It was Good Friday and I preferred to stay in Manila
because of some anticipated activities the following week. Though I wanted a getaway somewhere far away
from the city, I was obliged to stay.
Anyway, I took the opportunity to invite some friends who share the same
passion for a possible photowalk. Our
target destination would be at Balut, Tondo.
I have been looking forward for this moment to visit this
place during the holy week. Last year, I
missed the chance to cover the tradition of the locals in this part of
Tondo. This time would be a perfect
opportunity for me to realize that dream.
I invited several friends who are into photography but come
d-day, only Jay showed up. Our call time
was before 7am but since we woke up late, Jay was able to pick me up at my
place at around 9am. Though I knew that
time was not on our side, we still pushed through, hoping that we will have
even a glimpse of the said tradition.
Though I am not familiar of the place and only saw that one
on tv, a friend oriented me for some possible routes. We planned to take a jeepney ride going to
that place and before 7am would be a great time to start our exploration,
giving us enough time to make several jeepney transfers and if ever we will be
lost we will still have enough time to ask and move around. Later on, we found out that the Divisoria
route is the easiest and shortest of them all.
Anyway, since we were out of time, a taxi ride was the best
option. I tried asking the driver if he
is familiar of the place because we could no longer afford getting lost. He was a bit unsure of his answer though he
would be trying his best to get us there.
I understand his situation that time because passengers come holy week
are rare in the city and even if he was unsure, he managed to find the
way. We were almost on the vicinity when
he told us that he was no longer sure if we were on the right place. I did not argue with him anymore. I immediately paid him our fare and we got off from the taxi
right away. We were in unfamiliar territory
and since it was holy week, there were only few people and jeepneys on the
road. Our last recourse was to ask
someone for some possible directions.
And we were delighted because we were only several meters away from the
place.
We rode the incoming jeepney towards the barangay where the
people of Balut, Tondo observe their tradition.
The passengers were helpful when we tried to ask about the said place
and event. Little did we knew that after
a couple of minutes, we were already approaching the place. And right after alighting the jeepney, a
group of locals who were in penance were occupying the whole road and they were
making their way towards the chapel.
Before we could prepare for a decent shot, the procession was already
through and the participants were already inside the chapel for their final
act. We ended up taking pictures of
whatever situation at the aftermath of the procession. I was disheartened because we lost the prized
opportunity. An epic fail it was.
I was not happy of the situation. I asked some people around if there were
still groups who were doing their penance and they directed us to Barangay San
Rafael. We made no haste and walked
towards Simeon de Jesus street. On the gate of the said barangay, another group
portrayed the station of the cross of Jesus but since it was not new to me, I
asked a pedicab driver if there were still groups in the area who were doing
the penance thing. As seen on tv, there
are two barangays that host the said event and we rode a pedicab towards the
place. It took us several minutes before
getting there. When we got there, all
those who participated in the event were already taking a bath at a public
water pump in a street corner. They were
already cleaning themselves.
The pedicab driver hurriedly took us to the next barangay
but since it was already late in the morning, past 9am that was, the locals
were already cleaning the street after their observation of the tradition. We saw the participants along the street who
were already fully clothed and soaked in water after cleaning themselves. It was another sorry sight for us. I guess next year would be the only remedy
for this failure and we learned our hard lesson. Be there as early as possible or you’ll be
sorry.
Well, we felt sorry for the lost opportunity. It was indeed an epic fail for the second
time. The two barangays have a good
number of participants in the yearly penance and they are always part of the
coverage of the local news. Witnessing
first hand those who observe and participate in this yearly tradition among the
locals here would mean another experience to behold. And with the awful moment, we returned to the
San Rafael chapel along the main road in H. Lopez.
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