Pahiyas Festival: Damage Report

3:00 AM, May 15 2008

I wiped the sleep from my eyes and rose from a short nap lasting 3 hours. After preparing breakfast and some last minute preparations Jordan (who always sees ghosts in our house) and I left for Alabang.

4:20 AM, May 15 2008

Arrived at Alabang and met a very sleepy Jason at Ministop in Metropolis Alabang. Damn, I forgot to buy some smokes and didn’t even think of having coffee there. Went to the Delarosa Terminal and boarded a bus headed to Lucena City. At the exact moment our asses touched the seats we immediately fell asleep.

8:00 AM, May 15 2008

We arrived at Lucena Grand terminal and I still can’t have my early moring caffeine fix. After getting a nicotine fix, we boarded a jeep going to Lucban with Miss Sungit at my side with the intention of sleeping all the way there. Sadly, fifteen minutes into the trip the motor mouth of a girl next to me started ranting about her hellish experiences concerning a failed plan to drink alcohol with her sacristan friends. I frowned at her and wore my headphones. From that moment on, I concentrated on my music and elbowing the bastard beside me. Ugh.

9:20 AM, May 15 2008

Finally arrived at Lucban and our first destination is the grotto. Climbed the stairs for about 40 minutes, taking photos along the way. The view from the top was beautiful. We then went down quickly, which prompted the people to say “Ay, bawal ang nagmamadali dito…” Nyahahahaha! old people. Inggit lang kayo. Haha.

10:30, May 15 2008

Finally had breakfast which consisted of adobo pretending to be tapa (or was it the other way around?). It then started to rain. Aaargh.
After eating, we made our way to the town proper.

11:20, May 15 2008

We arrived at the town proper and were immediately assaulted by rain, which sent us running for shelter. While gawking at the various sights in Lucban, I spotted a beautiful specimen wearing a red dress. I took a photo of her. Haha.
The morning faded into the rain as we intentionally got lost and went around the town of Lucban. The colors were amazing and there were houses with such detail that using a wide angle shot would deemphasize the painstaking effort that went into the decoration of the house. It was a photographer’s haven. Really.
I was hoping that by afternoon the rain would’ve stopped but it did not. God was toying with us again. It would be a perfect day if the sun would shine a little (wow, did I just say that? I hate sunshine.) but things had a knack of not being there when you need them the most. The place was swarming with photographers wielding DSLRs and some with lomos and majority of them were wearing scarves as protection against the cold and rain from damaging their cameras. Jordan and I were deeply amused and we said: “We gotta buy some scarves. Immediately.”

2:00 PM, May 15 2008

It has been two hours and the rain has not stopped and still we hadn’t gotten our scarves. We, especially Jason, were cold and miserable, owing to the fact that I hadn’t brought along my jacket. Lesson: always listen to your mother.
I also realized that I had done so many shots of houses and I was not capturing another part of the festival so I changed my film and devoted it to human subjects.
Still more rain thirty minutes later and I became resigned to the fact that this rain will not stop. Thankfully, there was a woman handing out free shots of brandy in front of a supermarket. It warmed us up. It was exactly what we needed.

3:00 PM, May 15 2008

We found a spot on the route of the parade and claimed it. There was a bench there and ah yes, I finally had the chance to rest my tired, wet and smelly (I think, but hope not) feet. Jordan got out his black batties and yes, cigarettes galore.
Around thirty minutes later the parade finally started. But alas, at that exact moment, the rain lashed again at us with renewed vigor. Oh sorry, renewed? It actually hadn’t stopped since morning.
Umbrellas were out and the wet look was sooo in as the parade went on. I was actually more concerned with my camera than getting a cold as I shot the joyful expressions of both the performers and spectators of the parade.
Fifteen minutes later the parade went to a shivering end and we were all saying “That was it?!!”. Curses!

4:00 PM, May 15 2008

Unexpectedly had a face to face encounter with Howie Severino and I could barely contain my disappointment of not shaking his hand. He makes the best documentary shows on national television and the thought of passing up that moment makes me want to tear at my hair. Aaaaargh! And the rain! The rain still won’t stop!
After that encounter we went back to Lucena Terminal shivering, but with smiles on our faces (at least me and Jordan. Haha).
Drat, God must be playing games with us. At Tayabas, the town next to Lucban, there was no trace of rain. We wished that it rained in Tayabas instead and not in Lucban, where there was a minor fiesta going on. Haha, you could not compete with the Pahiyas festival so you wished it would rain in Lucban? Damn.

5:30 PM, May 15 2008

Arrived at Lucena Terminal and had a meal of piping hot mami before the fact that we had forgotten to eat lunch hit us. Damn, so that’s why we were miserable!
Jason left for Cubao because he was exhausted. We bid him goodbye and waited for Renel. Around an hour and a half later, Renel arrived and we left for Atimonan, Quezon. Finally, there were no rains to be seen for kilometers around. I sat at the window side of the bus bound for Calauag with Jordan and Renel and went to sweet oblivion.