Pampanga: Holy Week practices and Mal a Aldo calendar

Pampanga is one of the provinces of the Philippines with really colorful (and at times bloody) Holy Week practices and rituals. It's quite close to Manila too. Which is why it's a good place to experience Holy Week, Mahal na Araw or Mal a Aldo.

Holy Wednesday
The highlight of the day would be the Holy Wednesday Processions. Several towns have very elaborate carrozas, particularly Bacolor, Sasmuan, Guagua, Santa Rita, Betis and San Fernando.

Holy Thursday
Pampanga is quite (in)famous for Holy Week flagellation. And this usually peaks on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. There are other traditions including Dakit Cordero in Mabalacat (2:30 p.m.) and Santo Tomas (4 p.m.). and the Pasyon Serenata in Brgy. San Basilio, Santa Riat (8 p.m. to 12 midnight) and Sitio Maligaya in San Basilio (also 8 p.m. to 12 midnight).


Holy Thursday Dakit Cordero procession in Mabalacat, Pampanga
Holy Thursday is usually commemorated with the cordero ritual. In Morong, Rizal and previously in Betis, Pampanga, the Lamb of God was prepared for an afternoon procession, shaped out of mashed kamote (sweet potatoes) and potatoes. Unfortunately, Betis no longer does the tradition. But the town of Mabalacat still does.


Holy Week flagellation and penitents in Magalang, Pampanga
Pampanga is a hotbed for Holy Week flagellation and Lenten penitents. In Magalang, Pampanga, the barangay of San Agustin is where a lot of these Lenten penitents appear every Holy Thursday and especially Good Friday.


Holy Week spectacle at Pampang Road, Angeles City
Pampang Road in Angeles City is another convergence point of Holy Week penitents. It gets a bit rowdy and out of hand though!


Pasyon Serenata in San Basilio, Santa Rita, Pampanga
Pasyon Serenata is a variant of the pabasa, with two sets of accompanying singers and marching bands playing alternately in what is called a sagutan. The Pasyon Serenata is held in the evenings (usually 8 p.m. to 12 midnight) of Holy Thursday and Good Friday in two locations in Barangay San Basilio, Sta. Rita, Pampanga. One Pasyon Serenata is staged beside the San Basilio Chapel. While another one can be found in Maligaya Street.

Good Friday
On Good Friday, Pampanga's folk and elite traditions take center stage. During the day, the violent rituals that have made the province quite notorious all over the world, take place. These include crucifixions in San Pedro Cutud (San Fernando), San Juan (San Fernando), Santa Lucia (San Fernando), Pampang (Angeles City), San Agustin (Magalang) and Telepayung (Arayat). Penitents, particularly flagellants, move around the northern towns of Pampanga.

Accompanying the crucifixions are street plays on the passion of Christ in San Pedro Cutud (San Fernando) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Pampang (Angeles City) at 3 p.m.

There also used to be the Tinieblas in Betis and Bacolor, and the Tanggal which is still practiced in San Rafael, Macabebe, after the Siete Palabras.

In the evening, the elegant heirloom carrozas of Pampanga's old families are brought out. The best carrozas can be found in the town of Bacolor (5 to 7 p.m.). Other towns with noteworthy processions are San Fernando (6 to 8 p.m.), Santa Rita (7 to 9 p.m.), Sasmuan, Guagua and Betis.

After the processions, you could watch the second night of Pasyon Serenata in Brgy. San Basilio, Sta. Rita.


San Pedro Cutud passion play and crucifixions in San Fernando
The Via Crucis passion play and crucifixions are staged annually in San Pedro Cutud, City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Despite its popularity among tourists both local and foreign alike, the local government has been making an effort to preserve as much as the tradition as possible, and keep out to much commercialism from the passion play which is written in the vernacular Kapampangan language. At least 30 percent of the crowd at San Pedro Cutud were foreigners. And it could arguably be the event most visited by foreigners owing to the international media attention it gets every year.


Good Friday Santo Entierro procession in Bacolor, Pampanga
Indeed, the phoenix has risen from the ashes. I decided to watch the Good Friday Santo Entierro procession in Bacolor, Pampanga by chance since there was no Good Friday procession in Guagua last year due to ongoing road construction around the center of town. It was very encouraging that the Bacolor procession is back to its old grandeur.


Santo Entierro carrozas and Good Friday processions of Pampanga
Every Good Friday, the Santo Entierro or Apung Mamacalulu are brought out in grand carrozas called calandras for the Good Friday procession. Here are photos of some of the Santo Entierro carrozas or calandras of Pampanga. It's a work in progress so I'll be adding photos and descriptions as I receive them. Thanks to the Center for Kapampangan Studies for providing some of the photos including this one of the Guagua carroza being prepared for the Good Friday procession.


Pasyon Serenata in (Maligaya) San Basilio, Santa Rita, Pampanga
After the Good Friday processions, we returned to San Basilio, Sta. Rita, Pampanga to listen to the Pasyon Serenata. But this time, we proceeded to Maligaya Street which is also in San Basilio, which has its own Pasyon Serenata.

As I mentioned previously, the Pasyon Serenata is a variant of the pabasa, with two sets of accompanying singers and marching bands playing alternately in what is called a sagutan. It's held in the evenings (usually 8 p.m. to 12 midnight) of Holy Thursday and Good Friday in two locations in Barangay San Basilio, Sta. Rita, Pampanga.

Black Saturday
A Sabado de Gloria Ball with a rigodon de honor used to be held in the town of Sto. Tomas. But this is no longer organized.

Easter Sunday
Check out the Pusu-pusuan or Salubong in Minalin (4 a.m.), Sto. Tomas (5:30 a.m.) and Bacolor. Since it is the town fiesta of Sto. Tomas, they also have the Sagalas (8 a.m.) and Sabuaga Festival (2 p.m.). The Pakbung Hudas also happens in Minalin (9:30 a.m.) and Sto. Tomas (12 noon).


Salubong procession on Easter Sunday and the colorful pusu-puso
The Salubong is a Filipino tradition done early in the morning of Easter Sunday, wherein the images of the Risen Christ and Sorrowful Mother symbolically meet in a pre-dawn procession. While many parishes have moved it to late Saturday night for convenience, the real traditional Salubong happens right before dawn.


Easter Sunday Pakbung Hudas tradition in Minalin and Santo Tomas, Pampanga
Firecrackers on Easter Sunday! In the towns of Minalin and Sto. Tomas, the Pakbung Hudas (explosion of Judas) tradition is still held every Easter Sunday. We drove to Minalin to catch the Pakbung Hudas festivities at 9:30 a.m. and proceeded to Sto. Tomas to catch theirs at 12 noon.


Easter Sunday salubong, pusu-puso and sagalas of Santo Tomas
On Easter Sunday, the of Santo Tomas and Minalin are the center of activities in Pampanga. Aside from being Easter Sunday, it's also the town fiesta of Santo Tomas. The town celebrates its fiesta on Easter Sunday rather than on the July 3 feast day of St. Thomas the Apostle.

For information on Holy Week traditions in other provinces, check out Holy Week practices in the Philippines.

Pampanga: Giant Lantern Festival 2010

Better late than never! Congratulations to Barangay Santa Lucia for winning the Giant Lantern Festival 2010. They beat defending champions Barangay Dolores who placed second this year. Completing the top three is Barangay San Nicolas.



It's actually very difficult to judge the competition. But I guess the winners were quite obvious this year. I felt though that we need to jazz up the music next year for better audience impact. It should be a mix and remix of Christmas, pop and traditional music. It's also weird that some entries had similar music for the first round. I hope they become more creative next year and invest on the festival pieces.

See you all at the Giant Lantern Festival 2011 on December 17, 2011!

Pampanga: Augusto P. Hizon House in San Fernando now a Heritage House

Last Friday, the historical marker of the Augusto P. Hizon Heritage House was unveiled by representatives of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), City Government of San Fernando, Pampanga, and the Hizon Family. The house was declared a Heritage House by the NHCP on July 21, 2010 bringing the number of NHCP-declared houses in San Fernando, Pampanga to five.


This turn-of-the-century Victorian-style house was originally owned by Teodoro Santos and Africa Ventura. It was later purchased by Maria Salome Hizon, a volunteer of the Red Cross during the Philippine Revolution. The property was acquired by her brother Ramon Hizon. And is currently owned by the heirs of his son Augusto P. Hizon.

Heritage updates from San Fernando
As local citizens continue to oppose the construction of an SM mall along San Fernando's heritage street, here is some good news. The Pampanga High School Building or former UP San Fernando is currently being reconstructed. More than a century old, it was the very building where President Diosdado P. Macapagal finished high school in 1929. Once completed next year, it will house the Museong Kapampangan.

Funds have also been approved for the restoration of the San Fernando Train Station. Work on the station will begin in early 2011. It will house a Death March Museum and World War II Memorial once completed.

Giant Lantern Festival 2010: Mangan Tamu! The Ultimate Pampanga Food and Heritage Tour (Christmas Edition)

It's Christmas once again and it's time for another Giant Lantern Festival. Join Ultimate Philippines Tours as we journey to the central heartland and immerse ourselves in things Kapampangan on December 18, 2010!

From buro to Baroque, it will be a fun-filled day as we poke around and get intimate with the very best of Pampanga's cultural offerings. Gawk at the jewel-box of a church in Betis while wading through the lahar-buried town of Bacolor.

We'll stuff ourselves silly with a pre-Christmas Kapampangan noche buena fare by one of the country's best known Kapampangan chefs! And to it cap it off, get a front row view of the most dazzling display of Kapmpangan artistry the Ligligan Parul (Giant Lantern Festival) of San Fernando! It's a tour with nothing but Kapampangan cool!

Itinerary
9:00 a.m. ETD Metro Manila
10:30 a.m. Bacolor Church - We stop by this historic town which was almost wiped out by volcanic mud flows. We visit the half-buried San Guilliermo Church
11:30 a.m. Betis Church - Admire the beautiful interior of the province's most treasured Barouqe structure, the 17th century Santiago Apostol Church, a National Cultural Treasure.
1:00 p.m. Bale Dutung in Angeles City - Indulge in a Kapampangan feast as we learn cooking secrets with chef, artist and writer, Claude Tayag.
4:00 p.m. Depart for Giant Lantern Festival
5:00 p.m. Pasalubong Shopping
6:00 p.m. Robinsons Starmills Pampanga - You are free to check out and shop for bargains at Pampanga's biggest outlet mall while waiting for the festival to start.
7:00 p.m. Giant Lantern Festival - Be dazzled by the giant Christmas lanterns of San Fernando as they dance in an interplay of music and lighting artistry!
9:00 p.m. ETD San Fernando
10:30 p.m. ETA Metro Manila

The tour fee is Php4,500 per person inclusive of all meals and transportation. For bookings and inquiries, e-mail us at reservations@ultimatephilippines.com or call (0917) 3291622. For more details, check out the Ultimate Pampanga Christmas Edition event page on Facebook.

Pampanga: Save the San Fernando Heritage District!

At the heart of downtown San Fernando, Pampanga is the historic poblacion, replete with remnants of the city's rich architectural heritage and history. These architectural legacies, together with the intangible culture of the city, are the focus of the urban renewal program of the City of San Fernando called Preserving Heritage for Progress. In fact, the program was recognized as one of the Top 10 Best Practices of the League of Cities of the Philippines, and a Trailblazing Program of the Galing Pook Awards both in 2004.

In 2006, the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) selected the program as the winner of the Heritage Tourism Award of the Best Tourism Practices – Special Award Category "in cognizance of the innovative and valuable effort, passion and commitment of the City Government to ensure the protection and promotion of the City's priceless architectural heritage by restoring and preserving the same for the benefit of the future generation of Fernandinos and the Filipino people."

In line with a popular salawikain "Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan," San Fernando firmly believes that its history, heritage and culture are vital tools in the advance towards further progress.



In 2004, the historic core of the city was declared the City of San Fernando Heritage District through a city ordinance. Several of the structures have been declared by the National Historical Institute as part of our national heritage. While all heritage structures are protected by the ordinance.


Most of the structures are concentrated along Consunji Street, Tiomico Street and Capitol Boulevard. These include the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Fernando, San Fernando Train Station and Death March Marker, Pampanga Capitol and Provincial Jail, and the Lazatin, Hizon-Singian, Consunji, Ocampo, Henson-Hizon, and Hizon Houses among many others. Four houses are already declared by the National Historical Institute as Heritage Houses.


Then there's the PASUDECO Sugar Central along Capitol Boulevard. It stands as a testament to the resiliency of the Kapampangans as a people and their continuous drive towards progress and development. An inherent part of the heritage district of the City of San Fernando, this storied structure, a fine example of industrial heritage, is ripe for adaptive reuse and conservation. This proposition yearns for an architect or urban planner with the vision, imagination and genius to incorporate this historical structure into the 21st century community that will be built around it.

Unknown to many, the town proper of San Fernando may be the only city in the country where motorized tricycles are prohibited thanks to the political will of its leaders throughout the years. You can in fact, still enjoy a kalesa ride around the old quarter. Why not take a journey back to San Fernando's storied past with a visit to the city's heritage district?


The city is very historical in fact, it has a large assemblage of markers from the National Historical Institute. I've counted eighteen markers so far. Later this year, markers for the Pampanga High School and Hizon House will be installed bringing the count to twenty.

Just a few days ago, I got a text message from Dom Martin Gomez inviting me to lunch since they plan to reconstruct and restore another Hizon House which will add luster to the heritage district.

There is no doubt, the citizens of San Fernando indeed value the city's architectural heritage. Which is why news of an SM City San Fernando to be built right smack in the center of the heritage district will be met with stiff opposition. I was told the mall is going to be built along Consunji Street, between PNB and Pampanga Hotel, all the way to V. Tiomico Street.

I was all praises for SM when they built SM City Pampanga away from the poblacion. I can't understand why they have to build another one in our historic downtown area. Right now, I'm already thinking about the damage the proposed five or six-floor mall building will do to the cultural landscape of San Fernando. It will tower over the Cathedral! The height alone will destroy the character of the district. The idiots!

For the love of Philippine heritage, will SM please find another place for their mall (as if they don't have enough already). Stay away from our heritage district please!

Save the City of San Fernando Heritage District! No to SM City San Fernando in our heritage district!

Ultimate Pampanga Culinary & Heritage Tour on October 23, 2010

We're organizing another Ultimate Pampanga Culinary and Heritage Tour on October 23, 2010. As always, we'll be visiting Everybody's Cafe and Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung to savor his 5-ways of eating lechon. To read more about the tour, check out Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung, Everybody's Cafe and more from Pampanga.

The tour fee is Php4,500 per person inclusive of all meals and transportation. For bookings and inquiries, e-mail us at reservations@ultimatephilippines.com or call (0917) 3291622. For more details, check out the Ultimate Pampanga October 2010 event page of Facebook. Also watch out for our balikbayan edition tours this December. Join Ultimate Philippines on Facebook for our upcoming tours!

Pampanga: Outlet shopping at Robinsons Starmills Pampanga

Those who've been to the U.S. should be familiar with outlet shopping. Outlet malls are usually out-of-town and people drive there to shop at these outlet malls. They usually sell clothes and other items from the last season at really attractive prices. If you still don't know, there's an outlet mall here in the Philippines in San Fernando, Pampanga. I'm sure we pass by Robinsons Starmills Pampanga all the time we use the NLEX not realizing it's actually an outlet mall.



Well-known brands like Mango, Guess, All Flip Flops, American Rag, Adidas, Nike, Space, Plains and Prints, Mogao and Collezione are just some of the notable brands which have outlet stores there that give really hefty discounts. For the ladies, dresses at Mango could go as low as Php350!


And while at Robinsons Starmills, don't forget to visit Fiesta Kapampangan. Unlike the usual mall food court, Fiesta Kapampangan offers mainly Kapampangan cusine which I'm sure you'll all enjoy. I'll talk about this in another entry.

How to get to Robinsons Starmills
Robinsons Starmills Pampanga is located at the San Fernando Exit of the NLEX. If taking public transportation, Victory Liner has a terminal at the mall itself. Buses will drop you off at the rear entrance. For other bus companies, most buses that go to Olongapo pass by San Fernando. You can ask the driver to drop you off at the San Fernando Exit.

Pampanga: Easter Sunday salubong, pusu-puso and sagalas of Santo Tomas

On Easter Sunday, the neighboring towns of Santo Tomas and Minalin are the center of activities in Pampanga. Aside from being Easter Sunday, it's also the town fiesta of Santo Tomas. The town celebrates its fiesta on Easter Sunday rather than on the July 3 feast day of St. Thomas the Apostle.

The night before, a rigodon de honor used to be performed at the Sabado de Gloria Ball called the Thomasian. I remember dancing the rigodon in the 2002 Sabado de Gloria Ball. Sadly, they stopped doing it about two years ago because no one was willing to be hermano and hermana mayor due to the costs that accompany it. While it was still being held, Thomasian was the longest continuously organized rigodon de honor in Pampanga. The oldest surviving rigodon tradition in Pampanga, the El Circulo Fernandino, was not held from 1987 to 1996.


According to Robby Tantingco of the Center for Kapampangan Studies, "The most elaborate salubong are held in front of the churches of Sto. Tomas and Minalin. Shortly before the break of dawn, the brass band plays and an all-girls' choir sing Alleluia as the two santos are positioned face to face. The angel does not immediately appear; instead, she is hidden inside a pusu-pusu (heart-shaped giant banana flower) which opens in five stages, one layer of petals at a time. Each opening is accompanied by the band playing and choir singing which prolongs the whole ceremony. After the salubung (also called pusu-pusuan in these parts), the people go inside the church for the Easter Mass.

"In Sto. Tomas, another quaint tradition follows after the Mass: a group of well-dressed girls and the partners dance and sing, and throw petals on the path of the carroza bearing the statue of the Risen Christ accompanied by a violin. This ritual is called Sagalas."


Later at noon, the Pakbung Hudas festivities are held at the church patio. I missed the Salubong or Pusu-pusuan, as well as the Sagalas. But I just had to write about it to complete this series on Pampanga Holy Week practices. Thank you to the Center for Kapampangan Studies for the video screencaps.

Pampanga: Santo Entierro carrozas and Good Friday processions of Pampanga

Every Good Friday, the Santo Entierro or Apung Mamacalulu are brought out in grand carrozas called calandras for the Good Friday procession. Here are photos of some of the Santo Entierro carrozas or calandras of Pampanga. It's a work in progress so I'll be adding photos and descriptions as I receive them. Thanks to the Center for Kapampangan Studies for providing some of the photos including this one of the Guagua carroza being prepared for the Good Friday procession.

ANGELES: Alex Castro shares that Angeles has its own Apung Mamacalulu or Santo Entierro owned by the Dayrit clan. This image figured in a controversial 1929 Good Friday procession that ended in its kidnapping. It took a Supreme Court decision to resolve the issue of its ownership.

ARAYAT: According to Toto Gonzalez, the Arayat Good Friday procession is lovely and beguiling with antique candlelit carrozas and old, archaic-sounding Kapampangan religious music. A burol or wake for the Santo Entierro commences after the procession at the Spanish colonial era chapel of the Medina-Samia-Santos family a few meters from the church. This last until 11:30 p.m.



BACOLOR: The Bacolor Santo Entierro is owned by the Joven-de Leon clan. It most probably had belonged to Don Juan Joven and Dona Geronima Suares. It was buried by lahar in 1995 and was dug up the same year. It was kept until 2004 when it was restored by Tom Joven who is now the caretaker of the image.

GUAGUA: The Guagua Santo Entierro in the main photo is owned by the Infante-Velez clan.


MABALACAT: The Apung Mamacalulu of Mabalacat has its own chapel beside the Mabalacat Elementary School. It is believed that the image originated from Mexico. It belonged to Doña Vicenta Dizon who was married to Don Juan Rivera. The couple were childless so the calandra was passed on to the Rivera-Serrano family. Preparing the image for the procession is a community affair, done during the morning of Holy Thursday. The carroza is ornamented by mother of pearl flowers and silver symbols of the passion of Christ.


SAN FERNANDO: Above is the Santo Entierro of San Fernando. This is a fairly recent postwar calandra.


SANTA RITA: The Santa Rita Santo Entierro is owned by the Miranda-Maglalang clan.


SASMUAN: The Sasmuan Santo Entierro is owned by the Mercado family.

According to Toto Gonzalez, the five most beautiful calandras of the Santo Entierro in Pampanga are Santa Rita (Miranda-Maglalang), Arayat (Medina-Samia-Santos), Sasmuan (Mercado), Guagua (Infante-Velez), and in recent years, with all the improvements made by the formidable Tom Joven, that of Bacolor (Joven-de Leon). He adds that also beautiful, although simple, are the mid-1800s calandras of San Luis, Minalin, Santa Ana, Mexico, Mabalacat, Candaba, and Apalit. Those of Lubao, Magalang, Angeles date back to the turn of the 20th century. The calandras of San Fernando and Macabebe are fairly recent. He hasn't seen those of Masantol, Porac, and Floridablanca though and we look forward to his reviews. While many of the calandras date from the 1800s, many of the images of the Santo Entierro are from the 1700s.

Toto further notes that the only existing calandras in other provinces that can compare with those of Pampanga are: Vigan, Ilocos Sur; Lingayen, Pangasinan; Baliuag, Malolos and Barasoain, Bulacan; San Pablo (originally from Santa Cruz, Manila), Binan, Pila, Paete, and Pakil, Laguna; Lipa, Batangas; Carcar, Cebu; Molo, Iloilo City; Bacolod and Talisay, Negros Occidental and Mambajao, Camiguin.

If you have photos or stories of other Santo Entierro carrozas in Pampanga, please feel free to share them at info@ivanhenares.com.

Pampanga: Pasyon Serenata in (Maligaya) San Basilio, Santa Rita, Pampanga

After the Good Friday processions, we returned to San Basilio, Sta. Rita, Pampanga to listen to the Pasyon Serenata. But this time, we proceeded to Maligaya Street which is also in San Basilio, which has its own Pasyon Serenata.

As I mentioned previously, the Pasyon Serenata is a variant of the pabasa, with two sets of accompanying singers and marching bands playing alternately in what is called a sagutan. It's held in the evenings (usually 8 p.m. to 12 midnight) of Holy Thursday and Good Friday in two locations in Barangay San Basilio, Sta. Rita, Pampanga. The previous night, we watched the one beside the San Basilio Chapel.



Parking and maneuvering is a bit difficult in Maligaya since the street is very narrow. Anyway, we sat down for quite a bit but suddenly felt the exhaustion from all the traveling. So we called it a night quite early.

Pampanga: Easter Sunday Pakbung Hudas tradition in Minalin & Santo Tomas, Pampanga

Firecrackers on Easter Sunday! In the towns of Minalin and Sto. Tomas, the Pakbung Hudas (explosion of Judas) tradition is still held every Easter Sunday. We drove to Minalin to catch the Pakbung Hudas festivities at 9:30 a.m. and proceeded to Sto. Tomas to catch theirs at 12 noon.




Pakbung Hudas is an event wherein an effigy of Judas Iscariot, stuffed with firecrackers, is lit up in front of the church patio for a big bang to start the Easter Season. The firecrackers are so positioned so that the effigy moves horizontally counter-clockwise then clockwise, then vertically clockwise and counter-clockwise before finally exploding.

For some reason, they want to change the name to Pakbung Kasalanan or Pakbung Satanas with the effigy representing sin or  in particular, the seven deadly sins. But I think changing the name will change the story behind the tradition. You could still say Pakbung Hudas and explain that the effigy represents sin. Oh well!


I liked the Judas effigy in Minalin which was very colorful and folksy. The one in Sto. Tomas wasn't decorated though.


Since Easter Sunday is also the town fiesta of Santo Tomas, there are a lot of activities during the day. After the Easter Mass in the morning, sagalas paraded around town. They also had a palaro for the children. The agawan buko was quite intense!



Anyway, it took them quite a while to set-up the effigy which they lit up at about 12:30 p.m. Indeed they celebrate Easter in Pampanga with a big bang!

Pampanga: Salubong procession on Easter Sunday and the colorful pusu-puso

The Salubong is a Filipino tradition done early in the morning of Easter Sunday, wherein the images of the Risen Christ and Sorrowful Mother symbolically meet in a pre-dawn procession. While many parishes have moved it to late Saturday night for convenience, the real traditional Salubong happens right before dawn.


I was actually wondering if the pusu-puso was still being used in Pampanga. I should have asked. Anyway, I watched the Salubong in San Fernando late Saturday night which was quite simple.


The Bacolor salubong or pusu-pusuan was also at midnight and they used the pusu-puso! The photo above is from Tom Joven.


The next morning, I proceeded to Minalin and Santo Tomas to witness the Pakbung Hudas Easter Sunday festivities. And lo and behold, the opened pusu-puso were hanging from the church gates! The Salubong in Minalin was at 4 a.m. while the one in Santo Tomas was at 5:30 a.m.

The puso-puso is a fine example of folk art used for the Salubong. It's basically shaped like a bud with several layers of petals made out of cardboard, papel de hapon and crepe paper. Hidden above the pusu-puso is a little girl dressed as an angel. The veiled image of the Sorrowful Mother is brought under the pusu-puso.


Layer by layer, the pusu-puso opens, raining petals and confetti on the images of the Mater Dolorosa and Risen Christ. With the opening of the last layer, doves fly out and the little girl, who sings Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia (Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia), is lowered on a swing just right over the head of the Mater Dolorosa so she could take off the veil. Once the veil is removed, fireworks are lit, the marching band starts playing and the crowd applauds. The Easter Season has begun.