San Sebastian Church to mark 125th year with ‘Q Festival’

FOR THE 125th anniversary of San Sebastian Basilica in Manila, organizers are collaborating with various heritage groups to show “the lighter side” of Quiapo, its host community where pockets of history and old-time charm remain behind the area’s rough and gritty image.

Save San Sebastian Basilica Conservation and Development Foundation Inc. is holding the nine-day “Q Festival,” which starts on Aug. 12 and features walking tours, a food fair, a fundraising choral concert, art and photo exhibits, and film showings.

Helping the church mount the unprecedented project are the groups behind the preservation and promotion of nearby heritage sites like the Bahay Nakpil Bautista on A. Bautista Street, Casa Consulado on San Sebastian Street, La Peral Apartments on Recto Avenue, Padilla Mansion on FR Hidalgo Street, and the Far Eastern University (FEU) campus.

“We’ve been talking about this since January and it seems we have the same hopes and dreams, the same struggle. At first, it was about brainstorming (about how) we can have a safer and cleaner neighborhood that can be proud of itself. And we realized that the first step to getting there is through community building,” said Tina Paterno, the foundation’s executive director.

Q Festival is one of the highlights of San Sebastian’s 125th anniversary celebration which falls on July 16 and is intended to raise public awareness about ongoing efforts to restore the church, according to the parish priest, Fr. Antonio Zabala Jr.

While the Quiapo district tend to be associated more with the famous Black Nazarene image which is housed in another basilica, San Sebastian has long earned its own place among local Catholic icons.

National landmark

Completed in 1891 on the eastern end of what is now Recto Avenue, the Gothic, twin-spired structure is the only all-steel church in the country and the only prefabricated steel church in the world. It was designated as a national historical landmark by the government in 1973.

But aside from highlighting these historical notes, the upcoming anniversary—through the Q Festival—might as well draw significance from present-day realities. For one, it could serve as a reminder that Quiapo is not the rough neighborhood it is widely presumed to be, Zabala said.

“We expanded what started as a religious event,” Zabala said, noting that the “curated” food fair, for example, will be multicultural. Halal delicacies from the district’s Muslim community will be on offer alongside treats from local establishments like Excellente Ham, Ma Mon Luk and Globe Lumpia.

Along with the food fair, a theater performance, a variety show by students from the University Belt and film screenings will be held from Aug. 18 to 20, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Plaza del Carmen in front of the basilica. An inter-barangay basketball tournament will also be hosted by the parish in July at the Tanduay Fire Station.

“As we’ve told the barangay (officials), we would like to make it clear that this is an inclusive fiesta,” Paterno said. “We want to revive the bayanihan spirit in the people of Quiapo.”

‘Living museum’ tours

Heritage walking tours will be hosted by a group from FEU, with Bahay Nakpil-Bautista as one of its stops, on Aug. 13, 18 and 20.

On the first three nights of the festival, the whole stretch of San Sebastian Street will be closed to traffic for “Sulyap sa Quiapo” where visitors can walk past a “living museum” of historic ancestral homes. Casa Consulado, which once housed the consulate of Monaco and is now a heritage site, will also be open on those nights.

At the basilica, “Musica Sacra,” a two-night fundraising concert for San Sebastian’s restoration, will be held Aug. 12 and 13, featuring choirs from the Order of the Augustinian Recollects and Philippine High School for Arts.

Exhibits will also be held at the basilica, the La Peral Apartments and the Padilla Mansion.

Depending on the public response to the Q Festival, Paterno said, the parish hopes to make it an annual event—something  both locals and tourists can look forward to.

“I myself have been scratching my head as to why there aren’t many tourists here. And I was talking to (heritage advocate) Ivan Man Dy who said, ‘Well, people like their creature comforts; Quiapo is not very comfortable,’” she said. “With this festival, we hope to change that.”