be applied. The people who are provided graves in the land itself are said to be of the lower class, while the people who can actually afford the moseleums are of the higher class. These higher class people have the privilege of having a clean tombstone, privatised property and a long contract for maintaining their area. The lower class people, on the other hand, can only afford the tombstones on the ground. They are bound by a mere 5 year contract and when it prescribes, the bones or remains of the deceased will be taken out of the tomb. The tombs in the ground are relatively dirty and not maintained well, and they are nothing compared to the beautiful and physically imposing structures of the higher class citizens in San Juan.

TASK 4: ART APPRECIATION 101 (LOCAL ART)

I chose to go to Galerie Joaquin to look for local art made by local artists of San Juan as the Museo ng Katipunan in the new city hall will open only on June. The art curator pointed out Vincent de Pio as a local of San Juan. De Pio actually stated drawing landscapes but has since then shifted to figurative paintings. Recently, he has focused his attention to the depiction of women in certain contexts. I chose to get the painting entitled “Ena Song Black” which depicts a young woman playing the cello. I think what sets it apart from American or European art is the attention to detail for women. In Europe or America (or mostly in society today) the male species is always depicted as the strong specie with the rock-hard abs and chiseled bodies. But in de Pio’s work he chooses to “break the boundaries,” to allow the Filipino society to see the value of women and how they can contribute to the society with their unique skills and talents. 

SOCIOLOGICAL REFLECTION:

In my opinion, the most evident sociological concept with regards to the local art of San Juan is culture.  The people fo San Juan have their own way of thinking and living traditions, hence they have a unique way of interpreting their own art. For the people of San Juan (represented by de Pio) women are portrayed (through a symbol of material culture) to be strong human beings who serve specific purposes in society. This material culture (painting) and the ideology that it portrays should be seen within the concept of cultural relativism: we have to see the interpretation of the said painting within the light of the culture of the people in San Juan.

TASK 5: UNDERGROUND MARKET (Public Market)

Under the Pure Gold establishment in San Juan is the Agora Wet Market. As i was roaming around the place, I interviewed a couple of vegetable and fish vendors. They mentioned that there was no local food offered within San Juan as it is generally a commercialized area with a lot of restaurants and commercial buildings. However, they said that cooking oil was mainly manufactured within bounds of the city (somewhere near Barangay Addition Hills). It was kind of surprising to see a market underground (under the PureGold establishment). I was actually mesmerised by the vast amounts of food the could be found here. I noticed that the people selling the goods were actually friendly to each other despite the competition that may arise when customers come about. 

 SOCIOLOGICAL REFLECTION:
Marxist theory on capitalism is still applicable here. These vendors are part of the lower class of society who cannot seem to rise above their mediocre statuses. It is because of San Juan being a commercialized area, with restaurants and other establishments getting the better of these vendors since they have the power to get the food and vegetables that they want. These people, out of their courage and sheer desire to earn a living, decide that this is the only way for them to earn a proper living despite the lack of resources (poor resource allocation) and the discrimination of needs that accompanies that.



TASK 6: FEED ME MORE (Local Food)

Sociological Reflection:
The Filipino cuisine in San Juan is said to be unique in terms of culture. The way the food was presented in Cafe Ysabel was uniquely different than that of the franchised Filipino restaurants we see around the country. The way they put twists on the dishes like the Three Mushroom Consomme, Prawns Colombo and the Hot Smoked Miso Glazed Salmon were very exotic and creative; the mushroom soup was placed with wild and domesticated mushrooms, the prawns were tossed in with garlic in a Latino style sauce and the salmon was unconventionally glazed in a sweet honey sauce with some wasabi mayonnaise. These dishes in Cafe Ysabel say a lot about the diverse culture of San Juan. It speaks of how the city can infuse a lot of different ideas into their city (hence the many commercial areas that we see around) as well as improving and putting more creativity to our native Filipino culture with the dishes that they present.


TASK 7: I'M NOT AFRAID (Ghost Stories)

Unfortunately, no ghost stories were known by the people I interviewed. This is probably a result of a lack of awareness of the locality in general. BEcause people do not deem ghost stories and traditions like this to be important, they are not passed down to generations and thereby cease to exist. There may be some ghost stories about San Juan, but the lack of effort by people to understand the traditions of the city probably caused the extinguishment of stories and folktales like these.