FIESTA!!!

June 28, 29 & 30 marked the 163rd year our parish has celebrated its patron saint's (St. Peter the Apostle, known to us as Apong Iru) fiesta. Fiesta season starts nine days before the 28th day of June for the 9-day novena, you'd know and feel it coz of the divisoria-like stalls that pop up along the street, then on the 28th Apong Iru is paraded from his ancestral home/shrine in Capalangan to the town parish church (a 410-year-old Spanish-built cathedral) in San Juan, Apalit.

Since I've been away studying in Manila before, then busy with my classes and hospital duty later, this is my first time after so many years in participating in the fiesta. I felt somewhat like an outsider, to tell you the truth; especially with vendors of Apong Iru's images flocking to me to buy their wares for pasalubong or remembrance or whatever the heck reason they could think of to make me buy those scapulars and etc.

In any case, the 27th was started with me waking up at around 2am coz mom, Tito Toto and I were scheduled to buy flowers from Dangwa early in the morning. We got there at around 4am, bought miscellaneous white flowers - 2 stargazers, a bundle of orchids, anturiums, wild chrysanthemums, roses, and aster - went back home at around 6am, then arranged the flowers for the remainder of the day till early in the afternoon. Mom and Anna were busy cooking; just in case may dumating na bisita mahirap naman na ala kaming ihahanda para sa kanila di ba?

The 28th found us watching the fluvial parade as the Knights of St. Peter pulled Apong Iru's barge through the river towards the cathedral where he'll be staying for the duration of the 3-day fiesta. Apong Iru's barge is accompanied by private boats and bangkas so the river's one chaotic and noisy mess of people throwing water-filled balloons at each other.

The 29th, the fiesta proper, was spent cooking some chili-garlic shirmps for Tita Pes (pandagdag sa handa); then went to mass and proceeded to the cemetery where Peter and Paul are buried. It was the twin's birthday that day. Their first birthday since they died last November. Kinda odd eating lunch at the cemetery. It's not really our custom to do, not even during All Saint's Day, but Tita wanted to celebrate the day near the twins so... *shrug* We spent the day there. It was quiet inside the cemetery, there weren't a lot of people visiting their dead though there were a few. Paul's classmates at Kester came, so did Peter's UP friends. Nicolle and Grace were also there. I don't know why but I don't really feel like socializing with those people. They promised to come each year on the twin's birthday and day of death but I really am doubtful they'd keep that up for more than a year or two. I mean, Grace - Paul's gf of two years - has already found another guy, and I don't blame her for trying to move on. I wouldn't wish any of them to continually grieve for my dead cousins, I want them to move on with their lives, and eventually, I know they will. And that however good their intentions are about visiting and supporting Tita Pes, Tito Toto and Camille, they'll eventually find less and less time to do so. Am I just being negative about them? Anyways, that's how I feel so I don't want to socialize with them, pretend they're friends or anything of the sort coz they're not.

Anyways, today's the 30th. The last day of the town fiesta. Wala sanang magtampo na hindi ako nangumbira kasi wala naman talaga akong kinumbira kahit na sino. Didn't feel like it coz nga of the twins. Mom didn't invite anyone either so... Mom and I went to the 8am mass, then waited and watched as the Knights shouldered Apong Iru to take him back to Capalangan through the same route they used on the 28th when they brought him to the cathedral. Hindi na kami sumama sa paghahatid kay Apong Iru, although the festivities would have gone on at Capalangan once the Knights got Apong Iru inside his house.

Funny thing I learned this year: pinapayungan pa pala ng mga Knights si Apong Iru! I don't see the logic of it. I mean, sure he's an important image/rebulto but it's not like iitim siya or magkaka-sunburn if nainitan siya, right?