LXXIV. How Malolos Finally Got a Last Supper, Part Three: Fitting Thirteen on a Carroza.

(Continued from Part One and Part Two.)

On Monday, February 18^th, 2008, the tiny Vecin Workshop became even more cramped, as the group of thirteen took their places.

Mr. Vecin and his team tried their best, given the obvious space limitations, to simulate how the tableau would be staged on the carroza.

To facilitate identification, the characters’ names were written on strips of masking tape and affixed to each one’s chest.

Just about the only predetermined positions were those of the figure of Christ, obviously at the “kabisera,” and that of John on his left

and Peter on his right.

Everyone else was seated (or stood) more or less where the original designs from the previous year said that they would.

Judas Iscariot was at the far end left, posed as if in flight, as the drawings specified.

Thus far, it seems that the test-staging was completed successfully.  In the next few days, the figures were transported to Malolos, Bulacan, and the following Saturday February 23^rd, final adjustments to joints, arm positions, and stool anchoring were undertaken by Mr. Vecin and his crew.

The Vecin Workshop’s in-house garment maker, Mr. Ramon Gutierrez, was also on hand to dress each figure, here starting with the Christ.

Let’s try a papal-style (a.k.a. Superman style) draping for Christ’s cape, shall we?

Peter seems to squirm uncomfortably as he gets dressed next.

Perhaps he’s not used to being garbed in such posh threads.

John waits patiently for his turn at the haberdashers’.

His patience is rewarded, as he gets dressed in fabrics that would be the envy of other young peasant men of two thousand years ago.

The Christ just awaits installation of the third of its tres potencias

before this small group of three gets to pose for their first set of publicity shots.

and a final solo shot of the Boss.

While all that posing is going on, Ramon Gutierrez and company get on with dressing the other Apostles.

The seated ones are particularly tricky to dress, as you can’t just ask them to, well, stand.

Slowly, the group becomes complete.

Here’s Saint James the Greater at the extreme right, noticing that Judas just diagonally across appears to be fleeing.

Everyone gets a review (and a finger massage) from Mr. Vecin.

Judas Iscariot’s alternate head has successfully schemed his way onto the body, so that’s what we get to see here.

Messrs. Gutierrez and Vecin affix a black hood onto Judas’ head, enhancing his sinister image further.

Soon enough, Judas takes his place near the front of the tableau,

not at the very front as in the original design, but one place away from the end of the row.

Mr. Vecin does a quick pass-in review of the troop

while at the other end, Ramon fiddles with Christ’s garments

to try out a different way of draping the cloak.

In the end, he and Mr. Vecin decide to make adjustments to Christ’s garments, which means that we’ll have to remove everything and take them back to Ramon’s shop.

The more radical change, however, is that the Christ is adjudged to be a couple of inches too short.  Mr. Vecin quickly decides to make a new taller body by elongating the current torso.  Both head and body are therefore to return to Makati.

Hopefully, the inscriptions (the image's name, as well as the maker’s name and the date [of Good Friday] as previously seen) will survive the surgery.  Oh well.

The rest of the gang has in the meantime been compressed in place, awaiting their eventual mounting on the carroza.

Speaking of which, all these months that the images had been taking shape and form in the Vecin Workshop in Makati, some other of Mr. Vecin’s chain gang had been working on the carroza elsewhere.  By Saturday, March 1^st, it had been brought to Makati, where its hardwood body had started to go through final finishing.

The three-tiered floor plan, consistent with the original design, is clearly seen here.

The great bulk of this carroza body, clearly seen from the rear

necessitated the specification of double-thickness metal wheels all around.

But the intricately carved panels partly mitigated this bulk via the inclusion of fine details such as stylized representations of the Eucharist

and bunches of grapes.

In exactly a week, on Saturday March 8^th, 2008, the metal frame to give form to the cloth skirt had been attached,

the perimeter single lights and corner lampposts had been installed

the body was already dark stained

and was then undergoing finishing touches

including a final spray of varnish.

By the following Saturday, March 15^th, 2008 (the day before Palm Sunday), this formidable carroza had been delivered to Malolos – appropriately enough, just a block away from the Cathedral in the driveway of Mrs. Regala, who had originally suggested that we bring out this tableau in procession in Malolos more than a year previously.

Here, Mr. Vecin and crew maneuver the carroza into position in preparation for the long day of setting up that lay ahead.

Separately, the Christ body had been successfully elongated too

which seemed to match the existing head just fine, and indeed even better

as well as the newly-adjusted garments, also altered for the increased height of the figure.

Then it was back to the carroza, starting with the placement of the three-part dining table, to match the three-tiered floor.

Then the Apostles had to be positioned around the table, starting with Peter

and then John directly across him.

With just these two anchoring figures, many of the subsequent positioning issues were resolved in a big way.

We could even start fitting the table cloth.

While the work continued on top of the carroza,

the rest of the gang – including humans – waited seated in the driveway.

One by one, each Apostle is mounted on the carroza.

Eventually, everyone is up there,

including a few stray humans.

And as with the immediately previous test staging, but unlike the original design, another Apostle now sits at the head of the row, in front of the standing Judas Iscariot.

At around 4 pm, I take a breather from the hot summer afternoon, make my way home to take a shower, then attend the 6 pm anticipated Palm Sunday Mass at the Cathedral.  Afterwards, I return to Mrs. Regala’s driveway a block away, and see that the tableau had been completely set up.

The white tablecloth had been artfully draped in front.

Mr. Dardo de la Cruz, the Vecin Workshop’s in-house carroza decorator, admires his floral decoration scheme.

Mr. Vecin poses for posterity in front of his latest masterpiece.

And the entire Gang of The Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper assembles for the record.

In just a few days, the tableau would be trotted out in procession for the first time.  That’s coming up next.

(To be continued.)


Originally published on 8 March 2009.  All text and photos (except as otherwise attributed) copyright ©2009 by Leo D Cloma. The moral right of Leo D Cloma to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted.