Rough Groove

Series 47: Semana Santa 07

My Semana Santa 07 photos now starting at Binary Silver. This current series consists of 40 photos taken in three localities: Paete for the Palm Sunday and pagsusuob ritual, Infanta for the flagellants and Makati City for the Evangelista Senakulo

At last I made this series work. I initially had problems with the upload folder path since it just wouldn’t work despite having its folder permission already at 777. Now I was actually looking at the different options of pixelpost and lo and behold, there it was, the correct folder path that should be indicated.

Do enjoy this series as much as I enjoyed taking these, spending countless hours, sleepless hours and much travel from Metro Manila to the Pacific side that is Infanta, Laguna and back to the side barangays in Makati.

Palm Sunday in Paete, 2

…continued from Palm Sunday in Paete, 1

A loudspeaker blares off from above and the people looking up sees the priest and his sacristans perched on a balcony. They head closer and a prayer starts. In a few moments, the priest initiates the blessing. The palaspas (palm fronds) are raised up, moved, swayed as people try to jostle to come closer. This is done about three times as those from the back moves in while the people at the center moves out to give them the opportunity to have thier palms blessed. The priest then steps down, the crowd goes back to their cordoned off places and in a few minutes the procession will start.

The carroza, pulled by several men starts while the frenzy of middle aged and old women lay down their tapis to pave the way for the procession. The young girls in white paces forward, strewing the cut multcolored foils along the way. Their faces serious, trying not to smile as if it would be a sin as they let out a melody, a song of osanna.

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Palm Sunday in Paete, 1

Domingo de Ramos or Palm Sunday, the biblical blessing of the palms marks Jesus’ entrance to Jerusalem is also the start of the most solemn and significant celebration of Lent where from Sunday to the next Sunday the passion, death and resurrection of the much revered Christ is observed by Catholics worldwide. While the activity of the day is done in all Catholic parishes, I was in Paete since after the blessing, the ritual pagsusuob starts with the procession of the image from the church to the recamadero’s (caretaker) house where after a few days later the ritual proper is done.

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Semana Santa 07

Holy Week or Semana Santa came early this year with Palm Sunday, ironically, falling on April Fool’s Day. NOthing pranky about it, however, but, just like last year, I was kept busy with my annual Lenten photodocumentary.

Holy Week is significant for Catholics worldwide as it celebrates, the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. Here in the Philippines considered the bastion of Catholicism in Asia, the more than three centuries of Spanish rule and the ritual obsession of Filipinos with death itself has produced unique rituals varying from one region to another that are amalgamations of Christian and pagan/animist practices, the mix of western and the oriental, seamlessly flowing together and thus become uniquely Pinoy. Unfortunately, as times progress, these practices are slowly altered, dying or are now dead as global influences as well as beliefs and mindsets change.

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Semana Santa 07: Three images

What kept me busy during the last Semana Santa or Holy Week?

Quezon: Decorated flagellants early morning don a beautiful headress made from leaves and flowers.

Makati City: Tucked in one of the premier city’s many barangays, an almost 80 year old Senakulo is still being performed. My Senakulo portfolio.

Paete, Laguna: The pre-hispanic Ritual of the Dead is performed on a centuries old Santo Intierro

Related posts:

Semana Santa 07: Senakulo Kristo