It has been three days now since Easter Sunday; and after some much deserved over-indulgent sleep and rest, I started editing the photos I took of the Holy Week processions here in San Jose. I actually put-off writing this post until now to let the past week sink-in a bit more.
Here are but a few thoughts during the height of this years Carroza Challenge [some of you may not like what you will read]:
First: “There’s no such thing as too much bling.” -so it seems in the province.
By my preference, there’s a limit that I set when it comes to the use of shiny, glitzy, and shimmering things. It is not a judgment on anyone’s taste and the limits thereof. But when you have an aesthetic obligation to the representation of saints, you have to be a little careful. These aren’t really life-sized Barbie Dolls that you play dress-up with but teaching materials and reminders rooted to the zeitgeist of the counter-Reformation.
By the end of Maundy Thursday processions, when we [the processional image and her retinue] were passing by a pair of queers by the church’s holy door I heard one of them say, “Amo ra bay ang gusto ko sa bayo ka Santa, ang buta-buta guid kag duro ti suksok.” Which translates to, “That’s what I want to see when it comes clothing saints; I want it over-decorated and I want her to wear a lot.” -I think they were talking about the image that went before us. And I was relieved!!! The pink Byzantine dress with the pearls and rhinestones on the neckpiece was not considered as overdressed. Wheeewwww…
Of course there was a part of me that was going, “What do they know?” -a thought that I continued to suppress as we passed by… I was being a bit of an elitist, I know. You see, I have an axe to grind with cubic zirconium [“puwet ng baso”] jewelry when it looks like it could be on a beauty pageant titlist rather than a saint. Okay, I gotta stop myself…
Second: It’s a Procession, not a marathon race…
I have an axe to grind with the Santo Entierro [image of the body of the dead Christ in a glass coffin] owner. The Good Friday processions are technically a re-enactment of the funeral procession for the dead Messiah, and they are meant to be slow and solemn. We have not yet reached 25% of the distance of the processional route when the marshals asked us to hurry up.
There we were, praying the holy rosary as we moved the image of Saint Mary of Bethany forward in such a slow and dignified pace, when all of a sudden we found ourselves literally sprinting to a speed unnatural of a funeral march! We could have slowed down but we had to follow the image before us immediately. You see, there’s this superstition that you can’t cut the processional line because it’s bad luck, so our “carroza” movers tried so hard to catch up. And the people watching on the sidelines were going, “Why are they moving so fast?”
Apparently, they were doing so to avoid the masses from crowding and crushing the image of the Santo Entierro as it made its way back to the Cathedral. These Indios failed to realize that no matter what they do, people will crowd and try to touch the image of the dead Christ! It’s a known fact, for Pete’s sake! To the fanatic mind, that is their fallen hero and they will try their best to lay the slightest touch upon the glass coffin. What’s with rushing the other processional images to the move faster to protect their image? I think that’s unfair to the rest of us.
A tenant of ours the next day commented, “Manguarta siguro and Santos.” - “Maybe they’re thinking of making more money if they get to church earlier.”
There’s this practice after the procession called the “dignum” wherein the image of the dead Christ is taken out of the glass coffin for the people to kiss its feet. In some places, the “dignum” is just kissing an empty cross to symbolize the death of our lord. Here in our province, there are two donation/collection baskets by the foot of the dead Christ where one places coins or bills before one is to kiss the feet. And I’m like, “What the F?!?” It’s like I have to pay for the act of adoration -that’s why we keep losing followers, people… I’m going to give the parish priest a piece of my mind. Then again, my other uncle’s a priest too…
Third: The gays and their gaze…
Most of you who know me personally know how very observant I am and how I remember other people’s actions and words to the detail. That’s why I look forward to that moment when you bring your image to the church courtyard for the line-up. It’s that moment when you turn around the corner from the back of the cathedral that defines the arrival of your processional image that will make or break you as an image owner. There’s this feeling of excitement I get when we are about to make that turn. More than anything else, I enjoy watching the people’s reactions when you first arrive; and I also enjoy the comments they whisper to each other or they say to your companions. Perhaps the best one I got this year, aside from the numerous people with digital cameras shooting away, was that effete teenaged boy whose gaze was fixed at Saint Mary of Bethany that as he went past, he actually bumped into someone in front of him. Speaking of effete boys, processions attract a fair amount of homosexuals because of the pageantry the religious observance evokes. It’s quite amusing to watch them raise their eyebrows, gaze, hold their tongues before letting out a comment -in short, be the queens that they are. What I remember so distinctly is the son of an image owner looking at me from head to foot. Dude, what was his glitch?
Fourth: Less is More
It was during Aesthetics class with Badong Bernal when I first got introduced to the term, “The Pinoy Burloloy Complex” [to non Filipino speakers, ‘burloloy’ has been associated with over-decorated and gaudy] which became the local interpretation for the idea of “Horror Vacui”.
I have a black and gold-leafed “ochovado” [eight-sided/octagonal] carroza with an antique finish. I just can’t stand people giving me suggestions like: “add more flowers” or “add some more of these” or “put this there” when there’s a friggin’ limit to the effect you want to achieve…Geez!!! The point of having an architectural carroza is that you are assigned spaces specifically for flowers, and another for carriage lights, etcetera.
There’s an elegance to a look that results from streamlining, editing, and a refined artistic judgment. Sigh…
Fifth: They will try but fail either way…
The relatives you despise will always try to find ways to get back into your good graces. In the spirit of Lent, of course I have forgiven them for their faults, but I dared not to forget: theft and deception are not to be taken lightly. Ergo, I chose to ignore them. There’s no point in exchanging words when dishonesty is their known expertise. That’s why, during the “caridad” [translates to “charity”, the obligatory dinner served by the image owner after the procession] I went into my grandmother’s room, turned on the AC and lounged away as I watched the Lenten airing of “May Bukas Pa” on ABS-CBN and wait until they have left. Hahahahaha!!!
We shall continue this next post…
Thus spake the Barefoot Baklesa
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