Penafrancia Translacion 2013 @ Caby’s Cabana, Naga City

Penafrancia Translacion 2013

@ Caby’s Cabana, Naga City

It was a Friday afternoon when we arrived

at the Caby’s Cabana where my family awaits

for the translacion procession every year.

It had become a family tradition to reserve

one of the verandas facing the street in the

restaurant that the procession would pass,

…where we could wait

 in air- conditioned comfort.

Caby’s Cabana is located right at the heart of Naga Centro,

and the restaurant arm of the beautiful Starview Hotel,

…fronting the historic  
Plaza de Quince Martirez, 

…about a block away from the

ancient San Francisco Church,

…and surrounded  by convenience stores,

…malls and supermarkets,

...restaurants, and fast food outlets

most of them open 24/7.

The procession passes right on the restaurant

making it a very ideal site for viewing the translacion
as it is in a safe viewing distance from the crowd
but not too far from the procession route. 

We arrived at Caby’s Cabana and we prepared

our side of balcony by decorating it with yellow balloons

 which we would release later  during the procession.

 

 

…we also positioned the confetti launchers within reach

so it could be activated easily when needed.

It took a while for the procession to arrive

so we decided to stroll on the procession route.

The whole Naga Centro was closed to traffic

and every one are in a festive mood…





…the procession route had Marian images

on display on the altar stations,

…manned by priests praying the rosary and

singing hymns accompanied by brass bands.

The security was tight,



...as there were a lot of people lining the side streets

patiently waiting for the procession to arrive,

…all the way to the Naga Cathedral grounds.

 The church was also in a very festive mood
with thousands of devotees hanging around... 







...and being serenaded by an orchestra 
with religious songs and hymns,





 

…punctuated by clatter of several helicopters

reverberating on the horizon.

It was also teeming with people
inside the beautiful church.







The Naga Metropolitan Cathedral never fails
to amaze me as it is so far the grandest church
in the region and if not in the Philippines
as it is beautiful in the inside...


 


...as it was on the outside.

 







We returned to Caby’s Cabana when we

learned that the procession was nearing

the Plaza Quince Martirez…

…and we positioned ourselves on the balcony.

As the procession came closer the crowd of devotees

became more enormously massive,

…then, we caught the sight of the Divino Rostro,

…amidst thousands of devotees screaming

and chanting “Viva el Divino Rostro!”.

When the image passed right in front of us-

we could feel the intense heat steaming

from the colossal crowd-



It was overwhelming and made me wonder how all these

passionate voyadores could stand the intense heat, the stench,

…and the risk  of being jammed and squashed in

by the mammoth and rowdy and fanatic crowd.

 

We released some of the balloons on air,

and activated the confetti launchers…

There was a temporary calmness
 after the Divino Rostro passed,

...and we went people watching while waiting

for the Lady of Penafrancia image to arrive.

Some of  the Caby's Cabana guests opted 
to return to the the restaurant to eat snacks.



 



Caby's Cabana serves yummy snacks that goes
together with the pre- reserved entrance fees
for the translacion procession tickets.

  





After about thirty minutes there was a commotion...

 





...we all returned to the balcony,

 

...the image of the Lady of the Penafrancia

appeared near San Francisco Church.

 

The commotion and excitement  among the crowd

thundered like an earthquake and the people started

screaming Viva La Virgen with all the fervor,

 

…passion and enthusiasm.

The image smoothly glided through  the

enthusiastic crowd waving white hankies-

as she was showered with confetti.

The heat and the humidity generated by the
 humogous crowd was even more intense,

…but nobody seemed

to mind the chaos, 

…the uncomfortable heat, 

…and the disorder created by what they

call as the biggest Marian devotion in Asia.

Interestingly, a commotion made by

two drunk voyadores having a fist fight

right below the balcony caught our attention.

It is ironic to think that these two guys were supposed

to be Virgin Mary’s devotees and should be passionately

chanting and praying  with the rest of the people but

here they are- having a brawl, swearing and screaming

enraged expletive curses against each other.

We again activated our confetti launchers

and released the remaining yellow balloons

to honor the miraculous image in the procession.

Hundreds and thousands

of devotees trailed the image,

…and the people at the tail end

of the procession were less rowdy, 

…more disciplined,

…and appeared more serious of

their devotion but just as passionate.

…the trail of people never seem to end

as it just went on and on an on and on…

 

 

…until dusk.

 

We left  Caby’s Cabana when

the crowd had weaned out.

Another transalcion had ended-

and we had a week to  prepare

for the fluvial procession-

…but that’s another story.

Read here for related posts: 

'Pagsungko ki Ina', 2013  
Jardin Real de Naga Clubhouse

Pagsungko ki Ina, 2012

the Clubhouse,

Jardin Real de Naga