Text, photos and video by Vincent Go
EVERY third Sunday of January, Tondo, one of Manila’s most densely populated districts, celebrates the Feast of the Sto. Niño (Holy Child in Spanish). The Sto. Niño is one of the oldest religious relics brought by Fernando Magellan to the archipelago in 1521.
Barely a week after the Feast of the Black Nazarene, thousands of devotees flocked to the Sto. Niño de Tondo Parish, bearing images of the Child Jesus to have them blessed.
Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle officiated the early morning mass held at 6 a.m., which was followed by hourly masses held to accommodate the huge number of devotees. A grand procession then ensued, with devotees swaying, images of the Holy Child in their arms, to the drumbeats of native Ati-atihan dancers smothered in black soot around Tondo district.
The event went peacefully with no untoward incident, apart from several people who reported losing valuables to pickpockets.
