CHRISTMAS WONDERS No pandemic will stop craftsmen in the City of San Fernando in Pampanga province to produce giant lanterns to stir hope amid the health crisis and bring holiday cheers. —PHOTO COURTESY OF CITY OF SAN FERNANDO INFORMATION OFFICE
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — The coronavirus pandemic failed to dampen the spirit of craftsmen in this Pampanga capital to “perform” their giant lanterns in the “Ligligan Parul” festival, carrying on with a tradition on its 112th year.
This time, the annual kaleidoscopic festival held recently was dedicated to front-liners battling the virus that had killed people and disrupted economies the world over for almost a year now.
Teams of mostly unschooled designers, rotor makers, and electricians created seven lanterns as high as two-story houses and as wide as four cars parked side by side.
At 6.09 meters (20 feet) in diameter, the handcrafted pieces were fitted with as many as 15,000 bulbs arranged in diverse patterns to produce 100 designs or so, depending on how the manually operated rotors were twisted and turned.
“Watching this makes you think there is no pandemic,” said Byron Bondoc, a fourth-generation lantern maker who bagged the championship in 2019. “I am happy to have helped keep the tradition alive.”
Gratitude
In 1908, Bondoc’s great-great-grandfather, Francisco Estanislao, made an 8-ft-wide lantern framed by bamboo and covered by coconut cloth for the nine-day Christmas dawn Masses to celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ, whose birth was marked by a star that shone in Bethlehem.The lantern made by Bondoc for Barangay Sta. Lucia was the first to express gratitude to medical and security front-liners.
The lantern built for Barangay San Juan by the youngest artisan, Mark Niño Flores, beamed a huge rosary followed by an appeal to “heal the world,” while that of Barangay Telabastagan, built by Arnel Flores, displayed the Philippine colors, human figures, and the government’s motto of “We Heal as One.”
Some 200 people applauded the exhibition of lanterns of Barangay Bulaon, Calulut, Sto. Niño and San Nicolas from Robinsons Starmills here last week. Although the competition part was done away with, the display was watched by almost 14,000 online viewers with shoutouts from various countries. CLTV 36 and its 100 cable partners covered the event live.
“Dancing” to Kapampangan songs, the lanterns performed individually, then in pairs and all at the same time.
Beacons of hope
“Our faith in God endures. These lanterns are like beacons of our endless hope,” said Felix Paras, chair of the executive committee of this year’s festival.
The organizers gathered funds to mount the event and gave the villages P150,000 each, the lowest subsidy in 10 years. The festival returned to its religious beginnings by holding a thanksgiving Mass celebrated by San Fernando Archbishop Florentino Lavarias.
“We are celebrating Christmas but with a lot of care amid the pandemic. With the lanterns as our symbol of hope, I am hoping that this pandemic passes,” said Mayor Edwin Santiago. INQ