the Easter Sunday Sugat at Sta Fe, Bantayan

a Lenten Special

To most people, the happiest Christian holiday is Christmas. Perhaps but not quite. In Catholic orthodoxy, it really is Easter, the day when the promise of salvation is fulfilled and Christ came back from the dead. This day is greeted by mirth and merriment befitting the culmination of the promise of the forgiveness of sin and the acceptance into heaven.


the sugat at Sta Fe, Bantayan was participated by people of all ages


In the Philippines, a grand tradition continues to this day in celebration of Easter. Performed in the wee hours of Easter Sunday morning is Salubong or Sugat in the Cebuano-speaking regions. This pre-dawn ritual, as its name suggests, is a depiction of the imagined meeting of the Risen Christ's with Mary, His mother.


costumed dancers performed before the meeting of the two processions


The occasion is not just a spectator event as the community participates by joining two separate processions. The statues of the Risen Christ and select Apostles (the identities can vary by location) are led by menfolk and the icons of the ladies led by Virgin Mary are ushered by the women. The two solemn parades often converge in a specially prepared meeting place or sugatanan usually in the churchyard.


a passion play preceded the convergence of the two processions



the statue of the Risen Christ led by men making its way into the church while the passion play was winding up


Some communities would hold a short play of the Passion, from Christ’s conviction through Crucifixion to the burial of His dead body in a cave guarded by Roman soldiers. The The part where the missing body is discovered missing in Easter morning by Mary Magdalene and Mary of Cleophas is timed when the two processions shall arrive. Usually, the two parties are separated by an arch or by a curtain.


a giant white curtain cordoned the main street of Sta Fe in front of the church for the sugat processions


The climax occurs when a tiny girl dressed as an angel is lowered by ropes from a high platform to lift the mourning veil of the grieving Mother. Then the celebration of Easter begins and church bells are rung, alleluias are sung, the icons are brought inside the church and the mass is celebrated.


the Risend Christ being brought before the sugatanan



the parted curtain showed the meeting of Christ and Mother Mary (note the unopened false ceiling at the arch)


In the Philippines, the more famous salubong plays are performed in the provinces of Cebu, Rizal, Naga, Pampanga, Bataan and Marinduque. Easily the most grand of Cebu’s sugat presentations is in Minglanilla where numerous girls are suspended in mechanical contraptions.


the false ceiling parted while a girl angel was lowered down by rope harness



the angel lifts the black veil to signify the end of mourning


I have not yet witnessed the Minglanilla kabanhawan (resurrection) festival but almost every town has their own version albeit in a smaller scale. The photographs here are the ones I took in town of Sta Fe, Bantayan Island. Their affair was down to earth, subdued and intimate but no less sincere in declaring the joy that is Easter.


the Virgin Mary revealed



the celebration began after the veil was lifted


Happy Easter everyone!

Good Friday: the Siete Palabras

a Lenten Special

When I was growing up in the 80s, there was no cable TV at home to keep us company during the Holy Week. The state of solitude pervades most during Good Friday when regular free TV and FM radio would sign off. Being raised in a conservative Catholic household, we would not be allowed to go out either. Not there would be any open destination anyway as there were no malls yet and all commercial establishments would shut their doors during this holy day. The idea of spending the Holy Week outside of home was unheard of either, if not outright taboo.

What was left for us was join in the religious rites- the via crucis, the mass services, confession and the solemn processions. On Good Friday, the day that Jesus died on the cross, there too is the popular series of oratories of the Seven Last Words, or Siete Palabras in our vernacular, which is read in the leadup to 3PM. As kids, we were excused and did not have to go to church – Lent falls on the dead of summer in the Philippines so the heat and humidity can be unbearable – but our parents would have us tune in to the AM radio.

As an homage to the age old tradition of the Seven Last Words, here are photographic depictions of Christ’s crucifixion.


Bantayan, Cebu, the Philippines
I. Amahon Ko, pasayloa sila kay wala sila nakahibalo sa ilang gibuhat. Father forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34)



San Pedro Cathedral, Davao City, the Philippines
II. Karon, magauban ka Kanako sa Paraiso. Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43)



Museo San Pablo, St Paul's Cathedral, Vigan, Ilocos Sur
III. Babaye, ania ang imong anak. Anak, ania ang Imong inahan. Woman, behold your son: behold your mother (John 19:26-27)



an ebony cross from Tanzania, at home in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, the Philippines
IV. Diyos Ko, Diyos Ko, Nganong gibiyaan mo Ako. Eli Eli lama sabachthani? ("My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?", Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34)



the Church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar, Sibonga, Cebu, the Philippines
V. Giuhaw Ako. I thirst (John 19:28)



Nuestra Señora de Patrocinio de Maria Church, Boljoon, Cebu, the Philippines
VI. Nahuman na. It is finished (John 19:30)



Salvador Dali's Crucifixion at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, uptown Manhattan, New York, the US
VII. Amahan Ko, sa Imong mga kamot, itugyan Ko ang Akong Kalag. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (Luke 23:46)

Madridejos- the other procession in Bantayan

In Cebu and perhaps in Central Visayas, the most grand and most famous is arguably the Holy Friday procession of Bantayan in the island of the same name. It is not just the spectacular ostentation – carrozas as tall as 25-feet are more like floats than processional carts – but the religious images are mostly ivory antiques that are more than a hundred year old.


Veronica in the afternoon of Holy Thursday before the procession, Madridejos, Bantayan Island, Cebu, the Philippines


But when we found ourselves in Bantayan Island on Holy Thursday of 2006, we chose to go up north to the much smaller town of Madridejos, a place so sleepy where everyone seem to still know their neighbors by name.



Veronica during the procession at night


We went to Madridejos by personal invitations of several colleagues of the University of San Carlos Chemistry Department where I used to teach. Having arrived early, a whole carload of us went around the houses of our friends who were all busy with the preparations. The traditional days of procession in Madridejos, as well as just about every other town in the Philippines, are Maundy Thursday, when the Passion of Christ are featured, and Good Friday, when tableaux of Christ’s death and burial take their turn.


Nicodemus


The town’s most revered santos is also its oldest- the Holy Body of Christ of the Locaylocay family. Carved in the early 1900s, the Santo Entierro (the Holy Burial) is the centerpiece of Good Friday parade.


the Santo Entierro, as it was prepped up at the Locaylocay ancestral house


Part of the lore of the image is that once removed from storage, it attracts flies. The bugs were certainly over the “wounds” of the image during our visit. The chemists in us proffered several explanations but they mattered little. To this day, townsfolks, believing in its miraculous power, still place prayers, petitions, fish nets, books and any items they wished to be blessed on the 15 foot 4-tier pagoda-like carroza during the procession.


the Santo Entierro of the Locaylocay family, Madridejos, Bantayan Island, Cebu


The Locaylocays are a family of chemists. Our hostess, Ma’am Joy, is the former chair of the Chemistry Department and I, my wife and my brother are her students. Her two sons are also chemists, the eldest of whom married a chemist. Something in chemistry seems to promote inbreeding.


Santa Marta of the Locaylocay family, as it stands in their ancestral house’s dining room


Another chemist friend, Eugene Bacolod, also maintains a recently commissioned tableau, the Kiss of Judas. He took us around the town and gave us a front seat view of the proceedings of the procession.


the Kiss of Judas (Hawok ni Hudas) of the Bacolod family



the Kiss of Judas during the Holy Thursday procession


Compared to the flashy carrozas of Bantayan, the presentations in Madridejos were more spare. Decorations were simple and lighting was subdued. There were hardly any tourists. The parade was intimate and attended mostly by local folks.


roses and azucenas imported from Cebu mainland (Bantayan is relatively parched and too dry for raising flowers)


The solemnity of the procession shone stark and strong in Madridejos. It still rings clear to this day I hear.


Pontius Pilate washing his hands (Ang paghugas sa kamot ni Pontius Pilato)

Take me back to Mambacayao- part 2

Probably one of Cebu’s biggest tourism draws, especially to the young set from students out in a break to backpackers looking for some “happenings”, is the island of Bantayan. During Lent, the island’s beaches in Sta Fe are literally swarmed with tents, hammocks and sleeping bags.


Mambacayao is politically part of the more populated island of Lipayran, which can be seen here
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/1250s, f/7.1, 18mm, ISO 100, -1/3EV


Getting to Bantayan is fairly easy. By car or by bus, one needs to travel some 108 kilometers from Cebu City to the port of Hagnaya in San Remigio town and then catch the ferry to Sta. Fe. There are about 5 trips per day, starting at 7:30AM, with the last trip at around 6:30PM. Others prefer the traditional “slow” boat which leaves the Cebu pier at around 9PM and arrives at Sta Fe early in the morning (schedule is 3x a week).


the fine sand of Mambucayao shifts in position with the tide and the season
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/1000s, f/9.0, 18mm, ISO 100


I can tell you however that the lure of the sea, sand and sun need not stop at Bantayan. A bit farther from the tourism bustle are 20 more islets, some of which are tropical gems. These islands spill 8 kilometers westwards into Negros. With names like Doong, Lipayran, Hilotongan and Bantigue, most of these islands can even be explored from main island by foot at low tide.

As coralline atolls go, these islands are bedecked with beaches of powdery white sand that sink to the tread, fringed with ubiquitous coconut trees and surrounded by pristine aquamarine waters. If I were to recommend just one islet, there can only be one answer: Mambacayao.


children are seen here frolicking in a pocket beach in Mambucayao
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/1250s, f/7.1, 18mm, ISO 100, -2/3EV


Visiting Mambacayao is another thing. The more common route is catching the regular boats from Bantayan to Lipayran, which is the more populated island just northeast of Mamacayao. There are probably some boat trips between the two islets and hiring a small boat should be easy and cheaper than if you charter a boat straight from Bantayan. I was lucky as I went there on business, so we arranged for a fishing boat from Hagnaya to take us straight to Lipayran, which took us about an hour and set us off some $100.


big fishing boats cannot enter the shallow shoal of Mambucayao so we had to get a smaller boat from Lipayran
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/2500s, f/4.0, 18mm, ISO 100


Mambacayao folks are friendly. There are no hostels but homestays can easily be arranged. People are quite hospitable and I suggest approaching the Mabugat family for assistance. They are the biggest landowners and count the famous jazz Filipina singer Vernie Varga as a family member.


beyond the seaweed farms is Mambacayao “gamay” or “small” Mambacayao, which is nearest to Negros (in the map it seems to be named “Yao”)
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/640s, f/5.6, 18mm, ISO 100, -1/3EV


I assume that there must be less than 100 homes in the islet. It can be explored quickly by foot in less than an hour although the rocky outcrops at the southend are not easy climbs. Pockets of beaches are all around. The sand generally shifts by season but wherever the boats dock, that is where the larger mound settles for that moment and where you probably would want to be.


around the dock of Mambacayao, the waters are so clear that you can see the farm lines of seaweed below
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/1000s, f/5.6, 18mm, ISO 100, +1/3EV


Unsurprisingly, the people live off the sea. Made here are the famous danggit dried fishes and probably some guinamos, the notoriously odorous fermented anchovies. Nowadays, the more popular means of livelihood is seaweed farming. Environmentally friendly, expandable and marketable, this form of mariculture has caught a lot of favor.


a seaweed farmer tending his farm at Mambacayao
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/2000s, f/5.6, 38mm, ISO 100, -1/3EV


I get to see so much of the Philippines with my travels and having been around, I don’t easily get awed. But for sheer beauty of its shifting sandy beach, clarity of the waters and health of its marine life, Mambacayao is a place to watch.


the moderate depth of the waters around the island give to hues that are blue green
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/1000s, f/5.6, 18mm, ISO 100, -1/3EV


I’ll be back there soon enough.


there’s more of the Bantayan islands in Mambacayao (part 1) and (part 2)

Philippine Summer Destinations, part 3

Is there cause for alarm? Early weather forecasts report that in the Philippines, La Nina has started and that it will extend into mid-2009. And everyone, me included, are so looking forward to summer. The predictability of sunshine I’ve craved most of all after a long protracted rainy season that seems to have stretched endlessly since last May.

But weather is fickle. Perhaps enough fervent prayers and eggs offered to the Carmelites would make the heavens break into a warm sun-shiny smile.

To continue on my series of choice summer destinations, I offer three more special places that I truly would not mind going back for seconds. Or thirds.


Saud Beach, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

So you’ve traveled more than 550km from Manila to visit Ilocos for a tour of its numerous UNESCO World heritage sites of Vigan and the churches of Paoay and Sta Maria. Thinking of a beach to spend some downtime? Then top on the shortlist should be Saud Beach in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. The lagoon is vast, the sand is powdery, waters are crystal clean and the surrounding capes are a killer view (enjoy the famous Bangui windmills at the southend!). Several resorts already dot the area to make your stay comfortable and provide snorkeling, surfing and boating recreation. Still, the best part is Saud’s hugging silence far from the madding crown.

fishermen mending nets at Saud Beach, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, the Philippines


Santa Fe, Bantayan Island, Cebu

Every Holy Week, the young and the hip trek to Bantayan Island in Cebu as if they were pilgrims to holy land. For some five days, the beach of Sta Fe is transformed to one giant fiesta place where tent cities sprout, concerts erupt and parties collide. Irreverent to the abstinent call of Lent? Definitely. You can even eat pork freely, thanks to a unique 19th century papal dispensation. But once you set foot on the fine powdery white sand, immerse in the cool blue waters, and zone out from the chattering din, you too can be a convert. Otherwise, you just make a vow to come back some other time to revel in the real rustic and peaceful Bantayan.


that’s me and my wife, with my mom at the center and my two good friends Gary and Nitzi, the Holy Week of 2006 at Sta Fe, Bantayan Island, Cebu, the Philippines
Canon EOS 350D, 1/60s, f/8.0, 18mm, ISO 100, +1.0EV



a girl at the Sta Fe, Bantayan Island, Cebu, the Philippines
Canon EOS 350D, 1/100s, f/13, 110mm, ISO 100


Dakak Resort, Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte

Tucked in Zamboanga del Norte in Northwestern Mindanao is the resort of Dakak. While Dakak may not be as stellar as it once was in the 1990s during my first visit – it once hosted a party for the 1994 Miss Universe beauty pageant – the location of the resort is difficult to beat. Boasting about 15 hectares of woodland, thickets, karst hills and springs, Dakak seamlessly integrated its cottages in the gentle slopes of the hills surrounding a stunning lagoon with a 750 meter arc of a beach with white powder-fine sand. For it is 9 kilometers away from the city of Dapitan, Dakak is practically a world of its own, with restaurants, water sports, world class diving spots and stores.


sunrise at Dakak, Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte, the Philippines

part of an ongoing series on Philippine summer destinations:
part 1 - Alegre (Cebu), Pandanon Island (Bohol), Siquijor Island
part 2 (the isolation series) - the sandbar of Bais (Negros Oriental), Inampulugan Island (Guimaras), Mambucal (Negros Occidental)
part 3 - (Pagudpud, Bantayan, Dakak)

Take me back to Mambacayao, Bantayan- part 1

Four and a half hours of land and sea travel were no mean task by any account. We had to wake up early so that we could leave the big city (Cebu) by 6AM. Hagnaya, San Remigio, our takeoff point, was about 110 km away so starting at the break of the day would allow us to skip the heavy morning traffic.


the vast beach of shifting sand of Mambucayao Island, Bantayan, Cebu, the Philippines
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/3200s, f/5.0, 18mm, ISO 100, -1/3EV


At a private port, we hired fishing boat to take us to the southwestern islands of Bantayan. The boat was a large hulk but it sliced through the waters effortlessly. The weather, after a week of stormy conditions, was perfect – no sign of rain, no whirling winds, only terrific sunshine. You hardly could tell that the day before, rains were so strong we had to cancel the trip to the seaweed farm.


farmers planting seaweed at Mambucayao Island, Bantayan, Cebu
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/2500s, f/5.6, 45mm, ISO 100, -1/3EV


I’ve been to Bantayan before but our destination were the smaller islets way out southwest, nearer to Negros Occidental than to Bantayan. Far from easy transport and totally unheard of in the urban world of Cebu, the islands are tiny specks in the middle of Visayan sea, with sandy white beaches, coconut-fringed coves and clear lagoons.


the north shore of Mambucayao Island, Bantayan, Cebu
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/1600s, f/7.1, 18mm, ISO 100, -1/3EV


One island stands out. Its name is Mambacayao.


Mambucayao Island, Bantayan, Cebu
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/800s, f/9.0, 18mm, ISO 100


there’s more of the Bantayan islands in Mambacayao (part 1) and (part 2)

sunset photography at Madridejos

Having found ourselves one afternoon in Madridejos, a sleepy town in the island of Bantayan in Cebu, we took to Kota Park, famed for its sunset.

Facing Iloilo over the Visayan Sea, at times, the place is not exactly swimmer-friendly because of the whipping current but the beach has a baywalk promenade and a walkway which juts far out from the coast. At the end of the pier, a few hundred meters further into the sea, is a popular lighthouse accessible only by foot. Fortuitously it was low tide during our visit so we were able to walk towards the lighthouse and stake a spot for some sunset photography.


the exposed coastal floor by the lighthouse
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/800s, f/5.6, 24mm, ISO 100


That day, I decided to zero in on one boat.

I first took a wide shot. I saw that far in the deep, the current stirred the sea and shimmered against the late afternoon sun. The interrupted waters presented a fine photographic contrast against the unperturbed and calm horizontally streaked foreground. The boat was an ideal focal point for the composition I wanted.

This was 5:10PM.


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/2000s, f/5, 95mm, ISO 100, -1.0 EV


Some 40 minutes later, at 5:49PM, the sun finally came down, fast. Using a telephoto lens this time, I zoomed in on the boat. I tried to crisscross the horizon with the mast and the beam of the sail in one single point but this was easier said than done. Still, I achieved the angle I wanted and waited for the sun to drop almost exactly at the spot where I wanted it to be.


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/100s, f/5.6, 300mm, ISO 100, -2/3 EV


And as slow and unhurried as the sun was at the time when I was waiting for the sunset, it sank down rapidly when I wanted more.

Not everything can be aligned in photography, but I liked the shots I got. Nothing can really be perfect anyway.

the Glimpse, part 2

(continued from The Glimpse part 1)

There are two exhibits being displayed this week at Parkmall in Mandaue City. One is by Images, Cebu’s oldest camera club. The other one is by our group, which being basically a nameless aggrupation of photographers, was, by a funny twist of fate, dubbed by the Park Mall as “Cebu’s Top Photographers”. The tag, which probably and unwittingly would raise other photographers’ eyebrows, made me smile.




The exhibit runs from Nov 15 to Nov 21, and sits at the south entrance of the mall (the one facing the direction of SM Cebu). Each of us contributed 8 pictures that are in 12x18” full color prints.


My daughter Cacing seems to have made her choice as to which is her favorite (the one she can reach! LOL)


I don’t do this often but for posterity, here is my mugshot taken by my wife

For those who could not come, here are the 8 photos I chose. As a challenge to me, I picked out photographs which had no or little post-processing. All are uncropped and corrections were mostly on some sharpening and lightening.


Damgo, the Good Friday procession in Bantayan Island, Cebu
I am afraid this is fast becoming my staple, the number one photo that I would pimp. This has to be my best photo yet and has garnered 1st place in the nightscapes competition of Canon’s SMILES photocontest in the Philippines last year.


incantation, Ta Prohm temple, Siem Reap, Cambodia
I submitted the original unedited version. No post-processing is necessary.



Tirta Empul, Tampaksiring, Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia
Of my countless Bali pictures, this must be one of my best as it has an emotional punch. Technically, this also was difficult to achieve (natural lighting, timing, positioning, the unchoreographed worshippers). The only postprocessing was some lightening and color correction.



after 6 months, Zanzibar, Tanzania
The picture continues to haunt me: a gorgeous beach with a scene showing abject poverty. The woman was harvesting coconut husks she buried for 6 months. The softened coir is sold for a mere handful of dollars as mattress fill. This has no editing save for the removal of spots (sensor dust).



row, Mekong Delta, Vietnam
This was a risky shot as I had to stand on my feet, trying to maintain the balance of the small boat I was on. I only saturated the colors to bring out the brown hue of the river.



breathless, Ramena Beach, Antsiranana (Diego Suarez), Madagascar
After “Damgo” (above) which has >1,100 favorites in flickr, this comes second with >800. The pure unbridled joy on the children’s faces was priceless. I lightened the color to bring out the details of their smiles.



imbang, Sukawati, Bali, Indonesia
This is special as I took this the day after our wedding in Bali. My wife and I led the tour of some 50 guests when our car was interrupted by a procession. The photo was sharpened.



Bantimurung, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
This is not color-corrected in any way. I only lightened the photo. The orange tint came from incandescent lighting which contrasted sharply with the bluish tint of the fluorescent lamps on the waterfalls. Early dusk provided the rest of the effect.