Text and photos by Dax Simbol TARLAC, PHILIPPINES—Everything happened so fast. I am standing beside a resting penitent, holding a 10-foot cross. For the past couple of years, I have been photographing the men and women penitents of Barangay Talaga, Capas of this province. I have become familiar with the stories behind the panata (vow) of some…
Text and photos by Dax Simbol Sonny (not his real name) is sweating bullets. The water in the glass he's holding is half empty. No, he didn't drink it; he lost half of the water with his hands still shaking. Oplan Tokhang which means toktok-hangyo or knock and plead is the Philippine National Police's (PNP)…
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…
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…