375. SANTOS DE PALO: The Household Saints of Puerto Rico

Featured in this excerpted article are selections from the exhibition “Sants de Palo: The Household Saints of Puerto Rico, organized by guest curator, Yvonne Lange, and shown at the Museum of American Folk Art in N.Y. from Jan. 1992-April 1994. The objects in the exhibition were drawn from the collection of Alan Moss Reveron of New York City.

By just viewing the religious artistic expressions of many Puerto Rican santeros, one can see the intertwined past of two countries, by comparing the similarities and the contrasting differences with the santo carvings of the Philippines, which, like Puerto Rico, was Spain-owned, steeped in Catholicism, introduced by their colonizers. 

Like Filipino carvers, santeros were untrained, and often worked from their imagination or by using old religious prints as guides for the saint’s iconography. Majority of the output were folksy in style, rather naïve, though a few were close to realistic—with better proportions, and superb painting,

The major difference is that, many of these Puerto Rican santeros were known and well-documented, while early Filipino artists remain anonymous. Most Puerto Rican samples average about 8” in height, while Filipinos examples show a wider range of sizes, from miniatures, tabletops, to processional and church size-images.

There are also expected differences in the representation of subjects, due to local devotions. A Filipino would be able to recognize, for example, a Puerto Rican-carved San Antonio de Padua or San Miguel., but perhapans, not Virgen de Monserrat or La Trinidad; the common Puerto Rican version shows 2 human forms (God, Son) and a dove representing the Holy Spirit. Filipino examples prefer showing a trio of look-alike persons.

Like the Philippines, the art of the Puerto Rican santero represents a rich and a varied legacy of imagery and artistic expression, often looked as a vocation, and not a trade.

SOURCES OF PHOTOS & INFO:

“Santos de Palo: The Household Santos of Puerto Rico” Exhibit Catalog, © 1991, The Museum of 61 West 62nd St., N.Y., N.Y. 10023.

374. LA INMACULADA CONCEPCION OF MALOLOS

The deeply-revered image of La Inmaculada Concepcion (Immaculate Conception) of Malolos is enshrined at the main altar of the Cathedral-Basilica Minore dedicated to her name. It s a pre-war image done by a native carver, Teodoro Ople, who overcame his humble beginnings—he was an orphan—to become a skilled artisan of note. The image was modeled from the well-known Marian painting of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo,” La Inmaculada Concepcion de los Venerables”

In Murillo's painting, Mary is dressed in a white robe with a blue mantle, her hands crossed over her chest, with a crescent moon at her feet, and eyes raised heavenwards. Her pose-- right knee bent and her weight on her left leg—accentuates the undulating  rhythm of the composition. A crescent moon encircles her hidden foot, under voluminous layers of white fabric. 

FEAST OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, 1950s

Ople’s depiction minimizes the bent foot, to create a more frontal stance, enhanced by the rhythm of the folds and drapes of Her robe and mantle.

MALOLOS TOWN FIESTA, 1954

The beautifully-sculpted wooden figure of the Immaculate Conception was canonically crowned on 10 March  2012, as granted by Pope Benedict XVI. A flight of steps were built leading to the altar so the image could be touched by devotees. 

Photo: CHURCHES, BASILICAS & CATHEDRALS in the PHILIPPINES (CBCP)  FB Page

A vicaria (replica) image of the Virgin is used for processions while the precioys original image remains in the church for safekeeping. Malolos’ Immaculate Conception is one of the most photographed Marian image in the country, a testament to the profound devotion of Filipinos to the Blessed Mother.

SOURCES:

Diocese of Malolos website: https://dioceseofmalolos.ph/patroness/

 Churches, Basilicas & Cathedrals FB Page