I was too young to enter Club Dredd at its heyday in the 1990′s. Nevertheless, it still remains one of the most iconic music venues of the Philippine music scene like Mayric’s. Sadly, they both have gone the way of NU107 – dead and gone. If you are lucky, you  might catch them making special events. Like they say ‘ you can’t keep an old rocker down.’

These are a few photos of an entry I was not able to complete in my photography blog . I interviewed the Midget Boxer/Wrestler last June (2011) after the entry about Sabrina Orial done on the same night.

It was a long night, but a good experience. We walked from Ayala Triangle to Makati’s infamous Burgos St. We, the trio of Karlo, Kist and I, spent nearly a whole hour trying to look for people to interview in Makati’s red light district. We chanced upon this bar out of curiosity. It was seemingly the only place one could take photos inside the bar. I ordered a few drinks and we sat their mesmerized by the seedy under belly of Makati. Around us, people getting lap dances and drinks. The place was full of foreigners. The drinks were priced at normal club rates of about P100 per bottle.

There were Girl Boxing and Mud Wrestling events lined up, but we did not want to wait for long so we settled on the midget sumo wrestling event. It was as expected, made for entertainment. In other words, it was mediocre match made a a distraction from the usual pole dances and illicit activities. Yet, it was fun and curiously amusing. It was out first time in such a place.

After the match, I approached one of the wrestlers for an interview. He obliged. After about 30 minutes, we interviewed him outside. We were talking while Karlo was taking photos. Kist was also listening in.

Sadly, I do not recall his name and all the details of the interview. These are the only things I remember:

• He enjoyed working there;
• He had friends there and job stability;
• He was just an easy-going guy.
• He did not have a girlfriend.
• He liked basketball.
• He helped support his mother.

In the real world, the wrestler mentioned that people had their preconceived notions about people with his condition. It is not easy getting a normal job. This job was a good opportunity for getting a regular income. Even if it seems like it was degrading, to him, it was a good way to make a living. He did not have any goals except to keep doing his job. It was that part that stuck to me, that in this world, prejudice is an everyday reality. Yet, he choose to do something ‘good’ out of that conflict. Lemonade out of lemons. Speaking of lemons, people at the bar ended up giving us shots of tequila at the end of the night. Nice.

HakaHaka Entry: On Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s arrest

I made Beng Villamil’s  entry last December. The busy  holiday season took up most of my time; thus, the late release. During this time, it felt like a piece of drama acted out in reality. A former president – the supposed “salvation” from corruption – was arrested for cheating in elections. The mood and the opinions were quite divided. Some people did not believe this was right. Others were saying that it was time for justice to be served.

Read Beng’s Hakahaka entry.