The New Ali Mall Cubao

Cubao tycoon Jorge Araneta finally decides to renovate old Ali Mall, one of the oldest shopping malls in the country. Ali Mall , which was built in 1976 and named in honor of the great boxing champion Muhammad Ali, has been one of the iconic hang-outs in Cubao, long before there was Farmer's or Rustan's, or the SM Malls. Ali Mall was a big part of my childhood, and I spent some very sweet memories there.

During High School, my classmates and I would sneak from our school to hang-out in the skating rink and eat Coney Island Ice Cream. My classmates would then "tambay" in the foodcourt to look out for free taste of foods, while I head to National Bookstore to read my favorite paperbacks.

Back then, with very little money in my pocket, I couldn't possibly buy the books I wanted. Instead I read in the bookstore itself, making it into a library, reading in installments, despite the sign in the shelf that reads "No Private Reading Please".

When I finally saved some money from my allowances, I try to buy all the books that I can afford, and so was able to build a personal library, even at a very young age. There was no Booksale then, and so I was always forced to buy new books at brand new prices. Looking back, I realized how naive my taste for books were at that time.

Now Ali Mall is changing. Although I miss its old dilapidated look, I welcome the new and better changes as part of Araneta Cubao's complete make-over. Araneta Cubao itself is rapidly changing. There will be more buildings to rise as the projected Manhattan Condominiums take more of Araneta Cubao's landscape. In the next few years, most old buildings in Cubao (like Rustan's and the Bus Terminal) will be leveled to the ground to give way to more modernized buildings.

Well, that's just how things go. We can't always live in the past :)