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Tuesday, September 23, 2014

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.



It was late in the afternoon when we heard
a commotion from the crowd downstairs-
 an indication that the images are arriving.


And pretty soon, we caught the sight of the image of the 
Divino Rostro emerging near the San Francisco Church,


…amidst the massive sea of devotees,
as it smoothly glided among the crowd,


….took a u- turn at the plaza,




 
…and later appeared in front of us,



…with the crowdchanting 
“Viva el Divino Rostro”. 



There was a temporary peace and quiet
after the Divino Rostro was out of sight,



….and it was followed by a trail of
 devotees praying and singing hymns.



After about an hour, there was another commotion,
as the image of the Lady of Penafrancia appeared.



The crowd was even more tumultuous,



… and appeared to be in a
mayhem  of a pandemonium.



…the continuous chanting of Viva La Virgen
was more strident, thunderous and deafening.



The heat generated by the massive crowd
could be felt way up to our balcony.



It’s literally had to sweat out blood and tears,
for a devotee to be get close to the image,



The deep passion among the ‘voyadores’
 and the massive display of emotion
among the enthusiastic crowd,
were infectious and emotionally draining.



The massive sea of humanity
was indescribably breathtaking .



The image was followed with an endless
 trail of people, from all walks of life,



…coming from all over the Philippines,



…and even from other countries.



No other single tourism event in the region could
pack up a spectacular number of people in one
place, the way the Lady of Penafrancia does,



…that soars up the tourism statistics in Naga City and CamSur 
making the province a top tourist  destination in the Philippines.



This is the miracle the of the Lady of Penafrancia.


Read my other Penafrancia 2014 Series











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