Trip Around the City

 Around the City

Justin Rafols

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SA21 T

Order of Tasks: I decided to go to the the farthest first which was the cemetery and two of the churches before going to the main part of San Juan where most of the important places could be found. I chose this path because I basically was able to divide the places into two different areas or sectors that made it more convenient for me to go around. 

Task: A Random Sketch

Key Informant/s or Person/s Interviewed: 

1. One of the people that is in charge of patrolling and guarding the vicinity of the old city hall

2. A local tricycle driver

The social map was a quite interesting of a task well for one it was actually difficult to ask the people for an interview because for them the question/instruction was quite confusing. A lot of them thought that they had to accompany me around the city or there were a couple who wanted to just use a map because he felt that it pointing out to different directions  would not be substantial enough. After a while though there were two who agreed and making a map out of what they were saying was also difficult because I had to rely on all of his "dun" "diyan" and "dito". Since the area covered was small and that i already had prior knowledge to the place and streets the drawing of the map would be easy, but if creating a map was solely out of the description it would prove to very confusing. The sociological theory that is applicable here is that of the social inequality in effect. What has been highlighted in the interview with the guy from the old city hall is about the move of the old city hall from the new. When i saw the new one compared to the old it is actually quite striking because the new one is so grand and i actually found it quite big for just a city hall. Outside were an Audi and BMW with a special plate that was presumably the mayors(initials matched). The inequality is seen because just outside of this estate are a lot of informal settlers and a lot of poor people. This could also be linked to the structural functionalism theory because the municipality represents the order of this social class and order of the city itself. What was actually striking and sad at the same time was to know of the fact that this land was previously a big squatters area (an area where my high school used to hold service interactions at) and that there has been stories of these settlers throwing rocks at the municipality when they were being ejected from their homes and stories of arsonist just to drive them out. They couldn't do anything about it in the end because they are just too small and powerless compared to the local government.

Task: The Social Class of God

Mary The Queen Parish

Santuario de San Jose

Pinaglabanan Church.

Upon observing the three churches the first two churches are actually very similar in nature. It was a well designed church and that it was very clean and properly kept. There were a lot of lights, proper ventilation and LCD screens that were used to display mass songs and liturgical responses. Santuario (a church inside a gated village) even had a full, carpeting, full air conditioning system and most of the designs of the altar and pictures around it had a lot of gold accents to it. the first two Churches are also similar in the sense that the profile of the church goers are that coming from the middle class to the upper class. Theres a big difference when you enter the Pinaglabanan church which is located at the heart of the city where from the outside really looks old and that the paint isn't as well kept and couldn't match that of the first two churches. Stepping in, it seems dark,  the chairs/benches are made of simple wood and the paintings that are drawn appear to be rather simple. Here you can see the difference in the design because the stuff inside except for the altar is far more simple than the first two and that the Church goers here are mostly middle class and below. Theres not much fans and theres no LCD screens that is supposed to aid the one attending the mass. The physical structure of the church has a lot to do with the people that goes to it because it is patterned to the social class as well. A richer community would have a richer parish and the opposite goes for a poorer community. A good reason would probably because of the amount of tithes that go to the church would vary depending on the people who goes to it. it can clearly be observed which is richer and which isn't. This is relatable to social inequality and how marx characterizes inequality among classes. Even when something such as religion should just be simple and sort of equal among people, the structure and facilities varies and caters to the type of society that goes to it. This trip actually made me realize how evident this theory is and that even in religion, it can be found. 

Pinaglabanan Church

Interior of Pinaglabanan Church

Santuario De San Jose

Mary The Queen

Mary the Queen

Task: Land of the Dead

Key Informant/s or Person/s Interviewed: One of the sepultureros found in the cemetery

Going around the cemetery of San Juan what can be noticed right off the bat and was that there were basically two parts of the cemetery there was one with mausoleums that covered each of the tombs and there was a part along the wall where each slot was just a very small block and had the names of the people who died. This part of the cemetery according to the guy interviewed is where mostly the poor people burry their dead because it costs around 30-70 thousand compared to the lot/mausoleum that costs at a minimum of 500 000. The cheaper one had only room for the bones of the dead and can anomy be leased short term of 5 years compared to the other more expensive ones for 70 years. Most of the people here are Filipinos and just vary from city to city. Upon observation and computation with the deaths, those who are buried in the mausoleums appear to have lived longer than those in the cheaper ones. Here there is also a lot of social class inequality involved where the poor can only pay for what they afford. The structural functionalism here can be seen through the one that controls the public cemetery which is the municipality. They are the one that enforces the rates and that whenever someone doesn't pay, especially for the short term 5 year lease, they remove the remains and just set it aside to be claimed. Actually whats more shocking for me in this part of the trip was when the person I interviewed described his life in the cemetery. He said that there are actually 25 families present in the cemetery living ini the mausoleums and tombs during at night in exchange for their service of cleaning and maintaining the area. Living in a place such as a cemetery is unimaginable and its actually due to social inequality again that pushes them to stay here. Instead of staying on the street, they are forced to live here to have an honest life. 

The cheaper Graves

A mausoleum of a former politician

a picture where the families can be seen living inside 

Task: A local Artist 

Key Informant/s or Person/s Interviewed: Curator of Galerie Joaquin

The local artist that was part of the galerie was not there so it was only the curator who referred his profile. The artists name is Vincent de Pio who is a son of a renowned artist professor. this means that he has been around different forms of art at an early age and that his lifestyle basically revolves around it already. because he is already quite famous and has been in numerous exhibits even reaching singapore, his sociological status can be assumed as already stable and good. To compare his works in the likes of medieval times, his work is more graphic and contemporary. though it focuses on people, there is a more cartoon like effect to its design. Theres a lot more free flowing ideas and pictures rather than concentrating on the humanistic aspect. For me, its nice to see that there is a local artist present in San Juan because i did not know any till the day of the project when research was made. A sociological theory that can be applied here is that there is an apparent use of symbols here because the paintings are used to represent something more than just simply an illustration. A lot of the paintings created have  hidden meanings. There is also the presence of material culture because these are physical things created that represents messages of the artist.

Task: A Not so Delicious Sight

Key Informant/s or Person/s Interviewed: Fish Vendor,  Fruits and Vegetable Vendor 

the public market of San Juan is at the basement of a pure gold where in times when there are so many people, there would really be a pertinent smell because it would actually feel cramped up inside. Upon asking people around, there really isn't that much products that are locally made mainly because San Juan is just a small city and there isn't much space and farm lands to grow the necessary crops. therefore most of the stuff are coming from the provinces and are bought at night since it is cheaper to buy at a wholesale price. The only 2 things that were locally made was the molo rapper because it can be made with simple ingredients, and it would be cheaper to make there than just buy in a grocery store. the next one would be cooking oil because there is a local factory (we could not go into) that makes them. This oil has no brand and the people that sell them usually just package them in clear plastics similar to that of ice or inside plastic bottles. The social concept applied here is also inequality where it is the rich that dictates and produces the goods, while the vendors are forced to just buy and resell whatever they can so that they can earn. 

Task: A San Juan Staple

Cafe Isabel
The restaurant Cafe Isabel is probably one of those places that is well associated with San Juan because it can only be found here. It is a restaurant alongside a culinary school that presents itself as a high end restaurant that has been in the city for a very long time now. It offers Filipino food along some other common international dishes. In line with this, since this is also a culinary school and its students also cook for the restaurant, there are a lot of folkways and norms that are to be followed. Students here have to make sure that their food is always presentable because it has a well established history that is to be preserved (considering some dishes  may be considered as pricy). Once the food isnt as good already, the people will start to notice. This would also be considered as high culture because it has been around a long time and once you start reading food blogs about it, people say that they feel nostalgic when eating here since it has been around since they were young and all. Because its pricy but good food, most of the people that go here are from the upper class/ 

(Since i was alone, I just took pictures of the restaurant and menu but did not eat here)

Task: A Not so Scary City

Key Informant/s or Person/s Interviewed: People on the street

There weren't really much that has been gathered for San Juan because when i asked people around, most of them did not know any ghost stories anymore or do not even bother entertaining such ideas.