little manila - Parallelozero

P H I L I P P I N E S
LITTLE
MANILA
By Sergio Ramazzotti
parallelozero
Manila, Philippines. Midgets in the Ringside Bar, a
popular nightclub in the Makati neighborhood where
midget boxing shows are hosted most nights of the week
The midget community of Manila is composed by roughly
one hundred people. Still the object of a widespread
prejudice, most of them can’t find any other job than
restaurant waiter or attraction in the red light
district bars, where patrons are entertained with
midget boxing matches, a tradition born right in the
Philippines. But the sons and daughters of midgets are
determined, however hard it may be, to make their way
in other careers and to overcome the discrimination
which confined their parents on the ring. And one of
them has a dream: to build the world’s first entirely
dwarf-size village.
Manila, Philippines. Midget Mario Bon in the family house
in Pasig City neighborhood with son Kim, 15 (left), wife
Jennifer, 41 and daughter Jamaica, 17 (right)
Manila, Philippines. Midgets Mario Bon
(left) and Girlie Capote (right) work as
receptionists outside the Bay Café, a
nightclub and bar in the Ermita neighborhood
Manila, Philippines. Midget Mario Bon (left)
in the family house in Pasig City neighborhood
with daughter Jamaica and mother Judith
Manila, Philippines. Nestor
Peñaflor, a well known
singer and entertainer, at
his home in Laguna City
with wife Evangeline, 43,
holding newborn baby Sophia
Manila, Philippines. Midgets outside the
Ringside Bar, a popular nightclub in the
Makati neighborhood where midget boxing
shows are hosted most nights of the week
Manila, Philippines. A midget boxing match in the Ringside Bar, a
popular nightclub in the Makati
neighborhood where such shows are
hosted most nights of the week
Manila, Philippines. Mario Bon works
as a receptionist at the Bay Café and
commutes by public transport to get home
Manila, Philippines. Analie Santamaria, 37, in
a corridor of the InterContinental hotel, where
she works as an employee in the events department
Manila, Philippines. Jamaica Bon, 17, walks to
work. She works as a trainee in an IT company
Manila, Philippines. Midget Mario Bon walks
with daughter Jamaica on a street in Pasig
City, the neighborhood where they live
Manila, Philippines. Manager Pidoy Fitalino
(right) and waitress Lorna Francisco (left) at
the Hobbit House in the closing hours. The bar
is tended and managed exclusively by midgets
Manila, Philippines. A waitress at
the Hobbit House, a bar tended and
managed exclusively by midgets
Manila, Philippines. Gina Balahibo works
as a waitress at the Hobbit House, a bar
tended and managed exclusively by midgets.
She lives an hour away from the bar and
she commutes every day by public transport
Manila, Philippines. Bhoy Matias, 60, at
the entrance of the Hobbit House, a bar
tended and managed exclusively by midgets,
where he works as a receptionist
Manila, Philippines. Shoes part of a show dress
in Nestor Peñaflor’s house. Peñaflor, famous
for his Elvis Presley impersonation, designs
and saws his own costumes, including shoes
Manila, Philippines. Albert, 55, father of midget Mario
Bon, in the family house in Pasig City neighborhood
PARALLELOZERO, VIA DONATELLO 19/A, MILAN - [email protected] - WWW.PARALLELOZERO.COM - +39.02.89281630