The Black Nazarene

Tttle: The Black Nazarene

Designer/Artist:

Date: 1606; Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

Location: Quiapo, Manila, Philippines

Feast day: January 9 (officia feast); Good Friday (liturgical)

Witness: Recollect Priests; Archbishop of Manila, Basílio Sancho de Santa Justa y Rufina

The Black Nazarene refers to a life-sized, dark-colored statue of Jesus Christ that was brought to Manila, Philippines, from Mexico on May 31, 1606, by the first group of Augustinian Recollect friars sent by Spain. The image was charred black in a fire that broke out on the ship during its trip to Manila from Mexico.

The Black Nazarene is a life-sized image of a dark, genuflecting image of Jesus Christ carrying the True Cross enshrined in Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila, Philippines. The image was reputedly carved by an unknown Mexican artist in the 16th century and then brought to the Philippines in 1606.

The Feast of the Black Nazarene (Filipino: Pista ng Itím na Nazareno), also known as the Traslación after the mass procession associated with the feast, is a religious festival held in Manila, Philippines that is centered around the Black Nazarene, an image of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated annually on January 9.

Title: Bonifacio Monument

Location: Ermita, Manila, Philippines

Designer/artist: Guillermo Tolentino

Type: Monument Sculpture

Material: Granite and bronze

Bonifacio Monument, which won first prize in a contest sponsored by the National Museum in 1930, is a group sculpture of numerous figures massed around a central obelisk. The principal figure is Andres Bonifacio, leader of the 1896 Philippine Revolution. Behind him and beneath the flag stands Emilio Jacinto. On both sides the Katipunero brandish their bolo in a call to arms. Behind the figure of Bonifacio, at the opposite side of the obelisk, are the hooded figures of the three martyred priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, whose execution gave birth to nationalism. These are followed in sequence by the initiation rites into the revolutionary secret society of the Katipunan, a dying woman with an infant reaching for her breast, and the man with clenched fist upraised beside the Katipunero figure, which completes the movement back to Bonifacio.

Height: 13.7 m (45 ft)

Date Created: November 30, 1929-1933

Bonifacio himself stands with pistol and bolo in each hand, his figure expressive of nobility and resoluteness of purpose as he surveys the scene. Classical ideals come into play, particularly in the restrained approach to the Bonifacio figure, but so does romanticism in the emotional dynamism of the Katipunero. Not to be overlooked is the realist’s concern for detail, especially since Tolentino was also an excellent portraitist. Through these various strands, what comes to the fore is the sculptor’s genuine feeling for the subject. The figure of Bonifacio, the tragic revolutionary hero, was an inspiration to the artist as nationalist. This monument, which marked the apex of Tolentino’s career, was completed on the eve of the founding of the Commonwealth, once more stirring hopes for independence from colonial rule, symbolized by the winged victory atop the obelisk.