The ‘pasos’ of Bacolod and Talisay

Devotees and curious folks and visitors will have the chance once more to see some of the legendary pasos (holy images) of the adjacent cities of Bacolod and Talisay. These ancient holy images are lovingly kept under wraps in the homes of their owners and brought out for the Holy Week procession in all their splendor.

In Bacolod, some of the legendary pasos — especially the magnificent Santo Entierro (Holy Sepulcher), the awesome Crucifixion and the poignant Mater Dolorosa — once belonged to the late Jose (Baby) Gonzaga, a prodigious art collector. These are now the treasured heirlooms of the family of Luis Gonzaga, who believes that the pasos are "integral to the evangelization mission" of the Church.

Countering critics of the lavishly dressed and decorated statues, Luis Gonzaga insists the sight of the holy images lifts the spirit of devotees and strengthens their faith. "The pasos are the equivalent of street catechesis," he says.

Gonzaga, now in his senior years, remembers that he was just five years old when his parents tugged him along to walk behind the Santo Entierro. "At that time it was still carried on the shoulders of menfolk," he recalls. It was only later that their parents had a caro (carriage) crafted by the famed santos-maker in Manila, Maximo Vicente.

In 1937, his late father bought the Risen Christ and initiated the encuentro between Him and His Blessed Mother, which was re-enacted in front of the former University Club.

Lavish ornamentations

Bacolod oldtimers still talk with awe about the lavish ornamentations of the pasos of the Mater Dolorosa and Maria Magdalena. "One reason Baby faithfully trudged behind the Magdalene was because those earrings were real diamonds, personally put on by Baby himself," recalls Wilhelmina Gonzales, a family friend.

Other beautiful images brought out during the Holy Week processions were those of Veronica, owned by Nap Gonzaga, and the Washing of the Hands of Pilate, owned by Imelda de la Rama.

"The lavish costumes and vestments and the fine decorations are lovingly stored in their homes during the whole year," says Msgr. Paderna of the San Sebastian Church of Bacolod. "When Holy Monday or Tuesday comes, they start dressing up and decorating the holy statues and then bring them to the cathedral grounds for the processions."

Preparations are assigned to family members. Even those living abroad return home to help in the preparations. In effect, they serve as a reason for a family reunion.

Folks have stories about the rivalry between Bacolod and Talisay on which one would come up with the most impressive and the most expensively decorated pasos and caros. Talisay will not be outdone this year, although it has scheduled only one procession, on Good Friday. The solemn procession will feature no less than 14 pasos, which are indeed glorious sights to behold.

Claparols’ Dead Christ

Talisay folks gush about the Dead Christ paso of the Claparols family. The Santo Entierro dates back to the time of the late Gen. Aniceto Lacson, the commander of the Northern Negros Army in the 1898 revolution against the Spaniards, who later became president of the Cantonal Republic of Negros.

Visiting the Claparols ancestral home last week, I did not expect to see the caro of the image already being polished to a sheen by a retinue of helpers led by 68-year-old Federico Magbanua. Consolacion Ilinon, 73, a retired school principal, supervised the cleaning. Ever since she was a young girl of 15, Consolacion has lent a hand to the yearly preparation of the Entierro.

The preparation is a pious chore rotated among the Claparols siblings. This year, Ricardo, son of Jaime, is in charge. Consolacion says the carriage was ordered from Spain by the Claparols family and was a copy of the original smaller, pre-war carriage. The present image of marble also replaced a smaller, wooden image. It takes from 12 to 16 people to move the caro along the city’s streets.

The Mater Dolorosa of the family of former Talisay mayor Mario Lizares is brought out at the start of the Holy Week for the ritualistic dressing up and adornment with precious stones and artifacts.

The Dolorosa, says Lizares, was bought in Manila by Doña Eleuteria Treyes Lizares, wife of Don Simplicio Alunan Lizares, way back in 1925. In the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday evening processions before the war years, the statue was borne on a small platform by four persons. Much later, a splendid metal caro was constructed in Cavite and the Dolorosa was fitted with two robes, one for Holy Thursday, the other for Good Friday.

Mirrors of the past

As with the Dolorosa of the Lizareses, the other well-known pasos of Talisay not only have religious significance, they also mirror the culture of the past and the histories of families.

The large statue of St. Peter with the cock was made in Belgium in 1881 and was bought by Mrs. Roquesa Espinosa-Gutierrez, wife of Lazaro Gutierrez, and entrusted to Lazaro’s son Mateo.

The historic image of St. John the Evangelist was bought in 1861 by Juan Evangelista Kilayko and his wife, Paula Copla, both from Mandurriao, Iloilo. The image was handed down to Primitivo and Rufina Kilayko, who brought it with them to Talisay in 1900. It is now kept by Ramon Ereneta Kilayko and Aurora Kilayko.

More than a century old is the image of Salome, mother of the apostles James and John, whose original owners were Mateo Hernaez and Prudencia Treyes. It was handed down the line of the Erenetas and now belongs to Nanette and Boy Nilo.

Other vintage images represent Veronica, owned by Salvador and Adela Lacson; Mary Magdalene, parts of which were retrieved from a canal and assembled after the war, in the possession of the family of former mayor Felipe Lacson; the Oracion al Huerto, a commemoration of the Agony in the Garden, originally owned by Emilio and Caridad Cuenca and now with the Jamison family.

A most interesting story revolves around the image of the Jesus de la Paciencia and how it came into the house of Julio Cuenca. Its original owner, an hacendero, had converted to Protestantism and so ordered the image cast away from him.

One afternoon, on his way to the farm, he kept espying his hat on the head of the image. Annoyed, he struck the image on the neck with his cane and had the decapitated head dumped in a lime warehouse. Back in his house, the hacendero slipped on the newly mopped tile floor of his toilet, struck his neck against the toilet bowl and died on the spot. Julio Cuenca asked the hacendero’s family to give him the broken image, which he then lovingly repaired and kept for his children’s children.

The Scourging at the Pillar was passed on from Vicente Ramirez to generations of Lacsons and Diazes of Bacolod (Celia Diaz-Laurel is one of the daughters), while the Crucifixion, said to be more than a hundred years old, as is the cart that carries it, is now the priceless inheritance of Sister Nena E. Gustilo, daughter of Mrs. Jesusa Ereneta, who had inherited the image from her brother Matias Morin.