Friday, November 30, 2007 On the Trail of Santo Enthusiasts
MEMBERS of Semana Santa Filipinas (SSF), an online flick group of santo enthusiasts, recently went on a heritage trip to Pampanga, in a tour called "Visita Pampanga." Not even the threat of super typhoon Mina could dampen the enthusiasm of 40 SSF members, some of whom came all the way from Laguna, Cavite, Quezon City, Marikina, Bulacan and Pampanga.
Bound by a common interest for devotional santos, religious tradition and church heritage, the motley group that included professionals, students, architects, engineers, cultural activists and even a doctor-photographer converged last November 24 at the Center for Kapampangan Studies (CKS) of Holy Angel University, the starting point of their Visita Pampanga.
The visit began with a quick tour of CKS, led by tour guides and SSF members Arwin Paul Lingat and Fray Francis Musni. At the audio video room, CKS director Robby Tantingco welcomed the members and gave a short talk about the current state of the Pampanga's vanishing religious material heritage, caused by Man and Nature, and the Center's role in preserving what is left and recording what has been lost. This was followed by a viewing of "Mal A Aldo", a short documentary on the rich and unique Lenten traditions of the province.
The group also visited the chapel that housed the antique image of the Holy Angel (El Angel Custodio), commissioned by the founder of Angeles in 1830, Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda, and now under the care of the Nepomuceno heirs.
From the university, the group visited the Sto. Rosario Church in the city's historic district. Here, aside from surveying the age-old ecclesiastical art of the church, the group was also lucky enough to watch a rare ordination rite.
The afternoon schedule saw the group going to San Fernando for an exclusive tour of the Archdiocese Museum of San Fernando. Msgr. Gene Reyes, current museum curator, personally welcomed the group, giving a short background on the origins of the museum, the repository of the best examples of church art in Pampanga.
The group toured the second and third floor museum levels, but it was the ecclesiastical arts section that stirred the group's interest, what with rare centuries-old ivory pieces, sanctuary gold and silver, altar vessels, sacred vestments, paintings on display.
The group then visited the residence of Pampanga's premier ecclesiastical artist and restorer, Mr. Tom Joven, who showed the beautiful image of Bacolor's Virgen de La Naval still on its magnificently carroza, decorated with traditional paper flowers.
The next stop was the half-buried San Guillermo Church of Bacolor, where Mr. Joven personally annotated the tour, starting with the museum, followed by a viewing of the three recently-restored retablos and santos of the church, all done by Kapampangan craftsmen under his expert supervision.
Betis was the last stop of the SSF group, with a tour of the 18th c. Santiago de Galicia Church, Pampanga's answer to the Sistine Chapel.
Here, everyone was awed at the painted ceilings of the Augustinian-built church, depicting Biblical scenes. The group checked every section of the church—including the sacristy which has retained even its old furniture, the baptistery and the second floor landing—which featured wall murals and a signed painting of 19th century master-portraitist of Bacolor, Simon Flores.
"Visita Pampanga" is but one of the many programs of Semana Santa Filipinas, the leading online group that aims to perpetuate, propagate and increase devotion to our Holy Week traditions. Formed in 2006 by two youngsters -- Victor Ancheta,18, of Houston Texas and Robby dela Vega, 20, of Meycauayan, Bulacan -- SSF started as a visual reference of religious images with photo content contribution from members.
Combined with its sister group, SANTOS: IMAGES OF FAITH (SIF), SSF has grown to include over a thousand members worldwide, with over 17,000 online photos in its pool. In 2007, a Semana Santa Filipinas RealWorld was formed, headed by Rainier Sexon, to plan, execute and implement its advocacies that now include Sponsor-a-Santo (donation of images for veneration), The Pilgrim Image (traveling image of Christ for home veneration) and various heritage tours.
To join Semana Santa Filipinas, please log on to: http://www.flickr.com/groups/semana_santa_filipinas/
