More than a triumph of a people’s faith

Basil Valdez, former lay missionary to Japan, fervent Marian devotee Jose Mari Chan, and Jamie Rivera were among those who graced Serenata, a nine-day musical concert held at the majestic main altar of the Sto. Domingo Church. Serenata preceded the Oct. 5 to 13 Novena Masses held to mark the centennial of the canonical coronation of the image of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary — La Naval de Manila, also known as Nuestra Señora del Santissimo Rosario de la Naval de Manila, and Her feastday yesterday.

Watching the string of excellent Serenata performers, including Raul Sunico and his group from the UST Conservatory of Music, the UP Concert Chorus, and the Jesuit Music Ministry’s Hangad, sing and dance before the miraculous image of the La Naval de Manila felt like being in the Carnegie Hall once more. Almost. With the La Naval de Manila image resplendent in Her golden regalia and magnificently enthroned at the church’s main altar like a royal queen presiding over Her subjects, the lavishly decorated main altar somehow took the appearance of an elaborate set from a New York Metropolitan opera production. Serenata was a dazzling delight for the senses. One prays that the local Dominican community will issue a CD of the Serenata or a DVD version akin to the live concerts of international talents.

Valdez, together with the Tiples de Santo Domingo, rendered Salamat Maria, the official theme song of the centenary, with lyrics by Jovito Cariño and Vehnee Saturno, who also wrote the music which was arranged by Louie Ocampo. Prof. Herminigildo Ranera and the UST Symphony Orchestra provided additional orchestration for the theme song.

The entire Dominican Province of the Philippines and its affiliates mounted the most stunning rites, both religious and secular, for the centenary. But perhaps, among the celebrations that would be best remembered, centuries from now, for its long-term impact and important contribution to knowledge, is the understatedly elegant launching of the The Saga of La Naval: Triumph of A People’s Faith, a 360-page coffee-table book which innovatively blended traditional print medium with electronic print medium via an interactive CD.

“Since the Dominicans printed the first book in the Philippines, the Doctrina Cristiana, in 1593, they also would like to be the first in combining printed coffee-table book with electronic print,” said Joselito Zulueta, editor of the The Saga. Zulueta teaches Journalism, Literature and Cinema at the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters. He is also a member of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino which hands out the annual Gawad Urian awards.

“The interactive CD is aimed toward better evangelization of the young people who prefer the electronic medium,” Zulueta told The STAR.

Author Karina Bolasco, publishing manager of the trail-blazing Anvil Publishing, Inc., said a coffee-table book complemented with a CD is a welcome development and a new trend in the local book publishing industry, despite the added financial burden of producing a CD. “However, nothing can replace a printed book,” Bolasco said in a separate interview.

Academics agree that CD supplements to coffee-table books are imperative these days to push the frontiers of local publishing industry and to capture new and young market share. In the US, for example, a lot of publishing houses offer regular updates on-line to book contents if a buyer enrolls and pays a minimal fee. That’s virtually getting a new book as soon as new information is made available.

UP Journalism Prof. Yvonne Chua told The STAR, “Coffee-table books with CDs are the way to go in this e-world. Coffee-table books must keep up with the times.” Chua is a multi-awarded investigative journalist, with several book titles to her credit.

“While the older generation enjoys the feel of book, many young people such as our children, nieces and nephews grew up on computers and other digital/electronic gadgets. Thus, they don’t have the same fascination for the printed page as we do. To insist on publishing just a hard copy would mean passing up the opportunity to educate a bigger, more youthful audience on the wonderful subjects that are often the focus of coffee-table books,” said Chua, who is also a communication trainer for various international development agencies.

Aside from the CD supplement targeting the digital generation, a host of serious scholars, resolute researchers and legions of lay Marian devotees will find more than satisfaction and fulfillment in reading The Saga as it more than amply accomplishes its set mission of becoming “the most definitive (book) there is on the history of and the devotion to Our Lady of La Naval.” It successfully achieves the challenge of chronicling the Marian devotion “that was the grandest celebration there was in the old Intramuros and remains the focus of Marian unction up to the present.” Followers were described in the book as “still the most militant and fervent of Marian devotees.”

The book discusses the iconography of the image, its history and developments, rituals, liturgies and an assortment of other practices that have revolved  around La Naval de Manila spanning four centuries of calm and calamities: From the Philippine Revolution against Spain, the American invasion, the World War II, the Marcos dictatorship era (where the Sto.  Domingo Church and the Shrine of La Naval de Manila played the fearless host to the very public wake for the remains of Benigno Aquino Jr.), and the 1986 People Power Revolution where a La Naval de Manila image was brought to EDSA. As such, The Saga is “a chronicle and a history.”

The Saga writers, most of whom are considered to be the Philippines’ foremost experts in their respective fields, have come up with a cutting-edge volume about Philippine Catholicism from the perspective of the Dominicans and its laity.

For better appreciation, The Saga is divided into six major headings: La Naval: Definition, History and Icon; The Cult of Mary; Marian Ceremonies of Grace; House of Mary; The Dominicans and Our Lady; Ave Maria; and La Naval and the Filipinos. One can read any of the 28 articles in any order without getting lost in the multitude of facts presented. There is even a pastry recipe, the Dulce Prenda (La Naval Pastry), for the epicure and a list of the priceless jewels of Our Lady for the fashion conscious. The rare photos are a visual banquet that makes one anticipate what are contained in the succeeding pages.

Contributors are Fr. Isidro Abaño, Maria Eloisa Parco de Castro, Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, Romeo Galang Jr., Fr. Lucio Gutierrez, Julie Ann Hallazgo, Florentino Hornedo, Regalado Trota Jose, Fr. Roland Mactal, Erlita Mendoza, Miguel Noche, Ma. Angelita Reyes, Eugene de los Santos, Jose Victor Torres, Fr. Fidel Villaroel, Ramon Villegas and Maria Bernadette Zaragoza Banson.