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Saturday, March 22, 2008

Photographing the Philippine Culture During Lent

The Philippines is really an interesting place to do photography. Lent happens to be one of the holidays that are highly celebrated around these islands. For one, Marinduque holds the Moriones Festival which revolves around the life of a Roman soldier who becomes a christian convert after he witnessed the resurrection of Jesus. The costumes of morions and the decor of the places where the festival is held will make for good pictures.

Other events would be the crucifixion of people in Pampanga where individuals reenact the crucifixion of Christ by having themselves nailed on a cross. Might be a little bloody but it will surely be interesting. In most places there are stages set up where the cenaculos are held. A cenaculo is a stage play about the passion of Christ. Also, there are those that hold the "pabasa". This one is a read aloud version of the story of the crucifixion.

One event that I haven't had the chance to witness is the salubong. This is usually held at a church or a community center which is the reenactment of the resurrection where an angel greets the risen Lord. Traditionally, a child is dressed as an angel and is usually suspended on a swing and slowly brought down to greet the actor who plays the role of Jesus.

There are other practices in the Philippines but these are the most common ones during Lent.

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