Philippines: Maze, mess, mishmash at the Black Nazarene procession

The Philippines has so much going on in January. And it’s not just because we’d like to pride ourselves with having the world’s longest Christmas celebration.

January marks four of the biggest festivals happening within a week of another, with two taking place simultaneously one big island apart.

Of the four though, three are generally similar: Ati-Atihan in Kalibo, Dinagyang in Iloilo, and Sinulog in Cebu all have religious undertones and feature gay performances and dances. The other one though, the Feast of the Black Nazarene happening every ninth of January, is another story.

Solemn may not even be a fitting word for it, but for all intents and purposes, it doesn’t have the flamboyant parades nor the weeklong merrymaking. It is a religious procession happening in the Philippine capital, Manila. Specifically, it happens in the Quiapo district.

Mention Quiapo and images of abortion pills in front of church doors, rowdy streets, and an endless maze of shops and people and noise and traffic come flashing before any Filipino’s mind. We can’t help it; Quiapo is perhaps the most judged spot on the Philippine map, next only to, well, Metro Manila to which it belongs anyway.

Learn all about our experience on my blog, Two2Travel.com: http://www.two2travel.com/2013/01/maze-mess-mishmash-black-nazarene-2013.html