The Divina Pastora Fiesta

THE DIVINA PASTORA FIESTA

May, the Marian month, starts in Nueva Ecija with Gapan City's
grand fiesta for the Divina Pastora --
the patron saint of the province and the Diocese of Cabanatuan City.
The Three Kings Parish and the city government join hands
to mark the event upon which depends Gapan's claim to fame as "The Pilgrimage City."

In the early afternoon of April 30, the visperas or eve of the fiesta,
people begin to congregate at the Gapan City plaza to witness
the start of the traditional parade.

By mid-afternoon, Gapanenses line the city streets
eagerly awaiting the parade or paseo as it is locally called.

To first-time observers, the paseo is a parade like no other.
It's a parade of thousands of ordinary people,
devotees of the Divina Pastora, around the city's main streets.

Many participants, with children in tow,
are pilgrims from other places.

The children take the long, hot walk clinging to their parents...

...or perched on grannies' shoulders or carried in fathers' arms.

Even little babies are made to participate in the paseo
in gratitude for being cured from some sickness which their parents
attribute to the intercession of the Divina Pastora.

A group of old ladies garbed in ternos reenact what they have
done for years, maybe even from childhood. In fulfillment of
a vow to the Divina Pastora for favors granted, they dance their way
through the paseo, unmindful of the amused smiles and
occasional jeers from young onlookers who do not understand
that the dance is being performed not for them, but for the Virgin Mary.

Other participants who would rather not walk, ride instead:
on bikes...

...or astride carabaos...

... or in a trailer pulled by a handtractor...

... or on a horse-drawn cart...

... or in the family tricycle.

Giving bursts of color and music to the paseo are the many marching bands.

The century-old Gapan church,
the National Shrine of the Divina Pastora,
is the center of religious activities on fiesta day.

The busiest part of the church is the eastern side chapel...

... where the original Divina Pastora image is enshrined
at the center niche, behind protective glass.

The antique wooden image of the patron saint
was donated to the parish by the original owners,
the Valmonte family, in 1986. The Valmontes started the
Divina Pastora fiesta purely as a family affair during the Spanish regime
in thanksgiving for good harvest.

Pilgrims queue to go up the steps to the
Divina Pastora' display case...

... to implore favors from, or give thanks to, Her...

...and touch the glass door with their hands
or wipe it with their handkerchiefs which they then rub
onto ailing parts of their bodies hoping for a miraculous cure,
if not protection from sickness.

Outside, hundreds of votive candles are lit for
various personal intentions.

A trip to the Gapan fiesta is never complete without bringing home
something bought from the crowded street market outside the church...

... puto seco, for instance, made in Pampanga but a symbol of
a pilgrimage to Gapan just the same.

At night, glitzy entertainment fare unfolds at the city plaza...

...highlighted by a fireworks display that brightens up the night sky,
ending another memorable Divina Pastora fiesta in Gapan City. ###