The Malibay Cenaculo passion play is the oldest of its kind still running in the Philippines. The word “cenaculo” (or cenacle) is derived from Spanish and describes the place where Jesus and his disciples celebrated the Last Supper. The play began along the outskirts of Pasay in 1902 and is roughly based on Filipino Gaspar Aquino de Belen’s poem “Pasyon,” which he wrote in 1703. The poem describes Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection.
The actors volunteer their time, asking nothing in return. Their families have participated in the play for generations
“I’ve played Jesus for almost 20 years, it is my vow,” said a retired nurse named Jun Taytay. I sat next to Jesus. A rickety fan was placed close to his face to help dry his woolly beard. His thick wig barely moved with the wind. He told me that a year ago he could barely walk—a back injury had left him partly immobile. He lifted his robe to reveal a metal brace strapped around his waist. I asked how his back felt today. “Great!” he said as he stood to return to the stage. “With faith, nothing is impossible.”
The local marching band that accompanied us to the church was established in the 1960s. It included a full wind section that provided the music for the event. Like the actors, a family of musicians continue the tradition.
The roles are taken seriously: generations of actors volunteer each year to the Cenaculo. It is exclusive to residents. A number of Filipino celebrities have attempted to take part, but they are always turned down. One needs to be born in Malibay and have a family member who has participated in the passion play before.
The volunteer make-up artist has been working with the Cenaculo of Malibay for three decades. He assists Mr. Jun Taytay, who plays Jesus.
During the first intermission, I tried to talk to some of the characters in the play. I met the Southeast Asian incarnations of Judas, Mary, and the Apostles. I spoke to a wiry man dressed in black. He had a headband with two horns and a long tail connected to his dark pants. It was the devil himself, cigarette in hand. “We are all descendants of the original members. As long as we can, we will continue.”
Even though the Philippines’ National Commission for Culture and the Arts recognizes the Malibay Cenaculo as the longest running passion play in the country, it receives very little outside financial help. The local foundation relies on donations to stay afloat, covering costs of the production and food to feed the cast.
People of all ages, shapes and sizes take part in Malibay’s Passion play. A group of make-up artists work in a frenzy to prepare the actors.
The Cenaculo is traditionally performed on stage before a curtain and takes a minimum of eight days to present. The daily performances begin at the unusual hour of 9 pm and last for an hour.
“Pasyon” is read frequently during Holy Week in the Philippines. The recitation can span several days leading to Black Saturday, but usually ends on Good Friday at the time when Jesus died on the cross. It is chanted from beginning to end, without pause. The uninterrupted recitation is called the “pabasa” (reading). The non-stop dramatic chant is conducted by devotees who read it in shifts. The oral tradition was passed throughout the country by travelling performers. The actors and readers commit to this vow (panata) and consider it as an offering or a form of self sacrifice.
“It is always a challenge,” says the president of the Cenaculo of Malibay, Mr. Amado Araneta. The small town in Pasay receives minimal help. The local foundation relies on donations to stay afloat and to cover production and food costs.
The curtains were drawn from the town plaza’s stage. The set was heavily decorated with props and vividly painted murals. Jesus came out with his Apostles, marching to a funereal beat. The chants transfixed the crowd. The director spoke to them through a split in the curtain, reading the lines out of a heavy photocopied book.
The township of Malibay was annexed by Pasay in 1903. Through Spanish colonization, Catholicism became the prevalent religion in the Philippines—it is the only predominantly Christian nation in Asia. Locals take pride in religious festivals celebrated during Lent leading up to Easter Sunday, and each town has its own patron saint.
A group of teenagers dressed as Roman soldiers resembling the cast of Spartacus were dispatched to collect the statue of Malibay’s Patron Saint San Juan Nepomuceno from the local parish. Onlookers gawked at the soldiers as they weaved their way to the wet market on the way to the church. After fetching the statue, it would be brought to the main stage in the town plaza. After each performance, when all cast members have received its blessings, the image is returned to the church.
Shirin Bhandari 