Anahaw

When I was a kid, I drew an island. I just finished reading Things People Do then. It was a book detailing the work of the people living in Banilla Island. It was an interesting book but what interested me the most was the page featuring a panoramic view of the island. There on that page were the numerous buildings which provided the backbone of the island's economy, from the hotel to the movie studio to the airport. I resolved to do the same and I did.

I drew Avanilla, a small island city in itself. It had all the buildings it needed to resemble a civilized society.  Looking back, I think I made a monopoly out of every business. There was only one marketplace, one wharf, one bakery, one everything. It also sported buildings which I, as a kid, wanted in my city. There was the circus, the carnival (because circus and carnival were two different things or so I remember), the local mall, and the arcade.

Unfortunately, I lost that drawing. I don't know where it went. So I resolved to make another one and name it Anahaw to make it more Filipino. But I lost interest. The closest thing I got was a street map of Anahaw, detailing where I should place the church, the government buildings etc. 

Now, I'm resurrecting the idea again, this time, not because of some misplaced sense of childhood nostalgia but because I need Anahaw to portray something for me. I need Anahaw to depict what urban planning should be in the near future, where sustainability and  community is the name of the game.

If I'm finished, I might just create a website out of Anahaw.