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The feast of the Santo Niño of Tondo



Photos by LITTLE WING LUNA

Text by MITCH MEÑEZ

LAST Sunday, just like all the third Sundays of January of years past, the streets of Tondo teemed with devotees carrying the images of the Santo Niño.

One of the oldest images in the http://siedc.org/wp/ country, the Santo Niño or the Holy Child, represents the Filipinos’ faith in the Divine Being.

The feast of the Santo Niño, a demonstration of faith and devotion, dates back to the colonial times when the Spaniards ruled the Philippines. Images of the Holy Child, dressed in the best outfit by the devotee- from the ornate to the silliest- are carried, hoisted up above their heads and marched to the Tondo Parish where they are blessed with Holy Water. The devotees talk of miracles in their lives attributed to the Santo Niño .