The Alternative brings together four stories and image collections from this year’s Lenten observance. We explore the country’s rich culture and tradition, a mix of Roman Catholicism and Pre-Hispanic beliefs, and their continuing relevance to today’s society. Dax Simbol documents the Magdarame, women mourners in Capas, Tarlac. Kimmy Baraoidan continues to follow the men of…
Photos by: Sonny Yabao Text by: Kimmy Baraoidan Is this real or just a dream? I thought when I saw these images of Sonny Yabao that he took during this year’s Lent. His photos always have a dreamlike quality to them. And most of the time these dreamlike images border on nightmares, which would haunt…
Text and photos by: Chris Quintana "Yeah, take me to the old church," I told the tricycle driver on the way to the fishing village of San Antonio in Bay, Laguna. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to see tourists there, I thought to myself, the village being a quiet fishing community, though it is…
Text by: Kimmy Baraoidan Photos by: Chris Quintana and Kimmy Baraoidan Every Good Friday, most places become ghost towns, but Pakil, a sleepy town on an ordinary day, comes to life. The town plaza is teeming with tourists from all over and with vendors selling almost everything from religious charms to animal-print leggings. Walking around…
Text and photos by: Dax Simbol For the past five years, during Good Fridays, I have followed a group of women in the little known village of Talaga in Capas, Tarlac. They are the Magdarame, mourners or sympathizers of penitents who walk barefoot, clad in all black or sometimes in the traditional maroon Nazareno-like outfits,…
Text and photos by: Dax Simbol Erlinda Asuncion, 65 years old, starts her day sitting in her backyard with mounds of clay beside her. She takes clumps of the moist earth and skillfully molds them into round masses to be formed later into pots and pot covers, shadows slowly moving down from her face to…
Text by: Kimmy Baraoidan Photos by: Chris Quintana and Kimmy Baraoidan Palm Sunday marks the start of the Lenten season in the Philippines. Every year, Catholic churches are packed with churchgoers who would hear mass and would have their palaspas blessed by the priest. During this day, vendors litter the sidewalks next to the churches…
Text and photos by: Bart Manoguid Considered as one of the largest gathering in a religious event, the last mass of Pope Francis during his 5-day papal visit to the Philippines was attended by 6 million Catholics. It was raining the whole day, but it did not stop people from wanting to see the Pope…
