Sunday, April 01, 2007

Palm Talk

I live right in front of a big church, so it isn't any surprise that the area becomes quite busy on Sundays and church holidays -- especially Holy Week. I don't go to this church because it's a Catholic church and I'm not Catholic. Also, I'm not a churchgoer.

Anyway...

Every year, on the eve of Palm Sunday, weavers come from the provinces and stake their spots near churches big and small in Manila. They spend the day weaving and decorating palm fronds to sell on Palm Sunday. Here in the Philippines, it's mostly coconut tree leaves that are used for this purpose (I'm not sure whether the people during Jesus Christ's time used the same kind to welcome his entry into Jerusalem, but what the heck. It's the 21st century and we're nowhere near Jerusalem).

Here's a short clip of a conversation I had yesterday afternoon with two local palm weavers: Nelda Villanueva and her son, Jaymar. They're from the province of Laguna. You can follow the conversation because I translate what's being said. (Well, sometimes. When I remember to.) There's quite a bit of background noise because of traffic. And my camera ran out of space, so the clip ends abruptly.

Give me a pat on the back, will ya, because I went out of the house and *gasp* actually crossed the street. (I'm pretty much of a homebody, in case you didn't know.) And I'm not kidding, even though it's April Fool's Day. Or am I? :-D




22 comments:

Scott from Oregon said...

That's the cool kind of thing that makes me hate my dial up.

You know. You are one of those rare people whose voice sounds like they look.

Or I could say, your voice sounds like it came from your picture.

Boo dial up! Boo!!

Scott from Oregon said...

That's the cool kind of thing that makes me hate my dial up.

You know. You are one of those rare people whose voice sounds like they look.

Or I could say, your voice sounds like it came from your picture.

Boo dial up! Boo!!

Em said...

I don't have the right software or something to view...but the whole thing is very interesting. To whom do they sell? People going into church? Do people buy a leaf and take it into church with them? And if so...what happens to them then??

Anonymous said...

Scott: You can do so many fun things with high-speed Internet. I hope you get yours soon! And thanks. :-)

Em: They sell them to the Palm Sunday churchgoers. Then sometime during mass, the priest blesses the palms that the people bought. I don't know what they do with the blessed palms after mass, though.

Unknown said...

*NNNNGGGGRRRRRR* I consider myself April fooled... because I can´t see or hear anything...

houseband00 said...

Naubusan ka lang ata ng Inggles. =)

Happy April Fool's Day!!! =)

Lizza said...

Sanni: Hmmm... that's weird. I'll see what I can do.

HB: Same to you! :-)

LH said...

Wow. Less than $20? That makes me put a few things into perspective.

Scott from Oregon is right...your voice matches your face!

That was very cool, Lizza. Thanks for sharing!!

Oh, and can you PLEASE tell me what her shirt said?

Prometheus said...

Allus wondered why they have a Fool's Day. Meaning, innit superabundant already?

Oh, great vid Liz. And you actually stepped out of the house? As in "stepped out"?

Yokes apart, that was awesome.

Maryanne Moll said...

Well, you live across a church. When the day of the Final Judgement comes, you just run across the street with a lace veil and clutching a prayerbook and then you'll be saved.

Enjoyed the video clip!

Anonymous said...

Laurz: Thanks! I don't remember what her shirt said, and I can't make it out from the video either. Sorry!

Prometheus: I did step out of the house, I do it every now and then ya know. Unless you mean something else with quotation marks!

Maryanne Haha! But if my fellow "savees" are going to be some of those daily churchgoers who act like mean jackasses when they're not in church...no thanks. :-)

Kyels: Sounds like you had a fun day. :-)

CS said...

That was really interesting Lizza, thanks for taking hte time to film it and YouTube it. Maybe you'll get some God-credits for that if if you aren't a church-goer?

Lizza said...

LOL. Good idea. Though I don't know if the Creator thinks YouTube matters in the big picture.

Odat said...

Hey..I really enjoyed that...you should do more of it...job well done!!!
Peace

Liz Hill said...

Tyhat was awesome! It's so cool to hear you. YOu sounded exactly the way I thought you'd sound. THanks for sharing this.

Lizza said...

Odat: Glad you liked it, peace-loving dancer. We'll see what I come up with in the future. :-)

Turnbaby: Thank YOU, sugar. I enjoyed hearing your voice in one of your video clips, too.

Mo and The Purries said...

That's cool - back when I was a kid and went to church, we just got a wilted dried up tiny palm leaf...
nothing like this!

Anonymous said...

Haha! Really? Well, they're very creative here. The weavers don't earn all that much on Palm Sunday (by Western standards) but the things they make sure are pretty.

Kiyotoe said...

seeing the pictures of your "bloggies" is one thing, but hearing your voice is like a whole new way of getting to know you.

Thanks for sharing Lovely.

Anonymous said...

And I hope to hear YOUR voice soon someday, my dear G.O.A.T.

Unknown said...

Hooray! I was allowed to watch the video *front-flip* - I was not April-fooled *back-flip*!

Now that I saw it... I want more! Great job, Lizza - thanks!

Lizza said...

Careful with the flipping, San! :-D
Hey, maybe you could do something like this. I'd love to see a video of an aspect of German life...and hear your voice too! I think this is a good way to learn about each other's cultures. :-D