AP PHOTOS: Devout in the Philippines mark Holy Week with flagellations, processions and passion play
KALAYAAN, Philippines (AP) — Dozens of penitents whip their backs to atone for their sins during Good Friday rites in the streets of the southern Philippine town of Kalayaan, as Christians across this largely Catholic country commemorate the passion and sufferings of Jesus.
Residents watch as costumed men parade the streets and flagellate themselves using whips made of wood. The ritual is frowned upon by the church.
Luis Bautista, 27, says he does this so he can experience the hardships of Christ and also pray for the safety of his family.
Penitent Jayve Lorenzo, who has been participating in flagellation rituals for 19 years, says he offers his vow during the holy week because of family problems and to pray for good health.
The penitents, mostly residents, walk under the scorching heat and stop at stations to pray or take a water break. They can be seen dancing as they whip their backs shortly after prayers.
Baby Ragaza leaves boiled eggs and water in front of her house for the penitents to take a break. She does this in memory of her late husband and to bring herself closer to God. 'I am just happy to help and ease their hardships.' she says.
After going around town, the penitents hike to a small waterfall to wash the blood from their backs.
Meanwhile, residents of nearby Paete, a town of 25,000 people, pushed life-size images of Christ and saints during an evening procession around small roads on Holy Wednesday. The following day, a play was performed at the town plaza under the scorching summer heat as part of Maundy Thursday rites.
Rowell Ybanez, parish pastoral council moderator of Saint James the Apostle, said the lenten rituals in their town have been carried on for hundreds of year, attracting tourists to a town known for wood carvings.
Ybanez said Paete is one of the most colorful towns in the Philippines 'because art and faith are intertwined in our town.'
Various lenten rituals are practiced all over the Philippines. Some people even hang themselves from a cross, to strengthen their faith in God.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Watch this drag queen give a master class on dealing with anti-LGBTQ+ protesters
Trying to talk to conservative Christians should come with hazard pay, but one drag queen is going viral for her unique way of turning the interaction around. While attending Canyon Country Pride on June 8, drag queen Cookie Pusss passed by a man named Paul who was holding a sign reading, 'I'm A Sinner' while encouraging Pride parade attendees to repent their sins, Queerty reports. 'Anything that does not reflect the nature and character of god is not to be worshipped,' Paul said of people glorifying pride as a virtue in the now-viral TikTok video. We've all been to Pride Parades where anti-LGBTQ+ Christian protestors have held up hateful signs and hurled bible verses at queer marchers, but Cookie Pusss managed to stop Paul dead in his tracks by asking him a random "get to know you" style question that turns the whole conversation around: 'What's your favorite pizza topping?' In an instant, Paul goes from having a scowl on his face to smiling, but seems unsure why he's being asked about pizza, calling the question a 'non sequitur' while they were having a 'good conversation.' Me and Paul the Protestor talk about idolatry and bacon on pizza at #canyoncountypride2025 #gaypride #pizza #protestor #paul #gay #idolatry 'I would give it a five out of 10. You were just kind of spouting stuff. I think the cool stuff is getting to know you,' Cookie Pusss responds. The drag queen tells Paul that if he tells her what his favorite kind of pizza is, she'll listen to him 'talk about idolatry for like five more minutes.' Paul lights up and says, 'What a deal,' before telling Cookie Pusss that bacon is his favorite topping. The two have a short conversation about pizza as though they were friends and not on opposing sides of a vast political divide, before she says, 'Well, see, now we have something we can relate on.' See on Instagram The comment section of the TikTok video, which has already been viewed 670,000 times at the time of publication, is full of people who are pleasantly surprised that the drag queen was able to turn the conversation around so easily by talking to Paul as though he were a friend. 'I'm not joking this needs to be studied because you literally made him snap out of it for a second,' someone commented. 'Oh he flirting honeyyyy,' another person wrote. 'Wait a second, tricking them into a real convo might heal the entire world,' commented someone else. 'Honestly the way you switched him from hateful religious monologuing to actual conversation was brilliant, I hope that helped him see you and others within the LGBT community as a person,' another comment read. Cookie Pusss has tried other tactics with anti-LGBTQ+ protestors, including in April when she posed and twerked in front of them in a granny-square skirt, high-heeled boots, and a bikini-style top. But it was this simple question about pizza that seems to have made the biggest difference. Cookie Pusss did not immediately respond to Pride's request for comment.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What to know about Harvey Weinstein's conviction on a top sex crimes charge at his #MeToo retrial
NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty again, convicted Wednesday of a top sex crimes charge at his #MeToo retrial in New York City. The mixed and partial verdict came more than five years after his first conviction, which an appeals court overturned last year. The jury returned a verdict on two of three charges against Weinstein, acquitting him of one. Jurors indicated that they had yet to achieve unanimity on the final count. That could mean more deliberations on Thursday. The verdict capped an extraordinary fifth day of deliberations. The jury foreperson complained that he was being bullied by other jurors. Weinstein's lawyer then asked for a mistrial, and Weinstein himself addressed the judge without jurors in the courtroom, imploring him to end the case without a verdict. Minutes later, the jury of seven women and five men declared the ailing 73-year-old guilty of one count of criminal sex act, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Weinstein denies raping or sexually assaulting anyone. Once he's sentenced, he can appeal. Here's what you need to know about the verdict: What was Weinstein convicted of? Jurors convicted Weinstein of one count of criminal sex act, finding that he forcibly performed oral sex on a TV and movie producer and production assistant, Miriam Haley, nearly two decades ago. Haley, who had a short stint working on the Weinstein-produced 'Project Runway,' testified that he assaulted her in July 2006 after inviting her to stop by his SoHo apartment before a flight his company booked her on the next day to Los Angeles to attend a movie premiere. Haley testified that Weinstein backed her into a bedroom, pushed her onto a bed and forced oral sex on her, undeterred by her kicks and pleas of, 'No, no — it's not going to happen.' Weinstein was convicted of the same charge at his first trial. Haley, who has also gone by the name Mimi Haleyi, told jurors that she was never interested in any sexual or romantic relationship with Weinstein but still wanted his help professionally. She acknowledged she kept in touch and exchanged warm messages with him and accepted an invitation to his hotel room two weeks after the alleged assault, when she said he pulled her into bed for sex. What was Weinstein acquitted of? Weinstein acquitted of a charge of criminal sex act relating to a previously uncharged allegation that he forced oral sex on Kaja (KEYE'-ah) Sokola, a psychologist and former Polish model and actor, at a Manhattan hotel in 2006 just before her 20th birthday. Sokola, who wasn't a part of Weinstein's first trial, testified that Weinstein assaulted her after luring her to his hotel room by telling her had a script to show her. As he pushed her onto a bed, stripped off her boots, her stockings and her underwear, 'my soul was removed from me," she said. Now 39, Sokola said he held her down while ignoring her pleas of 'please don't, please stop, I don't want this.' She said she tried to push him away but was no match against the much larger Weinstein. Sokola also testified that Weinstein sexually assaulted her when she was 16 years old, but that allegation was beyond legal time limits for a potential criminal charge. Sokola said she stayed in touch with Weinstein because she had dreams of an acting career. She went to authorities in January 2020, a few days into Weinstein's first trial. Prosecutors halted their investigation after Weinstein was convicted, but revived it when the verdict was thrown out last year. What charge hasn't been decided yet? The jury hasn't reached a verdict on a third-degree rape charge involving Jessica Mann's allegation that Weinstein assaulted her in March 2013. Mann, a cosmetologist and hairstylist, said she met Weinstein at a party in late 2012 or early 2013, when she was 27 and trying to launch an acting career. She alleges Weinstein trapped her in a Manhattan hotel room, demanded that she undress as he loomed over her, grabbed her arms and raped her after, she believes, he injected himself with an erection-promoting drug that she later found in the bathroom trash. Mann said she had a consensual, on-and-off relationship with the then-married Weinstein, but that he was volatile and violated her if she refused him. She said she kept in touch with Weinstein after the alleged rape, telling jurors she 'compartmentalized the part of Harvey that was hurting me,' and that flattery and friendliness 'kept the peace.' The Associated Press generally does not name sexual assault accusers without their permission, which Haley, Mann and Sokola have given. Why was there a new trial? New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, threw out Weinstein's conviction in April 2024. In a 4-3 decision, the court said the judge in the first trial, James Burke, denied Weinstein a fair trial by letting three women testify about allegations that didn't result in charges and by deciding that prosecutors could confront Weinstein, if he testified, about stories of him behaving brutishly. The court labeled the allegations against Weinstein 'appalling, shameful, repulsive conduct' but warned that 'destroying a defendant's character under the guise of prosecutorial need' did not justify some trial evidence and testimony. Burke's term expired at the end of 2022, and he is no longer a judge. Prosecutors were not allowed to retry Weinstein on charges that he was acquitted of during his first trial, including predatory sexual assault and one count of first-degree rape. What about Weinstein's other criminal case? Weinstein is appealing his conviction in Los Angeles in a similar case in 2022. Jurors there found him guilty of three of seven charges, including rape, and he was sentenced to 16 years in prison. Weinstein's lawyers argued he did not get a fair trial. They contend that the judge in the California case wrongly allowed jurors to know about Weinstein's 2020 New York conviction, and that the jury was unfairly prejudiced by testimony from women about alleged assaults Weinstein was not charged with. __ Associated Press journalists Ruth Brown and Philip Marcelo contributed to this report.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
How ‘Beach Boys' co-founder Brian Wilson, the original boy of summer, transformed music as we know it
I'm picking up sad vibrations. Brian Wilson — who co-founded the Beach Boys and was the main architect of their sound — is now surfing the heavens after his death was announced by his family on Wednesday. The genius of the group he formed with his brothers Carl and Dennis, cousin Mike Love and their friend Al Jardine in 1961, Wilson was one of the true visionaries of music who defined pop as we know it today. Advertisement 6 'That ear — I mean, Jesus, he's got to will that to the Smithsonian,' Bob Dylan once said of Brian Wilson. AP From 1963's 'Surfin' U.S.A.' to 1964's 'I Get Around' to 1966's 'Good Vibrations,' Wilson defined not only the California sound but the sound of sunshine, the sound of summer, the sound of dreams. Inside of his musical mind there seemed to be a world of endless possibility that the rest of us could never have imagined as he explored sonic frontiers with his inventive production techniques, ingenious orchestrations and lush, layered harmonies. Advertisement While Love was the frontman of the Beach Boys, Wilson was the Man. 'That ear — I mean, Jesus, he's got to will that to the Smithsonian,' the Bard himself, Bob Dylan, once said. 6 Brian Wilson (top center) formed the Beach Boys with Mike Love, Al Jardine, Dennis Wilson and Carl Wilson in 1961. Getty Images In many ways, the Beach Boys were The Beatles of American music — even if they haven't always gotten the same revered respect. Advertisement 'Me and Mike were a little bit jealous of The Beatles because they took over the whole music scene,' Wilson told USA Today about the battle between the bands in 2021. But just as 'Beatlesque' will forever be a descriptive adjective in music vernacular, 'Beach Boyish' should be too. 6 'I wanted to write joyful music that would make other people feel good,' said Brian Wilson when the Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. AP While Motown was said to have captured the 'sound of young America' in the '60s, so too did Wilson and the Beach Boys. Advertisement Although the adolescent appeal of songs such as 'Fun, Fun, Fun' and 'California Girls' had a sunny simplicity, it belied the depth of artistry underneath the surface. The Beach Boys made it sound so easy, but this wasn't shallow stuff. With the Beach Boys' 1966 masterpiece 'Pet Sounds,' though, Wilson had his finest moment that has locked down its place as one of the greatest albums of all time. It was their 'Sgt. Pepper,' The Beatles' 1967 classic that it influenced. 6 The Beach Boys hit No. 1 with 'I Get Around,' 'Help Me, Rhonda' and 'Good Vibrations' in the '60s. Getty Images Name anything else that sounds more like heaven than the transcendent 'God Only Knows.' We'll wait. No less than Paul McCartney has called it the 'greatest song ever written.' 'It was 'Pet Sounds' that blew me out of the water,' said McCartney in a 1990 interview. 'First of all, it was Brian's writing. I love the album so much. … I figure no one is educated musically 'til they've heard that album. ' 6 Brian Wilson performed at a Yahoo! Music event in Los Angeles in 2008. AP Advertisement Wilson, the tortured soul and artist that he was, tried to follow up 'Pet Sounds' with the ambitious 'Smile,' but the album is part of music legend for remaining unfinished. As the Beach Boys' creative leader battled his own mental demons and substance abuse, the project was abandoned amid clashes between him and the rest of the band. While Wilson would remain connected to the Beach Boys for years, it was never the same. And it had to sting when his former group hit No. 1 again with 1988's 'Kokomo' without him, as he launched a solo career that never reached the heights of his Beach Boys work. But Wilson's legacy had long been secured as one of the all-time greats. Like Sly Stone, the funk pioneer who also passed away at 82 on Monday, his impact and influence were already living on in generations after him well before he died, from Fleetwood Mac and R.E.M. to Lana Del Rey and Beyoncé, who interpolates 'Good Vibrations' on her 'Cowboy Carter' album. 6 After forming in 1961, the Beach Boys scored their first Top 10 hit with 'Surfin' U.S.A.' in 1963. Michael Ochs Archives Advertisement 'He was our American Mozart. A one of a kind genius from another world,' wrote Sean Ono Lennon, John Lennon's son, on X. No doubt — Wilson's musical mission was accomplished. 'I wanted to write joyful music that would make other people feel good,' he said when the Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. But music — and summer — will never be the same without him.
