Posts Tagged ‘Quiapo Day’
Turning thirty
Every year, on January 9, thousands of devotees flock to Quiapo Church for the Feast of the Black Nazarene. The Black Nazarene, a dark, life-size statue of Jesus Christ carrying the cross, was carved by an Aztec and brought to the Philippines by a priest in 1606. Legend has it that the statue, its blackness as unfathomable and sorrowful as faith itself, is miraculous. It survived the fires that ravaged Quiapo Church, World War II, and earthquakes that shook Luzon in 1645 and 1863. During the feast, the statue is put on a carriage and, pulled by its guardians, paraded in the streets surrounding the church.
Holding the rope that pulls the carriage gives you luck, perhaps earning you a chance to win the lotto. Touching the statue itself means you’re saved.
Every year, on January 9, thousands of devotees flock to Quiapo Church in a febrile gathering, a collective dervish that could crush a devotee to death. The feast claims at least one life every year and wounds dozens. Faith and death. Desperation and death. Read the rest of this entry »
