THE BLOCK PARTY by Spotless Mind

Being an official part of the tribe, the Block Party felt like a celebration; great music, with great company.

The setting: a crowded street, filled with different kinds of people, drinking beers, and Red Bulls, gathered with a passion for great music, and incredible street art culture.

Picturing it now, I am overwhelmed, thinking that I was able to witness and be part of something that has great potential to influence so much to the nation, and the best part, through the things I love most, art and music.

That night, of June 22nd was probably the most exposed I’d ever been to street culture. I was always very curious and fond of it, but I never really got the chance to experience it. The Block Party, through the help of Tribe of Tees, was a great experience for me. I got to meet artists of different kinds, some were students, some were not, some wouldn’t look the part but some carried the “bangis” factor around them, but all kinds were just as awesome as the others. The place was a perfect venue for the arts. I was never a stranger to the place, Cubao X. I mean, how could I be? It was my scene, my kind of thing, so I never felt out of place, which is what I love most about Cubao X, everyone was so different yet, they fit together; it was a certain kind of comfort to me.

Mind you, we have not gotten to the music yet… If you were there that night, you would probably spot me right in front of the DJ, banging my head, along with my body to the beat, right in the middle of the crowd doing the exact same thing. I never denied myself the pleasure of good music, so if it was present, you’d best believe I’d enjoy myself. Here’s how it looked like:

Disclaimer: I am not a photographer. (HAHAHA!)

 Aside from that, I met the artists behind CVTY Collective. Lamok, and Jay, who got his prizes for winning best design.

I remember Kuya Jiggs telling me at one point during the night, at the height of realizing how great things were going, “Ang galing noh? Ang galing kasi may margin of error.“

I thought about it, and it was true, really. Maybe that’s the reason why I am beginning to grow a passion for the street art culture, and the people that comprise it, there was room for mistakes, something I felt I never had.

Room for mistakes, meant room for growing; it was meant to become something big. Right now, conceptualizing and building the idea in my head, and knowing that it has a place and purpose, I am honored to be part of something big that actually means something not only to me, but to a lot of people who believe that it can actually be an agent of something good that not so many people know of, because they dismiss the thought of graffiti as vandalism, but if you go deeper into it, you can actually see how deeply rooted the artworks and the artists are.

It’s what I love about everything, Cubao X, Tribe of Tees, Street Art Culture, Music, and the people that comprise it all, they are deeply rooted; something I’d like to think that I am. Errors do not mean imperfection or deformity or ugliness, it’s a reminder of our humanity, from it comes learning, and through learning, we become so much more than what we think. It takes time to get to know and actually embrace its beauty, because it is complex, and profound, that’s what makes it its own self; its what makes it its own kind of beautiful.

 For the author’s personal blog you may visit http://myspotlessmind.tumblr.com/