Albay’s Magayon fest kicks off with Marian fluvial parade

DEVOTION Devotees of Nuestra Señora de Salvación, aboard several boats, on Wednesday join a fluvial 62-kilometer fluvial procession from Tiwi town to Legazpi City in Albay as the province starts the celebration of Magayon Festival. MARK ALVIC ESPLANA

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines — Under the scorching heat, Aireen Tumbado, 42, boarded one of the 12 motorized boats that delivered the image of Our Lady of Salvation from the village of Joroan in Tiwi town to this city, the provincial capital of Albay, at the start of the monthlong celebration of Magayon Festival on Wednesday morning.

Tumbado, 42, a native of Tiwi and longtime devotee of Nuestra Señora de Salvacion, locally called “Ina,” joined hundreds of devotees in the 62-kilometer journey from Joroan’s pier to Sawangan Park at the coast of this city. The procession took almost seven hours at sea.

Twelve boats, or “palakaya,” sailed along Albay’s coast to accompany the image at the first staging of this Marian maritime procession as part of the Magayon Festival.

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Fr. Joseph Salando, the parish priest of Nuestra Señora de Salvacion in Tiwi town, said the religious activity, dubbed “Inang Magayon: Trilogy of Faith,” celebrates “the beauty of Mount Mayon as a precious gift of God.”

“And with this kind of event, we are also understanding the beauty [of] and enriching our strong devotion to ‘Ina’ (the Bicol term for mother which locals use to refer to the Virgin Mary) as we seek her refuge for more than 200 years already,” Salando told the Inquirer in a telephone interview.

The “Inang Magayon” (beautiful mother) maritime procession, which started at 5 a.m., was followed by a grand Marian procession with devotees walking to Albay Cathedral from Sawangan Park at 5 p.m., also on Wednesday. The Inang Magayon Albay Grand Aurora, which is set on May 4, will complete the Marian trilogy of events. Invitation to pilgrims

Despite the potential health risks due to long exposure to extreme heat, Tumbado joined the procession.

“If it’s for Ina, then I will do it fearlessly. As long as I am with her, there is nothing to be afraid of,” she told the Inquirer.

Although a maritime procession has already been a tradition in Joroan every August, Fr. Gem Penetrante, Diocese of Legazpi spokesperson and chancellor, said in a separate interview that a province-wide sea procession had never been done before.

Penetrante said that the activity was an effort to boost “faith tourism” in the province, but he stressed that it was not meant to “commercialize the faith.”

Dorothy Colle, Albay provincial tourism officer, said this venture would help increase the province’s income from the tourism industry.

“That is to encourage, invite more tourists through the pilgrims or those who believe in Our Lady of Salvation. They come here if they would like to pay respect [to the Marian image]. And since they are here, they are considered tourists. There are more tourists, therefore there are more jobs here,” Colle said.

Tabaco City, also in Albay, has been holding another Marian fluvial procession every September since 1952.

Lanterns, hymns

Evangeline Imperial, event director for Marian activities, said this was the first time that the Magayon Festival, which started in 1999, had been held with a grand pilgrimage of Marian devotees in Albay.

Imperial said 52 “carrozas” (carriages) for the different images of the Virgin Mary from different parts of Albay and even Metro Manila joined the Inang Magayon grand Marian procession.

The carrozas were bedecked with flowers and lights and followed by devotees carrying lanterns and chanting hymns.Gov. Edcel Greco Lagman said the celebration of the Magayon Festival was not limited to its symbol, the Mayon Volcano, but also about exploring and enjoying the authentic arts and culture scene of Albay.