Pyrotechnics for the Masses

I'm a sucker for New Year's celebrations, I admit it. But generally my idea of ringing in the new year involves good friends, well-mixed drinks, and the anticipation of a solid week of college football bowl games. Call me old-fashioned.

In Manila, though, the new year is just a good excuse to blow shit up, and hell I really can't compete with that. There are either no rules surrounding the use of pyrotechnics in the Philippines, or else they just aren't enforced worth a damn. The above photo was taken from our hotel room (yes, we were treated to a room at the Hyatt Hotel & Casino in Malate, so la ti da). That firework you see exploding (above the reflection of our tv screen--sorry about that amateur moment), that firework is NOT a part of an official show. That was one of several thousand "backyard" fireworks. Since Christmas people all around the country have been buying fireworks of all shapes and sizes and lighting them in their driveways, on busy city streets, and even on rooftops. If you just said to yourself, "Well, Jen, that seems like a major fire hazard," then you probably also believe in things like seat belts, breakdown lanes, and child safety seats. First-world wussy.

From the 180 degree bay view window of our 28th floor room, explosions rose over every city block along the horizon--and it went on like that for hours. A few people even captured this scene on YouTube. It's worth seeing, so take a look at these links:

2008 Happy New Year Manila
New Year in the Philippines 2008

I never saw the official, professional show over Manila Bay due to an obstructed view (and I'm too cheap to pay 500 pesos to get access to the hotel's roof, no matter how much champagne they offer). I'm afraid this sane attempt to encourage people to leave the pyrotechnics to the professionals failed. People were even pointing rockets at each other's apartment buildings, so once again safety was not a huge concern. Just walking the streets was a deadly game of roulette because it seems that the second favorite Filipino new year's activity is firing guns into the air. What goes up must come down.

By the end of the evening our skyline was totally obscured by a thick cloud of smoke that lay over the city. And if you think it's all over, know that I wrote this post on January 1st while being serenaded to a constant drumming of explosions in the distance. All things said and done, though, this year was actually a mild one as many people complained that fireworks were too expensive this year. I'll let you know how next year goes. As my friend and colleague eloquently put it in his new year's text to me, "I love this insane country."