Beyond the Photo: Gloria the Lato Vendor

People were throwing sharp glances at me, as I languidly walked down the main road from lofty Fort Culion. I was looking for a place to have lunch, and regretted heading out in the punishing noontime sun with a daypack and 2 cameras strapped around me. Along the way, I was shooting random street scenes: leper-colony era structures now in decay, kids playing with their makeshift toys of ruined bicycle tires & used food cans, homemakers tending to their sari-sari stores and food stands. The locals projected this canned smile at me, as if telling me to take their photo - and when I'd oblige and point my camera they would break into wild laughter and shake their heads as if it were a silly thing to ask for.

As I was walking along I heard a loud and elongated cry from behind me, like a jungle call that drowned out all other noise on the street. I looked around and saw this lady at the bend of the road, bucket in one hand and a carrying staff hoisted on her shoulders with green bundles hanging from it. She was steadily marching down like a soldier in a parade while chanting her jungle cry. As she came into better view I realized she was peddling "lato" - that delicious seaweed salad that exploded into the taste of the sea in your mouth. She stopped a short distance away, looked at me intently and exclaimed in a commanding voice: "kunan mo ako ng litrato."

She told me her name - Gloria Bereng, and that she was Tagbanua. Gloria had a regal posture, standing erectly never mind the heavy load on her shoulders. She was dark-skinned and her hair was brown, baked from working under the harsh sun most of the day for sure. What caught my eye though was a deep & very pronounced canal on her temple, right between the eyebrows.  The rest of her forehead looked like it was collapsing, being sucked in by it. This sculpted what seemed like a permanent scowl on her face. I asked her to give a big smile for the photo, and all that she could muster looked like a squint against the afternoon sun, rather than a smile. Despite that, I was pretty sure she was elated to have her photo taken.

Gloria Bereng, Tagbanua Lato vedor from Culion, Palawan

I promised to have the photos printed for her and sent to Hotel Maya via postal mail, where she can pick it up after a month. I was able to send them after 2 weeks, and I hope she got her copies.