Samahang Pasang-Awa

I was eating my breakfast when I heard drum beats. I looked at my wife; she looked back. Boom,boom, boom. Are we being invaded by Nazis? But it was not even a snare drum, it was floor tom with the skin so loose I could hear it rattling.

I did not pay attention; it would go away. But the drum beat, not in rhythm and with an erratic tempo, came nearer. They were shouting and making speeches. I thought, "heavens, this is worse, we are being invaded by Filipino Nazis!"

I couldn't help it so I looked outside: it was a group of teens doing a senakulo, reenactment of the passion of Christ. This was early. Senakulo was usually held on Good Friday.  

They were beating Jesus with a whip. This Jesus was different from the one I knew. He cursed; he was fighting back. The audience was laughing.

Where's Claudia? Where's Claudia? Some of my neighbors were asking where Claudia was. The neighbors were telling the troupe that they cannot do a senakulo without Claudia.

When I was small I used to fear senakulo. The beating of the snare drums and the shoutings were enough to make me pee in my pants. Also, there was this bearded character. He was chained to a centurion and he goes around shouting mad chasing people especially children and when he caught one he lifted them up as if he was going to throw them orbash their heads. This  scared the hell out of me.

I was looking at the cross and I saw the initial PSB. I don't know what this meant.  There are many senakulo troupe and usually their names  have either Krus or Nazareno in them like SPK or Samahang Pasang Krus, Krus sa Nayon, Samahang Nazareno, etc. I don't know what to make of this.