I RECENTLY came across a debate online about the changing character of Salcedo Village. Apparently not everyone is happy about the popularity of the Salcedo weekend vibe, even though it has regenerated the local economy, including the back streets of this downtown area. One side of the argument says Salcedo should be dynamic, open, shared and accessible to all. The other side says the neighborhood should remain livable for its residents and consider road closures, noise and lack of parking a nuisance. I’m not taking one side or the other. I’m neither a Salcedo resident nor a regular visitor. To me Salcedo is just part of the Makati CBD, and it’s there when I need to do errands. I have noticed it’s new old vibe.
To understand the character of Salcedo Village today with tree-lined streets, cafes and “third spaces,” we must look back at its history. Salcedo Village, with its sister Legazpi Village, was originally conceived as part of Ayala’s post-war vision for a planned Makati, anchored by a central business district. After World War II, Ayala converted what used to be agricultural and swamp land into a master-planned urban district. Salcedo and Legazpi Villages were meant to be residential villages.
By the mid-1970s as demand for office space along Ayala Avenue grew, Salcedo and Legazpi were converted into mixed-use and commercial areas, with offices moving into what had originally been residential zones. This helps explain the distinctive streetscape we see today with older, low-rise concrete buildings with Brutalist and Modernist influences such as concrete buttresses, recessed windows and brise-soleil, set against leafy, tree-lined streets. It is an architectural and urban character that has evolved, with interaction between residents, businesses and the village administrators, rather than been imposed as a lifestyle destination all at once.
The Salcedo Community Market, now known as the Salcedo Saturday Market, began in 2004 at Jaime C. Velasquez Park when community organizers and residents brought farmers, food producers, artisans and small entrepreneurs into the neighborhood. What began as a relatively modest weekend market gradually became a fixture of Makati's weekend social life. It helped create a culture that made Salcedo desirable. Its significance went beyond food, but exposed people to the benefits of a green space where people gathered, lingered and built community.
Its relevance extended beyond its own residents. In the early days we would drive to Makati and buy our produce and ready-to-eat meals. I didn’t know if my being an outsider shopping in Salcedo Saturday Market was an issue. I certainly didn’t feel different. It was the early 2000s, and my own show “F and Guide to Urban Living” certainly played a role in popularizing the weekend markets as a destination. Now I stay very local and go to my own suburban weekend market in the south.
Enter the “Salcedo Girl” phenomenon. What started as a social media fashion aesthetic of girls wearing sundresses, neutral separates, ballerina flats or sneakers seen with iced lattes, flower bouquets and dogs, sometimes walking, sitting in cafes, or perusing record stores and bookshops has become the starting point of urbanist debate. It isn’t so much as isolating the fashion aesthetic itself, but it’s the idea that this has turned a real neighborhood into an aesthetic. Did Salcedo become no longer just where laid-back people lived? Has it become what Instagram thinks urban life should look? Nowadays, the flowers, cafés, market, architecture and trees have become visual content. A recent post of a Salcedo resident went viral for these thoughts, that Salcedo itself has become an aesthetic. It would be easy to poke fun at the Gen Z trope, but the conversation actually goes deeper. Residents are concerned about crowds, traffic, parking, road closures, noise. So far, no big security issues yet.
The Salcedo debate isn’t really about the style or aesthetic but it’s about destination versus neighborhood. I think it is dynamic and exciting. No other CBD can even have this conversation in a time where most developments are master-planned. I still remember the days when back street of Valero Street, San Agustin Street had zero streetscape efforts. It was where deliveries were dropped off parking was sometimes found. It wasn’t so walkable because where would you go and what would you do? My pilates studio Options used to be there and that was the only reason I’d go. Now San Agustin has the most interesting cafés, bakeries, vintage shops and record stores.
I asked one of the owners of a new third space in San Agustin whether this rise in Instagram popularity of Salcedo bothered them. She says it’s good for business. She is also a resident of Salcedo Village, and its being a destination is viewed as a good thing. I think it gives an appreciation for architecture of a certain period — modernism and brutalism. It rides the wave of analog, with vinyl records, film cameras, VHS tapes, journaling and reading and ushers in a new market of Gen Z fans.
Perhaps the “Salcedo Girl” is not the problem, but a visible expression of what makes Salcedo desirable: its leafy streets, market, cafés, walkability and sense of community. It is a rare place where our youth can really enjoy an urban setting with decades of architectural layers and uses. It was what Intramuros was for the Gen Z during the pandemic. The challenge is managing that success so that popularity does not come at the expense of the people who call it home. But too much planning and administration could also kill the vibe that Salcedo organically grew. As for me, I’ll be watching the back streets of Salcedo Village. And I welcome the cafes, restaurants, shops and galleries that might open there. Though I don’t really have any cred to be welcoming them as an outsider partaking of the Salcedo lifestyle.
