Curse or Coincidence: Stories Behind Barangay Calvario's Feast Day

By Ameera Luntao, Leila Rodriguez and Mariella Sta. Ana

Every first week of May in Barangay Calvario,Meycauayan City, Bulacan, the striking colors of triangular flags will feed your eyes. The walls were painted in a monochromatic form that defines symphony and unity. The blasting sounds of the marching band will definitely make you groove. All of these preparations are for their patron, Sto. Cristo. But beneath these merry haps, residents in Barangay Calvario prepare for expected misfortunes.

Every time the residents try to celebrate their patron’s feast day always end up aborted. Up until now, some believe this myth that their fiesta is always tied with bad luck.

The mishap during the Barangay Calvario feast day is an example of a myth that was passed along by word of mouth, from person to person and generation to generation until it was retold in different versions. According to James Bonnet, a writer and story consultant, the great myths and legends were not authored by individuals the way stories are today but were evolved naturally and instinctively by unconscious processes in oral traditions.

One more thing that adds fuel to the fire is the barangay’s name, Calvario, that is linked with the word Calvary, the hill near Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified. The residents believe that it is the reason behind the number of misfortunes every feast day. That is why they presume that every time they celebrate their fiesta in a joyous way, something bad is bound to happen.

Lorenzo Abacan, a psychologist and a resident of Barangay Calvario, believes that the dooms and the history of Calvario are possibly connected.

"To some extent, I do believe…because if it is really a coincidence, why does it happen every single time that we celebrate our fiesta?"

 Just like the last fiesta we've celebrated, there were games and contests, and I thought it would end up with no problems, but after that, we've experienced a wide-range blackout." He said.

Almost two decades ago, Angelito Sta. Ana, the Assistant Barangay Administrator of Calvario, experienced the same thing after celebrating the fiesta. He narrated the scenes during the preparations for the event, heavy rains started to pour and blaring thunders started to flash. Right after the fiesta, electric posts broke down, and flash floods started to cover the whole barangay. Afterward, they decided not to celebrate fiesta anymore.

"We don't believe in such folklores back then but we've experienced a real thing, so we decided not celebrate the fiesta in a joyful way." He said.

Through the years, some residents still believe that it happens because of the history itself, but many are still not conceived about the folklore.

There are some incidents that can define the real stories behind the myth.

In 1998, the barangay celebrated fiesta and as the story tells, people experienced black-out and they believe it was because of the folklore.

Sister Emily H. Conquilla, an ostiarate in Meycauayan, Bulacan, doubts the stories and expressed her thoughts about the lore.

"During that fiesta, in 1998, They made extravagant and tall pagodas, and because it was high enough to reach the cables, the electric cables got tangled. That's the main reason why they've experienced black-out in their barangay." She said.

A resident named Charry Ayson also witnessed the tragedy in 1998."It rained a lot after that incident, but I strongly believe that it is just a coincidence. And because people believe it, they are convinced that it is related to the barangay’s history."

While Julita Tabor, a 65-year-old dweller in Calvario, opposes the myth about the fiesta.

"It is clearly a coincidence. People should not throw off their blames to our Patron Saint. We all have different beliefs, but we don't have to point our fingers to our Patron." She expressed.

The barangay did not celebrate their fiesta for several years, but after 18 years, the officials decided to end the lore and enjoy the true meaning of the celebration. But unfortunately, a mishappening occurred again. The electric cables went off because of over usage of power.

The barangay officials wanted to clear the situations including the old myth. Kagawad Jesus David elaborated the steps they made last fiesta, and they made sure everything is safe and clear.

"We did our best to make the celebration successful, amateurs, live bands, beauty contests, games, and maintained the safety by sending our tanods, and fortunately, there were no accidents occurred."

Kagawad Jesus David also believes that fiesta in Calvario should be celebrated because it is an event to be treasured.

He also said that they will still treasure the precious history of their barangay, but people should be open to changes.

According to David, there are no documents that they can provide because those mishaps happened 20 years ago.

One of the reasons why some people do not believe the myth is that they already forgot what happened because of the long intervals of extravagant celebrations of the festival, as Abacan explained.

But for Rev. Fr. Elmer R. Ignacio, from St. James the Apostle Parish, the "cursed feast" is just a misunderstood concurrence. For him, the aforesaid myth is just a creative story from the commodious minds of the people.

"Remember, God will not do anything that is bad because He is good. And because He is good, He will not do anything that would harm the people because that is totally against His nature as a God." He said.