Every January 9th, thousands of religious followers flock to Manila to participate in the Feast of the Black Nazarene. The statue supposedly came over in a Spanish fleet and became charred black after a ship fire. It is dragged through the streets of Manila on its way to the Saint John Baptist Church in Quiapo. The faithful pile near to try and touch the statue, as it is believed that touching it can bring miracles. If you can't get close enough to be hoisted up to the carriage, holding onto the rope that pulls the float, is a safe second bet. If you can't get the rope, then you can throw a towel with the image of Jesus printed on it to the float and the guards will wipe it on the Black Nazarene's face or cross, and toss it back. Kind of like a religious Mardi Gras. Some settle for wiping their towels on replicas. At first I couldn’t tell which black jesus was the real deal, but as the crowd thickened, energy built up, and all one million tiny black heads turned towards the float, I had a pretty good idea. Everyone cheered as the Black Nazarene neared, twirling their towels like Steelers fans at the big game. It’s like an enormous Team Jesus rally, the participants even wearing uniform maroon and yellow tshirts with a graphic of the main man.

Simply participating in the procession can get you atonement of your sins, bringing out Manila’s criminals in throes, and earning it the reputation as the biggest pick pocket festival of the year. There’s also the promise of good health which draws people with boils covering their entire face, in wheelchairs, and with goiters the size of a baby's head, from all corners of the city and outlying provinces. However, the people walk barefoot, to display humility, which I believe makes it more likely that they will incur health problems than solve any through religious faith.

But, as fanatic and chaotic as the event was the Filipino sense of hospitality never wavered. When men saw that I was being pushed into a wall or shoved around, they shouted warnings to their fellow believers to, “be careful!..woman!..tourist!” Several men even linked arms and formed a wall to protect me against the human pressure.

I read in the newspapers that close to 300 people were injured through out the course of this procession. In past years people have been trampled to death. I saw a boy faint and lifted above the crowd to safety. But thousands think it’s worth risking, given the possibility of a miracle, good health, and forgiveness.