Fiesta time at Concepcion

This barangay certainly knows how to fiesta!   With three days of festivities each year (December 8, 9 and 10), of course it would have picked up more experience in celebrating fiestas than the rest!

December 8 is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which is mostly a religious celebration.

December 9 is the Pista ng mga Mangingisda (Fishermen's Festival).  By tradition, a motorcade is held in the morning from the Immaculate Conception Parish Church going to San Jose de Navotas.  The image of La Purissima Concepcion is joined by the image of St. Joseph in a motorcade going around Malabon and Navotas.  Then a Dalaw-Bahay follows, wherein the image is brought from one house to another.  The image is  then taken for a Pagoda (a fluvial or grand boat procession) on the Malabon River.

There is also a Pagoda in the morning held by the Aglipayan Church.  After the Pagoda on the Malabon River, the Caracol (street dancing) is held around Malabon.

December 10 is the Pista ng Barrio, the fiesta day for Barrio Concepcion.  The annual Pancit Malabon Festival is also held on this day.

In all the years that I've been a long-time Malabon resident, a good many of which were spent growing up in Barangay Concepcion, I had never seen the Pagoda - although I've heard about it.  And the Caracol - well, this was the first time I even knew about it!  So, of course I just had to go on the 9th to finally find out what they were all about.


THE MORNING PAGODA

My husband and I arrived at the Aglipayan Church on C. Arellano Street just in time, as the image of Our Lady was about to be brought out of the church.  We walked with the image a short distance away to the Raymundo compound where a boat was waiting to take it around the Malabon River.  

After the image was mounted on the boat, the pagoda went on its way by around 9:00am. Only a limited number of devotees are allowed to ride the boat because the MARINA (Maritime Industry Authority) and the Coast Guard are now strictly monitoring the conduct of pagodas.

Image of Our Lady is brought out of the church by devotees

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The pagoda is about to leave. 

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THE CARACOL

We went back in the afternoon just in time also to see the Caracol pass by the Visita.  (Visita is what the locals call the market of Barangay Concepcion.)  The Caracol dancers are mostly students from the different elementary schools in the city who dress in colorful themed costumes and dance to a lively caracol ditty. 

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THE EVENING PAGODA

As soon as I finished watching the Caracol, my husband and I took a pedicab and hurried to the Rufina Patis compound on C. Arellano Street in order to catch the evening pagoda.  By the time we got there, the image of the Immaculate Conception was inside the building and people were milling around, waiting for the pagoda to begin. After a few minutes more, the Caracol  also passed by Rufina Patis.

According to Monchet Lucas, the evening pagoda during the fiesta in Concepcion started a very long time ago, with different families taking charge of it every year.  But since 1946 after the war, it has been the Lucas family that has been taking care of the pagoda. 

The mounted image in the late afternoon

Bishop Deogracias Iniguez and the other priests wait for Mass to begin.

The Mass began at around 4:30 pm.

Mrs. Monina Lucas and Mrs. Alice Tanchanco waiting for the pagoda to begin after the Mass

The image at twilight (around 5:30pm) when the Mass ended.

The pagoda came back at around 7:30 pm.

The picture is a little hazy because of the smoke from the fireworks. 

Monchet Lucas and his father

Guest Vice Mayor Len-Len Oreta with Mr. Lucas

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