Reminiscing Flores de Mayo

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May is our month -- the Flores de Mayo month.  I call it our month because "flores" refers to flowers.  Coming from a brood of six girls, everybody in the community refer to us as "flowers" too.  Hence, during our childhood, May always became a special and dear month to us.  It was a month when flowers were in bloom and kids can be themselves...

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I spent most of my childhood years celebrating the Flower Month in May.  It is a month-long celebration in honor of Mama Mary.  Little boys and girls from our little town then spent May-afternoons in the church learning catechism, singing songs for Mary and offering Her prayers and flowers.  It was such a joyful occasion which I and my sisters never want to miss.  

May mornings were spent scouring the neighborhood for flowers.  Yes, there were even times when we had to steal flowers from the neighbor's garden...it was definitely part of the fun.  We then race home with the little treasures, arrange them on makeshift baskets (made out of tin cans or bamboo containers) and get them ready for the afternoon in the church.

When May ends, the highlight of the celebration in the form of the Santacruzan becomes a community affair.  Little girls like us then, often dressed in white, with those little bouquets or basketfull of flowers bask in the merriment of the grown ups in a procession of beautiful ladies dressed in regal clothes.  I have always yearned to be a Reyna Elena -- the most supreme of the muses in the Santacruzan-- (I believed most girls did) -- be the most pretty muse, in the most regal gown in town, to walk in around town in a grand parade of beauties.

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After the little boys and girls have brought their flower offerings...

My sisters and I unanimously agree that those Flores de Mayo times were among our best of childhood memories.  Now, the festivity persists.  But if you around and ask little boys and girls, not many of them know what the festivity is all about anymore.  Times have changed indeed.

Nowadays, Santacruzan becomes an opportunity for many gays to showcase their homosexuality by parading in their glorious gowns in many a titles very few can understand.  

Originally, the procession consists only of the following participants and in this order: (from Wikipedia)

1. Matusalém (Methuselah)- bearded and bent with age, he is depicted as riding a cart and looking preoccupied with toasting some grains of sand in a pan over a fire. This is a reminder that everything in this world is passing and will end up like the dust which he is toasting.

2. Reyna Banderada (Queen with a banner)- a young lady dressed in a long red gown carrying a yellow triangular flag. She represents the arrival of Christianity.

3. Aetas - represents the animist Filipinos who have settled the islands prior to Christianisation by the Spanish.

4. Reyna Mora (Queen Moor) - represents the Filipinos who converted to Islam, which arrived in the Philippines two centuries before Christianity.

5. Reyna Fe (Queen Faith) - symbolises Faith, the first of the theological virtues. She carries a cross.

6. Reyna Esperanza (Queen Hope) - symbolises Hope, the second theological virtue. She carries an anchor.

7. Reyna Caridad (Queen Charity)- symbolises Charity, the third theological virtue. She carries a red-coloured heart.

8. Reyna Abogada (Queen Lawyer) - the defender of the poor and the oppressed, she wears a black graduation cap, gown (toga), and carries a large book. She may also be a representation of Mary, Help (Advocate) of Christians.

9. Reyna Sentenciada (Queen Sentenced/Convicted) - has her hands bound by a rope, she stands for the Early Christians, especially the virgins, who were martyred for the faith. She is accompanied by two Roman soldiers.

10. Reyna Justicía (Queen Justice) - a personification of Mary as the "Mirror of Justice", one of her titles in the Litany of Loreto. Her attributes are a weighing scale and a sword.

11. Reyna Judít (Queen Judith) - represents the biblical widow Judith of Bethulia who saved her city from the Assyrians by slaying the cruel Holofernes. She carries the head of her victim in one hand and a sword in the other. She is also known as Infanta Judith.

12. Reyna ng Saba (Queen of Sheba) - represents the Queen of Sheba, who visited King Solomon and was overwhelmed by his wisdom, power, and riches. She carries a jewelry box.

13. Reyna Ester - the Jewish queen of Persia who spared her people from death at the hands of Haman through her timely intervention with King Xerxes. She carries a scepter.

14. Samaritana (The Female Samaritan) - the woman with whom Christ spoke to at the well. She carries a jug on her shoulder.

15. Verónica - the woman who wiped the face of Jesus; bears a veil with three imprints of the face of Jesus.

16. Tres Marías (The Three Marys)- each Mary holds an attribute associated with her:

a. Mary of Magdala - a bottle of perfume;

b. The Virgin Mary - a handkerchief;

c. Mary, the mother of James - a bottle of oil.

17. Marian - each figure in this group alludes to a title of the Virgin Mary or to a figure associated with her.

a. "A-V-E--M-A-R-I-A" - eight "angels": girls all wearing long white dresses and wings- each holding a letter from the word "AVE MARIA."

b. Divina Pastora (Divine Shepherdess) - a shepherd's staff.

c. Reyna de las Estrellas (Queen of the Stars) - a wand with a star.

d. Rosa Mística (Mystical Rose)- a bouquet of roses.

e. Reyna de la Paz (Queen of Peace) - a dove.

f. Reyna de los Profetas (Queen of the Prophets)- an hourglass.

g. Reyna del Cielo (Queen of Heaven)- a flower; accompanied by two little "angels".

h. Reyna de las Vírgenes (Queen of the Virgins) - a rosary (or a lily); also escorted by two little "angels".

i. Reyna de las Flores (Queen of the Flowers) - a bouquet of flowers.

18. Reyna Elena (Queen Helena) - the last member of the procession, she represents Helena of Constantinople who found the True Cross; this is alluded to by her attribute, a small cross or crucifix that she carries in her arms. This considerably prestigious role is usually awarded to the most beautiful girl participating in the pageant. In some communities, the identity of the woman who will portray the Reyna Elena is kept a secret until the day of the procession.

a. Constantíno - the escort of Reyna Elena; traditionally a young boy representing the Emperor Constantine.

The issue of whether gays should be allowed to stage their own version of the Santacruzan remains an interesting topic for debate.  Meanwhile, as May ends, I shall continue with my childhood reminiscence and bask in the beauty of the blooms in my tiny garden.

Ave Maria...