FEAST OF THE BLACK NAZARENE
Quiapo church, Manila
January, 2006

Quiapo is home to a fascinating set of people. Need your fortune told? Come to Quiapo. Need an amulet to ward off your ex-psycho-significant-other? Come to Quiapo. Need that miracle tonic that will restore your hair to rival Don King's? You'll find it in Quiapo.

All these vendors of myth and potions sell their wares right outside Quiapo Church. In a country rich with folklore yet devoutly Catholic, it is not so strange that these two cultural influences have fused together.

In what may just be the biggest Catholic feast celebrated in the Philippines outside of Lent and Christmas, the Feast of the Black Nazarene is a spectacle unto itself. The Black Nazarene is a life-sized statue of Christ carved by an Aztec carpenter that a priest bought in Mexico and brought to Manila in 1606.

Annually, every 9th of January, thousands of devotees will wait hours barefoot at the plaza outside the church. Most everyone is dressed in some shade of maroon milling about buying food, candles, and hopefully, even a miracle. The plaza fills up quickly until everyone is pressed unto each other. Then, with the lighting of fireworks and thunderous applause, the church gates open and the statue emerges on a gilded carriage to start its procession down the streets of Quiapo.

It is said that the statue is responsible for giving miracles to people who are able to touch it. Even non-believers will watch with awe at the passion of these people who will risk life and limb, pushing and shoving and throwing themselves unto the carriage in hopes of answered prayers for whatever it is they need.

Hankies, towels and shirts are thrown to the men on the carriage so they can wipe the statue thereby receiving God's blessings. Surprisingly, with the multitude of people throwing all these linen, the men on board remember who to return them back to. That, in itself, is a miracle. The zealous way these people hold their beliefs is really inspiring. Want to see what faith is really all about? Come to Quiapo.