SALUBONG
Angono, Rizal
The salubong dramatizes the meeting of the Virgin and the Risen Christ. This year’s Easter presentation in Angono, Rizal begun with a procession of andas bearing images of key personalities present during the Resurrection of Christ. The andas were carried over the shoulders of devotees.
A stage was set in an open plaza. A curious dance of the tinyenta (female lieutenant dressed in a sky blue gown) who waved a short flag started the Easter presentation. This was then followed by the kapitana (female captain dressed in a colorful, ruffle-riched gown) declaiming a very long poem in rich Tagalog about the fulfillment of Christ’s promise.
Upon reaching the climax of the poem, birds of colored paper and bamboo swoop down from the corners of the four-posted structure called galilea to open a heart hanging at the center that conceals the girl dressed as a little angel. We were impressed by the little angel (girl) not only for spending hours suspended by rope inside the hollow heart but also for singing the Latin Antiphon “Regina Coeli Laetare” (Queen of Heaven, Rejoice).
The angel is then lowered towards the image of Mary below. She then slowly removed the black veil from the Virgin to signify that Her Son had already risen from the dead.
The salubong in Angono ended with the released of multi-colored balloons and another dance of exaltation from the kapitana.
