semana santa

Paete’s other pagsusuob ritual

Paete in Laguna is known for its expert wood carvers and during Holy Week, it’s carving prowess is shown by the number of carrozas bearing lenten images. It has also one of the most unique santo intierro, the dead Christ laying in state that is jointed and undergoes a very unusual ritual akin to Cordillera death rites.

The Friday before Holy Week, another image, that of the crucified Christ undergoes the same ritual but with lesser people and done below the belfry of the church.

Visita Iglesia in Cebu and Manila free guides

If you’re in Manila or Cebu this Holy Week, check out these downloadable PDF guides for use during the visita iglesia. Each showcases all the existing Spanish colonial era churches with photos, short history and printable maps. Manila is featured with its 8 churches while Cebu, 28.

A ritual of faith

I went back to Infanta, Quezon last April to do my major photo story as a requirement of my diploma course. This time, I spent several days documenting the preparation and actual activity that culminated on Good Friday.

7 interesting churches in Cebu, a visita iglesia

Cebu is one of the provinces blessed with beautiful Spanish colonial era churches in the country. Most of these structures were built by the Augustinians as the island was under the Order’s care but those built by the seculars, though few, are notable too. This post lists seven of the most noteworthy that I have seen.

South Cebu Semana Santa

Faith is very much alive in Cebu and during the Semana Santa (Holy Week), a trip down south to the towns of Carcar, Sibonga and Talisay City provides a glimpse of this religious fervor. You won’t see any flagellants or esoteric rites of the dead, nonetheless, it’s still an experience.

Paete’s rite of the dead

The Santo Sepulcro of Paete in the ritual pagsusuob process

This is the 7th installment of my Semana Santa series where I feature rituals and traditions observed in certain places during this most solemn week in the Catholic calendar. Click on the image at the right to check the rest of the articles.

The ritual is akin to ancient death rites where the body of the village chief is bathed, smoked and prepared for the afterlife. Paete, a lakeshore town in Laguna is famed for its woodcarving industry even before the Spanish era. The town’s woodcarvers have graced the various grand churches, houses and museums here and abroad.

During Holy Week, the town becomes one of Filipino Catholic folk religion’s pilgrimage areas, although not many know it, with its wooden and jointed image of the Santo Sepulcro undergoing an age old ritual that is pre-Spanish. A ritual that is akin to ancient death rites where the body of the village chief is bathed, smoked and prepared for the afterlife. This only means one thing, before the Spanish colonization, what we know of being practiced by the mountain tribes in the Cordillera before were also practiced in other parts of the archipelago.

The image, believed to have come from Mexico and brought by the Spanish friars in the town, is an amazing piece of work. The entire sculpture is jointed that enables it to be moved like a human being. Even the eyelids can be closed. At the back of its neck is said to be a date inscribed: 1516.

After the Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday) mass in the morning, the townspeople transports the image of the dead Christ from its altar niche in a procession to the house of Chie Afuang, the current recamadora whose family has been tasked to care for the image for generations. From Sunday to the morning of Wednesday, a vigil is held and the house opens its doors to devotees.Read More »Paete’s rite of the dead

Senakulo in Makati City

The prompter dictating the lines of the live performers.

This is the 6th installment of my Semana Santa series where I feature rituals and traditions observed in certain places during this most solemn week in the Catholic calendar. Click on the image at the right to check the rest of the articles.

Amidst the backdrop of Makati’s high rise towers, a rich religious tradition has survived. Done yearly at the periphery of the country’s financial district, the almost 80 year old Senakulo (Cenacle) has been played out in the vicinities of what is now Brgy. Pio del Pilar alternating in Evangelista and Washington Sts.

The week prior to Holy Week, the street is blocked, to the chagrin of drivers and commuters, and a big stage is set up. On the eve of Palm Sunday, the passion play begins starting with the Creation story. For the entire week until midnight of Easter Sunday, the Senakulo is played out nightly to local audiences accompanied by a brass band with key scenes of Christ’s life, passion and resurrection.

Check out my Pagtu-o site for additional background info on this spectacular event.