The Queens of the Thoroughfare

Our road is a minute kingdom dominated by muscular kings but along the length are ladies reigning as queens of the thoroughfare.

Our roads in Valenzuela are commonly flooded by three-wheeled mechanical vehicle widely known as “trike” that connects the town from the far stretch of the sitio toward Polo, the town center.

The long avenue are mainly dominated by ruggedly- dressed man rampantly rolling the wheels along the cement, paving the way to carry across every passengers toward their destination. But in the middle of the same thoroughfare are equally- competitive women that are evenly swifter than the speed maniacs of the town.

Analyn Gacute is one of the vehicle maneuvers that made its way along the long queues of the ValPODA colleagues. This tall, old woman was considered as the muse of the association. Her bubbly personality became one of the remarkable faces in the barangay.

A mother of three elementary students, her driving profession supports her family being a single parent. The maximum of 300- peso earning a day is just enough to feed her children.

Another is a totally hot lass. No one could ever expect this sexy mid-aged maiden altered the hot boulevard into a cool, breezy ramp stage, but together with her yellow and black pedicab. Rose Marie Caniugan may not be a top model but she could be the sexy driver men in the town are queuing to ride on.

She is a high school graduate but was not able to pursue a collegiate course because of lack in financial support. Driving could be a non feminine job for her, but she said that she just want to prove that Eve can do equal or even greater than of what Adam can execute.

She has a driving partner, Pilar Espiritu, a decade older than her. She could be a figure of demureness and stature of utmost modesty, but in terms of driving skills and swiftness on steering her wheels, Ka Pilar may not be an underdog in spite of quick, ravaging wolf surrounding her.

Queens could not also be a pure monarch; she could be a queen and a half king. The muscularity and the physique of a man may have fit the 35- year old Leana Marie “Leandro” Pamintuan inside the race of pedicab drivers as they thrive to reach their daily quota.

Pamintuan said that a day of pedaling and steering could be tiring and exhausting but having the passion to do something is the real driving force. She boasted that she can outlast and outwit her men colleagues inside the PODA.

And the last is the tactless lady from the Visayan Region, Lucy Santos. Her resounding, shrilling voice conquers the airwaves in the terminal while waiting passengers, in the middle of the street while paving the downtown, and on every street junction.

She may not be as beautiful as her precedents in this article, but she is blissfully the most lovable, and she is the one who won the heart of her Balangkas fellow. The ultimate darling of the crowd!

These women may differ on their priorities and strengths but their path meet in the middle of an intersection. And this is the commonality of their struggle to escape on the accustomed dominion of men.

These women may be perceived as weak, or not as capable as the gentlemen. They may not be as strong, as swift or as trust-worthy enough in speaking of delicate works such as driving. They could be porous and brittle, and merely simply because they are women. They prove it hard that they will never be the same.

These generation where women are found on work they are not ought to, doing masculine works like they are one, femininity is going stronger and powerful. The five female drivers are just few of the myriads of female outraging their nature, pushing themselves beyond their limits.

Women pedicab drivers are certified faces of the town, an asset not to withhold. They are treasures of our society, inspiration to the rest of the womanity. They are the queens of the thoroughfare, the monarchs to drive us all along.