Pope Francis AP FILE PHOTO
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—A lantern-maker in this Pampanga capital was so excited about the visit of Pope Francis that she produced a set of 30 images of the Pontiff hand-painted on star-shaped Christmas lanterns measuring 18 inches in diameter each.
Daisy Flores, 48, has sold 29 pieces, reserving one as her gift to the Pope.
Her helper, Bernie Mores, drew the happy face of Francis based on photographs downloaded from the Internet. She used car paint that worked well on the surface of capiz (flattened seashells), which she put together for her star-shaped creations.
“It’s my way of showing how important he is and my way of welcoming him,” Flores said.
She sold each piece for P900 up to P1,200, and was surprised at how quickly buyers lapped up the products they called “Pope Francis lanterns.”
She said buyers were disappointed when told that she had no more stocks left in the inventory of Flores’ Smiling Star Enterprises.
The lantern she set aside for Francis has no blinkers. She replaced these with LED lights to make the electrical installation safer for the Pope and his household.
Pampanga Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David has agreed to bring her gift to Francis, together with his own gift—a letras y figuras painting by Kapampangan artist Alvaro Jimenez, which features sketches of rural scenery drawn inside each letter.
“It is enough that the lantern gets to the Pope. It is more than enough if I will be given the chance to give it myself,” Flores said.
Lanterns were Flores’ way out of poverty, a malaise Francis wants eliminated through charitable action and the implementation of justice.
This city has been touted as the Christmas capital of the Philippines for its 106-year-old religious tradition of making giant lanterns, some as large as 20 feet in diameter.
Flores entered this male-dominated field in 1993, producing lanterns for average households.
She matched her P10,000 start-up capital with her “word of honor” to suppliers, paying them for the materials with which she was entrusted without collateral.
The scheme enabled Flores to make 20,000 lanterns when sales were good. It helped her provide seasonal jobs to her neighbors and relatives in Sitio Macabacle, Barangay Dolores, and to sell her lanterns in Tarlac, Nueva Ecija and Metro Manila.
Flores prefers making the traditional lanterns, dubbed “Parul Sampernandu”—a reference to St. Ferdinand, the patron of the city.
“More jobs are created when we make the traditional lanterns. Even children can cut or glue the patterns so they earn money for their schooling,” she said.
Flores has kept her capital and income intact by making her family live a simple lifestyle.
“I chose to be in the business of lantern-making because lanterns are part of our tradition,” she said. “But small as our enterprise is we are threatened by China-made products that come so cheap.”
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