Roxane (KL Dizon) and Christian (Edward Benosa) meet at a war encampment, while Cyrano (Boo Gabunada), who secretly loves Roxane, looks from afar. Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac is translated and adapted into Filipino as the musical Mula sa Buwan. Unrequited love seems a universal motif in stories that proves to quell the pangs of heartbreak, as one learns that others endure the feeling, too.
Photo by I.R. Arenas
Don’t you love fruits sold by the wayside? At least you can munch on something as you go home after a day’s work.
Photo by I.R. Arenas
It’s a tough job to stand in the middle of crossings and intersections to regulate traffic – imagine irate car owners and unweildy pedestrians.
Photo by I.R. Arenas
Capitalising the so-called season of love, two instant sellers hope to vend their roses by stationing near the road and along the path of pedestrians.
Photo by I.R. Arenas
What now, my love? Her other half is missing or, worse, nonexistent.
Photo by I.R. Arenas
Don’t you find advertisements overwhelmingly present everywhere? From overhanging signages to wall postings (not to mention the imposing billboards), we are truly living in a commercialized world.
Photo by I.R. Arenas
This commuter is surely eager to go home.
Photo by I.R. Arenas
People everywhere, here and there, up and down, left and right, to and fro, ahead and behind. Strangers everywhere.
Photo by I.R. Arenas
He is selling peanuts. And oh, by the way, the shirt says “Keep Calm and Excuse Me”. (Do you get why this is semiotically hilarious?)
Photo by I.R. Arenas
A bus travel in the Philippines is lifeless without the trusted (sometimes disdained) conductor, who strangely keeps the fare banknotes, which are folded lengthwise, tucked between the fingers.
Photo by I.R. Arenas
Each one has own life, with a story entirely different from the other. But sometimes their stories converge for a short time then diverge, like these train commuters who share a moment yet remain strangers throughout.
Photo by I.R. Arenas
This is a juxtaposition of a street vendor and a convenience store. Still, many prefer streetfood than mass-produced meals in plastic containers, suggesting the buying power of customers.
Photo by I.R. Arenas
Visual Tales 