Lost amidst the noise of Middle East conflicts, political turmoil in the senate, rising prices, and many disturbances, let us pause and take a searching look backward. When I was in my teen years, I eagerly awaited the month of May because so many towns and barrios celebrated fiestas. We teenagers were more excited about the traditional Santacruzan. Aside from the free merienda prepared by households, we got to be introduced to beautiful sagalas and Santa Helenas. It has been a long time since I heard the song, Diyos te salve Maria... beautiful ladies, beauty queens, and barrio lasses of substance parading on town streets. Let us look back and appreciate how important Filipino traditions are.
The Merry Month of May
Many writers always describe the fifth month in the calendar as the merry month of May. Festivities in many towns throughout the country are held in this month. It was so in my youth. It is described as merry because people then looked forward to town fiestas, a time to visit friends and relatives. However, the enthusiasm among many people has waned compared to yesteryear's celebrations.
I remember accompanying my mother when she visited her cumadres in Sta. Rita town, which celebrates its fiesta on the 22nd, and in the City of San Fernando on the 30th. After hearing mass at the town church, we spent almost the whole day visiting her friends and relatives, bringing some gifts to the house owners. Fiestas are still held today in many cities, towns, and barangays all over the country, but they have somehow lost their appeal due to the realities of today. People prefer to go to malls, where they can have affordable buffets, 'eat all you can', and unli samgyupsal, instead of looking for kin and friends' houses in celebration. Fiestas today are no longer grand, but because of tradition, they refuse to die.
Yesteryear's Festivities
The yesteryears' fiestas featured coronations of beauty queens, serenatas of competing bands, musical jamborees on makeshift stages, amateur contests, and of course, the colorful procession. The colorful festivity in this month is the Santacruzan, also called Flores de Mayo, meaning flowers in May. It is a kind of religious and historical pageant featuring the Reyna Helena and her escort Constantino, along with some sagalas in tow. The Reyna Helena is a personification of Helena of Constantinople, who brought a crucifix and searched for the Holy Grail. The Reyna Helena is almost always the most beautiful pick among the local lasses. Sometimes, hermano mayoras and mayores import a movie starlet or a beauty queen to be the Helena. Normally, the parade is backed by a brass band playing and a choir singing Dios te salve Maria, the Spanish version of Hail Mary. It culminates with a pabitin, where a bamboo pole smeared with grease has prize money waiting at the top for whoever can pick it.
Participants in Flores de Mayo
In this month of May, some cities, towns, and barangays are mulling plans to hold their respective Santacruzans. I googled on the internet who should be participating in the Flores de Mayo for reference and authenticity, and here is the list I was able to research:
- Matusalem, bearded with age.
- Reyna Banderada, queen with a banner.
- Three Aetas, dark-skinned indigenous people.
- Reyna Mora, represents Muslim Filipinos.
- Reyna ng Saba (Sheba), represents the unnamed queen who visited King Solomon.
- Ruth and Noemi, ancestresses of King David.
- Reyna Judith, the biblical widow.
- Reyna Esther, the Jewish queen of Persia.
- Cleopatra, the famous last pharaoh of Egypt.
- Samaritana, the woman at the well who conversed with Christ.
- Sta. Veronica, the woman who wiped the face of Christ.
- Tres Marias, three Marys associated with the entombment of Christ.
- Reyna Fe, Esperanza, and Caridad, representing faith, hope, and charity.
- Reyna Sentenciada, her hands bound with rope, stands for early Christians.
- Reyna de las Flores, she carries a bouquet of flowers.
- Reyna Helena, the last member in the procession.
For further authenticity, get a Guido, the Moorish highwayman who with his troops tries to halt the procession.
A Call to Preserve Tradition
I always love looking back. I romanticize a lot. I am writing about it for the millennials, hoping they too can appreciate the beauty and significance of these Filipino traditions.
