Should We Preserve the Santacruzan?

The growing consciousness of the important role of women in Christian faith has been brought about by many feminist Catholic theologians and their continuous writings on the subject.

But long before this consciousness came about, the Filipino community particularly the Tagalogs concocted a popular retelling of biblical and historical female personages who contributed to the faith. It culminates with Queen Helena (Reyna Elena) who embarked on a pilgrimage to find the true cross of Christ. In the religious pageant, Reyna Elena is accompanied by a young Constantine who became the first emperor to make Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire. In towns who really know the tradition, they have San Macario mounted on a carroza. St. Macarius accompanied the Queen to the Holy Land.

There is no clear history as to the Santacruzan’s origins. The Tagalog region credits the beginning of the santacruzan or the Sta. Cruz de Manila after the declaration of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December 1854. In 1867, Mariano Sevilla translated and published the devotional Flores de Maria or the “Mariquit na Bulaclac na sa Pagninilaynilay sa Buong Buan nang Mayo ay Inihahandog nang manga Devoto cay Maria Santisima” (The Flowers of Mary or the Beautiful Flowers Prayer for the whole month of May is dedicated by the devotees to Mary, most holy).

Since the Filipinos have a great devotion to the Holy Mother, a pageantry that involves a retelling of stories of faith will gain a large following. Philippine festivals begins in the first week of May with the Flores de Mayo. In some parts of the country, May is the time of fiestas and celebrations. To certain towns whose patron is San Isidro Labrador, the patron of farmers, revelry has already began with the Pahiyas of Quezon and the Carabao festival of Pulilan, Bulacan. A few towns away, the dancers of Obando are already twirling to the fandango. While the Boholanos are homeward bound for a series of town fiestas. So, while everyone is in a celebratory mood, the Santacruzan is held as the culminating event of the Maytime festivities everywhere. No wonder it holds the title, Queen of all Philippine Festivals.

The line-up of the Santacruzan tells a story. It begins with the ceriales: a cross, two candles, and in many processions, even with the boat of incense and the censer. Altar boys carrying the ceriales lead any religious procession. It tells you that the event has spiritual and catechetical significance. It is officially recognized by the Church as a practice of piety. The event therefore begins and ends in the town’s church.

A proper Santacruzan will begin with Methuselah, the legendary man who lived a thousand years. He is usually a child with a beard riding a cariton. He fries (at least acts like stirring) rice over a wok. He is a reminder that whatever glitters does not stay forever. What matters in life are the ones that are eternal.

After that, the Philippine context is put to the fore with Reyna Banderadas, who wears a red, white and blue terno and holding, obviously, the Philippine flag. Sometimes, we have Aetas to symbolize our pre-Hispanic lives before the coming of Christianity and Reyna Mora follows to tell us about the dominant religion during the time.

The coming of Christianity is symbolized by the virtues of faith (Reyna Fe with a cross), hope (Reyna Esperanza with an anchor) and charity (Reyna Caridad with a red heart). And then follows the sagalas Abogada who defends the poor, Sentenciada who symbolizes the innocents sentenced to death by King Herod, and Justicia who carries a scale.

The Biblical characters are next. The women of the Old Testament occupy a prominent place in the event. Reina Saba is the Queen of Sheba who sought Solomon for his wisdom. Infanta Judith is the judge who killed Holofernes to save her people. And finally, a personal favorite, Reina Esther is the Jewish Queen of Persia who protected her exiled people in Babylon from persecution.

The women of the Passion and Death of Christ succeeds the Old Testament characters. Veronica with the image of Christ on a cloth walks before the Tres Marias: Mary Magdalene with a perfume bottle, Maria Jacobe with a broom, Maria Salome with an incenser or oil. To add more sagalas, some will carry objects that would remind us of the Passion of Jesus: the money bag of Judas, the rooster of Peter, the spear and nails of the crucifixion.

In santacruzans that incorporate the Flores de Mayo, the final group are the titles of Mary. Usually eight children with the letters AVE MARIA head this part of the procession. Reina de las Estrellas (Queen of Stars) carries a star attached to a wand while Reina de las Propetas has an hour glass. Reina Cielo (Queen of Heaven), Reina de la Paz (Queen of Peace), Reina de las Flores and then Rosa Mistica hold a bouquet of flowers.

Finally, Reyna Elena highlights the procession. Queen Helena carries the cross with the young Constantine with her. She walks demurely under a decorated arc, usually well-lit and carried by the most handsome boys of the town. However, in towns whose prominent families pride themselves when their daughters are given recognition, they would give anything to secure that dream. Many santacruzans extend the title: you can have as many Reyna Elenas as you want, but the star is called, the Emperatriz.

As unassuming as he was, San Macario follows quietly. In identifying the true cross, St. Macarius of Jerusalem suggested that an ill woman be touched by the three crosses. One cross healed the woman instantly. Upon Emperor Constantine’s wish, a church was built on Christ’s sepulcher; the church became a basilica in the later years.

A band and a choir sings “Dios Te Salve Maria” in Latin. When it gets tired, they shift to English and the vernacular versions of Ave Maria to add some variety to a repetitive chant.

The santacruzan then ends in the town’s church. The parish priest blesses all who participated. The people then proceeds to the dinner venue usually the town plaza or gym where the santacruzan ball will also be held. The sagalas and their escorts finally dance the night away. After all, they spent a lot on their outfits.

Does the santacruzan have a future?

Celebrations are vital elements in a culture. As much as we preserve our artifacts in a museum to remember our past, and our written heritage is bound in libraries, we should make an equal effort to study our ritual traditions. How we do things contributes to our identity as Filipinos.

And like all celebrations, the santacruzan has to be nurtured by a people who acknowledges its significance not just in faith but in terms of building communities. We can do this by incorporating the history and the role of the santacruzan as part of our lessons in classrooms or lectures about our heritage.

Or see the potential in its creative concept.

The reason many of our citizens do not have a sense of our nationhood can be attributed to a lack of a collective memory. If Christians celebrate the bible that contains a collection of stories of faith, then Filipinos are brought together by a common memory.

Now a weird and wild idea. There are many women who continued to nurture our faith even after Queen Helena. If the santacruzan is a Philippine festival and its characters are extended depending on the number of sagalas, why can’t we extend or add another santacruzan-type of procession having the women in our history that contributed in nation-building?

Think: Melchora Aquino and Gabriela Silang on the runway? Cory Aquino in yellow? Or our mothers whose sweat and blood made us who we are today. Perhaps, we can re-tell our stories every year, so that our children remembers that building a nation is a contribution of who we are, what we have and what we hope for.

Shall We Change the Flores de Mayo to Hunyo?

When the dominant color of the countryside is brown and the heat is piercing, the need for water becomes pronounced. Imagine if your bread and butter solely depends on the fruit of the soil, nothing will make your heart jump for joy than the first signs of rain.

In the past when climate change was not an issue, the rains came in May. The first drops were believed to be the tears of the Virgin whose heart had been stabbed by the cries of her children.

That is why until today, May has always been the month of religious pageants and processions. And what’s a main event without flowers? When parched lands are quenched with water, flowers soon bloom and display their magnificent colors.

The Flores de Mayo is dedicated to the Virgin whose compassion watered the earth. Tradition has it that for the whole month, children scour the countryside every afternoon for the most beautiful blooms to be offered at the altar of the Holy Mother. They are gathered by a catechist who leads them in the praying of the rosary. They will hold the beads that symbolize a “garland of roses” (latin: rosarium “rose garden”). They will recite the Our Father’s and the Hail Mary’s while glancing once in a while to the statue of the Virgin, and then stare longer for the fleeting glance of another child inviting them to play afterwards.

In traditional communities whose folks keep the Flores de Mayo untarnished by other influences, the religious procession is done at the end of the month, usually at nightfall. With a bouquet of flowers, children in their best white garment demurely walk around town. Wearing a ribbon sash with a title from the litany of the rosary, every sagala and their escort are lighted by the devotees’ candles. Since there are more titles in the litany, there could be more sagalas in the procession.

The most important title of the Flores is Rosa Mistica. It is given to the winner of a fund-raising beauty pageant or to a local’s daughter. The parent/s of the main sagala must have made a name for themselves, whether as an affluent balikbayan, a successful professional or a popular celebrity.

The statue is followed by a throng of people, singing the “Ave Maria” while holding lighted candles that create the ephemeral feel of the ritual. For the more affluent communities, the procession is enlivened by music from a brass band. In fact, the biggest day of the Flores begins with the band playing around 5:00 am. The early morning music is called, diana or aurora. It is to remind the people of the day’s significance.

At sunset, the sagalas emerge from the church under beautiful arcos held by relatives or secret admirers. At the end of the line, the statue of the Holy Mother mounted on a carroza and decked with flowers is pushed by male devotees.

To citizens who treasure the event, the Flores de Mayo culminates with a ball at the town plaza and the much awaited event is the Rigodon de Honor. (Check the Flores de Mayo of Marinduque.)

From the very beginning, the prime motivation of the Flores de Mayo has always been gratitude. But like many tried and tested traditions, people loses sight of its original value while other elements not intrinsic to it are added.

The Flores de Mayo has always been church-based. The children who pray the rosary and has given flowers are also the ones who will parade the titles of the Virgin around town. To some conscientious communities, the Rosa Mistica is given to the child who has a perfect attendance. It is meant to encourage the children; as well as to ensure that the Flores de Mayo will stay as part of our culture.

How are we going to update this tradition?

First, we should return to its original inspiration: the beginning of the rainy season and a gesture of gratitude.

With the El Nino and climate change today, the rains stood us up. The fields remain parched and dry even at the end of May. Are we foreseeing a change of title: Flores de Hunyo?

Or should we be conscious that even with God’s mercy, we are not exempted from responsibility?

The Flores de Mayo, despite its name, is church-and-community-based. Our faith is genuine, but uninformed. It has been kept by popular religious practices such as rosaries, novenas, processions, and celebrations (Chapter 3, Catechism for Filipino Catholics).

That is why our faith has not been a leaven of transformation in Philippine society (The Christian Faith of Today’s Filipino, 2nd Plenary Council of the Philippines 1991).

Years ago, the Flores de Mayo has been a month-long celebration. Before the main event, the Hermano or Hermana Mayor organize other events such as medical and dental missions, fund-raising activities, or mass weddings.

Can an environmental activity be included in the Maytime festivities? The consciousness of today’s Fiipino has already been opened to understand our contribution to this heat that has not brought the rains back to our homeland.

Maytime Festivals: In Praise of the First Rains

If you jumped for joy when the first drop of rain fell on our soil after a very long drought, then you will understand the fiestas of May. If you felt so relieved when it rained, marking the end of this terrible heat brought by the El Nino, then you know why May is celebrated with flowers and festivals. If you were so happy for the farmers so could not plant because their fields cracked and dried, then you can feel the gratitude at the heart of their celebrations. There is no civilization, primitive or present, without festivities.

The fiesta is a very important element of our culture and our history. Alejandro R. Roces tells us in his coffee table book, Fiesta, that “the fiesta played a major role in the making of the Filipino.” (Alejandro Roces, Fiesta, Vera-Perez Inc. 1980, p. 9) In the past, our ancestors were scattered among the 7,100 and more islands that comprised our nation. In the first place, there was no country to talk about. We were grouped into barangays or balanghais, small close-knit Malay communities. A barangay was a boat used by the early Malays in migrating to the Philippines. Eventually, it meant a boatload of people, or a clan. The word, barkada, originally means a ‘gang’ or a ‘barangay’ and therefore, kabarkadahan literally means shipmates.

When the Spaniards came, we were to be conquered by the sword and the cross. They wanted us to be one nation, under the banner of Spain. But what can bring everyone, every scattered barangay into one community?

Civilization was about being together; living not only as a clan, but in a community. So the Spanish friars brought out a program that would put the decentralized society ‘under the bells’ — the extent of a community was “the hearing distance of the bell.” The answer was the fiesta, the time when everyone comes to the town church, to the table of the Lord at least three times a year: Holy Week, Corpus Christi and the feast of the patron saint.

In the past, the churches that brought Filipinos together under the bells were made of bamboo and nipa, constructed Filipino style. But it was the Jesuit, Fr. Antonio Sedeno SJ, who was credited to have introduced stone, lime and tiles into the construction of the churches, most of them, survive until today. Take for example the two oldest churches of Bohol like Baclayon and Loboc. With the construction of these churches and belfries, the bells became larger and larger directly proportional to the expansion and population of the town.

The fiesta was a reunion. It was in that celebration that the early Filipinos return to their roots, to the things that comprised their identity. They celebrated their ethnicity with the fiesta. It was like a family whose bond were strengthen when the children feasted together at the cabecera of the home.

And so, wherever they were, Bicolanos returned for the Penafrancia fluvial procession. The people of Quezon: for the Lucban Festival called the Pahiyas. The people of Pulilan, Bulacan come for a grand revelry at the Carabao Festival. Aklanons marked the day for the Ati-Atihan. By the 18th and 19th century, the clan was replaced by the community. Eventually, we would hold national holidays as a country.

But what made the fiesta more felt and palpable? It was its regularity in small doses. The introduction of the Sunday mass brought the people closer, congregating more often than before. It was a day of celebration since it was “the Lord’s Day” and thus Sundays were not just a time to worship God. It was also a time to get to know the people of the community. You only had to attend mass to know the latest gossip and the current fashion. In fact, it was the Sunday ritual that had become responsible for the evolution of the Filipino attire.

But it was in the month of May, that people of the soil found ways to celebrate. As other towns planned their revelry in other months, the towns that owed their existence and livelihood from agriculture had their calendars marked when the first sign of rain fell, signifying the time to plant. To these folks, rain was a blessing from God. And thus, we heard the old telling us to rejoice at the beginning of the rainy season. The first drops of rain, they believed, were the tears from the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Those tears were shed out of pity for her children who were suffering from the dry spell.

No wonder, the whole month of May was dedicated to two specific themes: Mary and agriculture. In fiestas, both the spiritual and the practical intertwines and merges.

So today, when you are so happy that the rains have arrived to water the earth, our ancestors looked at the event as a heirophany, an experience of God. The flowers that bloom in profusion are brought to the altar by the children in what we call, the Flores de Mayo. Inside the church that brought people under the bells, the children would put flowers on the altar of the Virgin while praying the rosary, the beads of roses. At the end of the Flores de Mayo, whenever the community decided to end the ritual, a procession is held. Every little girl are assigned a title of Mary in the litany of the rosary. The last sagala of the Flores de Mayo ends with the Rosa Mystica, or the Mystical Rose.

Another is the Santacruzan. It celebrates the great women in the history of salvation. It is a celebration of womanhood: the great women who participated in salvation history. At the final stretch of the Santacruzan is Queen Helena and her son, Constantine who would become the first Christian emperor and the first ruler who made Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire. Thus, strictly speaking, the Reyna Elena, the queen and mother, is the highlight of the Santacruzan as distinguished from the procession of the Flores de Mayo.

However today, the Flores de Mayo and the Santacruzan are slowly merging into one religious pageantry. It is good to know that all these fiestas are celebrations of the great women in the history of the Christian faith.

Finally, the celebrations of May will not be complete without the mention of San Isidro Labrador, the patron of farmers. There are two fiestas that are worth mentioning. First, the Pahiyas of Lucban and Sariaya, Quezon. It is the most colorful of all fiestas: with the multi-colored rice leaves called the kiping to the flowers and fruits that hung as ornaments that adorn every single nook and cranny of their homes. It is indeed a festival of environmental art. Adorned are gift-laden bamboo that are lowered when the image of San Isidro passes their homes; all in homage to their patron saint who ensures a fruitful harvest.

The second is the Carabao Festival of Pulilan, Bulacan. San Isidro Labrador’s religious symbols are the plow and the oxen. The story goes that he worked for only one landowner called, Juan de Vargas. One day, Senor Vargas learned that San Isidro was always at church, and thus it hindered him from working. So he went to see for himself, but when he was about to reprimand him, he saw, not only San Isidro’s plow but two white oxen being led by invisible plowers. Juan de Vargas realized that San Isidro was getting help from the Lord.

Along the way, the people of the Pulilan took that story and made it their own. They made the plow and carabao the emblems in the fiesta. Before the festival, these beasts of burden were trained to kneel as long as possible. On the day itself, a contest was held: the longest decorated carabao wins.

Fiestas are living traditions. It is preserved because a community wills that it should be kept, enriched, and celebrated. Look closely, a fiesta is a big event that is carefully organized and carried out by a lot of people from the church, the community and the government. These relics of the past are brought to the present to remind us of who we are and the things that we have always been grateful for.

It is said that a nation is bound by the things they love. So too we are bound by the things we hold dear. And if we believe that the Philippines is a country worth dying for, then it is also a nation worth celebrating.

Think about close-knit families: the bond between each member is strengthened by a common memory of their loved ones. Every individual’s story is added to the family’s memoria, a collection of stories. It is these memories that people talk about when they celebrate.

So too with us: when we come to a fiesta, we celebrate a common memory. We come home to tell, share and relive our stories. But we come home to tell our stories over food and drink. We gather in a celebration. We become one in a fiesta.

If you think you have lost touch with who you are and the people you love, the answer is simple: find time to enjoy their company. Years of separation can be bridged by one celebration.