HOTSPOT

For those of us who grew up in the 1980s, Holy Week meant a near-total halt to everything. On Good Friday and Black Saturday, there’s no television, no radio, no newspapers, no school for the students, no work for the adults. Stores and the public markets are closed, as well.

There’s no music too, except for the neighborhood Pabasa. It is not unlike the karaoke, but the stanzas tell the story of the passion of Christ, the melodies change depending on who’s singing, and the singing is done by pairs or by group. Unlike the videoke, this was allowed to go on throughout the day and night, for days.

In most cases, the Pabasa is done outside the purview of the churches. No priestly approval was needed. Neighbors prepared the altar, the “pasyon” books, the sound system and lights, and the “relyebo” of singers. Primarily led by the seniors and adults, those who sing also include the younger set. There may also be two Pabasas held at both ends of the same street, and the same situation may be seen and heard in the next street.

Travels were not for leisure. Travel meant joining the “Alay Lakad” of tens of thousands of pilgrims going to Antipolo, or going to the province to take part in the Holy Week festivities there. And yes, there would be more “pabasa” sessions in the province.

Those left in Metro Manila may opt for a limited kind of travel: Visita Iglesia. Some visit seven churches, others do 14. With a lot of churches dotting the metropolis, it is possible to do this by walking. Others would ride the few jeepneys still plying the routes.

Led by the grandparents and other seniors, we would go to church to listen to the “Siete Palabras” until 3 p.m., the time of death of Christ. After mid-afternoon service, we would join the procession of two marquee carrozas called Santo Entierro (depicting Christ lying in repose inside a glass casket) and the Mater Dolorosa (a weeping, grieving Mary, with her heart pierced by tiny swords).

Nothing happens on Black Saturday, until the evening when the Easter vigil is held in church. The “salubong” between a Risen Christ and the Mater Dolorosa is always a sight to behold.

We had to take part in many or all of these rites and rituals not just because there was nothing else to do. We had to join our elders and parents, and neighbors as well, as an obligation to family and faith.

I’m quite certain that many of these traditions and rituals are still intact, especially in the provinces. There’s still no school and no work on Good Friday and Black Saturday. And yet I’m equally sure that participation has changed due to the availability of cable, streaming, the internet, the rise of new work that follows the time and calendar of other countries, and easier and more convenient domestic and international travel.

The closest we got to a redux to 1980s-style Holy Week was during the pandemic, but only in terms of limited movement. The churches streamed the masses, rites, and rituals, and even provided virtual Visita Iglesia websites. This is true not just to Philippine churches but also around the world (I guess many or most prayed during Holy Week 2020 and 2021 for an end to the pandemic, for the medical frontliners,
for the working class people who still had to work, and for the many lives lost.)

I’m not saying the Holy Week was better for the kids of the 1980s. Maybe it was. Neither am I saying that it is a badge of honor that we witnessed it and participated in it in our own different (or difficult?) circumstances at the time. Those would remain fond memories of a simpler time, and good stories to tell the young ones who may think what we now do had always been the same.

The Holy Week gives us an opportunity to pause, rest, and – given all the conveniences that have since become available – still participate in the Filipino Catholic traditions. Let’s seize the opportunity to draw inspiration from the twin-stories of the great redemption and glorious resurrection.

For many “Batang 80s” who are fast becoming the elders to today’s young ones, may we help carry on the good traditions of Holy Week.