Upon our return, we managed to catch up with
the group we met earlier who played the station of the cross. That time,
the group was only a couple of meters away from the chapel. Since it was
the only attraction that particular time, we simply content ourselves taking
pictures of the ongoing observation of the group. As I watched the small
group do their thing, I fondly recall my experience of station of the cross in
Marinduque where the whole town act as its stage and with a huge number of
participants plus the portrayal was truly convincing. This group in
Balut, Tondo was somewhat a slow-paced one with a not so good staging of the
scenes plus the face of the main character was somewhat detached to his
role. Of course, every time he threw himself to the ground made his face
reflect the reaction of the one who is forcefully pushed to the ground.
And the hitting of the stalk of banana leaf was real. Even if the stalk
is somewhat soft, still, hitting someone with it could inflict some pain in the
process.
After the completion of the station of the
cross, there were still plenty of spectators on the street and on the side
street. I again asked some barangay officials for other activities that
day. They were kind enough to tell us that there would be a staging of
the crucifixion in a little while and Simeon de Jesus street would be the entry
point. Since we were already there, we went back to that place and
patiently waited for another event. Actually, we were not the only ones
who were anticipating for that final event. Several locals where already
lining the sidewalk in order to have a good view of the final act. And
after some time, much to our surprise, a group of locals were parading and
doing their act of penance. Yes! At long last, we will not go home
empty handed after all.
With all the excitement and surprises, we
readily followed the group until they reached the main road. By the side
of the main road, they stopped. I had no idea at all what they would do
next. I watched them closely and up close and personal, I witnessed a
painful and shivering account. Each and every member of the group had
their backs cut by several blades at the same time in order for the blood to
freely flow and make it appear that their backs were actually bleeding.
With just a foot away and with my camera
zooming in on the ongoing ordeal of each participant, I could hear someone
moaning in pain while others shiver the moment the blades cut through the skin
on their back. Even if the cuts were shallow, still, the idea of slicing
your back and with the fresh blood slowly appearing on your back is no
joke. And in order to add more effect to the staging of their penance,
some amount of water were poured on their backs to make their backs appear as
bloody as possible. The moment all of them had their backs cut again and
with their backs turning red in abundance because of the mixture of fresh blood
and water, they resumed their order in the parade and started smashing their
backs with the end of the rope having wood sticks most probably half a foot
long. The idea is to keep the wounds open and let the blood freely flow.
With all the excitement I felt witnessing all
the accounts right before my very eyes, I innocently closely followed the group
while they were doing their thing. After a couple of steps, I felt
something on my cheek. When I checked myself, some portion of the wet
stuff coming from the backs of the persons doing the penance actually landed on
my face. I got alarmed. My goodness! I had blood on my face, on my
shirt, and on my camera. What the hell I was thinking when I closely
followed this group? Haha. It did not occur to me that I will have
a share of their red liquid. But what the heck! Since I was having a
great time and this was the very thing I came here in the first place, I
hurriedly wiped the blood on my face, cleaned the lense of my camera and ran
after the group. This time, I tried to maintain a good distance from the
group but I no longer care if I will be hit by their fluid again. And
that moment was awesome!
After reaching the chapel, we went back to
that part of the street again waiting for the final act to happen. We’d
been told that there would be another set of people who will be doing their act
of penance alongside with the actors who will be nailed to the cross. We
patiently waited until we were the only ones left on that part of the
street. Some locals became impatient and one by one, they went
home. It was already past 11 in the morning and there was no word about
when that thing will happen. For sure it will happen but no one can
confirm about the exact time. Since we were quite happy about our shots,
we decided to leave the place. Anyway, we already had what we came here
for. We rode a jeepney bound to Divisoria.
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