Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SAN PEDRO CUTUD LENTEN RITES
Heading north through Pampanga province, you might be tempted by the rather voyeuristic
prospect of watching a dozen or so Catholic devotees being voluntarily
crucified
, a gruesome
tradition that started in 1962 and is euphemistically known as the
San Pedro Cutud Lenten
Rites
. Every year on Good Friday at San Pedro Cutud, 3km west of
San Fernando
, a dozen or
so penitents - mostly men but the occasional woman (and sometimes even the odd foreigner)
- are taken to a rice field and nailed to a cross by men dressed as Roman soldiers, using 5cm
stainless steel nails that have been soaked in alcohol to disinfect them. The penitents are taken
down seconds later. In total some two thousand penitents walk to the site, flagellating
themselves using bamboo sticks tied to a rope or shards of glass buried in wooden sticks. The
blood - and the cries of pain - are real, but the motivation is questionable to some (one
“regular” has been crucified at least 27 times). The Catholic Church does not approve of the
crucifixions and does not endorse them, and the media have also turned against the rites,
calling them pagan and barbaric - but always managing despite these reservations to allot
copious front-page space to photographs of bloodied penitents.
In 2010 the local authorities banned tourists from attending for the first time, but in practice
this is virtually impossible to enforce and every year some fifty thousand foreigners and locals
attend the spectacle - you'll need to get here early to grab a good view (it's normal and
accepted that folks jostle to get close-ups of the nails going in). Victory Liner buses leave every
hour for San Fernando from Pasay and Cubao.
2
First Philippine Republic - the city served as the capital of the short-lived independent
nation until 1899. Today, the location of the convention -
Barasoain Church
- is the
city's biggest attraction.
Barasoain Church
Paseo del Congreso • Tues-Sun 8.30am-noon & 1-4.30pm • Free •
T
044 662 7686,
W
barasoainchurch.org
The current incarnation of
Barasoain Church
dates back to 1885, its handsome
colonial facade and tower best known as the place where the Revolutionary
Congress convened in 1898 (ever the showman, Joseph Estrada chose to be
inaugurated president here in 1998). The church also houses the
Ecclesiastical
Museum
on the upper floor, which displays religious relics such as antique prayer
cards and a bone fragment of San Vicente Ferrer encased in glass, and puts on a
light-and-sound presentation depicting events leading to the Philippine Revolution
and the Philippine-American War.
Malolos Cathedral
Paseo del Congreso • Daily 7am-8pm • Free
In 1898, Aguinaldo made his headquarters at the grand Malolos Cathedral, aka the
Basilica Minore de la Nuestra Señora de Inmaculada Concepcion
. The cathedral's Spanish
origins lie in the sixteenth century, but Aguinaldo ordered its destruction in 1899, part
of his “scorched-earth policy” to hamper the Americans. What you see today was
primarily rebuilt in the 1930s, though work has continued to the present. Don't miss
the venerable tree in front of the cathedral, known as the
Kalayaan Tree
(Tree of
Freedom), said to have been planted by Aguinaldo himself.
Casa Real
Paseo del Congreso • Mon-Fri 8.30am-noon & 1-4.30pm • Free •
T
044 791 2716
A gorgeous Spanish house with origins in 1580 and serving many functions over the
years, the
Casa Real
is primarily a small museum and shrine dedicated to the
“
20 women of Malolos
”. These pioneers began a daring campaign for a school for
women in 1888, and the museum has various displays on other barrier-breaking
Filipinas from around the country.
