Rough Groove

Visita Iglesia at simbahan.net

Currently being featured at simbahan.net is a series of posts devoted to churches that are found in Cebu, Bulacan and pre-war Manila in time for the Semana Santa or Holy Week visita iglesia tradition. This practice goes back to the early Roman times when Christians visited 7 major churches in Rome. In the Philippines, it was introduced by the Spanish colonizers.

The series starts with a short introduction of the visita iglesia. It is then followed with 13 colonial era churches founded and built by the Augustinians in the city of Cebu and going down to the southeastern part of the province. Colonial era churches in Bulacan then follows. Paying homage to Intramuros, I have included a pre-war visita iglesia in the walled city with its now long lost major religious order churches.

Series 52: La Naval de Manila

A new series is starting at Binary Silver on the recently concluded La Naval de Manila celebrations that marked the centenary of the canonical coronation of the image of the Nuestra Senora del Rosario – La Naval de Manila. Consisting of 22 photos, it covers the reenactment as well as the procession on 4 and 14 October.

The series is also available as a multimedia slideshow at my portfolio site while an accompanying post in simbahan.net gives a historical background on this much observed tradition.

This is also featured at Pinoycentric.

Series 50: Philippine Church Facades

As part of promoting the new book Philippine Church Facades, I’m starting a new series at my photoblog Binary Silver. Twelve stunning photos of colonial churches used in the said book are featured with two churches per image covering north, central and south Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao.

The bulol, a much misrepresented symbol

The bulol, or sometimes bul-ol, to us not from the Cordilleras has accepted the common notion that this carving symbolizes a rice god who guards the Cordilleran’s rice granary.

Represented both as a man (with phallic protrusions that would make the convservative blush) and a woman, are common staples of the Baguio, Sagada, Banaue and elsewhere up the mountainous north tourist trade as trinkets and souvenirs. It has also been used as an emblem of the annual Cinemanila International Film Festival. Its the most identifiable symbol of the northern tribes but one, if Tommy Hafalla is to be believed, widely misrepresented.

The noted photographer has been living in Sagada for the past years and has been accepted into the local culture. As he says, it is never a rice god. In fact, it is used by ritually transferring the sickness of the afflicted to the image. It is placed inside the granary so that thieves, upon seeing it would think twice getting in contact with the bulol and have the sickness transferred to them instead.

Now, will you still buy those souvenir items or collect antique images and perpetuate the misplaced idea of a rice god?

Intramuros walk tour

At last, I finally made it to Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila! After all these years and the countless times that I’ve been around in the former walled city, I never imagined, until now, that Intramuros is not Fort Santiago.

Hehehe, right under my nose the impressive entrance that, for a while, I was clueless of where actually this can be seen stood infront of me, restored to its former form after it was destroyed during the battle for Manila in the last world war.

The top part with the image of St. James (Santiago) riding a horse over his enemies is more or less the same with the facade carving found in the stone church of Paete, Laguna.

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