The Sudden Multicultural Hoard: Manila Fame - The Design and Lifestyle Event

- October 17, 2014, Friday.

- This morning I was doing some academic work when I checked my Facebook during one of my little breaks. I saw some updates from the Indian Embassy's Facebook page, featuring photos of the new ambassador and a ribbon cutting ceremony. When I read the details, my eyes widened when I found out that the ribbon cutting ceremony was for the Indian pavilion in the on-going trade event named "Manila Fame - The Design and Lifestyle Event," held in SMX from yesterday (October 16, 2014) until Sunday (October 19, 2014.) The photos showed some Indian booths selling souvenirs, clothes, and accessories from India. Not long after, I googled the event just to know if it was worth visiting; the event website proved the event to be more interesting than I expected, because apart from the Indian things I saw in the photos, the event also has booths that sell Philippine and other international handicrafts, clothes, accessories, furniture, and decorations. (I knew that the Indian ambassador would be long gone once I arrive, but I was also interested in the event itself. Still, I would have loved to meet him if only I knew earlier that he would be in Manila Fame.)

- I got dressed in a jiffy and dashed off to SMX. The public transportation system seemed to be on my side, so I got to SMX in no time. I entered SMX, and registered; thanks to my student ID, I got a half-price discount for the entrance fee (50 pesos instead of 100 pesos.)

Manila Fame!!

- The trade exhibit, organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM, )  occupies the whole second floor of SMX, I was glad that I decided to come during a weekday, because I knew I would not need to worry about a big crowd, which also means less competition in case I see something fancies me, but need some time to think whether to buy it or not.

- The exhibit booths were very organized. One side of it was solely for native handicrafts, while the other half of the venue was for the international booths. Among the international booths, those that sold Indian items were the most in number. I had a quick browse through the local booths before spending more time in the international booths. Upon canvassing for items, I realized that unlike many bazaars and trade exhibits, the items being sold in Manila Fame had the most reasonable prices. For instance, the scarves, necklaces, and keychains that were sold in in booths had the exact same price as those that are being sold in India. Some items might cost a bit higher, but still within the "very very reasonable" range (take note of the double "very.")

- I went around the Korean pavilion, the Indonesian pavilion, the Pakistani booth, and the Taiwanese booth briefly; needless to say, I spent most of my time circling the Indian pavilion like a vulture. Apart from coming from different companies, I noticed that each of the Indian booths sold items from a specific state of India; one stall sold things from Delhi, another from Rajasthan (Jaipur in particular,) another from West Benga (Kolkata specifically,) another from Kashmir, and so on. The Indian pavilion actually reminded me of Dilli Haat (read about Dilli Haat and my short visit here.) I got myself a small Ganesh keychain (for 10 pesos!!) and a kashmir scarf.

The large Indonesian pavilion.

I had my eye on this stall.

Woven-textile vendor.

HELLO INDIAN PAVILION.

Happy me.

A large cloth from Kolkata.

Hand-made paintings from Jaipur. They're a bit expensive because of the paper used, and the type of paint used - and because it's hand-made.

One of the more interesting pavilions too.

Colorful Kashmiri goods.

Kashmiri necklaces made with real-gold paint.

Not sure what the Taiwan booth was all about.

- Another booth that I found interesting was the Malaysian booth (care of Pua Heritage Boutique.) I got myself a traditional Sarawak ikat-design silk polo, and a Sarawak batik sarong. I wanted to buy the booth's beaded items too, but I had a budget to take note of; beaded items anywhere are usually pricey because making beaded belts and lanyard-like necklaces do take a lot of time, effort, and skill to make the perfect design. Because I bought two items, the Malaysians gave me a small beaded bracelet for free!!

Can I take them all home??

Malaysian flags.

Yay for my Sarawak ikat-design polo. The one I'm wearing is an Indonesian-style ikat design. I had my tailor make it for me.

- Finally, I went back to the Cordillera booth in the Philippine side, and once again, to my surprise, the traditional items there were very reasonably priced, so I decided to buy some unisex Kalinga necklaces and bracelets to add to my collection of traditional accessories. Apart from accessories, they also sold some bags, belts, ponchos, and women's clothes made from the traditional woven fabric. As in the Malaysian booth, I was given a freebie as a reward for purchasing a handful of items.

The Kalinga vendor explaines the necklace to me while she wears a poncho made with traditional Kalinga woven textile.

This other vendor rocks her beads and textiles!!

- I had to leave after realizing that I had not eaten lunch by around 3pm, and mostly because I did not want to come home penniless. I feel fortunate that I was able to attend this international trade exhibit, since I would be missing this year's international bazaar in the PICC tent; the international bazaar is a one-day event, held every third Sunday of November, that I wait for and attend every year (read my visit last year here,) but I can't visit this year due to an academic conference overseas. Perhaps next year, I could attend both the international bazaar and Manila Fame!!