Happy Easter Everyone! My Easter Gift.. Fireworks By Tanaga Peeps

We sang songs of Katy Perry at the night of Sabado de Gloria.. quietly.. and yes only subtle noises, because we Filipinos believe we should be on our best behaviors when it's a Holy Week. I'm not sure how we started to make a music video. So I'm just gonna offer this to Kuya Jess for his rebirth.. I hope you like it! 'Coz you're a firework Kuya :)

HAPPY EASTER!

Still Singing Pabasa.. Still The GREAT Pandesal!

I adore traditions! Yeah... I do like contemporary things, but there's something about traditions that make me feel a Filipino or part of something cultural or part of anything else. Just the feeling that I belong to this certain kind of people who did the same stuff, that kind of feeling... I think... makes me love doing traditions. It's also like giving respect to the elders who were part of these events. I also think there is this classy feel to doing traditions because you know it'll happen again and again and again. Traditions reminds us of where we came from and it helps us understand why everything around is this and that. Well that's how I think it is.

 One of the traditions I love doing is helping the Tanaga Circle. It's a community thing in our place in Bulacan where young peeps (ehem..) do stuff like what our elders did during their youth days. I think Tanaga Circle is almost 70 years (?), that's why it's a big responsibility for us to preserve the organization and it's existence. One of our first event for the year is the Pabasa.

People From Our Community Reading the Pasyon

We are not SLEEPY ...yet. zzz.

   Pabasa is a Holy Week affair in the Philippines where you sing the whole book of Pasyon or Passion of the Christ for a day without stopping (well... you can actually stop but make sure there's a reliever). Pasyon is a verse narrative of the suffering of Christ, so obviously no one can finish the whole book in one seating. But reading the Pasyon is actually fun because you sing the verses while refreshing your knowledge about the story of Christ (so it's not really boring at all, especially if you're around with cool people [ehem..]). This is also my means of sacrifice and giving back to Jesus, remembering what He did for us on His journey to save humanity (naks!).

 Of course in every Filipino event food is always around. As I have said earlier, Pabasa is a whole day thing and we, as committees, have to at least prepare something to empower the readers. Tanaga Circle is well supported by the community that's why food were just coming and coming and coming in. People there donated eggs, dinuguan (pork blood stew), Puto (steamed rice cake), coffee and sodas and a lot more for the midnight chow. Many of our neighbors also gave food for lunch, but I wasn't able to attend because I was still sleeping (I stayed up late for the Pabasa).

Eggs Section

Tanaga Members preparing food

 Because of work, I came in late at around 11 PM. People already started reading when I arrived there, so I sat in and tried to catch up with the beat they were singing. After a while I went to the food area where friends and relatives prepared food. Eggs were served sunny side up or scrambled, depending on your request (breakfast buffet style! haha). The dinuguan was great! Steaming hot and tasty... perfect when paired with Puto. Then comes the steaming, freshly baked Pandesal!

Mauricio's Pandesal... Classic but still the best

 I rarely eat this Pandesal because I live in Manila and it's only best eaten when it's freshly baked from the Pugon (wood fired oven). They only sell this I think at 4:00 AM, and you can buy it straight from the Pugon or from the delivery boys on a bike with their slightly annoying little bike horns. I have tried a lot of Pandesals already from Pan de Amerikana of Marikina to Pan de Pugon, but nothing beats the kinalakihan (shoot... hard to translate...) or the Pandesal you grew up eating since childhood (? hehe). Yes, Pan de Amerikana's Pandesal is tasty and HUGE same with the Pan de Pugon and the rest but Mauricio's Pandesal is different in its small ways. It may be small but it's very tasty. There's this slight crunch on the crust and a very soft and a little chewy feel on that white area of the bread.

This Pandesal is part of the traditions we do in Bulacan. A bite from this humble bread reminds me of my Lolo and Lola preparing breakfast. Another bite would be a memory of some funeral (funeral...  because we sometimes stay up and wait for the fresh Pandesals). Another bite would be a memory of me and my cousins cracking up eating pandesal at 5:00 AM drunk (hehe). And last would be the Pabasa where people I know from our community is actively joining, helping and singing to preserve our Catholic and community tradition.


x
Mac Clemente

TANAGA Shirts!

I still have other pending designs, will post some within this week (promise!).
If you have other suggestions, feel free to comment.....

Preparing TANAGA for the Flores de Mayo 2011

 Summer is here again.. and if you're from the province you'll know there'll be a lot of community activities that will happen especially in the month of May.
  Our neighborhood is very dedicated in preserving what our elders did for the May Flower Festival. That's why generations after generations, we try to make TANAGA happen. I've already been a part of this youth organization, actually one of the presidents who lead the batch in 2007. Now that I've grown, I still try to be a part of the activities and try to teach younger members how to handle the works.

The TANAGA Cross

 TANAGA people, like other Catholic families with Poon or Santos (images or statues of Kuya Jess, Mamay Mary or Saints), have it's own Cross. I think the Cross is already 70 years old already (I think..). Every year, we have a 9 day procession visiting houses of volunteered families who wants to have the cross insise their households for a day. On the 9th day, the president of that batch will have the privilege to keep the cross for a year. We believe that having the cross in our houses will make us feel really blessed (we had it in our house for almost 4 years? hihi). TANAGA also has different activities, depending on what the president would prefer (or how much the budget can handle). TANAGA peeps have the MOST celebrated Sagalahan in our town (yeah!). We try to look for beautiful girls willing to participate in the procession to offer flowers to Mama Mary after (some girls were volunteered, that's how good we are). Sometimes if there's axtra in the budget, we have celebrities as our Reyna Elenas.

Child Celebrity of GMA 7 Kristal Reyes

 This year, TANAGA's president is a very close friend of mine. I'll be giving my support to him as he did when I was in his shoes. I hope there'll be lots of people willing to help him too. I can accept donations here chor! (kidding!!!).


HERE ARE THE SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES:

May 6 - Start of the 9 Day Procession
May 7 - TANAGA Circle Dance Contest 2011
May 14 - Morning Mass, Fiesta ng TANAGA 2011, TANAGA Ms. Gay 2011

Schedule for the Sagalahan 2011 still tentative.

For more Photos of TANAGA check out my Multiply site.

Giving Loot Bags to Kids

Palaro: Agawang Buko

 

Officers Joined the Basagang Itlog

Ms. Gay TANAGA

That Orange Box with B

YEAH!!

I'm starting my own blog.. After years of bloghopping, finally i want to have my own. I want some place to VENT out (as what they all say). I hope this will turn out OK though I'm not a writer.. I'm just a blabber. Forgive my grammar, spelling and construction.. It's just me writing.. hehe. NO JUDGEMENT!! blah!


Sincerely Yours,

Mac Clemente