'Ligaw na Bulaklak', dokumentaryo ni Atom Araullo, ngayong Sabado sa 'I-Witness'

I-WITNESS
LIGAW NA BULAKLAK
Host: Atom Araullo
Airing date: February 13, 2021

 

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”

Ito ang unang linya sa tulang isinulat ni Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Ipinakita rito ang iba’t ibang paraan ng pagpapahayag ng pag-ibig. Wagas, malawak, at malalim. Para sa karamihan kabilang na tayong mga Pinoy, isa ang bulaklak sa simbolo ng pagmamahal. Ang pagbibigay nito, lalo na tuwing Valentine’s Day ay romantiko pa rin at hindi nawawala sa uso. Kaya naman marami rin ang umaasa ng kabuhayan dito.

Dalawang dekada nang nagbebenta ng bulaklak sa Dangwa ang 50 anyos na si Nanay Caridad. Sa tulong ng dalawang kaanak, sa isang sulok sila nagbebenta ng mga bulaklak na tila kaiba sa karamihan.

Ang isang bungkos ay nagkakahalaga ng isang daang piso, pero nagiging treinta pesos na lang dahil sa grabeng tawaran. Wala naman silang magawa kundi ibigay na lamang kesa walang kita. Kailangan kasing tumulong ni Nanay Caridad sa may sakit na asawa. Ang labing siyam na taong gulang na anak niya naman ay nag-aaral pa, samantalang ang unang dalawang anak niya ay may kani-kaniya nang pamilya.

Suwerte raw na maituturing nang matuklasan nila ang tila ligaw na bulaklak na kung tawagin nila ay “coco grass.” Naglalakad sila ng dalawang oras para manguha nito sa bundok sa Rizal. Libre lamang ito dahil isa lang naman daw itong klase ng damo, pero para makarating sa Dangwa, kailangan nilang gumastos ng halos dalawang daang piso.

Sa darating na Araw ng mga Puso, iisa lang ang hiling niya--- ang malaman kung ano ba ang pakiramdam na makatanggap ng bulaklak.

Huwag palalampasin ang “Ligaw na Bulaklak,” dokumentaryo ni Atom Araullo. Ngayong Sabado, February 13, 2021, 10:15pm sa GMA. #

English Version:

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”

As the first line of this poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning goes, love can be expressed in many forms.

For most human beings, flowers represent love. Hence, giving flowers to your loved ones, especially on Valentine’s Day, is perennial but still romantic.

50-year old Caridad sells flowers in Dangwa, a haven for various types of blooms. She, with the help of her cousin, started her business venture almost 20 years ago. But this business is as wild as the type of flower that she sells. Her place is just at the sidewalk. She takes a chance that somehow a passerby will notice these odd looking, cotton like, white balls, bundled together.

One bundle is being sold at 100 pesos, which drops to 30 when a buyer haggles. No recourse but to agree because most of the time, nobody stops to buy.

Nanay Caridad needs to earn to help support her family--- a husband and a 19 year old son. Her 2 older kids were not able to graduate because they opted to raise a family of their own.

Luck came to her when they discovered these wildflowers growing in the mountains of Rizal they tagged as “coco grass.” Along with her cousin and daughter in law, Nanay Caridad treks 2 hours every morning to harvest. They just grow abundantly. But she has to spend almost 200 pesos to commute to Dangwa.

This coming Valentine’s Day, her only wish is to experience how receiving flowers feels like, because in her 25 years of marriage-- she was just a vendor, never the recipient. #