MY SARISARI STORE

Procession of the Black Nazarene (revisited) 2007 /Faces

This year I covered again the Procession of the Black Nazarene which is held traditionally every year on January 9. This year the festivities started already the day before with a night vigil at the Quirino Grandstand at Luneta Park. The next morning the statue was brought to Quiapo church in a huge procession attended by more than half a million devotees. 

If you want more background information about the Procession of the Black Nazarene you can see my last year pictures series here and this year's pictures on Flickr.

The Statue of the Black Nazarene on display at the Quirino Grandstand.

Mayor Lito Atienza signals the start of the procession by ringing the bell.

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Police officers try to keep the devotees away from the statue.

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People try to climb the carriage carrying the Black Nazarene in the hope to touch the statue. They are pushed back by the escorts.

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The carriage with the Black Nazarene is pulled by two ropes by devotees.

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The risk of being trampled while pulling the rope is high.

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The procession was cut short as it diverted from the Quinta Market because of the huge number of devotees.

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The devotees are bare foot as sign of respect.

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An exhausted devotee.

This year I focused on the individual devotee. During seven days I will post five faces each day. Those portraits were taken randomly and as such might or might not represent the average devotee.