Bulacan Province

[kikodj]

====Obando Fertility Rites====
Obando Fertility Rites is a Filipino dance ritual. Every year, during the month of May, to the tune of musical instruments made out of bamboo materials, the men, women and children of Obando, Bulacan, Philippines wear traditional dance costumes to dance on the streets followed by the images of their patron saints San Pascual (St. Paschal), Santa Clara (St. Claire) and Nuestra Señora de Salambao (Our Lady of Salambao), while singing the song Santa Clara Pinung-Pino.

====Purpose====
Among the fiesta participants to the fertility dance are foreigners from other towns in the Philippines, most are asking the patron saints for a son or a daughter, a husband or a wife or good fortune. They are all dancing on the streets as a form of a religious procession primarily in order for the spirit of life to enter into the wombs of women. This is the magic and mystery of Obando, Bulacan.

The feast days or dance festivals are held for three consecutive days: May 17 for St. Paschal, May 18 for St. Claire and May 19 for the Our Lady of Salambaw.

The Philippine national hero, José Rizal, mentioned this fertility dance ritual in his Spanish novel, the Noli Me Tangere.

====History====
The ancient Filipinos once held a ritual known as the Kasilonawan headed by a katalonan or high priestess. The ritual normally lasts for nine days and usually involves drinking, singing and dance, and is normally held at the home of a datu or barangay chieftain. This ritual became important to early Filipinos because they value of fertility that could also mean wealth or abundance of every individual person. A barren woman was once considered as a member of the lowest class in Philippine society and suffered stigma and mockery. Because of this reason, it became important to perform the fertility rites so that the women could become productive. The god known as Linga, a force of nature, became the center of the Kasilonawan ritual.

Upon the arrival of the Franciscan missionaries to the Philippines, they built churches to propagate the Christianity and introduced Catholic saints. In Obando, Bulacan the Spanish Franciscans introduced a trio or a triangle of saints, namely St. Claire, St. Pascual and the Our Lady of Salambao in order to replace the traditional pagan gods.

The current images at the altar of Obando Church are replicas, sculpted with the financial assistance of the people of Obando. The originals were destroyed during World War II.

====Saint Claire====
St. Claire is the oldest patron saint of Obando, Bulacan. She was the first saint to be enshrined at the chapel built by the Franciscan missionaries in Catanghalan, the old name of Obando Town.

St. Claire is a nun in Assisi, Italy during the 13th century, who founded a congregation known as the Poor Claires based on the devotional teachings of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Claire has been considered as the patron saint of good weather because her name in Spanish meant the brightening of the skies after a season of storms, which later became the basis why the residents of Obando, Bulacan believed in offering eggs at the base of the altar of St. Claire to pray for good weather. Eggs are offered to St. Claire because her name also meant claro (albumen) in Spanish.

The introduction of St. Claire by the Spanish Franciscan missionaries as a replacement for the pagan gods of the ancient Filipinos resulted to the transformation of the old Kasilonawan ritual into the offering of the fandango or dance for St. Claire to prevent women from becoming barren. This transformation from pagan rituals to Christian ceremonies enhanced the conversion of Filipinos to Catholicism.

Eventually, St. Claire became the pilgrim’s patron saint of an individual who would like to request for a mate and bear children, female babies in particular.

====St. Paschal====
During the 18th century, after the founding of Obando, Bulacan as a Spanish Municipality, the Franciscan missionaries built a church. At that time, St. Paschal, or San Pascual Baylon, was introduced to Obando, Bulacan. Like St. Claire, he also became the patron saint of fertility, wealth and abundance. St. Paschal’s surname, Baylon, meant a person who likes dancing, after having been derived from the Spanish word bailar.

There is an anectode about the miracles of St. Paschal. The Obando story narrates that there was a couple from a neighboring town known as Hagonoy, Bulacan who met a man who sells crabs. That man invited the couple to go to Obando, Bulacan to participate in the mid-May dance ritual. And when the husband and wife finally did visit the Obando Church, they were stunned when they discovered that the face of the image of St. Paschal inside the church looked exactly like the face of the crab vendor they met.

St. Paschal also became as a patron saint for having children, particularly male babies.

====Our Lady of Salambao====
On June 19, 1763, the Our Lady of Salambao, also known as the Our Lady of Immaculate Concepcion, was also introduced to Obando, Bulacan. Based on an Obando legend, three fishermen namely Juan, Julian and Diego dela Cruz caught the image of the Virgin Mary with their salambaw, a fishing net supported with bamboo crosspieces and mounted on a raft, while fishing at a place known as Hulingduong, Binwangan at the town of Tambobong or Malabon. When the fishermen decided to bring the image of the Virgin Mary to a neighboring town known as Navotas, their fishing boat became heavy and couldn’t be paddled towards Navotas. But they eventually decided to bring the image of the Virgin Mary toward Obando, their fishing boat quickly lightened and became easy to paddle. Thus, the image of the Our Lady of Salambao was added to the altar of the church of Obando, Bulacan.

The Our Lady of Salambao eventually became the patron saint of fishermen and good harvest.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


during may17-may18-may19

only street disco accepted by the church hahaha

madami girls na pretty sa obando... ("j)
madami ding gwapo(ehem!) kapal hehehehehehe

[kikodj]

[QUOTE=Lucentino;12968098]The NLEX exit at Malolos is different from most of the SLEX/NLEX exits I've been to... the toll plaza is far from the main roadway...QUOTE]

temporary exit lang kasi yan dati... di ko lang alam ngayon??

[BYAHILO]

i might be going to witness the obando fertility rite on may19th. sino nasa obando. PM me lets meet.

this is going to be my first time in Bulacan.
(pag natuloy, its going ot be my 30th provicne na napuntahan)

[TheAvenger]

The paintings on the ceiling of Angat church was quite controversial after it was shown in the front page of the Phil Daily Inquirer a month ago. I was intrigue by the paintings so I went there yesterday since I am still having a vacation in my hometown which is adjacent to Angat, also we have some relatives there.

These were the photos of the Church and vicinity as of 6th May 2007.
























































































































completed part 1 of 3
.

[TheAvenger]

Paintings on the ceiling of Sta. Monica Church - part 2 of 3





















































































































completed part 2 of 3.

[TheAvenger]

Paintings on the ceiling of Sta Monica Church - part 3 of 3




















































































completed part 3 of 3

[Lucentino]

Originally Posted by kikodj

temporary exit lang kasi yan dati... di ko lang alam ngayon??

Para kasi syang spur road going somewhere dahil malayo sya from the NLEX itself...

Anyway city na rin po ba ang Malolos? Ang Meycauayan at Baliuag po ba mga cities na rin? Alam ko po kasi late 80's wala pang city sa Bulacan...

@TheAvenger any pics of Biak na Bato? Nabalitaan ko dati the place is quickly deteriorating daw dahil sa quarry(?)...

[TheAvenger]

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/pro...rticle_id=6495


DENR lets firm take marble out of Biak-na-Bato

Inquirer
Last updated 05:04am (Mla time) 06/25/2006

Published on page A6 of the June 25, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet—Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes clarified on Saturday that he had simply imposed a status quo order on a firm mining marble inside the Biak-na-Bato nature park in Bulacan.

Reyes told reporters here on Saturday the order allowed the Rosemoor Mining and Development Corp. to transport marble boulders for export.

The status quo order, he said, would take effect while government experts studied the legal impact of Rosemoor’s quarrying operations on the park in Doña Remedios Trinidad town in Bulacan.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources heeded the warnings of environmentalists and closed down the quarry in March.

Ore transport permit

Reyes said the status quo order did not nullify the ore transport permit (OTP) of Rosemoor that covered the hauling of almost 800 cubic meters of marble boulders. The order was issued before the government crackdown.

Reyes said the OTP only allowed Rosemoor to ship marble it had previously carved from the mountains at Biak-na-Bato.

“Once the OTP is exhausted,” the DENR will no longer issue new OTPs until it makes a decision regarding the existence of a 330-hectare quarry operation inside the park, he said.

Economic question

The secretary was here to launch the Benguet leg of a nationwide recycling campaign.

But Reyes told reporters the government’s final decision on the fate of Rosemoor addresses “an economic question” that is plaguing the Arroyo administration.

Rosemoor is quarrying tea rose marble, a pink rock with white streaks that is in high demand abroad, Reyes said.

Homegrown facility

“The marble at Biak-na-Bato is precious. I went there the other day. I saw the export quality of the boulders which is really a rarity… [that] is in demand abroad,” he said.

Reyes said the government is eyeing an alternative project that would require the development of a homegrown processing facility for tea rose marble and other Biak-na-Bato minerals, in lieu of exporting raw marble boulders.

“There should be processing, hindi lang yung (not only that) we export raw materials and that’s it. There should be more value added to [the raw tea rose marble], if we export finished goods,” he said.

Downstream industry

Theoretically, providing a downstream industry for tea rose marble would also increase employment opportunities, Reyes said.

“It’s an economic question. Some people will say this is precious and therefore we should conserve it. But we could say it’s available, we could earn income from it. What I’m saying is if we want to generate income from [tea rose marble], we should generate more downstream industries,” he said.

He said the committee he formed to look into the quarrying operations would be coming out with its decision soon. Vincent Cabreza and Frank Cimatu, PDI Northern Luzon Bureau

[TheAvenger]

With thanks and compliments to Pbase at http://www.pbase.com/sanmigueldemayu...miguel_bulacan




































































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[TheAvenger]

http://opmanong.ssc.hawaii.edu/filipino/truce.html


Truce of Biak-na-Bato and the Betrayal of the Revolution
The death of Bonifacio was a turning point in the Revolution. The stewardship of the Revolution was left to Aguinaldo and the elite. But the Filipinos and the Spaniards faced a long haul. Aguinaldo’s troops were being routed in Cavite and, thus, his revolutionary government moved to the more secluded Biak-na-Bato in Bulacan. At this time, Aguinaldo’s commitment to the revolutionary cause became suspect. His military advisers persuaded him to issue a declaration that his Biak-na-Bato government was willing to return to the fold of law as soon as Spain granted political reforms.

These reforms included the expulsion of the hated Spanish friars and the return of lands they appropriated from the Filipinos; Filipino representation in the Spanish Cortes; freedom of the press and religious tolerance; equality in treatment and payment for both peninsular and insular civil servants; and equality for all before the law. This pronouncement by Aguinaldo proved that he and the ilustrados were willing to return to the Spanish fold provided there were reforms and the ilustrado interests were met.

The standoff in the battlefield prompted both sides to agree to an armistice. The Truce of Biak-na-Bato stipulated that Spain would pay financial remuneration to the Filipino revolutionaries in exchange for the surrender of arms and the voluntary exile abroad of Aguinaldo and the other leaders. Toward the end of December 1898, Aguinaldo and the other revolutionary leaders went into voluntary exile in Hong Kong and they were given the initial sum of 400,000 pesos, most of which were deposited in a Hongkong bank and used later on to purchase more weapons. Distrust on both sides resulted in the failure of the truce. Both sides were only biding time until they could launch another offensive.


The coming of the Americans marked the second phase of the Philippine Revolution. In Singapore, Aguinaldo met U.S. consul Spencer Pratt who persuaded him to cooperate with the Americans. In February 1898, the American warship Maine was mysteriously sunk in the waters of Havana, Cuba. This incident was the immediate cause of the Spanish-American War. Admiral George Dewey who was stationed in Hongkong received a cable on April 25 announcing that war had commenced between the two countries. He was ordered to retake the Philippines and, on May 1, 1898, his flagship U.S.S. Olympia defeated the Spanish fleet in the Battle of Manila Bay at a cost of eight wounded Americans and around five hundred casualties on the Spanish side.





Back in Hongkong, Aguinaldo was told by U.S. consul Rounsenville Wildman that Dewey wanted him to return to the Philippines to resume the Filipino resistance. Aguinaldo claimed that the American officials prodded him to establish a Philippine government similar to the United States, and that they pledged to honor and support the Filipinos’ aspiration for independence. Spencer, Wildman, and Dewey would later deny having made any promise or commitment to Aguinaldo.

[anone]

Thanks for the pictures @TheAvenger. Taga Baliaug ako. Nagpunta ako sa bahay ng friend ko sa Angat nung January. Sayang hindi ko alam na ganon pala kaganda ang simbahan. Ang lapit pa man din ng bahay ng friend ko sa simbahan. Anyway sa susunong na bakasyon ko sa December this year.

[Sinjin P.]

[kikodj]

pano ang ibang lugar sa bulacan sino ang nanalo? pakipaskil naman... salamat("j)

sa kongreso sino ang nanalo?

[Sinjin P.]

^ Partial Unoffiical pa po 'yan galing sa GMANews.TV at AMA Computer Colleges. Sadly, hindi pa 'yan inuupdate

[Waldenstrom]

Are there any industrial estates/business parks in Bulacan?

[TheAvenger]

Originally Posted by x_md

Are there any industrial estates/business parks in Bulacan?

i am not aware of this either. i will research and will post any info on this matter.

[kikodj]

sta.maria??

[Waldenstrom]

Andami palang industrial estates sa Bulacan!!! Magandang alternative sa sumisikip nang Cavite & Laguna.

First Bulacan Industrial City - Malolos City

Intercity Industrial Estate - Wakas, Bocaue

Bulacan Agro-Industrial Subdivision - Calumpit

Bulacan Metro Warehouse (BMW) Center - Guiguinto

Meycauayan Industrial Subd. I, II, III & IV - Meycauayan
Meridian Industrial Compound - Meycauayan
Muralla Industrial Project - Meycauayan
First Velenzuela Industrial Compound - Meycauayan
Sterling Industrial Park Phase I, II, III & IV - Meycauayan

Grand Industrial Estate - Plaridel

Sapang Palay Industrial Estates - San Jose del Monte City

Agus Development Corporation - Sta. Maria

[Lucentino]

Thanks for the pics of Biak na Bato... no sign of quarry though... but the river's water looks muddy --- i wont swim on that --- or is it a "religious" thing?

In my grandmother's hometown (Meycauayan) there are some Industrial Parks but might not be as "famous" as the ones in Cavite, Laguna or Batangas... In Balagtas, there is a medicine factory (Pascual Laboratories)...

I hope you could feature CEU Malolos --- where you can find beautiful Bulakeñas ...

[kikodj]

history lang po... ang alam ko kse ang mga taga valenzuela and some parts of Malabon are also bulakenios in blood... nasakop lang sila ng NCR during marcos time??

history naman ng Bulacan??....("j)

ang naalala ko lang... Bulacan came from three words 1st is BULAK 2nd is BURAK 3rd is BULAKLAK.....("j)