THE UNO-RIAN VOL. 1 NO.4 November 16, 2023
Feature
https://issuu.com/tolentinestar
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Street Bites: A trek through life and Filipino delights by MAECEL JOY PRIOLO
AMBASSADRESS. Nancy Salodes, 46 years old, selling street food to UNO-Rians during the University Week 2023, Nov. 16. ◘ photo by LESEL EREXIMA.
The busy streets of Bacolod City are filled with a sphere of diverse individuals. Weary students, dawn-diligent street cleaners, office workers racing for the early jeep, sleepy bus drivers, and early risers gearing up for another bustling day. “Isa akon ka serve fishball,” has become an echo to the ears of the street food vendors. Assortment of street foods like fish ball, kwek-kwek, isaw and tempura has been a part of Filipino snacks. From mid-day, afternoon, midnight, rain or shine, you can definitely crave it because in every corner of Bacolod City, there will surely be a cart of a street food vendor. QUICK TALK AND KWEK-KWEK In an array of carts and stalls, one stands out. With busy hands, clanking coins, and voices drowning voices, one cart becomes a beehive of hungry customers. People crowding it, more individuals thronging in as the clock strikes 5 in the afternoon. Nancy Salodes, 46, and her husband Erado Salodes, 57, from Brgy. Singcang Airport have been in the street food business for 23 years. “I had this business with my husband, and we started this [street food cart] because we need income to support our daughter in her studies. For twenty-three years, we have been selling [street foods] in front of UNO-R and inside the campus every U-week,” she shared. Nancy stated that what brings her joy every time she is out in the streets selling are the people she meets and eventually becomes a regular. “I am happy because I get to socialize with different people every day and get to hear insights and stories from them. Eventually, they become my suki,” she said. Not only that Nancy and her husband get to support their daughter with their business, but they also get to yield their service and joy to their customers for twenty-three years.
SWEET AND SPICY It is not a secret for business owners that to last in the business industry for long is to have vigor and tenacity. There are no short cuts, no strings to pull, and no success without recession. Nancy is a testament to the challenges brought about by the business world, especially for small business owners and who are just starting. “It is really tiring from the start, especially when you’re just new to it but because I enjoy what I’m doing and I get to know people, that makes me really happy and it’s all that matters. It’s not easy but you just have to be hard-working and pray to the Lord,” she shared. For Nancy, without having the perseverance to see through the challenges, your business will definitely be short-lived. “We have to wake up at 3 in the morning and we finish preparing our products [home-made fish balls and kwek-kwek] around 9 am. We set out to sell around 11 am and get home at around 9 in the evening every day for twenty-three years,” she said. To be in the business industry for over two decades is a corroboration of their love for their daughter and their commitment to their business. THE SECRET RECIPE The secret recipe is to have no secret at all. To have persistence and contentment are the only ingredients to be able to have just the right mixture for a delectable business.
For Nancy, being contented with big and even small things is what it takes to be able to survive in this type of trade. “Be hard working, pray, and be contented. Whatever value of income we have, small or big, we just have to be contented and be thankful,” she shared. Nancy also shared that because of their perseverance together with her husband, their business have flourished and they get to send their daughter to school. “From a small capital with only one hundred fifty pesos, we now have 5 carts [street food carts] located in UNO-R and in Brgy. Singcang Airport and my daughter graduated in college all expenses sourced from our business,” she said with delight and pride. What makes Nancy and her husband’s business last for twenty-three years and still grow is not because of luck but because of their labor and devotion to continue despite the setbacks they encounter. Twenty-three years is a long time, but it is not a symbol of success. It is simply the manifestation of Nancy and Erado’s tenacity and full commitment to their work and business. Their business may have started for them to have a source of income to support their daughter, but eventually, even after she graduated, they still continued their business. It only means that they do not only see their business as a source of income, but as a spring of their lives. Street foods may have only been a snack for some or a small amount to spend for, but for Nancy and Erado, and the many street food vendors, it is a crusade and attestation of life.
