May 25, 2015

Highlighting the Ordinary in Tropical Paradise

The man selling his stack of hats or the Ati's playing at the beach are scenes we often overlooked. They are the other faces of Boracay, known for its powdery sand beaches, night parties, kiteboarding and beautiful sunset. Predominantly surrounded by luxurious resorts and hotels, Boracay is also home of some ordinary people doing extra ordinary things.

The Fire Dancers


They spin and dance to the rhythm with their sparkling poi creating fire trails to captivate your evening in Boracay. The dangerous performance happens every night and they continue to amaze tourist and vacationers with their jaw dropping fire dancing moves. Fun to watch but it takes years of practice and skill to perfect.

Fire dancers showing off their skills

Boracay All Stars Dragon Boat Team

They woke up early, practice everyday and continue to plow awards in both local and international competition.They won the championship in the 500-meter mix category in the recently-concluded Dragon Boat Carnival in Hongkong, China. I'm not sure if they get enough support from the government and PSC ( Philippine Sports Commission) but I know they make Philippines proud.

Dragon Boat Practice

The Ati's of Boracay

Ati's are undeniably the original native settlers of the Boracay since pre-colonial times who are in struggle of coping up with the furious phase of development that has overtaken the island.

Aeta Kid

T-Shirt Paint Artist

The hand-painting talent of the artist is just amazing and eye-catching to both locals and foreigners.They hand paint directly to the shirt of your choice with your preferred design and 20 minutes later it's done.

Tshirt Painter

The Sand Artist

They are talented young locals of Aklan who earn a living (donations) by making three dimensional work of art. They use their hands to craft major shapes and sometimes a wood for poking out holes and slippers to flatten and smooth rounded corners. Not an easy task for a small donation.

Sand sculpting in Boracay

Hat Seller

They travel from far away islands to sell their goods like hats, pearls, sunglasses, water-proof bags and religious items, just to name a few. They are sometimes pushy but we have to bear in mind that these people are just trying to make a living and feed their families.

hat seller in boracay
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