My Travel Photography Scholarship Entry

Quiapo: A Vicious Circle

PHILIPPINES | Monday, 14 January 2013 | Views [401] | View Larger Image

Unable to enter the packed church, some groups stay out on the street to hear mass. Merchants, oblivious to the ongoing mass, compete with the priest for their attention. A young boy turns away from his family and abandons listening to the sermon to gleefully play with the bubbles drifting temptingly in front of him.

Quiapo Church, Manila: the cacophony of people praying, children laughing, and merchants shouting permeate the scene as devotees of the Black Nazarene--the statue of which is believed to be miraculous--flock to the church to participate in the Sunday mass. In a country riddled with poverty, citizens cling onto any hope, divine or otherwise, for a better life.

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The smoke rising in languid curls into the air keeping him company, a Sampaguita (Jasmine flower) vendor battles fatigue with a stick of cigarrette while he waits at the back of the crowd for the chruchgoers to disperse. Most Filipinos treat their religious statues as human, which is believed to bring the owners luck: dressing them in elaborate clothing and sometimes offering food. Sampaguita necklaces are used to adorn religious statues' necks.

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My Travel Photography Scholarship Entry

Quiapo: A Vicious Circle

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