<divclass="multipleimgcenter"id="pictures"title="Your typical palengkes. Both taken by Hulagway on Flickr. CC-BY-2.0">
<imgsrc="palengke1.jpg"alt="Meat section of a palengke in Danao City"/>
<imgsrc="palengke2.jpg"alt="Vegetables in a palengke in Danao City"/>
</div>
<p>A <strong><em>palengke</em></strong> is a public <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/market">market</a> common in the <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/Philippines">Philippines</a>. It is where the <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/Filipino">Filipino</a> masses shop for their <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/need">needs</a>, especially <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/food">food</a>.</p>
<p>The word <em>palengke</em> came from the <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/Spanish">Spanish</a> word <em><ahref="https://everything2.com/title/palenque">palenque</a></em>, which literally means a <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/palisade">palisade</a> or <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/stockade">stockade</a>, a <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/wall">wall</a>. During the Spanish <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/colonization">colonization</a>, the word was used to describe a pathway or a cluster of tables set up at a gathering of <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/indio">indios</a> such as a <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/theater">theater</a>, <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/tournament">tournament</a>, or a <strong><ahref="https://everything2.com/title/market">market</a></strong>. Eventually, the <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/Spaniard">Spaniards</a>' rule ended and the context for <em>palenque</em>, now <em>palengke</em>, refers to the, you guessed it, the <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/market">market</a>.</p>
<p>Nowadays, a <em>palengke</em> is usually composed of several dozen <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/stall">stalls</a> sharing a common roof. The <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/Filipino">Filipinos</a> have embraced the <em>palengke</em> as part of their <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/culture">culture</a>. <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/Daily">Everyday</a>, someone in the <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/family">family</a> (commonly the mom or the eldest child) would go to the <em>palengke</em> to buy some <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/meat">meat</a>, <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/vegetables">vegetables</a> and <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/rice">rice</a>. If there's some money left after buying what is needed, they may buy some <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/toys">toys</a>, <em><ahref="https://everything2.com/title/sampaguita">sampaguita</a></em>, and <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/pasalubong">other items they want to bring on the way back home</a>.</p>
<p>Though the <em>palengke</em> has long been part of <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/Filipino+culture">Filipino culture</a>, it is criticized as being <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/sanitation">unsanitary</a>, <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/obsolete">obsolete</a>, and hindering <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/modernization">modernization</a>, which is why the <em>palengke</em> is often connected to <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/poverty">poverty</a>. Recently, it is being challenged by the more <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/commercial">commericalized</a><ahref="https://everything2.com/title/supermarket">supermarkets</a> and shopping <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/mall">malls</a> and <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/shopping+center">centers</a>. Supporters of the <em>palengke</em> argue that it can't be removed from Filipino culture, and that the <em>palengke</em> instilled a sense of <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/community">community</a> which the more "<ahref="https://everything2.com/title/modern">modern</a>" alternatives can't replicate. <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/In+my+opinion">In my opinion</a>, as long as poverty and <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/conservatism">conservatism</a> remains, the concept of <em>palengke</em> will not be obsolete, and <ahref="https://everything2.com/title/future-proof">it will live on for more generations to come</a>. <em><ahref="https://everything2.com/title/Filipino+life">Parte na yan ng buhay.</a></em></p>
<ahref="https://everything2.com/user/pandakekok9/writeups/palengke"title="Originally published in Everything2"><imgsrc="everything2_logo.png"alt="Originally published in Everything2"/></a><br/>