10 April 2007
nueva!perhaps the most ironic thing about nueva ecija can be found in its name, for there is nothing nueva about it. our ancestral house, for instance, is old, to some extent creepy, and creaky. yes, i think i have found the best word to describe it: creaky.
my mother's family came to and settled in manila when she was still very young, after her sister died. my cousins and i were all born here. every holy weekend, the family goes back to nueva ecija. we deck the carroza with fresh flowers (or, they deck and i watch) and we send the mater dolorosa to procession every good friday and easter sunday. between those two events, we just have to be creative in amusing ourselves.
this last weekend, i decided to take pictures of the place, perhaps before it crumbles down to mere memory. below you will find snapshots of the house, in its current state. it used to be grander and bigger. now, it's just...this. there's also an old family portrait. my mom is the one last on the right. i also took a picture of my youngest cousin, busy with his toy which i think was bought in a provincial mall; they all went there to keep themselves preoccupied last black saturday. they left me. i was sleeping. there's also a picture of the old church bell; there's a pair of them now muted, on display in front of the church. there's the detail of the carroza; an angel carrying lights. my mom and i had a debate about it. i know for a fact that the pair of angels are enhancements added to the caro some fifty years ago. she says otherwise. finally, pictures of the mater dolorosa. she's been with the family for at least five generations, and until now, she still brings the castelo clan together.
in my entire life, i've only missed going home there once. that was last year. that was going to be the last time i'm ever going to miss it. in spite all the complaints everyone gets from me every holy week. nueva ecija is literally an allergen to me. and that's the most ironic thing about this novo ecijano by extension.
Labels: carroza, holy week, mater dolorosa, nueva ecija, procession
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