Don't Tell My Mother in Manila!

photo courtesy of pinayads.com

My favorite show on the National Geographic Channel "Don't Tell My Mother" featured Manila on last night's episode! The first episode (The show airs two new episodes from 9 to 10pm) was Tokyo so I jokingly said to my brother (the original fan of this show who influenced me) that I have a feeling Manila is the next feature but to my surprise I was actually right! The episode started not in Manila though since as the director/host Diego Buñuel said they arrived in Manila in the middle of Holy Week and the city was deserted but of course I think they really planned to come here on that time so they could cover the Holy Week traditions and practices in Pampanga. After that they went back to Manila to feature the "padyak" (makeshift train trolley) where Diego himself rode one, then the people who live in cemeteries and how gambling in wakes helps the family of the deceased one finance the burial. After which, he featured the cockfighting industry and the last feature was the most fascinating one for me as it featured the other side of the Bilibid prison. I never knew that the Bilibid prison today actually has a small community now where some of the prisoners play sports and have businesses inside. All in all, it was a good feature, something I would really expect from this show. What I really like about this show is that the tone is not judgmental of the country's culture and it focuses more on the "human side" and really gives you a peek of how the people on the other side of the world lives. I love that they feature the not so typical activities/features of each place and I'm glad I was able to catch the episode they featured Manila. I hope they come back and visit the other cities here too like Cebu and Davao.