The Nomads of Cebu

Philippine fiestas are chaotic yet vibrant in a way. These occasions are huge crowd drawers. And where the throng gathers business thrives. Like pilgrims who have come to venerate the saint they too have come but in pursuit of other desires.

The candle vendors are the wanderers of the modern times. They have no known permanent abode. Often coming in large groups wandering from town to town, where fiesta celebrations are.

The Festival of Lights of Carcar

Yet again the fiesta in Carcar came to a close with another emphasis on the life of its patroness St. Catherine of Alexandria. The Festival of Lights is not just a mere spectacle of colorful gaiety but more importantly a way to revive the long forgotten devotion to the virgin-martyr. Four carrozas depicting major events in her life, her journey to sainthood, were paraded down passing through a street aptly named after her.

At the first sound of the drum people started to gather at the Balay na Tisa where the processional image of the saint dating back to the Spanish times is kept. The ceremony is reminiscent of dapit which I witness in my trip to Malolos, Bulacan for the Sto. Niño festival early this year. In dapit, different images of the Holy Child borne on carrozas decorated or not, are brought to the church late in the afternoon for a short procession around the town. The procession is first of the three, the remaining two happens the following day, always falling on the fourth Sunday of January. One in the morning and the grand procession in the evening.

The Festival of Lights is never complete without the Kabkaban dance. Fresh from their win from the previous days Kabkaban Festival, the Carcar Central Highschool dancers lent their talent by igniting the jovial mood of the people gathered around as the procession makes its way to the church for the mass.

A sonorous sound echoes this time coming from the church belfry signaled the end of the mass. Then festal music is played by the band as the carrozas went down the hill. The dancers now have changed to their hats mounted with lamps, from a distance one would see them meander through the narrow streets of the plaza.

It takes almost two hours for the reach back the church grounds through the traditional route of narrow streets around town. At the moment St. Catherines carroza nears the Balay na Tisa it makes a quick stop. Photos are taken with the house as background but more importantly the men also have their quick break from pushing the antique carriage. Water is served attentively them by the helpers of the house

The last stretch of the procession is a few hundred meters from the house. And then the last set of sounds from the belfry can be heard from a distance. The carroza finally reached its destination. A few minutes more it started its descent together with the untiring dancers accompanied the the joyous Kabkaban beat. They make their final dance before everyone.

Until the next fiesta!

Balay na Tisa Collection

A token to add to the Balay na Tisa collection of Sta. Catalina images now on temporary display at the Carcar City Museum.

Copy of a painting by Spanish Renaissance painter Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina at the Museo del Prado in Madrid. Embroidery by Raffy Lopez in stylized Kabkad fern commonly found in Carcar. Nakar shells done by James Yee.

Carcar, Cebu, Philippines

St. Catherine of Alexandria

The church in Carcar dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria is among the few that exists in the Philippines. The other known church established in her honor is the St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral in Dumaguete City.

Often depicted holding a sword, a palm and a spiked broken wheel, devotion to St. Catherine is pervasive throughout the town.

On November 24, the 2nd Festival of Lights depicting her life through tableaus and the solemn procession along Sta. Catalina street will cap the annual festivities.

Note: Image above of the saint is owned by the Noel family and can be viewed at the church until the festivities are over.

Die in style

Mortuary services are getting the buzz these days after the e-burol or online wake viewing is becoming the practical option for the departed's relatives abroad. Technology really has it's way.

Also getting enough attention are the artsy custom designed caskets handpainted to suit your style. Make a statement with these. Angels and any other religious themes are the popular designs sought.

The dead come here for their final pampering but the furnitures fashioned like caskets are hauling tourists in. Luckily, I was the sole visitor that day as everybody else got so busy in the cemeteries.

Carcar, Cebu

Kalag-kalag 2008 Sidelights

Here are some rather amusing and bizarre scenes from the cemetery in Carcar. Filipinos have their peculiar ways of celebrating Kalag-kalag.

Condominium type of dwellings for the dead. Reaching up to five layers these are common in cemeteries where vacant spaces are hard to find. Getting coffins inside the penthouse units is a spectacle one should see.

When you don't have the means to buy a lapida (stone tablet), just carve out the name of the dead on the still wet cement. Just don't push so hard, the seal might open. The young girls in the photo are removing the weeds before lighting the candle.

Fresh flowers have doubled in cost. To save on money, make flowers of your own. Colored papers are so cheap. Fashion it out to the desired blooms. Tie it with copper wires and put it on an empty sardine can. Fill with pebbles to stabilize. Your worry now is the rain to ruin your obra maestra.

Lastly, before you head home don't forget to get yourself smoked. A pile of dried leaves or weeds will do. Add some bits of candle for a desirable aroma. Palina is a pagan ritual practiced in faraway towns and provinces. The smoke is said to ward off bad spirits that might decide to go home with you. Just in case you forget this ritual rubbing your body with fresh lemonsito leaves will do.

Business as usual

While many are enjoying the comforts of airconditioned malls in the city. Cemeteries are also getting their fair share of the consumer traffic. It is business as usual even on the last day of the Kalag-kalag celebrations. Enterprising people young and old are taking advantage of this once-a-year occasion.

Just in case you forgot your prayers, everything is available here. Amulets, herbs, various concoctions, love potions or what have you, these are popular among visitors.

Candles are the most sought-after commodity. This young boy tends to their makeshift store near the entrace at the public cemetery in Minglanilla town.

This young woman takes an early lunch amidst the hustle and bustle of the narrow street leading to the cemetery. A much needed break indeed. Most vendors have been here a day before Kalag-kalag. Flowers grown from nearby towns are the cheaper alternative and will get more cheaper once the festivities are nearly ending.

Masses are held by the hour. The church has the monopoly of this business. Aside from the pamisa, they also exercise control over the lighting of tombs charging a hefty amount for only two days of use.

At the last minute

The great mass exodus as what Estan in his blog described the large throng of people trooping at the last minute just to get home to their hometowns for the Kalag-kalag celebrations. It was totally expected, as this is just one of the three occasions where massive migration of people out of the city and into the provinces. (Holy Week, Kalag-kalag & the Christmas Holidays) The holiday fell on a weekend and as what most would have wanted there came no prior announcement of a free day last October 31.

I decided to see for myself the phenomenon at the South Bus Terminal. Cebu being a small island, the only way to get around is by land transpo. And there is no other way to go down south but thru this hub.

It was already 9 am and the place was unusually noisy and hot. A slight drizzle earlier in the morning made the dust settle down but as soon as the sun took its place clouds and clouds of dust started to spread out. The main building is undergoing renovation and there is no space to move around. There was just this unimaginable long line of people meandering through each corner of the building. And as each bus arrived people started pushing themselves inside the narrow bus entrances, unmindful of the kind torture they are in.

I did not want to experience this kind of agony. I took the unpopular route instead.