ESPAÑA RONIN

The ESPAÑA RONIN is a street vendor found at España Boulevard in Manila. He not only has a lot of snacks and refreshments available for sale, he also dresses the part as a masterless samurai as he knocks on the windows of cars and vehicles stuck in traffic.

He dons this get up not because it’s comfortable, but to stand out. Too many street vendors sell their snacks, energy drinks and trinkets in España Boulevard, and it pays to be seen a mile away, even dressing himself a different color in different days. In this one, he wears the pink and green tandem, a sight for sore eyes especially to those who are weary of the yellow and orange glaze of the heat in the blistering street.

For those who see him for the first time, they wonder if he’s a mirage or a lost cosplayer. And for those who already know him, they are yet again entertained by his ronin uniform, thus they buy from him and not the other vendors who seem like bandits. And as they pay him in cash or coin, it is as if they have just made business with a real life samurai in Manila, even if he does not carry a katana.