Undergound Ayala Avenue

Today, 12 June 2019, is the 121st independence day of our country. That is over a century of "celebrating independence" though I wonder if we ever became independent. But that is not my topic today. Instead, I want to go back to Ayala Avenue and take a walk underground to escape the heat above. Thanks to independence day holiday that gave me chance to travel back to Makati for a walk and to write.

As I mentioned on my previous post, Ayala Avenue is the busiest street in the central business district of Makati City, Philippines. Beneath the stretch of the avenue are pedestrian tunnels with beautiful arts. These tunnels used to be with plain paints but were eventually beautified with murals mostly overhead and on the sides.

There are six underpasses across Ayala Avenue which were named after the streets either right above or nearest them crossing Ayala. Those are the following starting from the northern part, near the Ayala North Exchange:

• Salcedo
• V.A. Rufino
• Paseo de Roxas
• Legazpi
• Makati Avenue
• Apartment Ridge
  
  

Salcedo

It was under repair during my walk. However, that did not ruin the beauty of the murals overhead. The paintings depict what seem to be the daily walks of life of people of Makati City.

<sup>Senior citizens and graduates enjoying their own time.

Professionals minding their businesses.</sup>

There are many Business Process Outsourcing or Call Center BPO companies in the Philippines. Makati City is just one of the locations where these companies put their operations up. Though in the last several years, some of these companies have been going out of the main business districts and spread through the country. We now have call centers in northern part of Metro Manila like Clark, Pampanga and Baguio City. Going south, there are call centers in Laguna and Cavite. The are also call centers in Cebu City and Davao City. There could be more somewhere else that I do not know. The spread of these companies is because of low cost - lower provincial rate for employees, lower cost of facilities, lower cost of living. I am not an economist but from economy perspective, I think that is good because it is the jobs that go near the people. Talk about inclusive progress across the country and not just in major cities.

^{Call center agents probably fighting for sleep.}

^{An ideal sight for traffic flow.}

V.A. Rufino

I remembered our Manila Ocean Park when I got down to this underpass. The theme of the overhead mural is underwater which is like the oceanarium at the Ocean Park. The only difference is that that underwater wonders are not moving in the underpass. Even so, passersby specially someone new to Makati City, can not help looking up.

<sup>A father-daughter tandem can not just pass by without appreciating the beautiful art.

Take a closer look at the underwater above.</sup>

Paseo de Roxas

The theme is outer space this time. You can go exploring the world above while crossing Paseo de Roxas underpass.

During my previous visit, the following photos were what I got. For some reasons they changed the mural when I went back. New photo is at the end of this underpass presentation.

^{I can't confirm but the spaceship seem to contain a forest. Is it?}

^{An inviting group of teens dancing in space. It won't be a surprise to see someone dancing while passing by this underpass.}

^{And it won't also be a surprise if a passersby beauty contestant tries walking in space like she's walking in the catwalk.}

^{Or, a hopeful beau feeling floating on space. 😊}

Here is how Paseo de Roxas underpass looks now. I don't understand why they changed the mural but I prefer the old one. It looked more colorful, brighter and livelier.

Legazpi

This underpass does not have murals but with HD digital displays from which I took photos of the rotating still images. If anyone was observing me while I was waiting for the display to change, I guess it was obvious that I got nothing to do at that time. 😊

Except for the peacock, I can't exactly figure the others. Maybe someone can help me out. Or, if you go for a walk through this underpass, maybe you can watch for the digital display and identify them one by one. 😊

^{I did not realize that a peacock can look scary when you are not seeing its eyes. It looks like it is gawking at me.}

^{Can someone tell me what bird this is?}

^{And this flower? I thought it is a close-up shot of a red star gazer but I am not sure.}

^{How about this? It is a photo of a painted man but I mean, what race could he be? Does the body paint mean anything?}

Makati Avenue

The murals in this underpass is a bit short because of the positioning of the stairway. However, its mural is what I actually think is the coolest among all of them. It has a toon theme. I thought it also depicts normal daily life but in a funnier way.

^{The guy looks like our national hero but I am not sure if that was the artist's intention. Either way, I guess the painting is telling us to still reign no matter how daunting our challenges could be. Though I have to admit, the chaos still look very good with the colors.}

^{"Ingat po!" That means "take care." It is a common expression spoken to someone who is going somewhere or about to do something that may be challenging safety. For people going somewhere, it is to tell them to take care long the way or along their trip. For people who are about to do something else, it is telling them to take care not to hurt themselves or something like that.}

^{Okay, I won't tell my interpretation to this one. Just tell me yours. 😊 What I can say for now is that I love the many and bright colors.}

Apartment Ridge

Like Makati Avenue underpass, Apartment Ridge underpass also has short mural space overhead because of the positioning of the stairway. And, it does not have something decipherable when I passed by. It looks like the painting was still in progress. Maybe it will already be finished next time that I do my walk along Ayala Avenue.

That's about it for now. Until my next travel and walk... 😊