#1: Welcome to 2025

A blast from a past I was not a part of, Manama Retro was a limited cultural event that highlighted the nostalgic memories, locations, and memorabilia fashioned after or straight from the late eighties and nineties era of Bahrain - where I’m from! A little information about my background: I am of full Filipino descent (as far as I’m aware) but shortly after I was born in the Philippines, my family relocated to Bahrain and I was pretty much raised there ever since. It’s my home, even if it does cause a bit of an identity crisis from time to time. 

To kick in the New Year, my family decided to visit Manama Retro on January 3, 2025, at Bab Al Bahrain, near the Manama Souq, which is essentially a marketplace or bazaar encompassing a large part of Manama, Bahrain’s capital city. I have extremely fond memories of the general area where the event was held; when I was younger, there weren’t that many malls to go to so this is where my parents would bring my sister and I during our weekend outings. 

This specific picture, from my Camp Snap Digital Camera, was taken in the Manama Center; I am aware of how similar the locations here are named but that is how they are called. This hub was mostly uninhabited for years until its transformation for the event - what was formerly a store was now a room full of television sets stacked upon each other, programmed to play clips of retro newsreels, graphics, and even cartoons. The highlight of the picture, to me, is the singular TV in the near center displaying the year 2025. 

Considering the limitations of my camera, I was worried that this picture would turn out overexposed, too dark, or have whatever other complications that would ruin the vision I had in mind. This picture was a quick snap on my end, too, the area was quite busy and I didn’t want to get lost in the crowd. Fortunately, I managed to get such a clear shot, with no people in-frame either! My favourite thing about this picture is the texture and that, despite how dark the overall picture is, the light coming from the television screens was enough to showcase the depth and different colours they individually possessed.