Exploring Philippines 75 - Marinduque (Post 10 - Moriones Festival )

That morning, I had no idea what kind of station of the cross I will be expecting from this part of Marinduque.  I thought that I'll just confine myself in a particular corner taking pictures.  But the moment it started, I just found myself following the event and we basically walked the roads of the entire town of Boac.

After the first fall, the next turn of the road is an ascending slope.  All of a sudden, everybody began to shout.  We were caught by surprise when every participant of the parade began to ran.  And just like the flock of birds and the school of fish, the behavior of one tends to influence the action of others.  With the sudden frenzy, we were running likewise.  The reason behind the rush was to gain momentum in climbing the slope.  A slow walk would exhaust the actors before reaching the flat part of the road. So, they need to ran in order to hasten the pace.

For the whole duration of the station of the cross, I must say that they were able to successfully mimic what is being observe as part of the tradition of the Catholic community.  The fall, the meeting with his mother, the wiping of his face, etc.  The performance and the execution were dramatic and convincing.  If you are a tourist here, then, the station of the cross is the one thing that you should not miss.

Some times, even with the most rehearsed and well-prepared show, there are some glitches that are inevitable.  During the turn over of the cross to "Simon" when "Jesus" can no longer carry it, the Morions need to fix the cross first because apparently one of nails had been detached when the cross experienced several hard fall to the ground.  Another instance would be fixing the appearance of the lead actor because he was perspiring heavily and he needed some retouch on his facial makeup.  And for several occasions, due to the intense heat of the sun and the intensity of the parade, buying some breather under the shades of trees put the parade to a halt for the much needed rest.

After reaching the house of Tin which is a couple of blocks away from the town's plaza, I opted to stay. Though my experience was somehow incomplete, the process of following the station of the cross that morning was tiring and exhausting.  Besides, my stomach was literally empty the whole morning and I don't know if I can still afford to last the whole morning until the end of the station of the cross.