I’ve been getting my groceries from one of my neighborhood’s locally owned store for years. Located at the corner of Jesus St. and Labores St. in Pandacan, Manila, it sells rice in sacks on one corner. About half a year ago, I noticed that the pricing signs on the rice started to sport anime drawings. I found it entertaining to choose my brand of rice based on anime drawings. Curious as to who was adding flair to an otherwise ordinary mini grocer’s store, I asked around.
Three store clerks, all young men in their early 20s, have been creating these drawings, it turns out. Their names are Martin Villarta, Denevin Montero, and Joey Basillio. They said that the idea of jazzing up the store with their humble drawing skills just came to them. They created the drawings out of their own initiative.
Martin
Denevin
According to Martin, they really just wanted to make the plain signs more attractive by drawing anime characters on them. They researched the net and printed anime characters they liked and then used these printouts for reference. They drew using pencil, ballpoint pen, and pentel pen. Joey created the first set and Martin and Denevin continued the legacy when Joey left for another job.
The drawings are nice enough. But what impresses me is the dedication of these young men to their work. Because of it, they were able to recreate some of their anime dreams at work, enriching my neighborhood in the process. I think it’s beautiful to witness simple dreams that contribute positive energy, even if just in a small corner of the world.
Let’s all wish a bright future for these young men. Their boss really should give them a raise for marketing their products so well, don’t you think so?
This story makes me want to redefine #LodiGoals. It seems that we don’t really need to look far to meet the genuine role models among us.
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