242. IN THE COMPANY OF SPIRITS

FLOY QUINTOS AMONG FRIENDS AT GALLERY DEUS.
Photo by Romy Homillada.

By Alya B. Honasan
yOriginally published in the Artwatch section of OPINION Weekend (OW) Magazine. 

 How did a playwright, writer and director turned his passion into a fulfilling profession? 

 With the blessings of his ‘children.’ 

 Does Floy Quintos tell if a particular bulol or santo, a prime piece of tribal or colonial art, is a good one? “Very Buddhist,” he says in all sincerity.”It’s in the eyes. They should be looking at you, but at the same time,seem like they’re looking beyond you or something deep inside you.”

The award-winning playwright , writer and director is a firm believer in the life force that lives within such cultural antiquities, a force that influences the decisions of this brand new entrepreneur. “It’s this little spirit, a spark of life. It’s the spirituality of the carver and a reflection of how ingrained such spirituality in their lifestyle. You can own a fake, but it doesn’t look at you in the right way.”

 Such a primal sensitivity and a collector’s instinct has helped Quintos amass a formidable trove of tribal and colonial sculpture, textiles and adornments—“small and big things, all authentic”—which he began putting together at the age of 12 when he purchased his first P5.00 santo from a shop in Mabini. “I don’t know why I like them." It was probably just a response to something in his soul.

Those were the years when there was still really great stuff in Manila, when walking into an antique shop was an adventure.” Quintos remembers “making connections with mountain people’ on treks to Sagada, Baguio and Banawe—“something I can’t quite do anymore at 41.” He laughs. “Me? Walk in the fields with a camote stick?”

 Today, the same folks still look him up in Manila when there’s merchandise for sale, and after having learned his slessos buying the ocassional “mega-dud” and reading up on the subject, Quintos has become a discriminating collector who knows what he wants. Friends have long bugged him to open his own shop. Then, serendipitously, Willie Versoza, owner of the pioneering antique shop Likha and a friend of Quintos, announced he was closing shop after the death of his partner, Jean Louis Levi.

Quintos had been doing some thinking. “I realized I had also amassed so much, and I was wondering, am I hoping to be collecting forever?” The rent was good, the building was owned by a friend, and Quintos, while working constantly in the commercial circuit , was looking for something to revive his weary soul. “I figured this was the career break I’ve been looking for.”

 Thus, one month ago, the orange façade and the olive green interiors of Gallery Deus welcomed the public. It was named after the Latin word for “God” which Quintos has always liked for the reference to “the spirit in all of us”.

 He was between projects, fresh from directing Ai-Ai del las Alas’ West Coast concerts and on the way to Phuket to direct a TV show, with just one Sunday to spare.He fixed the shop and made the leap from collector to dealer in one day—a move that was a lot tougher than it seems. “I learned to be not so acquisitive.” Quintos laughs.”I painted the shops, put in the shelves, but I kept procrastinating about the actual move and choosing which ones of my children to put on sale. I’ve kept exactly 6 bulols and 5 santos.”

 Quintos is at his shop from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. when he isn’t doing a show. He is having a field day treating his windows like production numbers. “This week, it’s called the beheading of John the Baptist; next week will be “Horsey-Horsey, Tigidig-tigidig!”

 Seriously,Quintos adds,”I never thought I could do business. Now I’m able to compute, and I guess, like most dealers who love their stuff and don’t look at it as just merchandise, I love to make chika the customers.”

 Consistent with his attitude, he doesn’t hard-sell the items. If a sale doesn’t push though though, Quintos assumes that the piece simply “doesn’t want to go just yet.” As a collector, Quintos is glad that Filipinos are becoming more educated buyers of tribal art, even as the levels of scholarships and appreciation are iconically still higher abroad. “It’s the foreigners who know what’s good and what’s special.”

 On the personal front. Quintos has beenmore discriminating in choosing projects and is making more time to sit back, gain perspective—and write.”I’ve got about 5 plays inside me that need to see the light, and this kind of work is giving me the time and the inspiration..” With a little help from his friends, of course.

241. ANGONO'S SAN CLEMENTE PUTOL

SAN CLEMENTE, patron of Angono fishermen. Also called
"San Clementeng Putol" because the half-bodied santo was meant to be placed
in a pulpit, thus requiring only the upper half of the body to be seen.

The ancient town of Angono, which had its beginnings in 1575,  is famous for its resident artists (Botong Francisco, the Blancos), colorful Gigantes Festival and caves with mysterious petroglyphs. But it is also known for its patron—San Clemente--whose unique, half-body image can be found enshrined in the church located at Poblacion Ibaba.

A legend has it that the image of the pope saint was fished out of Laguna de Bay by  fisherman Justino Villaluz a long time ago. His net caught something heavy as he was fishing for kanduli (catfish), and when he hauled it back to the boat, he was surprised to see a portion of a log caught in the net.

But greater was his awe when he saw, upon closer inspection, that the log was actually a carved bust of a man with a crown—the image of the papal saint of Rome, San Clemente. Because the lower half of the body was presumed missing, it earned the monicker San Clemente Putol (or San Clementeng Matanda). It was only later that Villaluz  learned that the figure was actually carved that way, representing the saint preaching while in a pulpit, which hid the lower part of his body.

From the home of the Villaluzes, the image of San Clemente was taken to the town’s first church on a hill in Biga, constructed in 1751, which had already been dedicated to San Isidro Labrador. A second church at Ibaba was finished in 1854, and it was here that San Clemente was enthroned, amidst protests from Biga townsfolk who laid claim to the image. Hacenderos pacified the displeased residents.

Eventually, a full-bodied replica was made of San Clemente, which is the image brought out for Angono’s colorful and raucous fiesta, held on the saint’s birthday, November 23 ( a second thanksgiving fiesta held every February has long been discontinued).  To differentiate the two San Clementes, the older, half-bodied version is also known today as San Clementeng Matanda.

The fiesta is capped with a procession of ‘gigantes’—giant, paper mache figural creations, representing popular characters—including San Clemente and his family. This Higantes Festival has become inextricably associated with Angono—along with San Clemente who seemingly chose the town himself to be the seat of his papal mission in the Philippines.

WATCH A VIDEO OF THE 2008 HIGANTES FESTIVAL 

OF ANGONO HERE:

The Life of San Clemente

 San Clemente (or St. Clement of Rome) was the Christian world’s 4^th pope. His time was marked with persecutions against Christians, resulting in his deportation to Crimea.There, he ministered among Christian slaves who were forced to work in barren salt mines.  Upon imploring God’s mercy for the slaves, pure, clean water inexplicably flowed from the stones—a miracle that converted many Crimeans.

As a result, Emperor Trajan had St. Clement arrested and put to death. An anchor was tied to his neck and thrown into the Crimean Sea. But angels appeared to retrieve the body of the martyr pope from the sea, which miraculously floated already in a marble tomb, along with his anchor. He died in c. 98.

Iconography and Emblems

The papal saint is represented arrayed in papal vestments, wearing a papal tiara, or more often, a mitre. Emblems and attributes include an anchor on his side, palm of martyrdom, papal staff, keys to heaven (symbols of his papacy).

San Clemente is the patron saint of marble workers, anchor smiths, blacksmiths and seamen. Angono has had a long fishing industry tradition, and at one point was dubbed as  “Imperio ng Kanduli” (Catfish Empire). There, San Clemente is recognized as the patron saint of Angono’s fishermen.

 SOURCES:

"Heritage Discoveries in Angono, Rizal", by Edgar Allan Sembrano, 21 Dec. 1015, Philippine Daily Inquirer

 Various Religious Beliefs and Practices in the Philippines, Vol. 1.

240: Retro-Santo: STA. CLARA DE MONTEFALCO of PASAY

STA. CLARA DE MONTEFALCO OF PASAY, as she looked in
 the 1960s. Note her attributes; cross and balance scale. Souvenir holy card,

Pasay is home to the Sta. Clara Parish Church,--a landmark on P. Burgos St., which was founded in 1864. Installed as the first parish priest was Fray Simeon Betino, OSA, who served for 4 years.

The parish is under the patronage of Sta. Clara, who was born in Montefalco around 1268. Sta. Clara joined the convent of Franciscan tertiaries which founded the Holy Cross Convent at Montefalco in 1290. She rose to become the abbess of the community.

Known for living a very austere life, Sta. Clara had a profound devotion to the Passion of Christ and His Cross. When Clare died in 1308, an image of the Cross was found imprinted on her heart, and her body remained incorrupt. She was canonized in 1881 by Pope Leo XIII. 

ATTRIBUTES OF STA. CLARA: Cross, balance scale and a pierced heart
 are old accessories of the saint. Her halo has been replaced by a radiance. .

The age-old image of Sta. Clara enshrined in the Pasay Church shows the holy woman dressed in her habit, holding her attributes—the cross, in reference to her devotion, and the balance scale—used for weighing or judging the goodness of souls against the word of God.

On her Aug. 17 fiesta, the image of Sta. Clara is paraded, accompanied by rousing  music performed by different invited bands,in a celebration so festive, befitting the saint who continues to be a source of inspiration to the faithful of Pasay.

AWIT KAY STA. CLARA DE MONTEFALCO

(Words & Music by Rev. Fr. Severino G. Casas.

former Asst. Parish Priest, 1962)

Sta. Clara de Montefalco,

Kaisang bituin ng Lunsod ng Pasay

Patrona na aming sinta

Dalagang santa n gaming parokya

Devota siyang tunay sa Santisima Trinidad

At sa pagmamalasakit ng ating Panginoon

O Patronang matulungin, igawad ang iyong awa

Purihin ka at kilalanin ng mga tagarito sa amin

Kami nawa’y patnubayan ng pagsinta mong tunay

Ng kayo’y makapiling hanggang kamatayan,

Hanggang kalwalhatian.

239. The Untouchable: STA. INES of BULACAN, BULACAN

TOUCH HER NOT: The revered antique ivory Sta. Ines of Bulacan, Bulacan.

In a chapel in Bulacan, Bulacan can be found a small, ivory image of the young virgin-martyr, Sta. Ines (St. Agnes of Rome)—venerated by pious Bulakenyos and pilgrims from all over. But with the ardent devotion comes a warning—that the image must never be touched by menfolk in deference to her purity which she kept intact after being subjected to all sorts of torments and abuse. Even priests are no exceptions.

 The ancient ivory image was found by a fisherman from Pariahan who was out looking for a good catch in the sea. The sea was soon enveloped by a thick mist followed by claps of thunder, lightning and a heavy downpour. In the midst of this tempest, the fisherman saw a mysterious glow at the far end of his boat.

When he came nearer to inspect the light, the fisherman was surprised to see the image on a floating basin. He tied the basin to his boat and towed it for home. Upon sighting land, the fisherman attempted to lift the basin with the image and bring it ashore, but he could not even lift it. Other fishermen came to help him, but the basin would not budge. But when the women came to their succor, they handily and easily lifted the image safely to the shore.

 Considering the event as miraculous, the barrio people constructed a “visita” and put it under the patronage of Sta. Ines—a name that was on the book held by her left hand. Eventually, the saint’s name replaced “Pariahan” as the name of the barrio.

 Then and now, the feast of Sta. Ines every 21st of January is marked with days of prayer capped by a procession. In the course of the 9-day novena, the petite Sta. Ines image is dressed indifferent vestments every day.

Twice the image is processioned—in the morning and in the evening—borne on a decorated anda by women, who also heap tributes of songs and poems to their beloved patron in a tradition called “Luante”. 

 To remind uninformed men, signs bearing the warning “Paunawa: Bawal Humawak Ang Mga Lalaki” are placed strategically on the anda, lest misfortune comes—in the form of floods, storms, lightning strikes and other natural calamities.

 The antiquity of the Sta. Ines image can be seen in the fine lines on the ivory face. On her right hand, she holds an olive palm, a symbol of her martyrdom.

The other hand holds a book topped by a primitive lamb, which stands for purity. The story of the saint could be read at the “visita” where she is enshrined.

WATCH "STA. INES SA BULACAN RATED K" 

PART 1 VIDEO HERE:

"STA. INES SA BULACAN RATED K" PART 2

 Sources: 
“Gunita”, by Naning Santos. 
Alfonso, Ian Christopher B. at Rodrigo, Jose Antonio M. 2013, Bulakan: Pag-alaala sa biyaya ng nakaraan -- ikalawang tomo: sining, kalinangan, at mga natatanging anak ng Bulakan, Bulacan. Malolos, Bulacan, Center for Bulacan Studies, Bulacan State University.

238. A SELECTION OF SANTOS FROM PHILIPPINE AUCTION HOUSES, part I

CALVARIO TABLEAU, from the Bautista Collection.
Ivory-headed manikin santos. The corpus of the crucified
Christ is all ivory. Leon Gallery.

The leading art and antique auction houses of the Philippines were both founded 2010, Leon Gallery specializes in museum quality Philippine art--from Old Master paintings to modernist works of notable Filipino artists. It is a;so a purveyor of Philippine antiques, including Hispanic era religious santos, a selection of which are featured here. Salcedo Auctions, on the other hand, is the only auction house in the Philippines to specialize in the sale of fine art, jewelry, decorative arts and collectible accessories by leading local and international artists and artisans. Occasionally, the auction house also carries fine santos in its offerings.

SOLEDAD DE PORTA VAGA. Representation of the
Cavite image of the virgin of solitude. Ivory head and hands.
The assemblage is encased in a shadowbox. Leon Gallery.

SAN NICOLAS DE TOLENTINO. Large wood and ivory
head of the preacher saint, Leon Gallery.

SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA. Antique ivory
 head of the Franciscan saint. Leon Gallery.

VIRGEN MARIA Y NINO.
Madonna and child ivory santos
inside a  virina. Salcedo Auctions.

MATER DOLOROSA. The dolorous virgin, ivory head
and hands. Bastidor body.Leon Gallery.

CRUCIFIJO. Crucifix with the body of Christ\
 in ivory. Silver accessories. With original virina.

All photos from past Leon Gallery and Salcedo Auctions catalogs.

237. THE HOLY VIRGIN OF INSTANT MERCY, by Gene Cabrera

Originally published on Free Press, 
12 December 1953, pp. 59-61 

Pulilan is a town in Bulacan some 46 kilometers north of Manila. San Francisco is a small barrio of Pulilan.

Every first Sunday of Lent, throusands flock to San Francisco. From Pampanga, from Nueva Ecija, and provinces farther north come the celebrants. Manila faces are to be seen. They come to celebrate the feast of “Mahal na Birhen ng Biglwang-Awa”, that is “the Holy Virgin of Instant Mercy”.

The Biglang-Awa Virgin is an oil painting about 12 inches wide and 16 inches long. It is brought down from a small wooden house, then placed on an altar. People, young and old, kneel around the altar, praying.You can see the crippled, the sick, the blind, the pregnant women, the desperate. Another group sit in front of the kubol reading the Book of the Passion.

The procession starts. The Virgin is mounted o a small carriage. The devotees and a band follow. After the procession—the feast begins. All the food is contributed by people who believe in the Virgin. There are sacks of rice. Nearly everybody eats from banana leaves. A big plate is passed around. People give money. This happens every year in barrio San Francisco. Not even the Japanese occupation stopped the feast of the Biglang-Awa Virgin.

This is the story of the”Mahal na Birhen ng Biglang Awa", according to Claro Plamenco, whose family takes care of the image.

 “Legend says that the painting as found many, many years ago. It happened like this. A group of Chinese were sailing in a big boat. Suddenly, a sharp object pierced the bottom of the boat,making a big hole through which the water gushed. Then the Chinese looked up to heaven and cried, “ Biglang-Awa! Biglang-Awa!” (Instant Mercy, Instant Mercy!). And the image appeared from nowhere, sealed the hole in the boat and saved the lives of the Chinese. Hence the name “Mahal na Birheng Biglang-Awa” or Holy Virgin of Instant Mercy.

 “Mang Claro,” I interrupted, “ you said that the Biglang-Awa Virgin is miraculous. Now what miracles can you tell me that the Virgin has performed?”

 Mang Claro told me about the old woman who came all the way from Gapan, Nueva Ecija. The woman was afflicted with a dreadful disease. She said that the Virgin appeared to her one night in her faraway town. She prayed in front of the Virgin. She rubbed her body with the coconut oil from the lamp of the Virgin’s altar. Then, she took a bath at a nearby well.

 “Did the sick, old woman get well afterward?,”I asked Mang Claro. 
“Oh yes!”, Mang Claro said.
 “Has the Virgin performed miracles for your family?”

 Mang Claro said that his children slept in the room where the lighted altar of the Virgin stood. That his children were constantly awakened at night by the “knocking” of the Virgin. Whenever the light of the small oil lamp was put out by a gust of wind---the Virgin “knocked”. The Virgin kept on knocking until one of Mang Claro’s children got up and lighted the lamp again. The Plamenco children testified to this “miracle”.

 The image is painted on the surface of thin wood. The Virgin’s head has a crown of gold and is circled by eight small, shining stars.She holds on her right knee the Holy Infant. The edge of the Virgin’s mantle has a wide line of gold paint. TheVirgin and the Child are between two lighted candles. In the distance are Spanish galleons of old. The brush strokes are fine, the colors well-blended. Hues of red and brown dominate the painting with touches of flesh ochre.The paint is cracked, a sign of age. The artist? I could not find his signature.

 On November 3, this year, I went to Bambang, Pasig, Rizal. There, I found the owner of the Biglang-Awa Virgin. He is 52-year-old Pedro Joson. I confronted him with the declaration of Plamenco about the Virgin and her miracles. Joson denied the miracles.

 “I do not know of any miracles. Ask the people of San Francisco.”
 “Is it true that the left-overs after the feast of the Virgin, the food and the sacks of rice, go to you and your family?”

 Joson admitted this but defended himself by saying, that as the owner of the Virgin, he was entitled to certain privileges.

 “Look at me. Look at my family. Look at my house. We are poor. Many people made money selling images of the Lady Mediatrix of Lipa City.Many people are making money selling images of Our Lady of Perpetual Help of Baclaran. Me? I will never commercialize the image of the Holy Virgin of Instant Mercy. I would be rich if I did so. I am still a low-paid government laborer. I have seven mouths to feed.”

 The Virgin gives him food.
That’s enough.

236. Santo Stories: SAGRADO CORAZON DE JESUS y STA. MARGARITA MARIA ALACOQUE of the Dela Cruz Family

The city of Mabalacat in Pampanga resides an antique devotional tableau rarely seen in private homes. The two-figure tableau depicts the apparition of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Beginning on 27 December 1673, St. Margaret Mary received private revelations of the Sacred Heart.

 The images were inspired by this divine vision that has been traditionally visualized in old holy cards showing the French nun, Margaret Mary, kneeling in front of Jesus Christ exposing his heart.

 They were commissioned by the couple Vicente dela Cruz (b.9 Sep. 1888) and wife, Felipa Lim, prominent sugar planters and entrepreneurs, who own one of the largest residences in the city—complete with a high tower.

 The de la Cruzes have always had a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but they chose to include the image of the visionary nun, St. Margaret Mary.

The lifesize statues possibly date from the late to early 30s, and they have a gothic feel in the way the images were carved. Many miracles have been attributed to these images.

During the War, the tower house of the Dela Cruzes was commandeered by Japanese military leaders and transformed it into their headquarters. At  the time of the Liberation, when the Japanese learned that the Americans were coming to take back Mabalacat, they threaten to burn the house as well as the whole town.

The Dela Cruz household prayed and invoked the name of the Sacred Heart to deliver the house from fire. As it turned out, the enemy forces fled the town in panic, leaving the house unscathed. In more recent times, when the heavy roof of the tower was blown off by a typhoon, it fell on a vacant spot on the yard, safely away from nearby apartments and houses around the mansion.

 The Dela Cruz heirs continue to lend the images to the Church of the Divine Grace for the annual feast of the Sacred Heart, where it is processioned on its own carroza.