The City of Lost Angels by Sherjan Rana

     High rolling businessmen and foreigners alike would know Angeles, Pampanga as “The City of Lost Angels”. The reason for this is that in Angeles, Pampanga lies Philippines’ own red light district. My friends and I went there out of curiosity. What we saw was amusing, interesting yet somewhat disturbing. 

     At first glance, the place seems like any other street with the usual bars and clubs. Right before the entrance of the street, there was a big signboard on top saying “Walking Street” which was weird because not only was it named that way; the street was packed but a few cars still passed by through it. Right of the bat, the first thing we saw in the street was a store for sex playthings. It had signs saying “Come this way to paradise”, “Kinkyness starts here!”, “Toys for fun” and much more.

 Being a guy, the store amused me but seeing as to I was with four other girls; I did not show my amusement but instead just took a picture. It’s interesting that they would put a store like that out there. It just goes to show that where we were was no ordinary street of bars and clubs.
      Walking through the street, we could not help but notice the abundance of girls in skimpy clothes outside of the clubs. One could call them “promoters”. Their main job was to make sure that people go to their clubs. They were a lively bunch, amusing and interesting. I must admit some of them had the power to arouse men by their glances. I had a camera with me and whenever I would point it at one of them a group would suddenly flock and would gladly smile for the camera. 

The girls would say stuff like “sir pasok po kayo dito, madami maganda dito” and I remember one of them saying “Oy, foreigner! Sir! Sir! Come here very pretty here! Many many sexy!” when she saw me. Again it was interesting and amusing for me, but this was when I started to see the title City of Lost Angels as something else.

     There were a lot of foreigners in the area, from all parts of the world. One could tell they were rich because they wore suits and high class watches. It was very funny that most of them were fat and old yet beside them, holding their hand, was a young, sexy Filipina. Prostitution is illegal in the Philippines, yet one has to be blind to not see that it was rampant in Angeles City. 

     If I think about Angeles City and its red light district, I can’t help but think about the economic gain it brings to the Philippines. Foreigners from all over go to Angeles to get a taste of the touch of a Filipina and in doing so they shed out hundreds of dollars which in turn raises the economy of the Philippines. Angeles does help the economy of the Philippines but at what cost?

     Angeles is a great city rich in natural resources and fantastic tourist destinations, yet it’s the red light district that captures the foreigners’ attention. Angeles is called The City of Lost Angels because of the “angels” in Angeles that were lost but now found, yet to me, Angeles is The City of Lost Angels because of these Angels that have lost their way in life. It’s sad to see them succumb to these professions because of poverty, but one is not to judge them by their decision.

     Overall, Pampanga was a great place to visit. The lively destination, great food and fantastic people made it worthwhile. To top it all off the one of a kind experience walking through a red light district was awesome!