Fiesta time at San Bartolome

August 24, 2010 -- The San Bartolome parish celebrated its 396th feast today. The first parish priest of San Bartolome Parish Church, Fr. Luis Gonzales, was assigned there in 1614,  1/  so this is apparently the basis for counting the years of its celebration, not the date the church was constructed.  

HOW DID SAN BARTOLOME BECOME THE PATRON SAINT OF THE PARISH?
It was part of an agreement between Nicolas Acerda Manapat, heir of the original land-owner Agustin Sigua upon whose land the church was built, and the Captain General and the Archbishop, that once the church was finished, the patron saint of the church will be the same as the name of his compadre Bartolome Mangay Mansano.  2/    It should be safe to assume that Bartolome Mangay Mansano was named after San Bartolome or St. Bartholomew.

St. Bartholomew was one of the Twelve Apostles of Christ.  In St. John's Gospel, he is called Nathaniel.    He preached in India, which, during those days covered a wider area in the Near East.  He was said to have been skinned alive then beheaded.  In Michaelangelo's painting, the "Last Judgement" found in the Sistine Chapel, St. Bartholomew is shown holding a sheet of his own skin in his left hand and a knife in his right hand.  3/   Because of this, he has come to be associated with a knife, the instrument of his martyrdom. 

And this, in turn, is why on his feast day, every type of bladed instrument - balisongs, bolos, kitchen and butcher's knives - has traditionally been sold at the San Bartolome town fiesta.


HISTORICAL TIDBIT:  WHY WAS THE 1896 FIESTA OF SAN BARTOLOME SIGNIFICANT?
When the Katipunan was exposed through the confessional on August 19, 1896, the Spanish government threw a cordon around Manila, putting checkpoints and sealing all exits. Group movements were tightly monitored. Bonifacio issued a call for a general meeting in Balintawak to discuss the situation.

By pretending to be on their way to attend the fiesta of San Bartolome in Malabon, Katipuneros from the provinces were able to slip through the Spanish checkpoints.   They congregated in Balintawak, and on August 23, 1896, the eve of the feast of San Bartolome, Bonifacio and his men staged the Cry of Balintawak.  4/  Thus did our bolo-wielding patron saint San Bartolome aid the Filipinos' revolt against the Spaniards.  It is also said that some of the Katipuneros bought their bolos from the stalls at San Bartolome.


SCENES FROM A FIESTA

San Bartolome parish in fiesta mode

Bishop Deogracias Iniguez led Vicariate clergy in a concelebrated Mass. 

Devotees line up to wipe the statue of San Bartolome

After the Mass.

San Bartolome getting ready for the evening procession

Banda Pula Original of Malabon on the patio.

Costumes for Sto. Nino statues.  Filipinos like to dress up their Sto. Ninos in different attires.

Colorful paper mache horses liven up the place.

DISCOVERY OF THE DAY:  MANG ROMY OF APALIT, PAMPANGA - LONE TABAK VENDOR AT MALABON'S 7th TABAK FESTIVAL

Yes, believe it or not, Mang Romy was the lone tabak vendor at the San Bartolome fiesta!

I walked the whole courtyard of San Bartolome; walked the stretch of Rizal Avenue from the corner of General Luna up to the City Hall; walked Leono and Manapat streets.  Nothing.  It was just Mang Romy in his stall near the parish convent building.  When I asked him where the other tabak vendors were, he said they were in Nagcarlan, Laguna - where there was also a San Bartolome fiesta.

But you used to be so many out here, I said. I remember that well because we lived across San Bartolome church in the 1980s. Yes, he agreed, dense rows of tabak vendors used to line up the street during the fiesta.  But since three years ago, his co-vendors have been choosing to go to Nagcarlan instead, because here in Malabon, sales are "matumal" (slow).  Mang Romy chooses to go to Malabon, though, because it has been the family practice since his grandfather's time.  I felt bad for him that I almost wanted to buy a bolo just so he could make a sale - but  I didn't know how to buy one!  And besides, my son and I were just going to ride a jeepney going back to Concepcion where we parked our car.  I would not want to be carrying a bolo on the jeepney!

As I turned to walk towards General Luna, I looked back and a thought crossed my mind.  If this trend continues, maybe next year, Mang Romy will opt to go where business is better, and go to Nagcarlan instead.  If that happens, the only bolo that will be left to show at San Bartolome's fiesta in Malabon will be San Bartolome's bolo itself!

For Malabon, history, and nostalgia's sake, I hope that never happens...

1/    From Tambobong to the City of Malabon, by Nonoy Marcelo, 2004.
2/    History of Malabon-Navotas, by Salvador Sevilla, Santos Tiangco, 1976.
3/    http://www.italian-renaissance-art.com/Last-Judgement.html
4/    Andres Bonifacio The Eve of St. Bartholomew, by Nick Joaquin.

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