Ruben Enaje, 59, a house and billboard painter, regularly took on the role of Jesus Christ in “Via Crucis” (Way of the Cross), the play staged on the streets of Cutud.
But local officials have asked Enaje and other penitents to drop the crucifixion rites after President Duterte ordered a stop to the gathering of people in big numbers to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Enaje said he would just carry a 37-kilogram wooden cross from his house to the hill on Good Friday.
This would’ve been Ruben’s 34th time doing this. So hey, if he can adjust to social distancing, YOU can adjust to social distancing.
Prior to the reenacted crucifixions, dozens of barefoot penitents beat their bare backs with sharp bamboo sticks and wood. Some had their backs with razors cut to keep them bloody.
Sterilized nails are used in the rituals, and after they are lowered from the crosses, the devotees are checked by medical workers to make sure they are no complications from their injuries.
Painter Ruben Enaje, 59, was nailed to the cross for the 33rd time as part of giving thanks after surviving a fall from a building.
Time for my Good Friday ritual… showcasing the land of my ancestors!
Ruben Enaje has done this for the 30th year in a row now. This was the guy who lamented a bit having to do this last year (his 29th) for lack of a successor. But now, he’s doing this for Belgium. And, because he’s Filipino (and you know how we are), he has other reasons…
Enaje, a sign painter, says he also prayed for peaceful Philippine presidential elections this year and a better job.
Mabuhay ng Pilipinas, motherfuckers! It’s that of year again for my personal Good Friday observance. First, the obligatory theme song. Listen as you read on. [ETA: forgot the bloody video.]
This year gives us not one, but TWO stories from my motherland. First, a sad note…
Earlier, the only requirement to participate in the annual crucifixion rites in Philippines was that the person needed to be a Catholic. However, this year only local Filipinos can participate.
Harvey Quiwa, chairperson of the committee in charge of the 2015 Holy Week rites, announced the ban stating that this year all efforts will be made to ensure that the Lenten rites do “not become a circus.”
Well, that really fucks up my plans.
Then again, my plans haven’t been fucked up like our good friend Ruben’s…
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Philippines—Still without a successor, signboard maker Ruben Enaje has been obliged to extend his real-life crucifixion act for another year, making the Good Friday reenactment in Barangay San Pedro Cutud in this Pampanga capital on April 3 his 29th year so far
Enaje said he was hoping that the council finds an appropriate replacement for him soon because his aging body can not bear further pain.
Enaje really wants out, though…
“The spots on my hands and feet that are pierced yearly get healed in six months but the pain on my right shoulder where I carry a big wooden cross persists year round,” he said.
SAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGA (Updated) — Devotees in San Pedro Cutud village here had themselves nailed to a wooden cross to re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as thousands of local and foreign spectators watch the bloody annual rites to mark Good Friday in Asia’s largest Roman Catholic nation.
The money quote comes from Lasse Spang Olsen, a 48-year-old filmmaker from Denmark who joined in on the fun…
After being helped down from the cross, [Olsen] said of his experience: “Fantastic, you should try it.”
It’s that time of year once again where I celebrate that one special aspect of my cultural and religious heritage…
SAN FERNANDO, Philippines–Catholic zealots in the Philippines re-enacted the last hours of Jesus Christ on Good Friday, whipping their backs and nailing themselves to crosses in a grisly Easter ritual that persists despite Church disapproval.
