Stay, Stray, Play and Feast: Translacion 2014: Penafrancia Fiesta 2014, Series 3

Translacion 2014
Penafrancia Fiesta 2014, Series 3

Translacion marks the beginning of the week
long Penafrancia Fiesta in Naga City, known
to be the biggest Marian devotion in Asia.

It is a centuries old tradition where the image of
the Lady of Penafrancia is being transferred to the
bigger Naga Cathedral, that had a huge churchyard
and have enough room for the millions of devotees
that flock the ancient Penafrancia Shrine that was
too small to accommodate the surge of pilgrims.

In the 80’s, the original image of the Lady of Penafrancia
was permanently enshired in Basilica Minore de Penfrancia,
the had a much bigger church yard, enough to accommodate
the millions and millions of devotees, but the traditional
Translacion Procession did not stop and remained as one of
the major events that heralds the beginning of the festivity.

This time, the translacion starts with a dawn procession
where both the images of Divino Rostro and the Lady
of Penafrancia are brought to the Penafrancia Shrine,

…where it would later be transferred to the
Naga Cathederal at about noon after a holy mass
and this is where me and family joined.

We left shortly after lunch, parked our car at Plaza Medica, as
the whole Naga City Centro was already off limits to vehicles,

....and took trike to Avenue Square in Magsaysay Avenue,

…where we walked to the Penafrancia Shrine
where the Translacion Procession would begin.

The procession route was well secured,

…and we positioned ourselves trailing

the Sienna College of Tigaon students,

…and ahead of La Consolacion College of Daet.

The weather was perfect.

It was sunny but wasn’t very hot, there was a little
cloudy overcast due to the oncoming storm heading
north, but it wasn’t raining and very ideal for walking.

We passed by Penafrancia Avenue, and theere
were a lot of spectators by the roadside,

...and there were people watching by the windows,
and I was amused by the number of well preserved
ancestral houses lining the Penafrancia Avenue.

There were spectators even on the roof tops.

The procession route is dotted with elevated makeshift
platforms, with altars of various Marian images
manned by a priests and devotees praying the rosary,

…with bands playing religious hymns.

The procession arrived in the city center and we caught the
sight of the beautiful and and historic San Francisco Church,

...then had a U- turn when we reached the
Plaza Quince Martirez at the city center,

…and slowly headed to Naga Cathedral,
which is our final destination.

The road to Naga Cathedral is filled with
the sights, sounds and colors of the festivity,

…food are sold in abundance on the streets,

…and religious symbols and images
are displayed and sold on the streets.

We arrived at the Naga Cathedral
and passed by the Porta Maraie,

…and the cathedral’s church yard
was starting to fill up with people.

We arrived much earlier and ahead of the crowd
so it wasn’t crowded at the Naga Cathedral yet.

There was a mass going on inside the church,

…and a priest was leading the
Rosary on the outdoor kiosk.

Later we walked back to Caby’s Cabana and
changed roles from being an active procession
participant to being a passive expectator.

Caby’s Cabana is very ideal place to watch
the Translacion and we have been watching
the procession here for the past 5 years.

It is located within the city centro, just

in front of Plaza Quince Martirez,

…and a block away from the
historic San Francisco Church.

One could watch the procession on a safe
distance in an air- conditioned comfort,

…while taking yummy snacks and refreshing
drinks which I would blog in a separate post.

We were also able to rest and recharge
while watching the translacion procession,
and waiting for the Divino Rostro and
the Lady of Penafrancia images to arrive.