Article pending. I'm still writing it.
I intially thought this "image" looked odd. It turned out to be a kid dressed as Mary!
The star cometh. Photographers rush to take shots of a richly-dressed image.
Festivities of local flavor have always been part of Marian processions in the Philippines.
My friend, Albert Domingo, and his family. They own the image of the Rosa Mystica. Like his family, many others have started joining the annual procession apart from the usual suspects and elite members of the Confradia. This is a good sign of growing devotion - as well as wealth.
Confradia members on the steps of the Cathedral.
Knights of Columbus guide an image.
The other ladies of the night. Majorettes!
A rather surreal show of inexplicable violence presage an image. I wonder what it was for. Maybe the Confradia or the Archdiocese should look into in this. It may be symbolic but it isn't humane.
Baila, baila! I suddenly had a vision of Noli's Doña Victorina when I wrote that. *shudders*
Torches announced the coming of the image of our Lady of Carmel, the one delegation that was the longest among the lot. She really has lots of devotees under this ancient title.
The image of the La Virgen del Carmen from the National Shrine in Quezon City.
Another tasteless show. I know the Aetas were converted to Christianity sooner or later but really, must we shame them in this manner? The story goes that the Aetas (stop addressing them as "the natives"; we all are natives) discovered a statue of the Inang Poong Bato half submerged in lahar after the Mount Pinatubo eruption. Since then, they have honored her this way: they lie on the ground as the image is carried above them. No problem with that but they looked rather choreographed by this one woman you see in this photo. I seriously doubt the authenticity of this practice unless someone has visual proof they actually do this in Zambales. We have to stop dehumanizing the members of our indigenous peoples and allow them to stand as equals as the rest of us. 'Nuff said.
2 comments:
Wow! Dami na palang materials dito since my last visit. Love those night shots at the cathedral. Laabs ang kulay nya.
I had a chance to join an outreach in Tarukan Village in Mt Pinatubo years ago where we gave goodies to the Aetas. Yes a lot of them became christians. They even have a small church in their community but they never did that "lie on the ground" thing.
This is good news, Ferds. It pains me to see our indigenous brothers maltreated this way. It is so way out of their culture.
Yes, night shots of these wonderful images are best taken in the evenings, yes? They bring out the colors of vestments and jewels. Sa umaga kasi, you have to compete with the sky, the trees, etc. as backdrops.
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