102. My First Processional Santo: STA. MARIA DE BETANIA

by Ian Ocampo Flora


As child, I have always been fascinated by santos. Growing up in the conservative and rustic Sta. Rita town, these images of veneration are a constant in every facet of our community life as Roman Catholics.

My childhood is replete with memories of helping in the dressing of santos for the Holy Week procession or during novenarios for the feast days of various saints. I would always stand in owe whenever I see santos riding their magnificent silver carrozas at the old paglimbunan (processional route) in our town poblacion where they are flanked by a seemingly endless sea of candle lights.


Old clans in our town, aside priding themselves of having produced the most number of priests or being a long time member of a church laity organization, old families also pride themselves of being caretakers of the most exquisite heirloom santos that are the center of veneration during the Lenten week processions.


Even today, there has been a surge of interest in owning a processional santo in our town. But today, the ownership of processional images is no longer exclusive to the rich clans.

A couple of hairdresser friends have in fact joined the Holy Week procession last year which again awakened in me that childhood interest of having my own processional image. I have been collecting old santos and house antiques but have never gotten to acquiring my own processional image.

Though our clan is the caretaker of a couple of images, no one can claim sole ownership and decisions pertaining to the upkeep of the images are always decided by old members of the clan.
So in August of 2011, I started the preparation for my own processional image. I knew for a fact that having one requires substantial funds available along with constant consultation with santo enthusiasts to ensure that I would be guided in the right direction.

For the image, Presidential Merit Awardee for Ecclesiastical Art sculptor Willy Layug of Betis was the unanimous choice. There were other santeros that were suggested but most agree that Layug is by far more consistent in terms of quality and artistry of work. However, some collectors have already given me a heads-up about the price tag. Layug’s almost life-like works come with a price. Unmoved, I decided to test my luck.

Fortunately, in one tribute event for an artist that I was covering, I managed to bump into Layug and discussed with him my desire for an image. The discussion was frank and straight to the point; I stated to him my reasons for wanting an image and blurted out the “unrealistic budget” that I had at that time. Amazingly, he agreed!

The next day, I had an early morning meeting over coffee with Maestro Willy Layug at his home cum workshop in Sta. Ursula in Guagua's Betis District. I told him that I wanted an image of Mary of Bethany.

We discussed how the image would turnout. My inputs were primarily on the dimensions of the image. I wanted it tall; with Spanish features and with hair fully carved into the head (I had childhood fears of bald santos). The santa should be set in an andarol with hands, body and proportions following a santo specification that Layug had adapted from his recent trip to a workshop in Spain.

Regardless of his extremely busy schedule, Tatang Willy managed to squeeze time for the image in between his more important and bigger projects. I only visited him trice to look at the progress of the image and on my third visit what greeted me took my breath away. Willy did not fail to deliver for image was indeed beautiful.


Willy had it personally placed into its body and even threw in a base for the image which was not part of our earlier agreement. That same day, I came home with my very own santa.
I posted the pictures of the head on a social networking site and comments began coming in. Santo enthusiasts were eager to suggest ideas for the vestments and pukpok that would best fit the image.

I decided to skip work the next day and started working on the design for the halo and contacted names given by santo enthusiasts. For the pukpok, Patrick Guina Banal, a veteran of Marian Exhibits, wisely advised me to skip known artists and instead scout for the lesser known craftsmen in Apalit town.

I managed to get the service of a craftsman in Colgante, Apalit had my personally designed halo made for only P2,000 and managed to haggle for a medium-sized diadem for P1, 000.


For the vestments, I had the specifications of the image sent to a well-kown burdadera in Bulacan but was told that the santas vestments won’t be finished until May. Rop Syquia of Maimalan came to the rescue and orchestrated a viste hebrEa EnSeMbLe tHat would serve as my santa’s day-to-day clothing while awaiting the Bulacan vestments.


Photographer Ruston Banal managed to show up after the image was dressed and took majestic images of my new santa all set and ready for the coming Holy Week procession.


Days before the Holy Week procession, the image was already visited by a couple of santo collectors and enthusiasts who have seen her photos on a social networking site.


My Sta. Maria de Betania is now housed in a special room in our farm home in Sta. Rita. Each morning, I would stop by the room and spend a few minutes admiring her beauty realizing that despite the cost and trouble of worrying on how to give justice to a wondrous piece of religious art, she was all worth the effort.

******

STA. MARIA DE BETANIA
Owner: Ian Ocampo Flora
Sculptor:Willy Tadeo Layug
Halo and Diadem:Patrick Glenn Guina Banal
Vesturera: Rop Syquia(Viste Hebrea theme)
Photography: Ruston Banal
Creative inputs: Alex R. Castro, Jeffrey Popatco
Image details: Height is at 5' 7" (170 cm) (5' 10" or 178 cm with base) Spanish features, fully carved head with hair tied in a bun. Crescent gold band holds carved hair together. Proportioned upper body set in an andarol. Movable hands following a Spanish santo design. Halo design patterned after an antique Sta. Cecilia image.
Commission Date: August 2011 to March 2012

101. Filipino Holy Week Practices: SALUBONG

By Armando P. Rubin
(Taken from 'The Philippines Herald Magazine', 17 April 1965 issue, p. 7)

PROSESION NG PASKO NG PAGKABUHAY, Pandaka, Maynila, 4 April 1926

One of the most enchanting of local traditions is the “Salubong” (meeting) which is actually a reenactment of the sequence or hymn for Easter Sunday: “Speak Mary, declaring what thou sawest wayfaring”. The entire procession at the first flush of dawn is an elaborate portrayal of “what Mary sawest”.

What takes place on Easter Easter morn is one of the most unique and beautiful dramatizations of the ‘meeting’ ever conceived. In many towns of Rizal, Cavite and Bulacan, just outside Manila, the colorful custom survives. Long before dawn, the village is astir with preparations for the spectacular event. Wit incredible ingenuity, the drama and pageantry of the miracle of Easter starts to unfold.

PROSESION NG PASKO NG PAGKABUHAY, Pandaka, Maynila, 4 April 1926

At early dawn, the “salubong” or meeting of the risen Christ and His Sorrowing Mother is reenacted. Two processions issue from separate church doors, one composed of males and headed by the figure of Christ, the other composed of females led by the image of the Virgin Mary. The processions converge on the town plaza, where the main rites take place.

Brass trumpets blare forth. As soon as the notes die down, a ceremonial dance called “bate” begins. This is performed by young girls on top of a platform facing the images. The dance is followed by the “tula” or declamation of verses in praise of the Virgin.

Immediately after the “birds” come sliding down along the wires, piercing a papier-mache heart which opens up to reveal a little girl or “angel” dressed in white, two of the birds glide along the wires onto a bag of confetti which they tear open with their beaks, spilling the contents on the dancers below.

In a series of rapid movements, the angel is lowered, lifts the veil from the Virgin Mary, is pulled up again while a censer is swung, perfuming the air. The Virgin Mary stands revealed in splendid glory, her rich robe sparkling in the sun.

The band plays on, and the little angel sings the “Alleluia”, all the while scattering rose petals on the images below, bringing this elaborate spectacle to a close. In the evening, the people flock to the last performance of the ‘senaculo’, which officially ends the Lenten Season.

THE SANTOS OF SALUBONG

The two principal images of the “Salubong” are that of the Risen Christ (Resurrecion) and the Virgin Mary (Virgen de Alegria).

FIGURES OF RESURRECTED CHRIST AND MARY, Pasko ng Pagkabuhay, Pandakan, Maynila.
Most antique “Resurreccion” images are small in stature, a little over 3 feet in height. It depicts the figure of Christ resurrected, right arm raised in blessing, the other arm holding his standard. He is usually shown bare from the waist up, displaying his wounds, and wearing an embroidered “tapiz”. He can also be shown caped and sashed, for modesty’s sake. The Christ figure stands on a cloud base to symbolize His rise and passage from his earthly death.

The shrouded image of Mary represents her at her moment of sorrow. When the mourning veil is lifted, we see her joyful expression, hence the “Virgen de Alegria” (regarded as the opposite of Virgen Dolorosa). She is shown standing, with clasped hands or crossed hands over Her chest. Most of the time, the standard image of the Immaculate Conception is used for this purpose.

84. RETRO-SANTO: Our Lady of Atonement, Baguio City

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Atonement (Baguio Cathedral) was built thru the efforts of the CICM
(Congregacio Immaculati Cordis Marriae) missionaries who started it all when they arrived in the resort city on 16 November 1907: Rev. Fr. Oktaaf Vandelwalle, Fr. Serafin Devesse and Fr. Henry Verbeck.

Their first mission was to build a chapel on the house of a retired treasurer along Session Road, and thus, the beginnings of the Baguio Cathedral came to be in 1908.
The chapel was dedicated to St. Patrick.

By 1919, a campaign for the construction of the “Church on top of the hill”, known as Mount Mary, began. An architect-priest, Rev. Fr. Leo Valdemans, drafted the design of Cathedral plan, which were ably executed by
Fr. Adolph Cansse, a civil engineer, with the help of 25 Igorot carpenters.

In 1924, the twin towers of the Cathedral were built and 4 bells from Belgium were installed. The Cathedral has a distinctive rose-colored exterior and served as an evacuation center during the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines in World War II, having survived the carpet-bombing of Baguio in 1945.

The image of Our Lady of Atonement rests in the cathedral. In the beautiful representations of Mary under this title, she wears a red mantle, symbolizing the Precious Blood of which she was the Immaculate source, and by which she was made immaculate. It was by the shedding of this most precious blood that the redemption of the world was accomplished. She wears a blue inner tunic, and she holds the infant Jesus in her arms. The Child Jesus is depicted holding a cross, the symbol of His suffering and glory. Her Feast Day: July 9

*****

Let us pray. O God, who didst deign that we, thy children, should invoke our Mother Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Atonement; grant that through her powerful intercession we may obtain the fullness of thy blessings; through thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

83. BELL-SHAPED VIRGIN SANTOS

A selection of century-old Virgins carved with massive, bell-shaped bodies typical of those made in the province of Bohol, Philippines. Mostly primitive in style, the santos came in many varieties--all-wood or with small ivory heads and hands, polychromed--but all with the trademark bell-shaped bodies often carved from dense, heavy wood.

INMACULADA CONCEPCION. Ivory head and hands (now missing), polychromed, with carved base featuring cherubs. The santo used to wear a wig.

INMACULADA CONCEPCION. Ivory head Virgin with beautifully carved vestments trimmed with relief carvings to simulate drapes, decorated hems and sleeves. Intricate floraln patterns are painted on the body. Low relief angel carvings decorate the base.
VIRGEN Y NINO JESUS. A stocky Madonna and Child, craved in the round and borne aloft by a bevy of angels.
INMACULADA CONCEPCION. A primitive representation of the Immaculate Conception with chubby cheeks and heavy, sloping shoulders on a horned base.
A TRIO OF BELL-SHAPED VIRGINS. Primitively carved from heavy wood, set with bone and ivory heads. The three are similarly carved with praying hands, gently spreading bell bodies with bases decorated with low-relief winged angel heads. The polychromed bodies and bases are carved from one piece of wood.

(Photos from The Catholic Digest, c. 1964)

67. DR. RAYMUND F. FELICIANO: Giving Santos Their Best Shot

This exclusive interview series first appeared as SSF Personalan on Semana Santa Filipinas, the biggest online group of santo owners and enthusiasts. It features personalities directly involved in the “santo trade”: ecclesiastical artists, carvers, artisans, encarnadors, painters, lateros, bordadors, costureras, cultural activists and avid santo fans. Today's featured subject is a doctor of medicine with a unique passion. For over two decades now, he has been taking pictures of our Holy Week traditions--santos, religious processions, churches, Lenten exhibits--all over the Islands, from back in the days of analog photography to the age of digital cameras. The result of this lifetime undertaking are thousands and thousands of santo photos compiled in over 70 albums and donated to the Center for Kapampangan Studies of Holy Angel University in Angeles City.


DR. RAYMUND FELICIANO, 43, is a clinical pathologist who currently teaches pathology subjects at St. Luke’s Hospital in Q.C.. A resident of Angeles, his paternal roots are in Mabalacat. Not only are we townmates, but we also discovered we went to the same small high school in the city—Chevalier School (although in my time, it was known as Sacred Heart Seminary). He graduated from the College of Medicine at UST in 1989. Over donuts, coffee and Coke, SSF sat down one afternoon with Dr. Feliciano to talk about his passion for photography, travel, religious processions and our revered Semana Santa traditions.

- - - - - -

Q: DOC, FIRST, ALLOW ME TO THANK YOU FOR COMING OVER ON A WEEK-END TO CHAT WITH ME ON SUCH A VERY SHORT NOTICE. WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. THIS WILL BE A REVELATION TO YOU—BUT DO YOU KNOW, PEOPLE IN CYBERSPACE ARE ACTUALLY FAMILIAR WITH YOUR PHOTOS BECAUSE OVER 500 OF THEM ARE UPLOADED ON 2 FLICKR GROUPS—SEMANA SANTA FILIPINAS AND SANTOS: IMAGE OF FAITH?


DR. F: Well, a flickr member sounded me off that my Holy Week pictures daw are regularly posted on flickr, so I must thank you too for doing that. To be honest, I thought I was alone in my interest for religious processions and Holy Week imageries, so it came quite as a surprise when you showed me the flickr groups and the photo pools that contained my pictures. Ang dami palang santo enthusiasts. Yes, I did read about Semana Santa Filipinas in a recent Inquirer article. Now I have started making friends with complete strangers..

Q: WE ARE OF COURSE, AMAZED AT THE QUANTITY OF SEMANA SANTA PHOTOS YOU HAVE TAKEN AND AMASSED IN DOZENS OF ALBUMS..THE FIRST OBVIOUS QUESTION IS, HOW AND WHEN DID YOU START?


DR.F: I have always been a photography buff. In college, I took photographs which found their way in our school organ. This was in the late 1980s. I was just toting an instamatic camera then.. switched to a standard analog camera. If you noticed, yung earliest albums ko of Pampanga churches, from way back 1987-1989 yun. I wasn’t serious then, mga typical works lang yun of an amateur student photographer..

Q: BUT WHY THE SPECIAL INTEREST IN RELIGIOUS SUBJECTS?

STO. ENTIERRO, Mabalacat, Pampanga

DR.F: Yung earliest recollection ko kasi was going to the Holy Week processions in Mabalacat, hometown ng late father ko. He used to take us there to watch the processions. Kahit konti lang yung mga santo, naaaliw din ako, kasi, puro antiques. Antique images hold some fascination for me. especially when they are in their carrozas..That opened my eyes to the enduring appeal of our religious processions.

Q: WHEN DID YOU START BECOMING SERIOUS IN PURSUING THIS HOBBY?

STO. ENTIERRO, Samal, Bulacan

DR.F: I actually found inspirations from 2 things. Yung una, yung program na “Travel Time”, hosted by Susan Calo-Medina. I watched that program a lot, and got hooked on the interesting places they feature…yung mga provincial scenes. Then, I found this book “Simbahan”, written by Regalado Trota-Jose, which featured a “must-visit” list of different churches in the Philippines. It also had chapters on sacred art like santos, that piqued my interest. It was simply a matter of making my interests converge—travel, santo, photography. So, in 1993, I decided to embark on a yearly pilgrimage to different places, and to capture in pictures the different provincial Holy Week festivities.

AGONY IN THE GARDEN, Polo, Bulacan

Armed with a copy of the “Simbahan” book, I systematically started to cover the 23 towns of Pampanga. I just commuted then, I traveled by jeep, by bus. I took pictures of churches first, often asking permission from the parish priests, o kung wala sila, from their secretaries. They allow me naman to take photos.

LA PIEDAD, Paete, Laguna

After Pampanga, I went to Bulacan, then Laguna. I had to get myself a map as I was unfamiliar with most of the places outside of Pampanga. So, yun yung unang na-cover ko in 1993—Pampanga, Bulacan and Laguna.

TANGGAL SA CRUZ, Malolos, Bulacan

The next year, 1994, I covered the Holy Monday procession in La Union and Ilocos Sur, then I went back south for the Holy Wednesday procession in Dasmarinas, Cavite, and headed home to Pampanga para naman sa Good Friday events.

STA. MAGDALENA, Guiguinto, Bulacan

Q: WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF WHAT YOU HAVE COVERED SO FAR? HOW DO YOU FIND TIME FOR THESE? PLANNING THESE TRIPS MUST BE A LOGISTICAL NIGHTMARE..

DR.F: Down south, I have gone as far as Cebu, Bohol, Iloilo. Up north, I have gone as far as Claveria, Cagayan. My most recent photo trips this year were in Tabaco, Daraga and Legazpi, all in Albay.

CRUCIFIXION, Molo, Iloilo

I have learned to plan these things in advance, so long before Holy Week, may itinerary ako. I have no qualms about riding a plane, at kung walang plane, a boat, or a jeep. Yung mga places to sleep over naman, thank God, wherever I go, may acquaintances at friends naman ako, so I usually get free lodgings..

LA ULTIMA CENA, San Pablo, Laguna

Q: SURELY, YOU MUST HAVE A LOT OF INTERESTING SIDE STORIES TO TELL IN YOUR ANNUAL PHOTO ODYSSEY AROUND THE COUNTRY? CAN YOU SHARE THESE WITH US?

STA. VERONICA, Paranaque

DR.F: Oh, a lot. Halimbawa, I was really excited to see the churches that were featured in Trota’s book, “Simbahan”. Using the book as a guide, I went to visit the pictured churches, but sadly, they are no longer as they used to be. Some of the rich, colonial architecture have been irrevocably altered as in the case of the churches in Moncada, Tarlac. Yung sa Cardona, Rizal also disappointed me. And the one in Jala-Jala. I was also shocked with the way the church in Montalban, Rizal was refurbished, wala ng air of antiquity, except for a couple of santos.

VIRGEN DE LA SOLEDAD, Sta. Ana

I also have observed variances in local Lenten customs. Many practices have been “customized”. For example, yung oras ng prusisyons may vary. In Angeles City, 5 p.m., but in Sta. Ana, it is as late as 8:30 in the evening.

PRUSISYON, Bacoor, Cavite.

Then, there are the quaint Palm Sunday processions in Maragondon, Cavite. All the santos associated with the Passion, including the Resurrected Christ, but excluding the Sto. Entierro, participate in the procession. Same for Polo, Valenzuela in Bulacan. The Church allows only the images of the Dolorosa and the Sto. Entierro on Good Friday, so that’s the only way the other images can come out in processions.

GOOD FRIDAY SANTOS, Valenzuela, Bulacan

In Baliwag, a procession is held during the “Linggo ng Pagpapakasakit”. In Bulacan. Bulacan, there’s a Holy Tuesday procession. In Molo, Iloilo and Cabiao, Nueve Ecija, there a procession is held on Holy Thursday.

SCOURGING AT THE PILLAR, Cabiao, Nueva Ecija

In 1994, I was lucky to have observed and photographed the last complete Bacolor procession. Because the following year, the lahar engulfed the town and the procession fell into disarray.

STA. SALOME, Guagua, Pampanga

Q: WHAT ABOUT THE SANTOS THEMSELVES, WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR INTERESTING OBSERVATIONS ABOUT RELIGIOUS IMAGES FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COUNTRY?

DOLOROSA, Daet, Camarines Sur

DR.F: Oh, so many range of characters and expressions. In Balaoan, La Union, yung mga santos doon—from San Juan Ebanghelista to Sta. Magdalena--, may distinct Chinese features. I have seen smiling Dolorosas. Yung sa Tanay, Rizal, yung Dolorosa doon, gulat and expression. Yung sa Bacolor, halos puti na lang yung nakikita sa mata ng Dolorosa, with her upward gaze.

DOLOROSA, Tanay, Rizal

Identifying santos now has become easier as most of the carrozas come with labels on which is written the santo’s name. I am pretty much familiar with the names of santos and tableaus, although occasionally, I am stumped with the usual Salome-Jacobe-Cleofe mix-up.

RESURRECION, Angono, Rizal

Q: QUICK, GIVE ME 5 PLACES WITH THE BEST-LOOKING SEMANA SANTA IMAGES.

DR.F: One would be Sasmuan, Pampanga with their antique santos and fabulous carrozas. Two, the antique images of the inland towns of Sta. Cruz, Marinduque. Three, the antique santos of Balayan, Batangas. Four, the images of Binan, Laguna. Five, the images of Vigan.

TERCERA CAIDA, Balayan, Batangas

JESUS MEETS HER MOTHER, tabletop tableaux. Binan, Laguna.

CRUCIFIED CHRIST, Vigan, Ilocos Sur

Q: AND YOUR VOTE FOR THE BEST CALANDRA?

DR.F: That has got to be the calandras of Sta. Rita, Bacolor, Sasmuan and Guagua.

SASMUAN CALANDRA, Sasmuan, Pampanga

GUAGUA CALANDRA, Pampanga

Q: BEST DOLOROSA?

DR.F: The Good Friday Dolorosa of Guagua, also those of Vigan, Arayat, Sta. Barbara in Iloilo and Mabalacat.

DOLOROSA, Guagua, Pampanga

DOLOROSA, Arayat, Pampanga

Q: BEST VERONICA?

DR.F: Sta. Cruz, Marinduque, Vigan and Mabalacat’s Veronica.

STA. VERONICA, Mabalacat, Pampanga

Q: BEST SAN JUAN? MAGDALENA? SAN PEDRO?

SAN JUAN, Meycauayan, Bulacan

DR. F: The San Juans of Meycauayan and Daet are my choices. The Magdalena of Meycauayan, Cainta, Arayat and Minalin. The antique Magdalena of Angeles has a one-of-a-kind headdress. For San Pedro, the ones of Lubao and Vigan.

SAN PEDRO, Lubao, Pampanga

Q: FOURTEEN YEARS OF PHOTO DOCUMENTATION AND YOU’RE STILL AT IT. HOW LONG DO YOU PLAN TO DO THIS?

DR. F: For as long as I can. In fact, I have visited some places twice. Though next year, my travels are going to be limited. I have just lost my father this year, and so my available free time will now be dedicated to caring for my mother. Next year, I will limit my trips to nearby provinces. I am looking at visiting and photographing the processions of Capas and Concepcion towns in Tarlac.

LA PIEDAD, Concepcion, Tarlac

Q: AS A PARTING SHOT, ANY MESSAGE TO THE MEMBERS OF SSF AND SIF WHO ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR PHOTOS FROM YOUR ALBUMS?

DR.F: Thanks for the interest in my work. We are like classmates with a common interest for santos and Semana Santa traditions. See you next Holy Week!

STO. ENTIERRO, Albay

Q: WELL, THANK YOU TOO FOR ENTRUSTING YOUR ALBUMS TO THE UNIVERSITY. REST ASSURED THEY WILL REMAIN IN GOOD HANDS SO THAT RESEARCHERS, HISTORIANS AND SANTO ENTHUSIASTS WILL FIND USE FOR THEM AS VALUABLE VISUAL REFERENCES OF OUR HOLY WEEK TRADITIONS FOR HERE AND IN THE FUTURE.