Quirk Central

by Kim Andaya

What if I told you that, just beyond the luxurious Gateway, the “basketball battle arena” of Araneta Coliseum, and the suffocating traffic, there exists a quaint getaway from the whirlwind of day-to-day consumerism? I’m talking about Cubao Expo, a neat little U-shaped complex of eccentric shopping experiences just waiting to happen. And if you’re a student coming from the Katipunan area like me and my friends were, getting there is half the fun.

Getting there

On the 12^th of July, right after my last class, two of my classmates – Miggy and Mai – and I hopped into Mai’s car to be dropped off at McDonald’s. We had decided to take the LRT in order to escape the congestion of the roads. Mai was pretty excited about it, since she hadn’t ever ridden on the LRT before. It was also quite an adventure for me, since it would be my first time to take a train without any adult supervision and with only Miggy as our guide. So we pounded the pavement of the uneven sidewalks on the way to the station; the heat and the smoke prickling our skin, the scents of the world roiling in our noses, the cacophony of horns and peddlers filtering through our ears. We had to hide our Ateneo ID’s and hold on to the shoulders of whoever was ahead of us when we crossed the street or threaded through crowds in order to keep safe. Despite all that, I was enjoying myself – the thrill of independence was coursing through my veins.

After the ride on the LRT line, which Mai exclaimed was “almost like Hong Kong,” we had to snake through the mall to which our station was immediately connected to. We had to ask a handful of guards, some of which pointed us in opposite directions, before we had a clear idea of where we should be heading to get to our target destination.

After all the sweat and walking, finally making it to Cubao Expo was like arriving at Shangri-La. I suppose it could be seen as a Shangri-la by the artsy-fartsy multitudes. When we picked out Cubao Expo under the suggestion of Miggy, I was expecting to go to a circus of the odd and exciting. When we got there, I realized that it wasn’t all that I had imagined it to be. Let me tell you that at first glance, it’s not all that striking. But one should never judge a book by its cover.

From shoe haven to hobbyist wonderland

Danny Sillades writes in his article An emerging art district, Cubao Expo & My Breathing Space that, formerly the Marikina Shoe Expo, Cubao Expo was built and developed in 1972 by Mercado Realty. He recounts that during those days, the complex “housed the finest Marikina shoes in the country.” Sadly, over twenty years after its establishment, business drooped until the Marikina Expo was forced to shut down at the peak of the Asian economic crisis in 1997. But in 2000, under the management of Bujim Aquino, the Marikina Shoe Expo was reborn as Cubao Expo, this time catering to much more than shoe bargain hunters.

Today, Cubao Expo is a charming little shopping center with two lines of shops fencing a paved road that also serves as a parking lot. The rustic shops don’t take up so much space and aren’t any higher than two storeys. Glass windows reveal a wide array of wares crammed into the tight box of the display. When we arrived (roughly a quarter to five), the place was still pretty deserted, and most of the shops were closed. By the time we had wandered through several shops, I had concluded that Cubao Expo was different, eccentric, cramped, slightly unkempt, and baduy in a homey, Pinoy kind of way.

There are shoe shops, quirky cafés and restaurants, clothing shops, furniture shops, art shops, some night clubs, and stores that sell collectibles and intriguing pieces from the past. I even spotted a couple of salons. There was something for almost everyone – the fashionista, the art geek, the housewife working on renovations, the hobbyist, the barkada, etc. But it was hard to distinguish one type of shop from the other. A lot of the stores didn’t seem to be selling any one kind of item in particular. Books shared shelves with old dolls and décor, and you could spot toys from my mother’s childhood hiding amidst a clothes display. There were old records being sold in a watch shop (or were old watches being sold in a record shop?). There were even some places where you didn’t know where one store ended and another began. Everything was awash like a hand running through a wet painting, and I think that added to the artistry of the place.

Connecting here and there, then and now

If you would look closely at the items for sale, you could say that Cubao Expo could act like a hub where everything meets, as it harbours items from across the globe. Some shops celebrated French and American clothes, while some sold Buddhist and Hindi sculptures and trinkets. There’s even an Italian restaurant whose walls are painted with popular Italian tourist sights. The culture of the world is abundant everywhere you turn.

Also, Cubao Expo would bring one back to a time before the era of electronics, of cold glass and metal; back to when big hair was overly popular and everything was colourful and tangible and not as pocket-sized – and even to times before that. There were mounds of black and white photos, dolls that reminded me of Chuckie, phonograph records, dust-coated tea sets, special issues of men’s magazines and all sorts of other knick knacks from before I was born. Something worthy of note would be a WWII battle outfit we saw on a copper mannequin.

A shopping experience like no other

You can see why this place is definitely not your ordinary shopping center. Take it from Mark Garcia, an Atenean freshman: “…We just walked around and looked at the stuff which definitely made me think it was a hipster place.” They ate at Sweet Ecstasy, a burger joint that had evolved from an art gallery. Then while walking the complex, they came across a clothing store that used a skateboard wheel for its doorknob. “That is just so cool!” He tells me. “[Cubao Expo is] like one of those places that people would visit if they knew about it.”

I agree with Mark. Few spots in the Metro offer the same kind of shopping experience that Cubao Expo does, and it’s definitely worth your time. I really enjoyed just window shopping and seeing all they had in store. Just that was adventure enough on its own. We ate at Green Halo Café, famous for its chocnut coffee, and I ordered a delicious grilled chicken sandwich. When we finished eating, the night clubs were just beginning to come to life. It was kind of unnerving for me since I felt pretty out of place. Mai and Miggy are older and probably didn’t feel the stare of the onlookers, but I couldn’t have been more aware of it. Nevertheless, I had a good time at Cubao Expo.

All in all, Cubao Expo should definitely be on the must-visit list of anybody living in or visiting the Metro. True, it’s not as high-class as its neighbouring mall, nor is it as expansive as MoA, nor is it as much of an all-in-one place as Mega Mall. But it’s got so much more attitude and personality than all of those super malls combined. Yes, the night clubs may unnerve the conservative and some of the items on display may frighten the little ones, but something always remains to be enjoyed by anyone from any walk of life. Through the loads and hoards of assorted wares, you never know when, like a pirate on a quest, you will come across a treasure that you’d cherish for years to come.