HOLY WEEK IN BORACAY / APRIL 8-10,2009 =D

The impossible has finally happened. I found myself in Boracay last Holy Week. ACK!

Those who know my family well know that it's bawal for us "kids" to go on gimmick trips during these holiest of weeks. "Bawal magsaya, patay ang Diyos," I remember Lola Sinay saying as she tried to shush our giggling. We were kids and did not grasp the full gravity of Christ dying on the cross to save mankind.

This year, I had to struggle with having to tell my mom that Hubby Sweet and I would be flying to Boracay for Holy Week. The fact that I had to do it for work (!) did not lessen the gravity of the....uh....for lack of a better word....offense. Naku! Lola Sinay and Noni must be turning in their graves. Still, Mother understood that I had no choice. Quite honestly, I love spending Holy Week in Manila. It's the only time one can find Manila peaceful and quiet--and traffic-free. You want the perfect place for silent meditation during Holy Week? Stay put in Manila.

I was not looking forward to all the parties. Maybe I've grown old and turned corny, but Boracay during Holy Week means endless parties (one of which I must attend as it was the primary reason for me flying there in the first place), and I've pretty much outgrown the partying-till-dawn-days-of-my-youth. But miracles do happen, and for some weird (or DIVINE! ;P) reason, this year, the council declared that no parties will be allowed in Boracay from 12:00 a.m. of Good Friday to 12:00 a.m. of Black Saturday! Good. =)

So there we were, Hubby Sweet and I, walking along the practically deserted beach (as people seem to have made the most out of the last night of partying allowed on the island before the clock struck 12). I was clicking away on my trusty cell (because our darn digicam which was supposed to be water-proof clunked the day before, long story). I wanted to show Sister Pusjing just how much Boracay has changed since we were there last. Even on that relatively slow day, you can see traces that the Boracay we once knew is no longer there.

Sculptures on the sand. Made by kids. Beautiful at night, especially with the lit candles. Charming, yes, except that you have to "donate" if you want to pose beside them. Naku! =)

Brand activations have also taken over the island. Maybe it is less so during non-peak months (we're going back in September; I'll know then), but during Holy Week, you can't escape them. You walk past them--booths, banners, models-cum-sellers, etc., etc.--as you walk along the shore.

You see them on the water from sunrise to sunset. (The pic was taken at low-tide. During the day, these paraws actually sail a good distance from the shore. Still, this basically shows that the old fishermen's bancas that we used to swim to and use as makeshift diving platforms have all been replaced by "billboards on water".)

There are even creative ways of getting people to act as your "walking signboard" without paying them a single centavo. Come to think of it, this was particularly clever because people were clamoring to get these floaters "for free". On a "limited basis", Havaianas gave them away to people who bought P800++ flipflops from the Havaianas store in D'Mall. Yes, there is now a Havaianas store in Boracay. Oh, and yes, a Starbucks too. =)


So there we were, enjoying the relative peace and quiet (never mind the visual clutter) when from afar, I saw what I thought was a swarm of people.

I panicked. No. I PANICKED. In big, bold letters.

See, the thing is, I've always heard that Boracay is teeming with people from all walks of life during Holy Week. People tell me about it. I see it in the news. But nothing prepared me for what I saw coming toward us.

"Oh, my Gooooood," I thought, "It seems like the whole country descended on Boracay." Ngyar. =(

THEN, upon closer inspection, I heaved a sigh of EXTREME relief. What I thought to be a swarm of tourists descending on the island was actually....well....a swarm of tourists joining the local Holy Week procession on the beach!

The procession snaked through the sand and all the establishments (restaurants, bars, lounges, etc.) that have since set-up on the Bora shores before proceeding back to the Station 1 chapel.

It seems like the Boracay Council (upon the request of the parish) was right. Make it illegal for people to party at least on this Holiest Day of Days, they will learn to remember what Good Friday really stands for.

Good. =)