The student, Eman Jacob Murillo San Andres, drew his version of what regular street vendors would look like if they were superheroes and had their own powers.
Most likely, you’ve seen, met, and bought from a street vendor at least once in your life. You encounter them after work, after school, or just casually walking on the street. In their simple stalls and spaces, they sell classic Filipino bites that can satisfy your hunger or thirst. In their simplicity, street vendors have this inviting aura to them and the feeling that the food you are going to get is going to be delicious even if you’re just eating it out of a plastic cup.
KALSADA HEROES
Street vendors are staples of Philippine culture and one Filipino student decided to immortalize street vendors through his artwork. But he didn’t do just any plain artwork, he envisioned what street vendors would look like if they had powers based on the food they sold. The artist, Eman Jacob San Andres, made his Kalsada Heroes series that showed different street vendors as superheroes. His artworks turned taho, balut, sorbetes, buko juice, kwek kwek, siomai, sapin-sapin, banana cue, and inihaw vendors into superpowered heroes that are fit for a comic book or any cinematic universe.
In an interview about the series, Eman, whose currently a freelance digital artist and a first-year college student at FEU taking up Multimedia Arts, said that he saw street vendors as heroes because they are there to quench your thirst or satisfy your hunger after a long day in school or work. He also has high respect for street vendors especially during the pandemic since they risk their lives every day in the heat or rain to sell and make a living for their families.
His drawings are giving us slight Avatar: The Last Airbender vibes and it’s not hard to see his work be featured in a comic book, animated series or movie, and even a video game. You can check out more of Eman’s work here and he also accepts commissions. Check out the Kalsada Heroes series below.
TAHO
BALUT PENOY
MAMANG SORBETERO
SIOMAI
SWEET BUKO JUICE
KWEK KWEK NEON BALLS
SAPIN – SAPIN
SUMAN
BANANA QUEUE
INIHAW
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