The author of this article, Anne Latayan Lado-ing took up Legal Management at De La Salle Lipa where she was the Student Government Executive President. She was also Youth Commission Ambassador, a champion debater and speaker, among others. She was adjudged one of the Top Ten Students of De La Salle before she graduated. Ms Lado-ing is now studying law.
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| Image from manilagateway.com |
It all started in January 9, 1996 when my mom gave birth to my younger sister. They were both in danger. Mom told me that she prayed to the Black Nazarene to save them both and made a promise that we’ll go every year in Quiapo as a way of thanksgiving for answering her prayer.
To count, it has been 15 years of attending the Feast of the Black Nazarene. Every year something always changes. One noticeable change is the growing number of devotees who come to mass and attend the procession. Before, we used to leave the house at 4am and yet we can still sit inside the church to hear the mass.
Witnessing the procession was also possible since, at that time, it passed by the smaller streets of Quiapo. Madali lang makiakyat sa 2nd floor ng buildings para maiabot sa Ijos (Volunteers who ride with Black Nazarene on the karosa) ang panyo. I guess it’s really talent how they can return all of those to their rightful owners. As in, madami talaga and people are waving their white hankies as the procession passes by the streets.
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| From filipinotraveler.com |
When you are walking in the middle of Quiapo, you would see vendors selling stuffs, mostly t-shirts, towels, oils, etc. with the print of the image of the Black Nazarene. You would also encounter fortune tellers, policemen and other men in uniform with bomb sniffing dogs scattered within the vicinity, which is scary (of course, the terrorism threat).
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Ambulances were stationed in several locations; expectation was that there would be casualties but hopefully it would be minimal. I remember it was in 2001 that I became a statistic. I passed out slowly while singing Ama Namin. No one would like to be in that situation but at least, I felt the innate goodness of complete strangers around me -- vendors volunteered to help me, one guy even ran to buy hot milk and even returned the change. The woman selling candles took care of my sister while I was still regaining consciousness. You see, this is not the usual Quiapo depicted or described in movies (No Other Woman scene of Cristine Reyes and Carmi Martin). Good individuals live in this place. You just have to give them the chance.
ABS-CBN and GMA vans were setting their equipment to cover the event on TV. I even bumped into a cameraman who asked me to stand in view of his lens, which I declined politely. (Mahirap na baka maging sikat. Haha!)
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| Image from my_sarisari_store.typepad.com |
In this kind of scenario, you got to have the ability of Lastikman. Good thing the three of us have this gift. My mom, sister and I stood near the entrance. Surprisingly, the church was filled with devotees (imagine the church was so full of worshippers that you can't find a space to fit in though just about everyone was already standing). This is definitely not the typical scene for a 3:00am mass, if you had been there every year, as we were. You can sense the alacrity of people inside and outside of the church.
Even the ambiance felt different than what we were accustomed to. My other companions, Lola and Ninang, were separated from us due to the huge volume of people. Amazingly, we saw them when we were pushed forward to have the communion with the Priests (first time yun in 15 years, lagi kasing sa lay minister kami napapatapat)
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There were also scary moments when a group of men went inside. One stayed at my right and the other at the back while the rest went out of sight. Call me paranoid, but I can’t help the feeling that they were up to no good. I was terrified when policemen came in rushing with bomb sniffing dogs. Lingon tuloy lahat ng nandoon sa likod parang eksena sa pelikula. I told God, “Kayo na po ang bahala sa amin.” A few minutes later, all were pacified and back to normal. The mass ended peacefully.
All wanted to quickly exit the church since people were already doubling as the sun rose. Mahirap maglakad palabas kasi puno na ng tao ang bawat daanan. At 4AM, my sister Grace were walking briskly to where our vehicle was parked when we passed two men shouting at each other. Away kalye ika nga. My sister told me, “Ate lakad ng mabilis dali!”. Kaloka! I almost slipped. We continued walking. Bands began to march, together with barefooted men and women wearing maroon and yellow. Some were carrying their own replica of the Black Nazarene (also in the mass).
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| Image from my_sarisari_store.typepad.com |
We reached our vehicle and were able to extricate ourselves before the roads became impassable. Everybody hates traffic. Ang dami na ring taong naglalakad sa kalye papasok at palabas ng Quiapo. You can see faces in the state of despondency. Having witnessed firsthand the unending sea of people, it’s not astonishing to hear in the news that there were 8.5 million who participated in the procession. Clearly, they hold on to their faith that Someone up there is the most powerful being who can make everything all right, and ease all the pain we are feeling.
This year, the procession went for 22 hours. Kung iisipin walang tatagal ng ganoon, pamatay sa pagod. But, it happened. This tradition will not stop here. Hangga’t may nahihirapan o nasasaktan at higit sa lahat, may mga nagpapasalamat, ang pagdiriwang ng kapyestahan ng Poong Nazareno ay mananatili.
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| Image from my_sarisari_store.typepad.com |
At the end of the day, we are free to do what we believe, each should know where he stands. But whether or not one participates in such a procession, it wouldn’t change the fact that Filipinos are deeply religious. Just ask any Filipino who belongs to the biggest Catholic population in the world.
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