Engaging The Niki de los Reyes-Torres Carroza Challenge 2011

It's that time of the Roman Catholic Liturgical Year once again, fellow barefoot walkers... I know I've been negligent about posting and maintaining this blog since the year began. Busy is the understatement of the year. It seems like since the first week of January, work and other stuff just piled up one after the other [didn't I say this somewhere before? or is it here?] with Theater Down South, Jesus Christ Superstar,and the book were trying to finish. And in the middle of all that, I find it weird that I had some time to procrastinate.

But, seeing as the Barefoot Baklesa often loves to make a public display of some of his projects, allow me to brag about this year's Carroza Challenge. Ever since I decided to join the Holy Week Processional Line-up at my ancestral province of Antique a few years back, I had always felt that it was going to be a work in progress, that a lot of things need some ironing out, if the words serve, what you would call what we had to in terms of the rebulto, the carroza, and the logistics of it all.

It's almost four years now since the first Niki de los Reyes-Torres Carroza challenge, an my cousins and I have been going at it, sometimes barely making it by the skins of our teeth. But I'm thankful for their help.



I would like to acknowledge someone who has been of great help to us lately especially with the repairs made to the visage of Santa Maria de Betania: a dear friend we fondly call Djaja.By leaps and bounds, Djaja can run ten circles among the Santeros and devotees of our generation. His collection of Marian and Lenten processional images, though noted for their beauty, are for him objects that reflect his true devotion and not as oversized dolls to be displayed ~which some other image owners, mostly homosexual, are guilty of by my observation.

This year's Carroza Challenge would not have been if not for Djaja's help in assuring that the image of Santa Maria de Betania would not return to Antique if it did not bear the visage it richly deserves. In the spirit of camp, the original rostro had to undergo a major major makeover complete with new hands and repainting. Also with Santa Maria de Betania was an image of Saint Joanna the wife of Chuza, which was originally a salvaged image of Our Lady of the Snows from Leyte that we had converted to Santa Juana de Cuza. Both are pictured within this posting. Thank you, Djaja!



And so, I leave you with this for now. I'll save my fangs for another post.


thus spake the Barefoot Baklesa

a little late but still sharing...

In the rush of the last week, I almost forgot about the feast day of Saint Mary of Bethany last July 29th which is also the feast day of her siblings Martha and Lazarus… To those of you who know me quite well, we have an image of Saint Mary of Bethany under our care, amongst other ones… It was around 5:00pm that day when I realized that the feast day was almost over.

Thank goodness I was able to relay the instructions for her feast day the Sunday before. It’s tough when the image is a half an archipelago away at our ancestral home in San Jose, Antique. [Maybe I should have a smaller one commissioned for our residence here…Then again, with the other ones residing in our home, I don’t think there’s still room. Hahahahahaha!!!]

To Saint Mary of Bethany, may the grace God has bestowed us through our devotion to you be shared with those who remain loving and loyal to the de los Reyes Family.

All things done, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!

ang santa mo ba ay a-attend ng JS Prom? [a post semana santa look at the many be-sequined processional images I encountered]

One of my pet peeves when watching holy week processions is when the processional images are robed in be-sequined fabric… I don’t understand what the fascination is with these razzle-dazzle bolts of fabric acting as textile disco mirror balls that they make their way into the wardrobe of the saints that come out during the processions.



It’s one thing to want your image to stand out; it’s another to dress them in fabrics meant to be worn by a dance sport contestant. Now, I have nothing against sequins and sequined fabric. In fact, the sequin’s closest relative, the flat-spangles, have made it into many of my designs including those raining cherry blossoms I once did for a children’s musical. But this is not the finale to Jesus Christ Superstar, people. This is a procession that’s supposed to commemorate the very foundation of your faith, not some Mardi-Gras parade… Fat Tuesday was about nearly forty days ago and dancing samba at Carnevale is way past the drunkenness



If you analyze the very aesthetics of Philippine Santo Art, these images were originally dressed in lush velvets and rich brocades with gold embroidery and patchwork. The use of sequins was merely for accents to substitute for the expensive gold thread embroidery. I think it was about the disco era when these fabrics started appearing. I remember seeing a lot of these used in the movie Flash Gordon when I was a kid. And I reckon, ever since disco, nothing has ever been the same… Fabrics covered entirely in sequins have then been a staple in some processional image’s wardrobe.



On the drive to the airport yesterday, my friend Mike told me, “Hindi ko lang I-post ang mga photos ka mga Santa nga ma-attend sang JS Prom sa Flickr.” [translated: “I won’t be posting photos of those Saints who will be attending the Prom on my Flickr site.”]. To which I responded with raucous laughter… Unfortunately Mike, I’m not above that. Thus with this blog, I have posted away!!! Hahahaha…

Another friend of mine hath observed that this is often the case in some provincial towns where the general public’s impression of a good processional image is one that is shining and shimmering -unfortunately I shall hold the use of the world splendid as they are far from the mention of it. This year, I had used sequins in the Good Friday robe of my Saint Mary of Bethany, but as accents against the all-black template of her robe; I wouldn’t dare use more than 6 square inches of sequins as they do have the danger of making the clothes tacky.

Maybe this kind of reaction was fuelled by an event last Holy Thursday when one of the images of another family dressed in gold sequined fabric -which arrived late at the line by the cathedral and messed up the established line- was passing by, and the son of the owner had the gall to look at me from head to foot with an eyebrow raised and rather judgmental eyes. But, the Barefoot Baklesa responded with a look that said all these: “Look at my Saint, she’s wearing hand-painted chiffon with Italian silk brocade, and we don’t use plastic flowers like you.” -all achieved within a slight raising of the chin and the left eyebrow… Oh, we can be such vicious queens.




Thus spake the Barefoot Baklesa

the niki de los reyes-torres carroza challenge 2009 post mortem [part one]

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

Happy Easter to One and All!!!

The Barefoot Baklesa joins the rest of Christendom in celebrating this most glorious triumph over death and the promise of salvation for all -yes, it is also for those of us who are disenfanchised, ostracized, and those who finish last... may the grace of this Easter dawn stay with us during these trying times of global financial crises, natural disasters, war, and human failings.

I would also like to thank all those who have participated in The Niki de los Reyes-Torres Carroza Challenge 2009 for making Saint Mary of Bethany's second Holy Week procession a success...Now, I'm off to the beach!!!

the niki de los reyes-torres carroza challenge 2009 [part 2 of something]

I was supposed to upload this scan of the watercolor rendering I did of the designs for the processional robes for the family's image of Santa Maria de Betania [Saint Mary of Bethany] a few days ago, but the week's activities has kept me quite busy.

This year, I opted for a more softer and sedate look for her robes; the cut is less complicated than last year's.

For her Maundy Thursday robe, I decided to dress her in the way the Byzantines represented their Saints. The long flowing silhouette is contrasted with the neck-piece and the band running vertically at the front and back of the robe. While the Good Friday robe is based on the patterns from the Spanish Loose Gown -the prescribed clothing of mourning for the female Saints on that processional day. I guess my obsession for window sleeves has not died down since the one on the right runs all the way down to the floor.

For Easter Sunday, i did a variation on the Byzantine robe but did it in a shade of egg yellow and antique gold. I want to see this particular robe catch the light of the sun when she's lined-up at the church courtyard come dawn of Easter Sunday.

There's still so much to do...

thus spake the barefoot baklesa

Between You and Your God [the barefoot baklesa responds]

this is a post I composed in response to The Catholic Ordination of the Filipino from The Coconuter's Blog [just click on the title to read it]. The photo of the sliced tomatoes are for emphasis...


First, I would like to point out that I refuse to draw lines between other people's beliefs and mine. At this point in my life, I do not see anyone's God and/or gods any less than mine.

I am gay, and a Roman Catholic. If that's not fucked-up enough to some, then heap the pyre if you have to and burn me. I'm not looking down on anyone, but you see, I was educated by the Jesuits and raised in a purely Roman Catholic family with two priests for uncles. I guess that afforded me the insight I have now, as mentioned above.

The days of the gods of old are gone, Bulalakao, Saragnayan, Idianale, Makaptan, Si-Dapa, Kasaray-sarayan-sa-silgan, Lakampati, and these hosts of immortals have long since left the minds of the Filipinos. They are but mere anecdotes and mentions in rare literature books as but mythology and legend -that still, tragically are less recognized by the Filipino youth as part of their heritage. Animistic in nature, the Spaniards found out that the best way to evangelize the 16th century Filipino was to use the Church's first weapon during the age of the Counter-Reformation: ART. They began bringing religious images that replaced the wooden idols of old, the unearthly pallor of ivory in rich robes decorated in gold replaced the 'larauan' and the 'tawu-tawu' [literally, 'parang tao']. The suffering hero who rose above his trials told in the epics of olde was replaced by the suffering Christ who died and resurrected in the gospels. These have contributed to what I call "Folk Catholicism". And the Filipinos have embraced these for generations to come.

In my early 20s I suddenly saw all this organized religion as a pointless waste of time and I began to explore the many other things out there that peaked my curiosity. The Jesuits taught me that every human being has the right to doubt and discover for himself the worth of any truth. With this, I began studying other people's truths, religions, Buddhism, Zen philosophy, the occult, and I even learned how to read Tarot Cards in their many disciplines: modesty aside, I was so good at it, people from UP were visiting me at the Ateneo where I hung out to have their cards read.

My family never gave me flack for it. What did my family think of it? They thought being gay was enough a burden to hurdle in my maturity and to throw religion into the pot would be unwise. They let me be...In respect to the faith that my family had held on to, I became nominally-Catholic, and did my best for the sake of appearances. Yet all the experiences, knowledge, and insight I have acquired, it was all waxing emptiness.

But then, one day, for a brief moment in time, I felt genuinely that God actually walked the earth. There was this silence that I felt down from my skin to my very soul, an unexplainable yet somewhat eerie silence that had struck me so, that I knew it was time to go home.

So I went into Quaipo church, and I just sat there for hours, asking God to take me as I am where I knew him best. I am not chaste nor do I claim to be entirely pure, and I'm sure the Pope has a lot to say about me if he had the chance. But that's between me and my God, I chose to stay Roman Catholic because that is where I found him -As much as any man, can find Allah, Vishnu, Kami, Asaka, and Nirvana where they can find them.

True, the Roman Catholic Church can seem to be stuck in the middle ages when it comes to certain things. But what most of us fail to realize is that it was one of the first to admit that it must change with the times -too slow at certain times. It apologized for the trials of Galileo, it apologized for the mistakes of the Holy Inquisition, and is continually studying its mistakes in the line of history. It has corrected many an issue with dogma and doctrine which some Filipinos chose to ignore not because they are blind but because they often see that as secondary to the relationship they find with God. Then there's that issue with birth control that's really got my wand in a knot as well as many things that require a second look but I keep my hope for the better.

If you claim to have had a personal connection with Jesus Christ but still are quick to judge those who have none with him, then you may have lost the point that to practice any faith is a continued learning experience. Let them learn their mistakes and misconceptions and let them decide for themselves. Who are we to tell them their faith is less when they have seen its power in their lives.

If you judge my Church as like any business, then you must have met the LaSallian brothers and studied at a LaSallian school for a while like I have, and got jaded. Hahahaha!!! But you see, that's another cliché within myself I have to hurdle and no one else's business. Yet seriously, then I would be so gay to point out 'in taray' how Born Again Pastors also live off on the tithes from their congregation, or how some families of friends from Christian sects follow that 10% to the point of financial imbalance, or maybe I should pick-on the defined rules for giving money to the service of Allah, or the money we spend on ourselves for pointless things when children in Africa are starving -No one wins in arguments like these.

A lot of people think they are entitled to the pedestal to speak ill of society's ill yet would not lift a finger for they think they have done their part in helping the plight of the poor by voicing out. I don't want to sound like that self-righteous Pharisee from the parable, but have you actually gone out there and taught English and Math to underprivileged kids during the summer? Have you volunteered in a provincial hospital for a Medical and Surgical Missions? Have you ever deprived yourself of something so that someone else could have it? And we're not talking about sandwiches or you half-finished soft drink here... People who have an opinion of what's wrong in this world are often those who do it much damage.

Right now, the table I share, I share with some Christian Friends, some Roman Catholic friends, an Eclectic Believer, a full blooded Muslim Prince, and even an Atheist...And you don't see us brewing another world war or modern crusades. Respect begets respect.

While some of you are off to Puerto Galera, Boracay, or Bali this Holy Week, some of us choose to be of service to our Faith. You're more than welcome in my home or maybe I'll see you in the processional line.

thus spake the Barefoot Baklesa
Niki de los Reyes-Torres