Monday, March 18, 2013

15. STOLEN IMAGE IN CULTURAL TREASURE FOUND, by Tonette C. Orejas

(Wheww!! Look what online santo sleuthing has done: we helped recover a stolen church image! Hooray for cultural activists and heritage advocates! We won over the agents of doom! The recovery was reported on national news and made it to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. All's well, that ends well.)
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By Tonette Orejas Central Luzon Desk First Posted 15:31:00 01/16/2009 

BACOLOR, Pampanga -- It took only a few days to recover a 19th century image of St. John the Apostle that was stolen last week from one of the country's 20 national cultural treasures. Text messages, e-mails, and mobile phone calls, plus loads of Catholic faith, saved the day for church heritage conservation.

 The image, reported missing on January 10, is part of a retablo (tableau) at the right wing of the Basilica Minore de San Miguel Archangel in Tayabas, Quezon. It stands on the right of the Mater Dolorosa, depicting a scene in which St. John was consoling the Virgin Mary after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

The search for the image ended on Thursday night in this town that was ravaged by the Mt. Pinatubo eruptions in 1991. Bacolor is 215 kilometers away from Tayabas. The buyer, ecclesiastical art restorer Tom Joven, found tell-tale signs of theft, secured the image and said he was donating it to the basilica. The taklang ayup (bird droppings) spattered on the image gave away the crime, Joven said. Made of wood and three feet tall, the image is a detalyado or carved in the round. The search, it turned out, started on cyberspace.

The YahooGroup of the Heritage Conservation Society became an important communication line, said Ivan Henares, HCS director and administrator of the group's site.

 "We have received a lot of SOS calls from various locations in the country. Common are requests for help to stop the demolition of heritage structures or tasteless renovations on heritage churches, among many others," Henares said. Ryan Palad, a native of Tayabas and curator of the GSIS Museum in Pasay City, first posted the call for help, including an attachment of a photo of the image, on Jan. 15.

 "We would like to seek your help to retrieve the stolen image of St. John the Evangelist (wood, height 3 ft) from the Basilica de San Miguel Archangel, Tayabas,Quezon," said Palad. Palad also sent text messages to friends and colleagues who passed the information around.

 Palad's contact, Prof. Lino Dizon of the Tarlac State University, passed the message to HSC member Alex Castro. Emelita Almosara, deputy director of the National Historical Institute, also launched a search, communicating with Palad by text messages and cell phone calls.

 Castro launched his own search not long after he replied to the group's YahooGroup. "I was alerted by a friend about this stolen piece—San Juan Evangelista, a 3-foot image. Someone was peddling a San Juan the week before—of the same size! I was rather suspicious—until the identity of the image was corrected—San Ramon Nonato daw. So I didn't pursue my probing of the middleman who informed me of this image for sale. So, which is which?" Castro's posting went.

 Palad heeded Castro's request for a picture. The theft also became an opportunity for Palad to correct what had long been wrong all along. The image all along was that of San Juan Evangelista, not of San Ramon Nonato.

 Coincidence or not, Joven texted Castro on Thursday to say he bought a San Juan Evangelista on Jan. 9, on the Feast of the Nazarene, and felt something suspicious about it. He e-mailed Castro a photograph. The photographs from Palad and Joven matched.

"Alex informed me that after comparing pictures from Ryan and the one who purchased it, I think we found the image, thanks to the HCS network. Sharing of information here has proved to come out with quick result," Henares announced on the site. Angel Bautista of the National Museum of the Philippines, who was in the communication loop, learned of the recovery.

 "Tayabas Basilica being a national cultural treasure, I think we should not let this pass and find out who stole the image and prosecute those who committed this travesty," Henares said.

Palad, surprised at the fast discovery, exclaimed in typical Tagalog fashion: "Maraming, maraming, maraming salamat po (Many, many thanks)!" Castro rued "there are still unscrupulous dealers out there who are out to make big bucks out of our church material heritage.

 Joven, who restored the four-century old, half-buried San Guillermo (St. William The Hermit) Church in Bacolor, said he felt lucky that the image got to him and was given the opportunity to secure it.

 "Serendipity" was what he felt all along about the image, he said. "I didn't want to buy it at first because I have a San Juan Evangelista already but I did because I felt like it was really going to me," he said.

 Initially, he planned to include it in the Holy Week exhibit of the University of the Sto. Tomas Museum. When the image was delivered, Joven said he believed that the dealer, possibly a middleman, lied to him. The latter, doing business by text and e-mails, claimed that the image belonged to a family in Pagsanjan who was disposing of it because the brood was transferring to Makati City.

 "I had a hunch something was wrong. If this belonged to a family, why did it have bird's feces all over it? I said it might have come from a church," he recalled. His suspicion grew when UST's Fr. Didoy Abaño informed him that a San Juan Evangelista image was stolen in Tayabas. That's when he texted Castro.

Asked why he agreed to return and donate it, he said: "That's the right and good thing to do for art restorers, collectors and Catholics like me. We should be part of the church heritage conservation effort."

Dr. Leticia Cordero-Yap, a native of Tayabas who worked in the Pampanga capital of San Fernando, will return the image to Msgr. Antonio Obena, the parish priest, on Saturdayv.

PHOTO B: The recovered San Juan image, found and sold in Pampanga. Secured by the buyer, it was turned over to a Tayabas resident today for its return to Tayabas.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

14. FAITH GROWS, TROY GROWS

Our antique Mater Dolorosa is the center of our family's veneration, commissioned in 2002 to honor the memory of our father, Gerardo M. Castro Jr., who passed away in 1998. The antique head, from the workshop of Makati santero, Mr. Francisco "Kiko" Vecin, was outfiited with a vintage wooden body and two sets of hands. It first joined the 2004 Good Friday (9 April) procession of the San Rafael Parish, in Barangay Mabiga, Mabalacat, Pampanga and has since regularly participated in our town's "Maleldo" (Mahal na Araw) traditions. We have documented our Dolorosa's annual participations through these pictures.

My nephew, Trojan Angelo Castro or Troy also has his official picture taken with the Virgen every year. When, for some reason, that is not possible, we take a separate shot of Troy and superimpose his image on that of the Dolorosa's, through computer magic. These pictures have become conversation pieces as it is amazing how both he, and our faith--have grown through the years.

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YEAR 2003, age 9... 

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IN YEAR 2004, age 10... 

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IN YEAR 2005, age 11.. 

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 IN YEAR 2006, age 12...

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IN YEAR 2007, age 13... 

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..AND IN YEAR 2008, age 14... 

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 ..AND IN YEAR 2009 (Holy Wed., Apr.8) , age 15... 

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YEAR 2010, (Holy Wed. 31 March) age 16 

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YEAR 2011 (Holy Wed., 20 April), age 17 

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YEAR 2012 (Holy Wed., 20 April), age 18

Monday, March 4, 2013

13. MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU, IMA


Ima, my mother, finally surrendered to God’s will after putting up a valiant fight against lung cancer, the same disease that claimed my father eleven years go. In the 6 months that she battled the disease, she found comfort in my old Star Wars bedsheet—still soft and serviceable after all these years. My siblings from abroad sent her all kinds of brand new blankets—but it was this galactic sheet that she clung to, even as she was sustained by our love and prayers and buoyed by visits from family and friends.

 In the end, not even her favorite security shield could save her life, but her spirit remained unbroken throughout her ordeal. Her humor kept our faith alive and the strength of her will was incredible. Several times, on the brink of death, she miraculously bounced back, astounding even her doctors. But on the night of June 23, at 8 p.m, my Ima, spent and weary, decided it was time to join my late father Gerry and brother Eric in eternal life. Though physically gone, Ima lives in our hearts. Godspeed, Ima, wherever you are, may the Force be with you. (1 July 2009)

 WE REMEMBER IMA:  ESTER DEL ROSARIO-CASTRO

 (b. 13 Aug. 1928- d. 23 Jun. 2009)

Exactly a year ago today, our Mother, Estrella del Rosario-Castro, joined our Dad and brother Eric in eternal life. I miss her cooking, I miss her laughter in the house, I miss watching telenovelas and game shows with her, I miss Saturday Masses with her, and I miss our monthly dine-outs at her favorite Chinese Restaurants. But Ima lives on, loved and remembered for always in our minds and in our hearts!

 You were there when we took our first steps,
 And went unsteadily across the floor.
 You pushed and prodded: encouraged and guided,
 Until our steps took us out the door...

 You worry now "Are they ok?"
 Is there more you could have done?
 As we walk the paths of our unknown You wonder
"Where have my children gone?"

 Where we are is where you have led us,
 With your special love you showed us a way,
 To believe in ourselves and the decisions we make.
 Taking on the challenge of life day-to-day.

 And where we go you can be sure,
 In spirit you shall never be alone.
 For where you are is what matters most to us,
 Because to us that will always be home...

 (22 June 2010)