Sunday Love Affair or SLA, as it is more fondly called, was born January 27, 2008. It started out as a gathering of individuals bound by their common love for photography. A Sunday gathering of photography enthusiasts going around Manila looking for interesting subjects. Both amateur and professional photographers make up the members of SLA. Most of them are advocates of the use of film in photography and carry different types of cameras (rangefinders, SLRs, TLRs, medium format cameras and even toy cameras).


When word spread about this group, more people
started expressing interest in participating in the
shoots. Surprisingly, as information spread, so did
the interest in the output of the members themselves
which led to invitations to put up their own
exhibits. This flourished and slowly turned into more
than a hobby. What started as a twice-a-month
gathering of photo enthusiasts turned into a commitment
to capture more than just images. Now,
SLA members have made it their mission to visit
various areas in Metro Manila and tell the story of
Filipino life through their photos.


Moving in this direction, SLA in partnership with
Tudla Productions and UP Film Institute, is putting
together a month long exhibit entitled “Pagbabakas”.
This exhibit will feature a collection of
photos from the members of SLA who have been
spending their Sundays in different parts of Tondo,
Manila.


This exhibit aims to raise awareness about the life of
our brothers in Tondo and be able to extend any
help we can to them through a non-monetary drive.
During the exhibit, guests are encouraged to bring
whatever they can spare (i.e. old clothes, toys, food, medicines, etc.). And, through the help of Tudla
Productions, these supplies will be distributed to the
people in Tondo.


PAGBABAKAS


Despite their dire circumstances, seeing the people of Tondo live in the community they’re
in and work in an environment that is less than desirable, is something short of amazing.
Their struggle to make ends meet and live with what they can find in their surroundings is
astonishing.


What is even more surprising is that even in the
midst of the chaos that surrounds them; they have
still found a haven of sorts for their families. What
can be observed is that usually, you see groups of
people working, playing, eating and yes, even
having fun together. It made us realize that no
matter how difficult their situation is, as long as they
are not alone, they can live through it, survive it.


Pagbabakas in Filipino means partnership. Commonly
a term used in business and in gambling…
yes gambling. This term connotes being with someone
in an endeavor or activity. For this exhibit however,
our focus will be to show how the people of
Tondo have bonded together, gambling their lives
everyday to survive. We want to show how working
together can be a positive element even in an environment
that is surrounded by hopelessness and
negativity.



In other adaptations, “pagbabakas” can be considered
as seeing their everyday life, the way they live
and their way of survival. Our photographs will be
the medium in which our audience will understand
the situation in their community not as merely being
unfortunate but simply showing them that you can
still appreciate life even if the situation is unkind.


This photo exhibit is a partnership between Sunday
Love Affair, UP Film Institute (UPFI) and TUDLA
Production.