Lenten thoughts

It seems that our neighbors have taken the news that the pabasa could be rendered in rap seriously. While I’m happy that the tune by which they’re reading the pasyon sounds upbeat, I’m not happy that they’ve woken me up at 3 in the morning. Oh well, at least I can update the blog.

The “Pabasa” is the singing or reading of the “pasyon” (Wikipedia defines it as a narrative of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ woven into an epic poetry standard elements colorful dramatic theme with stanzas of five lines with each line having eight syllables) by the devotees. The pasyon, which is based from the bible, can be “sung” in tune with old or new music tunes. Sometimes, the musical instruments are used, so that boredom could be lessened. It is usually started during Wednesday, and finishes on Good Friday.

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Our final class activity last month brought us to the town of Mogpog, in the province of Marinduque. There, we found out how the townspeople were preparing for the Moriones Festival. Mask makers were already busy at work, because masks are always in demand. The masks don’t come cheap, and a mask with horse hair in it being the most expensive one. Here’s to hoping that I get to see the actual festival in the future.

The front part of the Moriones mask is made of wood, and is custom made. I put a finished one on, and found out that it was very hot inside, and you can barely see or breathe

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I find it weird that during the lent season here in the Philippines, a lot of families choose to go on vacation rather than contemplate. But then again, I remember that as a kid, my “contemplation” would be watching reruns of biblical stories on TV. Then, as I grew older, it became reruns of Seventh Heaven. Oh, and I’m not really a devout catholic, nor am I an atheist.

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Lei and I went to the Intramuros area earlier, and saw a huge banner by the Manila Cathedral which was against the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill. I won’t go into detail now as to why I’m for the RH Bill, but it just irritates me that the church is trying to make the whole RH thing an issue of who’s pro-life or anti-life. Being for the RH Bill doesn’t mean I’m for abortion. There’s a difference.

Anyway, I don’t believe that the RH Bill will be the answer to the country’s poverty problems. I believe that (for now at least), the country has enough resources for every Filipino out there. It’s more an issue of the big chunk of the country’s resources being in the hands of a few people.

The Manila Cathedral. Click the picture for a larger image

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So it’s now past 5 in the morning, and our neighbors have rested for the day. I guess I better get some shut-eye before they start up again later. Happy easter, everyone!