Good Friday piety, etc....

The streets here are virtually empty. It seems that everyone has gone back to the provinces for family time, or are busy with church services. It is common to commemorate the stations of the cross by visiting 14 different churches. On my Filipino cell phone, I've gotten about 10 messages today about Jesus' sacrifice and love for mankind.

The other night at about 2am I went by a group of ladies who had set up a shrine on the street corner and were chanting the passion of Christ in Tagalog. Apparently they sing non-stop from Palm Sunday until Good Friday. There was a small tent (with writing on it - I think it was advertising a soft drink) covering a temporary shrine and the ladies took turns singing from the bible.. This penitential ritual is called "Pasion." These ladies sang with an amplified sound system - their prayers broadcast on behalf of the entire neighborhood for 4 days.

Yesterday I was channel surfing and found a Filipino nativity movie with Pinoy actors. Another movie - which looked like one of those bible flicks from the 50s or 60s - was playing, dubbed in Tagalog.

Evangelical preachers - both American and Filipino - are plentiful on TV... The Jesus Christ church from Davao City, and Fr. Apollo (see below), are on a lot. The choir sings in every style, ranging from blues, gospel, country, and pop christian (See second video below).





Today there are going to be some bloody penitence complete with reenactment of the crucifixions.

In other news, I took my first motor tricycle ride. Luckily three weeks of Manila smog innoculated me to the exhaust blowing in my face from the cars in front of us. Many of the transit vehicles here are from US military surplus that was left here after WWII - Jeepneys and Trikes.

Oh, some things I have noticed here. These are just my subjective observations...

-no one has tattoos, except the visitors from Guam
-I've only seen 2 people with iPods or head phones
-other than rich vs. poor, there is a lack of sub-cultures (ie: hippies, bikers, boho, goth, etc)
-obesity is not a problem here. In fact, one of the latest news is that due to a rice shortage, all the fast food restaurants have been asked to serve half-portions with their meals. Can you imagine that happening in the US?!
-men don't lose their hair
-there aren't as many "weirdos"- at least in public