SENATOR Loren Legarda invites everyone to watch the third episode of “Buhay na Buhay,” featuring kultura ng pamamanata (devotion to the patron saint and village community), today at 5:45 p.m., on GMA News TV.
“This episode explores how Catholicism has become an important part of Filipino culture especially those in the countryside. Celebrations or fiestas commemorating feast days of the Santo Niño, Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, or a patron saint have brought many communities together,” said Legarda.
The episode features the awitan in Quezon Province, the Feast of Saint John the Baptist in Nueva Ecija, and the various practices during the Holy Week, such as thepabasa, the senakulo, self-flagellation and crucifixion. It also looks into colorful pahiyas festival in Lucban, Quezon, and the Feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila, which is participated in by thousands of Filipino devotees.
Legarda’s family has also been observing Holy Week traditions, especially the pabasa. Her great grandparents, Gregorio Bautista and Agapita Torres-Bautista, started the Bautista annual pabasa in the early 1900s in their house along Avenida, Rizal in Manila.
