Arnold Domingo: Tomb Caretaker

Arnold Domingo, 24 years old, a tomb caretaker at the Manila North Cemetery*, works overtime retouching the old flaking paint of a tomb's lapida, one of the many that he will repaint in preparation for All Souls Day. For each retouch, he earns fifty pesos including labor and materials (paint, brush, etc.). "Business is good" he says smiling, "this is the only time of the year that we really earn some money". Indeed, after the November 1 holiday, Arnold will go back to being a kalakal boy, his regular job of digging trash to sell to the junk shops.

*Manila North Cemetery is the Philippines oldest and largest cemetery. Formerly known as Sementeryo ng Paang Bundok, the cemetery is located in the boundaries of Caloocan, Quezon City and Manila. Photograph was taken October 31, 2009 at 9 p.m. Manila North Cemetery.