The “Procesion Civica,” Highlight of Cuenca, Batangas’ Fiesta Celebration c. 1930

In the present day, the Municipality of Cuenca in Batangas has developed a reputation for being the “Home of the Bakers,” and the town itself has become renowned for its “Tinapay” (Bread) Festival which “puts the spotlight on the hardworking bakers or ‘panaderos’ of the place¹.” During the American colonial era, however, the highlight of the annual fiesta or the feast celebrated in honor of the town’s patron saint, was something else altogether.

Back then, the virtual centerpiece of the fiesta on the 15^th of May was something called the “Procesion Civica” (Civic Procesion). The Patron Saint of Cuenca, to the present day, is San Isidro Labrador or Saint Isidore the Laborer². He was a Spanish born “farmworker known for his piety toward the poor and animals³” and is recognized by the Catholic Church as the Patron of Farmers.

The “Procesion Civica,” despite the name, was therefore not really a procession of people but more one of animals, something held to commemorate and honor who and what San Isidro Labrador was. From a 1930 ethnographic paper written by one Petronila C. Marasigan⁴, we get details of this procession.

The procession was just one of many activities held in anticipation of and during the fiesta itself, which was preceded by a “novenario” or a novena (9-day prayers) attended by the townspeople. It – the procession – was held on the “vispera” or eve of the fiesta.

According to Marsigan, as early as one o’clock, anything from six to ten bands hired by the organizers of the “festejos” (celebrations) “begin to play their melodious pieces.” Two hours later, at three in the afternoon, the “Procesion Civica” commenced.

It started at the “Patio” or the front of the town’s church, and leading it were the “Presidente de Festejos” (President of the Celebrations) as well as the President of an organization of the young men of the town. Marasigan described the procession itself:

The celebrations, of course, did not end when the “Procesion Civica” ended in the evening. Later that same night, the hired bands took turns playing at the bandstands in an event called the “Serenata,” which was well attended by the townsfolk as well as visitors.

The day of the fiesta itself was almost something of an anticlimax, albeit this was when houses were opened to all and sundry for food and drinks, a kind of hospitality which Marasigan described as “Every house is an inn.” The festivities culminated with a “dramatic performance hired for the occasion,” a “dance usually held in the town market,” and, as it continues to be done in the present day, a fireworks display.