Pagbati in Rosario

ROSARIO, Batangas — Easter Sunday in this town comes alive with the traditional Pagbati, a prayer offering through dance performed immediately after the 6 a.m. Mass.

The dance is a celebration of the triumphant meeting between the Risen Christ and the Blessed Mother, performed to lively brass band music.

Today, three young daughters of Arnel and Nonie Abjelina — Maria Paula, 18; Anna Albina, 15; and Christa Maria, 14 — are performing the Pagbati.

The performance is a sort of homecoming for the three girls in this town where their father Arnel, public affairs manager of Intel Phils., grew up.