This is my contribution to the #wednesdaywalk Challenge this week hosted by @tattoodjay. If you have not heard about this initiative or would want to know more about it simply click on the link here and share your Wednesday walk with all the other members of our community all across the globe. Don't miss out on this.
For this Wednesday, I would like to feature again (I did a Wednesday Walk post on this 3 months ago) our city's People's Park but this time focusing only on the cement sculptures found all over the place. For those unfamiliar with this park, it is a cultural theme park which opened in 2007. It was the project of then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte who has now gone on to become the president of the Philippines. This 4-hectare park used to be an old sports complex with a 6-lane dirt oval track, a soccer field, 2 tennis courts, a basketball court and an olympic sized swimming pool. The complex was in such a deplorable state due to insufficient funds to maintain it and in the year 2005 the city government converted the old sports complex into the theme park that it is now.
Aside from the trees, plants and flowers that fill up this park, there are two prominent features that catch the eye of a visitor. One is the promenade - a cobbled circumferential walk which used to be oval dirt track. The other one is the presence of numerous cement sculptures which could be found everywhere.
These sculptures were created by an internationally acclaimed artist who happens to be a local resident, Kublai Millan. These sculptures are by no means miniatures. Each figure can easily be 6 ft to 7ft tall with a girth of five to ten men.
In the pictures above, on the left is a sculpture of an eagle, the Philippine Eagle, which Davao is famous for. This majestic creature is found only in the island where Davao City is located, Mindanao. There's a man in brown shorts and black shirt who happens to be passing by when I took this picture. This will give you an idea of how big the human sculptures are. Picture on the right shows sculpted figures from different tribes of Mindanao.
Picture above shows a cleaning lady mopping the floor, strategically placed by the entrance of the Men's Room. On the right are children playing a local game called "luksong tinik" or jump over thorns. The two girls kneeling form imaginary thorns using their hands and feet and the other players jump over these thorns without touching them.
Photos above show the musical side of the indigenous people of Mindanao with their various native musical instruments.
The sculptures above depict the importance of fishing in the lives of the people in the island.
Above photo shows the different fruits for which Davao and Mindanao are known for, most notably the durian fruit which are the green oblong prickly fruits at the base of the sculpture.
More fruits being sold in native baskets and containers.
Another game played by children.
Photo above shows a replica of the carabao or water bufallo as the main source of transportation during the old days. Here the carabao is pulling a group of women who are probably off to the market to sell their fruits and veggies.
Picture above shows natives preparing their food.
And that's about it for this post. I hope you enjoyed this one. And if sometime after the pandemic you find yourself in Davao, I will be more than delighted to show you around this park which draws a lot of tourists and visitors every year. Meanwhile, most cities are beginning to open up and relaxing their quarantine rules. Just remember to always stay safe especially during these times. We do not want a second wave to happen! God bless us all.
(All pictures are mine.)