367. LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION de TABUÑGAO of Minalin

In the oldest barrio of Minalin, Pampanga, known today as Sta. Maria, one can find the revered and ancient image of La Purisima Concepcion de Tabuñgao, whose origin is wrought in a miraculous legend still told in this Kapampangan town. The barrio’s old name –“Tabuñgao”—refers to the 1609 discovery of the image, where people found floundering on the flooded river, a large, dried gourd (upo), or “tabuñgao/tabungo”.

The local folks fished out the floating gourd from the river which was near the ‘visita’ (chapel) they were building, and to their utter surprise—the tabuñgao, when opened, yielded an image of the Blessed Virgin.

Carved of wood, the small image depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary standing on a globe base with a snake coiled at her feet. She has a steady gaze, with the palms of her hands together in an act of prayer. Devotion spread from Tabuñgao, as the pueblo was established with the expansion of its frontiers.

Today, the present barangay known as Sta. Maria still has the visita or chapel that has been named after her. In the central niche of the altar, La Purisima Concepcion reposes, standing watch over Her people whom she has showered with an abundance of blessings.

In gratitude, the community have embraced her with love and lavish attention. Her designated camareros are the Intal Family and Nevil Pineda, a longtime devotee in charge of her vestments. 

In 2008, the “La Purisima Concepcion Festival” was organized to honor her on her feast day, Dec. 8. Replica images (festejada) of La Purisima have also been made for other devotional events including Marian processions, novenas and rosary crusades. She has also been gifted with rich vestments made by Borda de Oro, under the auspices of benefactor PJ Nepomuceno (+). 

Indeed, today, there is only one Queen who reigns in the hearts of Minaleños—La Purisima Concepcion de Tabuñgao.

 SOURCES:

Sta. Maria Archive Minalin (Nomer Pangilinan) FB page: https://www.facebook.com/stamariaarchive.minalin

Visitas ning Sta. Maria FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/visitasning.stamaria

La Purisima de Tabungao FBPage: https://www.facebook.com/lapurisima.concepcion.de.tabungao

Minalin Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minalin

Many thanks to Romel Zapata Tubig Jr, Tourism Officer of Mianlin, for the additional info.

341. Santo Stories: LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION of Guagua (under the care of the Tiongco-Villacorta Family)

LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION, Guagua

The story of the beautiful LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION of Guagua begins over a hundred thirty years ago, and has come to involved extended families beginning with Hipolito de Mesa Leoncio and wife Francisca Simon Chingcoangco, the first known owners of the image of the young Virgin.

The couple had acquired the image, and several others, in 1910, from Fr. Maximo Veron, the then-parish priest of La Natividad de la Virgen Church (now known as Immaculate Conception Paris of  Guagua). The other icons included the lifesize  Sto.Entierrro (“Apung Señor), Sto Niño Dormido (sleeping Child Jesus), and San Jose.

STO. ENTIERRO

NINO DORMIDO

 

More of these santos were acquired the same way by the couple’s cousins like the San Juan (Songco Family), Sta. Maria (Lozano Family) and Sta. Filomena (Lagman Family). 

LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION, was often described by the old members of the family as “beautiful beyond compare”, a most appropriate description as the face is exquisitely carved, showing the highest level of the carver’s skills. When descendant,  Johnny Tiongco Villacorta was cleaning the image, he found on its base the carved notation--AÑO 23 ~ 12 ~ 89, which dated the making of the santa to Dec. 23, 1889. 

When the family became Aglipayan converts, LA PURISIMA was transferred to the Aglipayan Church of Guagua and enthroned there. During World War II, LA PURISIMA, along with the family’s treasured images, were spirited away for safekeeping. The Virgin and the sleeping Niño were kept under the kamalig of the Gamboa Family, also kins of the family. The San Jose figure, however, did not survive the onslaught of war, when the Japanese burned the house.

LA PURISIMA used to wear a halo with 12 stars (“Dose Estrellas) which has now been lost, but she still has her star-designed, diamond-studded rostrillo (facial aureole), silver earrings in the shape of cherubs, and a gold pendant. Thankfully, she also has retained her century-old  “tiso de oro” vestments. 

In her old age, Lola Pacing Lozano, the eldest child who died at age 95 in 2004, once wistfully said to her twin siblings Minang and Sidang: “Ikwa tana mengatwa at mangamate obat, ing Virgen tamu sidsad ya parin keng lagu” (We have all grown to this ripe, old age, and some of us have passed away, but our Virgin still remains as beautiful as ever). Indeed,  through all these years, she has remained “beautiful beyond compare!”

The custody of the image of LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION (fondly called “Apung Puring” by the elders),as well as Apung Señor, the Niño Dormido and the replacement image of San Jose has  been entrusted to grandson Johnny “Buda” Tiongco-Villacorta, exacting a promise from him  to continue the family tradition and never to sell them. “Sadsad mula… pakyapusan at sundu mu ing gagawan mi karela agyang magdildil na kayu mung asin.  E yula pamisali, pangaku mu kekami yan” (Carry on..,care for them the way we did even if you go hungry, and have nothing to eat but salt. Promise us never to to sell them..).

CREDITS: All information and photos courtesy of Mr. Johnny Tiongco Villacorta