Every third Saturday and Sunday of September a grand celebration honoring the Nstra. Sra. Virgen de Penafrancia takes place in Naga City in the Bicol region. Arguably the most attended Marian event in the country, it is attended by approximately 5 million devotees a year.
The Virgin of Penafrancia traces its history to San Martin Castanar, Spain where Simon Vela was directed by the Lady to go to Pena de Francia. Simon traveled far and wide and found the place after a journey of many long years. His search finally led him to the spot where the Lady appeared to him and was instructed to dig in the very same spot and there he will find treasure more important than the inherited wealth which he donated to the church as a young orphan boy.
In the Philippines, the veneration started when Miguel Robles de Covarrubias, a seminarian and son of a a Spanish official from Penafrancia, Spain fell ill and was miraculously cured after the family sought the intercession of Our Lady of Penafrancia whose picture he clutched in his heart. As a gesture of praise and thanks, he vowed that he will build a church by the Pasig river as her sanctuary. He was ordained priest in Nueva Caceres ( now Naga) and built a church there. This devotion grew and many years later the traslacion (transfer) of the holy image is celebrated yearly with a fluvial parade.
Matrket!Market! at the Bonifacio Global City had their own event to bring the revelry to Manila. 21 and 22 September was a red-letter day to celebrate the Penafrancia. No matter the rains, people came to witness the event and enjoyed the various activities that was peppered with entertainment numbers, a cooking demo of Bicol's famous LAING (taro leaves in a spicy coconut cream sauce), a culinary contest of Bicolano dishes (or the chef's own take on it), Filipino parlor games, a singing contest, and Filipino dances and a drum and bugle corps complete with flag twirlers.
The fun started at two in the afternoon and went on till dusk. Needless to say, the religious fervor of the Filipino was fully highlighted when people from all walks of life would intermittently come up to the image of the Virgin and touch her mantle with a fervent prayer in their hearts.
Thanks to C-squared (events oirganizer) led by Agnes Calumpong for inviting me to judge in the cooking contest of tasty dishes. Third Prize went to a spicy coconut cream based dish of Laing by a pretty young cook.
The Second Prize went to a male chef who made a relleno of the traditional Laing by stuffing the tarro leaves with minced meat and chorizo.
The Grand Prize went to a sweet home maker who concocted a dish of prawns in spicy coconut cream sauce. Yumm-o!
No comments:
Post a Comment