Dropped by Statue Square, and there was a free concert for Filipina Helpers. There was a Filipino cover band playing, and a Filipina who's supposedly a teeny weeny minor star here in Hong Kong. (Probably with the Pinoy community.)
It felt was one of those "baraylihan"* we went to as kids in Malinao, Albay. It was done on the streets, and everyone was dancing and singing along the band. They were playing pop standards like: La Vida Loca, Lambada, Can't get you out of my head, Get the party started and Sex Bomb.
All the DHs who where there were gleefully partying, which was very refreshing to see. Even the way they dressed, it was unlike their usual persona. On weekdays, you'd see them in shorts and t-shirts, bringing their alagas to school. You'd see them at their most frumpy and unattractive. But that weekend, they were all dressed to "party." Wearing hipster jeans, tank tops and heels. When you look at them, it would be easy to suspend reality and simply see them as "girls who just want to have fun."
But that's the thing. That's who they really are. They're women who - in the Philippines - love to go out and party, whether in the town plaza or in some rinky-dink disco in Bambang. Although in Hong Kong, they're simply seen as domestic helpers who clean the house, cook, bring the kids to school, and do their amos every command. Two completely different women, in one same package.
I'm just happy that these women never forget who they are despite the job and label the Hong Kong society has given them.
And i'm hoping that we, too, don't forget.
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