Finding the Infant Jesus again at Belenismo sa Tarlac

The sun had just set and the cloak of darkness embraced the sky as bells of light started clanging for all to hear. As the sound became stronger and stronger, the wind kissed our faces. This is the experience that parish priest Christopher Lozano intended for spectators to feel once they chance upon the St. Francis Belen in the Parish of San Miguel, Tarlac, which is made of sustainable material that signifies the simplicity of Jesus, who remains the center of the Belen or crèche.

I uttered a prayer of thanksgiving as I happened to spot a shower of stars streak across the skies, its knowing it’s the time of year when the people of Tarlac bond together in love and unity to create the most meaningful and environment-friendly belens you can ever imagine.

Every Christmas, for the past seven years, the people of Tarlac have come togerther to present unique interpretations of the Nativity scene for the annual Belenismo.

Dr. Isa Cojuangco Suntay, who spearheaded the Belenismo with her mom Isabel, said that this undertaking has always been the single festival celebrated throughout the province of Tarlac since 2007 to showcase the very best of Tarlaqueños’ God-given abilities. Last year, the funds for Belenismo were donated to Yolanda victims.

Isa added, “Tarlaqueños from all walks of life come together for the Belenisimo. They transcend social barriers and bridge political divides to put up a spectacle that they can truly call their own. What immediately calls one’s attention amid all their mind-boggling displays of various sizes and themes of crèches is that simple prayer that is part and parcel of each display written in Tagalog, Ilocano, English and Kapampangan. Here lies the focus of Belenismo’s mission throughout the years, to be able to entice each and every viewer that comes to Tarlac to say a prayer for themselves before the belen that they view.”

The Belenismo in Tarlac is a tourism-inspired activity to create livelihood projects from nativity artworks. Imagine the creativity of the Tarlaquenos who use numerous kinds of natural material discarded such as bottles, egg shells, CDs, bamboo, straw and cotton from old pillows.  The people’s creativity rises to a fever pitch as they make their most exquisite Nativity scenes using recycled products, handicrafts and organic materials. This yearly activity has transformed Tarlac into the belen capital of the Philippines.

Ambassadors and foreign guests visited the Belenismo recently to spread the word to the diplomatic community and their citizens to pay homage to the reason for the season. Even our own President Noynoy Aquino who hails from Tarlac said during the past Belenisimo, “The Belenismo is lauded not only in the Philippines but in other countries as well.” P-Noy continues to support this worthy tradition that espouses good values among the youth and elders. “There are belens made from recycled materials which are transformed into something meaningful. The Pinoy skill and brand is truly different as we maximize what we have in order to succeed through diligence and talent. This proves that anywhere in the world, in any field, Filipinos can dominate,” P-Noy said.

We all agree that every belen tells the story of a people’s dreams, values, traditions, culture, way of life, what they hold dear, their experiences, their hopes, aspirations and their beliefs. It is this part of Belenismo that Isa treasures the most and it has elicited utmost dedication from the board of judges (Yvonne Romualdez, Carlo Rojas, Mike Mina, Johnny L. Co, Jiji Sanares, Boysie Villaviciencio, and myself), all the participants who have put up their belens, whether officially registered or not as participants, and all the members of the organizing committee of “Belenismo sa Tarlac.”

We had the difficult task of deciding which masterpiece among the numerous entries in different categories would bag the plum prize. The following are the winners:

In the Monumental category, the winners are: first place, Nay’s House Restaurant and Catering and Villas in Capas; second place, VES Food Resort & Villas.

In the Church category, the winners are: first place, St. Francis of Asisi Parish, Tarlac City (Fr. Christopher Lozano); second place, St. Joseph Parish, (Fr. Noel Paguinto); third place, St. Rose of Lima Parish, Paniqui (Fr. Fred Dizon).

For the Grand Municipal category, the winners are: first place, Rachel Ann Lanoria; second place to Alice de Vera; and third place to Rep. Jeci Lapus Belen.

The winners in the Grand Non-municipal category are: first place, Armed Forces of the Philippines with their rendition of an amethyst star Christmas that was simply amazing. Not many know that the Armed Forces of the Philippines doesn’t just help in terms of security. They also lead medical missions, education projects and other noble endeavors. This bejeweled entry was designed by no less than Ding Mercado himself. Second place went to Samahan Pura with engineer Ricardo de Leon Jar who did the art direction of the belen. Third place went to the Tarlac City tourism council with Maribel Dizon as its head.

 Yes, each year, one of the highlights of the Belenismo is dining at the cozy colonial-style Nay’s House in Tarlac with the same menu that we simply never tire of. Operations manager and owner Gracious Josefina Baron-Sawit prepared for us as a sumptuous meal consisting of our favorite pancit palabok with rich and golden shrimp sauce and toppings such as fresh shrimp sautéed in atsuete, boiled and diced pork, crushed crispy chicharon, tinapa flakes, fried tofu, scallions, toasted garlic and hard-boiled eggs. The fried lumpia had slivers of sweet yam in it to balance the sourness of the garlicky vinegar dip. Other favorites included sweet saba with sago and authentic tibok-tibok with latik (a delectable pudding like maja blanca made from creamy carabao’s milk). We also toasted glasses filled with the local dayap juice that gives a subtle burst of tang.

Every belen has its own jewel of a story that is transformed into a beautiful and unique display. President Aquino congratulated the participants and organizers of the Belenismo as he advocated the real essence of Belenismo will never fade: strong family ties, compassion for others, humility and resolute faith in God.

Indeed, the Belenismo will remain an answered prayer for the people of Tarlac. We drove home at dawn appreciating the belen even more and teary-eyed as we recalled how the Baby Jesus has had such a tremendous effect on the people of Tarlac that they have gone out of their way to create such magnificent works of sustinable belens that inspire and aspire as well.

In conclusion, Isa said, “It doesn’t need a lot of money to create a belen; it simply needs a lot of love.”

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Belenisimo sa Tarlac runs until Jan. 6, 2015.

Email the author at miladay.star@gmail.com.