Ricky's Fish Ball, 'The Fried of Victorias'

On March 12, 2019, the home and livelihood of Manong Ricky and his family were razed by a fire that broke out at their neighborhood in Barangay 4 in Victorias City (read blog here), a 4th class city in the Philippines, whose economy revolved around sugar, usurious financing, and small-town lottery.😆 That afternoon as the fire was raging, I witnessed the anguish of the family as they endured the tragedy, and although all the family members were safe, they lost everything but their hope and the will to rise up against the adversity they were facing. That night and during the next two weeks, his family had to seek shelter at one of the rooms of a public elementary school across the street.😪 

(Ricky's home reduced to ashes)

Manong Ricky and his wife, Gina, were ambulant vendors selling fried fish balls, tempura, and 'kwek-kwek' on their 'kariton' (cart) at busy intersections in Victorias, including those near public schools. This was their only livelihood that provided them with income that was enough to cover their daily expenses on food, utilities, and allowances for their four children, who were still in grade school and high school. That day, they weren't able to save their kariton and all their cooking utensils and equipment.😭

In the Philippines, just like in Korea, fried snacks sold by street vendors are popular because they are easy to eat and cheap. In Seoul, busy workers and students usually stopped by a food stall to grab some quick snacks (read blog here) teokpeokki, soondae, mini-kimbap, and other snacks classified as 퉈김 (pronounced as 'twi-kim') that means 'fried snacks'. There was one small alley near our office full of these small restaurants, but they all disappeared because of gentrification.😓

Since the fire, Manong Ricky and his family have slowly put their lives together with the help of strangers and the people of Victorias. Although they have yet to rebuild their home, they received clothes, household items, and the most helpful, a new kariton with cooking utensils. Even the high school classmates of their daughter gave up a part of their daily allowance and collected an amount to help the family. Placed in a small plastic were coins and a few paper bills as help from her classmates and schoolmates. One should never lose faith in humanity, particularly the young.🙏

(I don't see coins and paper bills. 

I see kindness and compassion.😂)

Manong Ricky and Gina have started selling their snacks again. I am sure you're familiar with these snacks: fish ball, tempura (or tem-poora but is not exactly made of big shrimps), and 'kwek-kwek' (quail egg in orange batter). To enjoy, these are put in a cup, bathed in either sweet sauce or hot sauce, and sold for P10 per cup. 

(Fish ball, tem-poora, and kwek-kwek)

These simple, yet popular, snacks have again provided for Ricky and Gina's family, and if you chance upon their kariton on the streets of Victorias, do make sure to buy a cup or two (or more!) of their snacks to help them get back on their feet. Salamat in advance. 🙏

 "Ricky's Fish Ball 

The Fried of Victorias".😀
('The Fried of Victorias' is a wordplay
for 'The Pride of Victorias')

Carrozzas de La Semana Santa: The Most Attended and The Most Popular is a Procession of Faith and Style

Catholicism is the most significant contribution by the Spanish colonizers to the Philippines, although I'd put jamón and Spanish pastries up there, alongside saints and angels. And the religious procession of Jesus, Mary, and the saints who were part of His Passion during Semana Santa or Holy Week is the most colorful display of style, art, and creativity in the whole Catholic calendar. This is also the most attended and the most popular of all religious parades. This Lenten procession has colorful floats that make your Christmas trees look like grade school art projects.

(The Agony in the Garden carro in 
2011 was decorated with white picket fences. 
What's missing is a rocking chair.)

 (The Good Friday crowd gathers for the procession)

That's why when I was a kid, I had fun memories of helping prepare the Agony in the Garden carro, short for 'carrozza' (the Spanish word for carriage), here in my hometown of Victorias City in the Philippines, (they're also called pasos in other parts of the Philippines) during the Holy Week when school was out and the summer heat was in. 

Back then, there were just a handful of carros participating in the procession that was held on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Currently, the procession in only held on Good Friday and involves more than a dozen carros.

(Agony in the Garden) 

(Jesus Cautivo)

(Scourging at the Pillar)

While most of the carros during the procession in our hometown in Victorias City was obviously made during the last decade or two, the Agony in the Garden, owned by the Montinola family of Victorias, dates back to the 1950s, after World War II. 

Commissioned by Don Felix Montinola and his wife, Doña Dorothea, from artisans and craftsmen in the Iloilo Province, the sculpted image is that of a kneeling Jesus looking up to a winged angel holding a chalice that seems to be bringing Him the prophecy of his impending suffering and death on the cross; it is made of heavy wood that was cured and had not shrunk or deteriorated all these years. (Wood from santol, I learned, is not a good material for statues because the wood shrinks over time, although the santol fruit itself is a delight to eat!😍).

 (Above: Inday Lydia Quiatchon with the Montinola Family's Agony in the Garden carro that she decorated for the annual Lenten procession)

The Agony in the Garden depicts Christ kneeling with His face expressing sadness and anguish as He prayed on the eve of His Crucifixion in a garden which was located at the foot of Mount Olives in Jerusalem, where water has always been a problem as it is in a desert region, next to the Judaean Desert. 

Olive trees naturally survive in arid conditions and the ones at Gethsemane have been tested to be the oldest olive trees in the world with some aging as 900 years old. Those trees have witnessed more biblical events than any living organism on Earth.

(Jesus de la Paciencia)

(St. Peter's carroza was the most creative. His 

golden robes paired with emerald green was 

a color combination that was attractive to the eyes. 

A 'palm tree' made the carro a standout as 

this added a tropical Philippine flavor) 

(Gold and emerald green with devotees 

in matching gold shirts. The faithful are tasteful.😉)

If you look closely at Christ's statue on the Agony in the Garden while ignoring His red cape and white vest with glittery sequins, you'd see a face in a state of surrender and sadness. 

For me, the expression on His face summarizes His suffering; the Five Sorrowful Mysteries are right there on the Lord's face. 😢

(The Carrying of the Cross)

 (The Crucified Christ)

The late Inday Lydia Ledesma-Quiatchon, who was tasked by the late Doña Luz Montinola with the annual responsibility to oversee the preparation and decoration of the Agony in the Garden when she was still alive and able, once exclaimed upon gazing at Christ's face, "Katahum guid sang nawong sang aton Gino-o. (The face of our Lord is so beautiful)."

The decorations of the carros decades ago were only plastic flowers as there were no vendors who could supply huge quantities of flowers required by the local owners of carros in Bacolod City then.

 (Red anthuriums on the Agony in the Garden carro)

(Putting the angel's wings)

During the parade when darkness falls and the lights are turned on, there's a spotlight that directly illuminates His face, and amidst the weariness of walking, any faithful could still draw strength and inspiration upon gazing at this apparition.

(A spotlight illuminates Christ's face)

If you're wondering why the saints' faces look very European with high noses and chiseled bone structure, it's because when the Spanish friars and religious men came to the Philippines, they brought with them icons and statues whose faces were patterned after Spanish and European features. And when the Philippine craftsmen and artisans learned how to carve intricate statues, that's what they have been told to copy ever since.

 (Father Rafa and Father Vince greet and 

bless the passing carros)

(La Pieta)

(San Juan Evangelista)

That's why it's no wonder that many of the faithful are in awe of these images and statues being paraded during Good Friday. 

And as these are blessed by the priests, they are considered sacred with some people even grabbing them from the carros after the procession to keep them as 'pangalap' or items they'd use for their livelihood like a piece of the saint's vest fishermen brought to the sea with the belief that these would bring in a bountiful catch. Yes, there were times people would bring scissors to cut off the statue's clothing, although the most common practice now is just to grab the flowers that adorned the carros.

(Santo Entierro or Holy Burial) 

(Saint Veronica whose statue for me was the most elegant and dramatic of all. Sadly, this statue was lost in a fire in 2018.)

(Virgen Dolorosa)

Aside from the 'pangalap' tradition, people bring white cloths or handkerchieves to wipe the saint's faces or raise their children up to the carros so that they could kiss the saints.

(Santa Marta)

(Saint Mary Magdalene) 

(Parish altar boys lead the procession)

Although this is not a competition but a profession of our faith, we subconsciously (or maybe not!) compare the floats as to their decorations, the saints' glittery vestments, the size of the carriage, and the flowers that adorn the carro as if the whole thing was a beauty pageant. 

I know this as kid with a direct hand in decorating a carro (well, it was just handing thumb tacks to whoever was putting on the silky purple skirt around the carriage or handing flowers to whoever was decorating), I used to compare, too, even boasting then that the Agony in the Garden was the only one with accompanying music. 

Weeks before the procession, my mom would go to a music shop in Bacolod City to have religious music copied into a cassette tape. That's why days before Good Friday, you'd already hear Mario Lanza singing at home The Lord's Prayer before he even belted the same songs for two hours all over town on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

(Mary Magdalene)

(People raise their white cloths to

 wipe the saint's face)

(A child is raised to kiss the saint)

And on this Holy Week, as we Catholics ponder on Christ's passion, most of us will probably be attending the procession to have more photos for Instagram and Facebook but I hope we'll all remember that the procession is a profession of our faith and not a parade of style and creativity.🙏