Block Party !!!!

Our last shot from Day Five involved a big party scene. And if there's anything Filipinos are good at, it's having a fiesta. All we need is a giant karaoke machine, a bandehado of pancit, a teen drum troupe, hip hop dancers, colored lights and voila--there you go. Fun times for sure.

And oh did I mention hours of hard work?

Camera set up. Francois did hand held for this scene.

Colored water and the local kiddies. Actor Lowell Conales in the Bruce Lee t-shirt looks on.

In the middle of the chaos, Marc fell asleep on the spot. Or maybe he's just having a moment.

The Roxas Tribe arrive. Their drumming filled the building with such great energy.

Outside it was quiet and drizzly. In the equipment truck, the vibe was mellow: they were eating watermelon seeds.

But inside the fiesta atmosphere infected everyone, including myself. And to think I was a crabby bitch all day. Sad but true.

The Misses Thang: Yancy and Lao get ready to party.

The whole building comes out to watch.

Lots and lots of kids. Always. They are everywhere in Smokey. I will make a separate post about them.

Local color. Each apartment was lit up from inside. Amazing.

Meanwhile, out in the hallway the world wasn't as colorful. But we still had fun!

Leeroy, Dawn, Julia, and Alec: they are all good kids. The best.

Leeroy and Dawn hanging out.

Me and Alec.

Here's Leeroy concentrating. On what, I'm not too sure.

Julia is a minor celebrity at Smokey Mountain. Here she is with her salsa partner.

I thought this was a good sign.

My fugly pink Crocs got me through another day. I wore Argyle socks with them. That's Juan's foot on the left.

We wrapped at 11 pm, one hour behind the Building 28's curfew. But no one really complained. Pinoys love a good party. I hope no body drank the colored water...