‘Ika nga ng isang pasaway: Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan, may stiff neck.
No, no to stiff neck. Not now, not ever! Thus so, I will always look back to the fond and great memories I have of the place – Barangay Balumpare in Sampaloc, Manila — where I was born and was raised, up to my mid-teens.
Barangay Balumpare, to this day, is the place to be during the Holy Week.
Admittedly, Barangay Balumpare pales in comparison to sites that tourists visit.
However, its attraction lies in the people’s observance of Holy Week.
The village is replete with Holy Week tradition, the main reason why its former denizens and their friends return to re-experience what the Balumpare community is all about during the most important week of Lent.
Surely, the reunion of sorts does wonders to the soul, as it does away with the stiff neck.
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Tandang-tanda (kailangan pa ba talagang ulit-ulitin ang tanda?) ko pa, after the palms are blessed sa Kapilya ng Balumpare, begin na rin ang tradisyon ng nayon. Yes, I remember Fr. Candido Bernal.
Surfing the Net, I saw that Balumpare officials still actively assure the conduct of the sinakulo, which the Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance describes as a theatrical rendition of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ performed annually during Holy Week in the Philippines.
Balumpare’s sinakulo may not be as old and intricate as the Oberammergau Passion Play in Bavaria, Germany started in 1633, after Oberammergau residents were spared from the bubonic plague that ravaged the region.
Yoyoy Villame correctly sung that circumnavigator Ferdinand Magellan and the Spanish friars landed in the archipelago on March 16, 1521; but the conquistadores might have been busy laying down the roadmap to colonial rule to have forgotten about mounting a sinakulo during the Holy Week.
Excitement and awe always enveloped me as I, a child then, looked forward to and finally watched the passion play. It was done on a stage on an open lot after a row of apartments near the corner of P. Leoncio (E. Quintos Sr. today) and Calamba streets.
Just across is the Balumpare chapel, which cement awning also served as stage in some parts of the play.
The passion and death of Jesus Christ was always well portrayed in all the sinakulo that I saw, and I would not give up all these memories for a favorite movie entitled “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
Pero kung makulit ka talaga at gusto mong makakita ng mga deboto na talagang ipinapako sa krus, go to Central Luzon.
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Of course, the ceremony of The Washing of the Feet at the Balumpare chapel on Maundy Thursday has endured time and the age of high technology.
Moreover, the Pabasa has lived on in the Balumpare chapel.
Age never mattered as the people of Balumpare took turns to chant, sometimes with a contemporary tonal twist, the Pabása ng Pasyón, a Catholic devotion popular in the Philippines on Holy Week.
I will always keep in heart the fulfillment I feel after participating in the uninterrupted chanting of the early 16th-century epic poem narrating the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
If I recall vividly, nobody dared – in front of the village elders — intone the pabasa in the melody of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”, which was popular in the late 60s.
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What is so great about Balumpare during the Holy Week is the celebration of its feast day on Easter Sunday – lalong kilala bilang “Pasko ng Pagkabuhay.” Calendar numeric never dictated Balumpare’s big day.
Beforehand, tulong-tulong ang mga residente na magkabit ng banderitas crossing Antipolo, San Diego, P. Leoncio, Kundiman, Craig, Metrica, Makiling, Calamba, Simoun and Maria Clara streets.
Pagdating ng Easter Sunday, marami na ang nasa kalsada at about 4 a.m. para sumama sa prusisyon depicting the Salubong – ang pagkikita nina Mama Mary and Jesus Christ after the Resurrection. (See accompanying picture)
Men following the statue of the Risen Christ and women following the statue of Mother Mary take separate procession routes and meet at the corner of P. Leoncio and Simoun streets (the Salubong has happened here since time immemorial), where a child-angel waits to proclaim the glad tidings of the Pasko ng Pagkabuhay.
At about 6 a.m., brass bands playing marching tunes and jumpy music go around the village, signalling the start of daylong festivities – homes are opened to friends and strangers alike for the feast, children and adult games are conducted, and a stellar basketball game is played between The Mighty Dukes and visitors, who at one time, featured Danny Florencio and George Lizares bannering the University of Santo Tomas Glowing Goldies.
Before dusk, the statue of the Risen Christ leads a long procession of Balumpare devotees that goes around every nook and corner of the village, ending at the Balumpare chapel where the icon has its perennial place.
Holy Week and Balumpare will always be in my mind and heart.
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Sa wakas! After deep and serious thinking nitong nakaraang Mahal na Araw, I came up with an “almost-nearly” passable translation and answer sa isang tanong na matagal ko nang dala-dala in my tampipi of broken dreams and unfinished business.
Marami-rami na rin akong hiningan ng kuro-kuro and help to answer that lingering mind-boggling question.
Kahit bihasa sa Inglis, karamihan sa mga natanong ko ay magmumuni-muni sandali, then would stare at me from head to foot, saka magkikibit balikat, then turn and walk away – as if whispering “heto-ang-singko, bumili-ka-ng-kausap-mo.”
Akala ko, wala na talagang answer to this query: Translate to English – Pang-ilang pangulo ng Pilipinas si Rodrigo Duterte?
Husgahan ninyo ang response ko: In the order of ascension to office, in what numerical rank does Rodrigo Duterte place among Presidents of the Philippines?
Ayos ba? O kailangan ko na talagang bumili ng kausap? Siryusli?
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Iniharap ko ang tanong sa mga kabagang kong elders of the rectangular table sa fast food section ng mall.
Kaka Juan: Si Duterte and pinakahuli. Sa Inglis – the latest!
Inkong Jose: If the country becomes a federal state, si Duterte pa rin ang pinakahuli, the last. Sa federalism kasi, prime minister na ang tawag sa pinuno ng bayan.
Ako: Teka muna. Ang tanong seeks for a number, hindi yung kung sino ang nauna o nahuli!
Kuya Monching (laging tulog sa pansitan, na naalimpungatan at nagulat): Ay, sisi! Nahuli si Duterte?
Ako: Kaka Juan, may singko ka?
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Yesterday when I was young (really, I won’t mind if you do the math) in Barangay Balumpare, kapag may singko ka, you could snack on either two scoops of Mamang Sorbetero’s ice cream or could feast on a ripe lakatan, both sandwiched in a hotdog bun.
Aling Lydia also sold two saba bananas in syrup, milk and shaved ice sa halagang singko sentimos. A short walk further and one could fill up a rumbling tummy with hot mami noodles for five centavos.
Singko was the bet when we played three-on-three hoops on a hardcourt standing at the asphalt road – where colorum tricycles raced fast and furious to elude trailing overzealous cops — near the tindahan ni Kabise. Singko was enough to buy a big chunk of ice in a plastic pitcher of water to drink for the winners, not the run overs.
A five-centavo coin had real value then. If you had more of these during those good old days, you might have been treated like royalty. “Palibre naman” was the reverberating catchphrase.
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The power of singko also reminds me of Voltes 5 and Filipino comedian Brod Pete. Sige, basa!
My grandchildren used to, and still, love the Power Rangers.
A dear friend believes in the power of singko. Whenever he is in the verge of anger, he very, very slowly counts isa, dalawa, tatlo, apat, lima. At the count’s end, he’s back with his infectious smile.
Those who are palaging galit at nakasimangot must have hated math.
Just the same, high five to the power of 5.
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To conclude, Maligayang Pasko ng Pagkabuhay sa inyong lahat. #####