Linggo Ng Palaspas (Palm Sunday)

Linggo ng Palaspas - Palm Sunday - is celebrated in the predominantly Catholic Philippines to usher in the Holy Week. Roughly 90% of the Philippines is Catholic, thus it is of small wonder, of course, that the Filipinos prepare for the culmination of the season of lent with remarkable zeal.

It has been said that local traditional rites such as the observance of Palm Sunday (Linggo ng Palaspas), the reading of the Passion Of The Christ (Pabasa), and the visitation of churches (Visita Iglesia) are dying, specifically in the urban areas. Maybe not yet, for now. I live in Barangay Poblacion, one of the oldest parts of the highly urbanized Makati area, and the celebration of Holy Week here in my place is taken rather seriously.

Take the Linggo ng Palaspas, for instance. I attended the 6am mass at the St. Peter and Paul Parish Church (walking distance from my flat), and the devotees were overflowing, all of them holding on to their fabricated palms. After the end of the mass, the blessing of the palms was performed at the patio in front of the church. A schedule of activities is plastered just in front of the parish church, and trust me, the residents observe this schedule like they have done so for many years.


A palaspas or palm is used to signify The Christ's entry into Jerusalem. A devotee can buy a palaspas for PHP20 here in Poblacion (USD0.44 or EUR0.33), only on Palm Sunday of course.

To be in the Philippines during the Holy Week is to be treated to an excursion of the senses and the spirit if you go past the idea of frolicking in the beach. One need not go out of the greater Manila area to experience this.

I am not a devout Catholic, but for many years I have stayed put in Manila during the Holy Week when almost everyone else goes outside to be in the beach or the mountains. I find the quietude in Manila during the Holy Week sufficient enough for reflection. Besides, the roads are so peaceful, and if I want to see something festive, I only need to go a little inside the barangays to see the churches, the makeshift Stations of the Cross and the like. The same atmosphere can be found - at a grander scale I believe - in the provinces.

I will add more posts on how the Holy Week is observed in Manila in the next few days. Photo of Jesus entering Jerusalem is taken from this site.

Mind The Gap: The Manila Metro Rail Transit System at 1130H

Mind The Gap.

The phrase "Mind The Gap", coined in the late 1960's to warn the passengers of the space between the train and the platform, has no exact equivalent catchphrase in the Tagalog vernacular. None, as far as I know. I only learned in my overseas travels that "Mind The Gap" is actually a sign in the subways more than a T-shirt logo.

Yes, we do have a rail transit system here in the Greater Manila area. It runs along the roughly 17 km long Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue, from the North (Shoemart North EDSA station) to the South (Taft Avennue Station) of Metro Manila. It serves 13 stations in places like Quezon City, Mandaluyong, and Makati City. At some points the rail is intercepted by two other train systems. The usual time of operation is from 0530H to 2200H.

The MRT is still the most efficient means of travel in the city: it takes you to your destination relatively fast (5 stations in 10 minutes), considering that it can take up to much as one hour to travel 2 km by bus during peak hours (and peak hours here in Manila could mean...any hour during the day, hahaha). The cost of a single-travel fare ranges from PHP10 to PHP14 (about USD 0.22 to USD 0.31, or EUR 0.16 to EUR 0.23)

But the MRT is so limited: the trains are very short, not as fast as the trains I rode outside the country, and can get incredibly crowded during the peak hours. (There is little point in taking photos of the MRT at this time of the day, unless you want to attract the attention of thieves.) At times the train stops in the middle of the rail, usually because another train is in the station immediately before it: the MRT does not seem to have precise times of arrival and departure. For foreigners seeking order in the MRT, you may find this a little disconcerting.

Personally, I ride the MRT when I need to travel fast in the middle of the day. It is not as crowded, and the windows provide interesting vantage views: views which I can never see when I am in a car or a taxi cab. The MRT could use a lot of improvement in terms of making it longer and setting computerized times of arrival and departure. (Photos of views outside the window: SM Megamall, one of the largest malls in the Philippines, and a slum area near North Avenue.)

And for me, changing vantage points does me a whole lot of good in understanding the world around me.

*****
Pictures were taken near noontime, at 1130H. Photo of MRT at EDSA from this site.

Before Everything Else, For The Third Time

It is with extreme pleasure that I introduce myself once again, and my new blog, Manila And Beyond.

I go by the web name Marika. It is a name that I have been using for more than ten years. Marika happens to be the author of Trash Radio Manila, a blog which talks about one of my biggest passions in life, music.

To people whom I have the chance of meeting in real life, I am Gigi. As Gigi, I do The Last Song Syndrome, a blog that talks more about my views on life, career, and aspirations, and as such may be referred to by most as "personal". Being "personal" is something that I try so much to exercise with caution, i.e., being able to express my sentiments minus the sentimentality, and hopefully TLSS has reflected that effort.

My new blog, Manila And Beyond, is borne out of a desire to show Manila through my eyes. I was born in the heart of Manila, along Blumentritt St. to be more precise, technically making me a true-blooded Manila girl. I may have traveled considerably, but Manila will always be my home. Manila And Beyond is also the result of requests from a number of friends who are mostly based overseas, as they would like an idea or two of how it is like to live in Manila.

[This blogsite is still an infant, and it will be changing formats in the weeks to come, so I ask for your patience.]

Manila And Beyond will be a collection of thoughts on survival in the Manila jungle. A lot of elements about Manila will be infused - daily living, places, current issues, nostalgia - as well as insights on travels outside of Manila. (The latter will still qualify, because this is considered an experience peculiar to a native Manileña.) Manila, like I always say, is a place that I both love and hate (making me a reluctant Manila girl) but will always call my home.

Thus, I would really love to have you around here, walk with me, eat with me, travel with me, have fun and take part in my experiences as a reluctant Manila girl, here on Manila and beyond.

Join me in my journey. You are welcome anytime. :)