Traslacion 2012: The Feast of the Black Nazarene

Quiapo holds a lot of spiritual and personal attachments to many Filipinos including myself. And the celebration of the Traslacion this year is an event that I have always look forward every year to attend and now to feature in the blog. As a devotee this will mark my 9th year to attend this which started back in high school. And the thing is, I always go alone. 


Just like my other adventures, I do go on these trips solo with just a backpack or a mailman bag with everything I need for the long day. Though many perceive the Quiapo district as very dense, rowdy and unlawful place in Manila, the existence of Quiapo church and the Nazareno has somehow gave way to changes in the sights of the famed part of Manila. Though in reality, there is still chaos, crime, sex in the area, its massive structure and millions of followers has proven that faith can move mountains. Hopefully it would also change the district into a better community soon. 



Now this year for the TRASLACION (Actually I was corrected since I always use the world "Translacion") I was not able to get up early for the mass at the Quirino Grandstand, so I decided to go directly to the route. And when I reached Luneta park at about noon, I was surprized when the Nazareno was still nearby which i expected to have crossed the bridge to Santa Cruz. But I look at this moment as an oppportunity to snap some close up shots with my phone which is the closest I have got these past years. I also took some videos to show how slow the procession was because of the problems with the ropes, the float and the organization of the people in the area. 

I walked from Luneta to City Hall clicking on some interesting sights along the way, and since I have not took lunch so I took a stop at SM City Manila to eat and go to the restroom and also to update via WIFI. After an hour I went out again and continued on the journey now going to Quiapo church to hear mass. And to get inside the church would tak some determination and also patience. This will definitely have you hear two masses as you go in and out of the church. But it was not chaotic, but just very slow and jampacked.

After finished with mass, I went to Plaza Lacson, where the Narazeno should have crossed by now, but still it was a very long way to go. So I went back crossing the bridge and found that it was still in front of the city hall. Tho think that it was already 4 hours since I last saw it at the front of the National Museum which is just 100 meters away. But things get faster from that point forward as I moves closer now to the bridge. I was also looking for blogger friends that are also present at this day, but I never saw them because of the thick crowd.  It was already 8pm and I decided to have dinner and go home.

Come to think of if, did you ever wonder people (and myself) never got old with the traslacion which is basically the same routine every year? Well for me, the experience is different every time. Same goes with the millions of devotees who also are thankful for the gifts and also plea their needs to the Black Nazarene. So we cry "Viva Nuestro Padere Jesus Nazareno!"

Hopefully next year, I would not go by myself for a change maybe. Also check out their own website where they stream masses and the procession online! www.quiapochurch.com.

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