NAGA CITY, Philippines?Unveiling the mysticism of the centuries-old religious icon in spoken lines and original scores, a musical play narrating the miracles of the ?manto? or cape of the Virgin of Peñafrancia somehow characterized the unquestioning devotion of its believers in Naga City.

?Manto: A Journey of Faith? carried the message of renewal and reaffirmation in the Bicol language as it celebrates the continuing devotion to the Peñafrancia or Ina, the region?s patroness.

Staged at the University of Sta. Isabel?s theater a day before the nine-day religious fiesta kicked off on Sept. 10 in honor of the Ina, the ?Manto? was given life by the assembly of performers from the clergy and the University of Nueva Caceres Glee Club.

The cast led the audience, including Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi of the Archdiocese of Caceres, in singing the hymn of Ina with fervor across the theater in a marching tune.

Many waved white handkerchiefs while others chanted, ?Viva la Virgen!? twice, a fitting finale to welcome the celebration of the religious fiesta, which culminated in a fluvial procession of Ina?s pagoda in the Naga River on the last day of novena on Saturday.

Meaning

The play tried to provide meaning and connections to the 300-year devotion to the patroness, depicted in a sequence of events that showed God?s will in every turn.

It upheld the triumph of conversion of a nonbeliever and re-conversion of a devotee, which exemplified the power of faith lasting for three centuries.

?Manto? is a confluence of several theater art forms (musical, drama and comedy), including the integration of historical narration and audiovisual presentation for flashbacks.

Bubuy Aguay, writer and director, categorized the play as a Bicol ?zarzuela? in three acts.

The musical scoring was directed by Amelita P. Zaens, while several homegrown writers and composers collaborated to produce the libretto and music.

The play?s two main characters, Absalon and Miguel, played by two young priests, stood out to serve as lynch pins of the story that sustained the audience?s attention till the end of the two-hour show.

Remontado

Absalon belonged to a group of natives the colonizers tagged as ?remontados? (literally, people who went back to the mountains) because they fled to the highlands to escape from paying tribute and doing ?polo? (forced labor).

As narrated in the story, the journey of faith to the Ina was brought by Fr. Miguel Robles of Covarrubias in the early 18th-century Camarines Sur.

The ?remontados? embraced the devotion by carving the image of the Ina, painted it with the blood of a dog that died after the ceremony but resurrected to life.

This became the Ina?s first miracle that spawned the devotion in 1710 up to the present.

Fr. Jay Jacinto (Absalon) effectively projected the character of a farmer who personified the resistance against Spanish rule and the faith it espoused.

Like a pro, Jacinto delivered a memorable rendition of his songs that impressed the audience in a difficult opera-like beat. He brought fire to some scenes that were otherwise bland.

Absalon was a triumph of conversion in the end when he was brought back to life by the ?manto? wrapped around his body after he was killed in a storm.

Providing comic relief to a serious subject, Fr. Mario Gaite (Miguel) pulled off a convincing performance as a devotee-turned-bum after losing his son and wife in the tragic collapse of the Colgante bridge in the 1972 fluvial procession.

In fact, Gaite brought the house down as he sashayed his role as a drunken bum, belting out lines drawn from street language, which were guardedly tamed to tickle funny bones.

Overall, the production was worth its efforts to emulate the 300-year devotion to the Ina with its ?manto? symbolizing the mantle of protection for believers.

Aguay, the director, managed to mount on a small stage a two-dimensional story depicting the Spanish period and present-day scenes?a challenge considering his minimalist approach to the presentation.