Pinoys keep Simbang Gabi tradition alive in Spain

Filipinos attend first Simbang Gabi mass at the Inmaculada Concepción y San Lorenzo Ruiz in Barcelona.

 

By Daniel Infante Tuaño

BARCELONA – Hundreds of Filipino faithful flocked to the Filipino Personal Parish Inmaculada Concepción y San Lorenzo Ruiz, or popularly known in Barcelona as Iglesia de San Agustin, to attend the first Simbang Gabi mass held in the evening of December 15.

There may be no puto bumbong and bibingka, but the 25,000-strong Filipino community has been carrying the Misa de Gallo tradition in the Catalan capital for more than two decades.

“Itong Simbang Gabi ay tradisyon na sa ating mga Pilipino at may malalim na itong ipinunla sa ating pananampalataya bilang mga Pilipino,” said Parish priest Fr. Tony Laureta.

Despite long work hours and complicated schedules, Filipino migrants find time to go to church or even spend their rest time attending the mass.

“Basta hindi kumplikado, pilit kong binubuo, kasi pag may trabaho ako hindi ako maka-Simbang Gabi,” said Barcelona resident Ellen Capus.

“Kung wala kang trabaho, why not come? I-celebrate mo ang pagpunta sa church, ‘yan ay once lang sa araw-araw nating pamumuhay ang ipakilala natin ang ating pagmamahal, ang ating pag-adore sa Panginoon,” added Urds Rioferio Ico.

Fr. Laureta also observed that most churchgoers complete the nine-day mass, which is considered a feat for Filipinos back home.

One reason, he explained, is the ‘worker-friendly’ schedule of the mass that starts at 8:30 p.m. when most Filipinos already finish work, so some of them will pass by the church before going home.

The church has also served as a refuge for migrants who miss their loved ones especially during the Christmas season.

“Wala naman mapupuntahan ang mga tao lalo’t higit sa kanilang pangungulila sa Pasko kundi ang simbahan,” he said.

“Isang aspeto pa siguro na every Sunday na nagsisimba sa iba’t ibang parokya, mga Spanish community, wala naman silang Simbang Gabi kayo halos sila ay pumupunta rito sa ating parokya,” he added.

Simbang Gabi is one of the legacies of Spanish colonization but in Spain, Misa de Gallo is celebrated only once — on Christmas Eve. ABS-CBNnews.com

Young Pinays opt for abortion in Barcelona – study

Barcelona midwife Silvia Vera

By Daniel Infante Tuaño

SPAIN – A local midwife is alarmed by the high cases of abortion among Filipina youth in Barcelona.

Her preoccupations were reflected in a research entitled “La Comunidad Silenciosa, Migraciones Filipinas y Capital Social en El Raval,” conducted by Barcelona-based medical anthropologist Dr. Eva Maria Marxen.

This research on Filipino migrants in Raval, a neighborhood in Barcelona where there is a large concentration of Filipino migrants, identified the strengths as well as the challenges facing one of the most organized migrant communities in Barcelona.

Marxen identified the health problems based on the interviews she had with the local health center’s midwife.

“There are a lot of cases of abortion. She very often found these adolescents as she herself said very much alone or lonely, their parents would really work, work a lot, and don’t have really somebody in order to talk about sex education. There’s a lot of mythmaking of how to get pregnant or not to get,” she said.

ABS-CBN Europe was able to interview the midwife Silvia Vera.

Vera said that 80 percent of the patients of the health center are Filipinos, but still, she considered the percentage of Filipina who aborted, from 30-35 percent, “escandaloso”.

They were very young, from 14 to 18 years old and she even had cases of 12 years of age.

Barcelona midwife Silvia Vera showing a female condom

 

Vera further said that some Filipinas wanted to abort when they were in their 6th month lest their families, “who are very Catholic, very Christian” found out their pregnancies.

However, such is prohibited under Spanish law, she said, as abortion is only allowed until 22nd week of pregnancy.

Vera stressed that these teens should have not resorted to abortion if only they had used contraceptives or if they had been given more quality time and properly guided by their parents.

Filipino community leader and Centro Filipino-Tuluyan San Benito director Paulita Astillero was equally alarmed with the said research and acknowledged the parents’ sacrifices in raising their children in Barcelona.

“Matagal na ako rito sa community ng Barcelona. Kilala ko ang karamihan ng mga magulang na talaga namang ginawa ang kanilang lahat ng energy, lahat ng panahon nila para mabigyan ng kaligayahan ang kanilang mga anak. Pero, masabi nating mayroon pang ibang factors na I think nagco-contribute din na maganap ang mga pangyayaring yan na hindi naman siguro inaasahan ng mga magulang.”

“They don’t fight for their rights!”

Vera considered Filipinas very hardworking and nice persons but she criticized their attitude towards reproductive health and health in general.

She complained that they did not give time to their medical consultations or sometimes they arrived really late.

Marxen further said in an interview that “Filipina pregnant women… very often do not get the permission from their employers to see a physician during pregnancy.”

Vera said in Spanish, “Filipinas, although they have working permit, are submissive. They don’t fight for their rights.”

Vera insisted that pregnant women have the right to regular check-up and it is the obligation of their employers to give them free time to go to the doctor.

“If they (employers) can take their pets to veterinarians, why can’t they let their maids go to the doctor?” Vera said in Spanish.

Not having a regular check-up during pregnancies can lead to another common problem in the Filipino community: cases of obesity and hypertension among newborn babies.

Despite her criticisms, midwife Vera reminded Filipinos, whom she admires and cares for, the importance of prevention and fighting for one’s right to health care. ABS-CBNnews.com

Watch the related TV report in Filipino as aired on Balitang Europe:

Why Filipino students excel in Barcelona

Raval, a neighborhood where many migrants, including Filipinos, reside. Photo courtesy of Rodel Juacalla

By Daniel Infante Tuaño

SPAIN – Fourteen-year-old Lara Mercado almost got a 100 point average grade in all subjects. She’s also one of the best students in her class and used to be a class valedictorian in the Philippines.

High school student Jasper Villena Cordero received consistent high grades along with commendations from her professors.

Mercado and Cordero are two of many Filipino students who excel in schools abroad.

In Barcelona alone, Filipino students have already earned a good reputation either in academics or in sports.

The reason behind this has been explained in a study entitled “La comunidad silenciosa”. Migraciones Filipinas y capital social en el Raval (Barcelona)” (The silent community: Filipino migrations and social capital in Raval, Barcelona) by German medical anthropologist Eva Maria Marxen.

The study focused on Filipino high school students in Raval, a neighborhood in Barcelona where many Filipinos reside.

Interviews conducted by Marxen with high school teachers say that Filipino students are generally respectful, well-disciplined and hard-working.

Such values can be attributed to strictness and putting a premium on education on the part of the parents and the Filipino community.

“First of all, some of the adolescents already had parents who themselves had been to college, so they would very know the performance at school. Then the parents were very strict in these cases, and some cases, severely strict. The value of education was very much transmitted from parents to children and also within the community,” Marxen explained.

Cordero’s mother, Emmalyn Cordero Manalo admits that she has to be strict with her daughter.

“Kasi nga yun sinasabi sa akin ng teacher nya, na masyado akong mahigpit sa anak ko pero para sa akin hindi higpit yun eh, kasi sa kinabukasan rin naman kasi nya yun,” Cordero said.

Jay Aragones Mercado, Lara’s father, stresses the importance of education in escaping poverty.

“Kung may sapat kang edukasyon, diyan ka uunlad at siyempre pag mahirap ka yun lang talaga ang susi mo para medyo umangat ng konti ang buhay natin,” he said.

Marxen also pointed out the shared responsibility and objectives among parents, teachers and the Filipino community which have also helped the students do well in school.

“I also want to stress the subject of co-responsibility, which I observed among the high school, themselves, their teacher, the parents and the community. They have the same motivation, they have the same goals that children would finish at least finish high school, (and) also (to be) successful.”  ABS-CBNnews.com

Watch the TV report in Filipino as aired on Balitang Global:

Mass for ‘Yolanda’ victims held in Spain’s Sagrada Familia

Archbishop of Barcelona Cardinal Lluis Martinez Sistach

By Daniel Infante Tuaño

SPAIN – A Sunday mass was celebrated in Antoni Gaudi’s world-renowned basilica, Sagrada Familia, in honor of the victims of super typhoon Yolanda.

The mass, usually attended by more than 4,000 faithful, was officiated by the Archbishop of Barcelona Cardinal Lluis Martinez Sistach.

Cardinal Sistach offered prayers and expressed his sympathies to families and friends of the victims of the tragedy.

He also said that the collections in the mass, which coincided with the closing of the Year of Faith, would be donated to the victims.

On the website of the Archbishop of Barcelona, he urged everyone to help the Philippines.

“We have to help the Philippines in cash donations or in prayers due to the serious consequences of the typhoon. My condolences, prayers and support to the Filipino people,” Cardinal Sistach said in Spanish and Catalan.

Pinoy Church Iglesia de San Agustin

The day before, Cardinal Sistach also officiated another mass in the Filipino Personal Parish Barcelona, Inmaculada Concepción y San Lorenzo Ruiz or popularly known as Iglesia de San Agustin.

Cardinal Sistach also offered prayers and expressed his condolences. He reminded the gift of faith the Filipinos have amidst the calamities that have struck the country.

The Saturday solidarity mass, organized by a federation of Filipino associations in Barcelona Kapulungan ng mga Lider Pinoy sa Barcelona (KALIPI), was attended by local public officials, non-governmental organizations leaders, relatives of typhoon victims and the Filipino community who braved the rain to offer prayers and donations.

Filipino Personal Parish in Barcelona: Parroquia de Inmaculada Concepción y San Lorenzo Ruiz or popularly known as Iglesia de San Agustin

Lhyna Ramos from Tacloban City, who currently resides in Barcelona and had lost contact with her family for a few days, offered a candle during the mass.

“Masaya ako na okay yung pamilya ko pero siyempre kahit na okay sila malungkot pa rin kasi nagkahiwa-hiwalay sila. Malungkot pa rin, siyempre nasasaktan ako para dun sa mga kababayan ko, kalugar ko, mga kaibigan, kilala ko, na hindi sila naka-survive. Yung mga bata, ang sakit-sakit, nawalan sila ng magulang, nawalan sila ng anak, nawala lahat sa kanila,” Ramos said.

“It’s a shame that after the earthquake, you have to suffer this new catastrophe but I’m confident, I believe that the Filipino people are strong enough to overcome the bad things that happened the last time,” said Miquel Mateu, director of Asia-Pacific department of the Barcelona City Council.

Approximately 1850 euros (around P109,000) were collected and will be coursed through Philippine Catholic Church’s National Secretariat for Social Action.

Aside from this amount, Paulita Astillero, president of KALIPI, reported that donations amounting to 1200 euros (around P70,000) were already received in the account the federation had opened for the victims of the calamity.

Caritas Diocesana de Barcelona, meanwhile, has already raised almost 150,000 euros (around P8.8 milion) which will be coursed through Caritas Philippines according to its Ciutat Vella director Juana Martin.

Iglesia de San Agustin still receives relief goods after having sent 13 boxes of canned goods and clothes to the Philippines.

“Ipinagdasal natin ang mga biktima na mabigyan ng pagkakataon, mabigyan ng lakas na babangon ulit, ipinagdasal din natin ang mga tumutulong na kahit papaano sana ay magampaman nila ang kaulukang misyon at ipagdasal din natin ang mga tutulong pa. At higit sa lahat huwag nating kalimutan na kahit anong mangyari kasama natin ang Diyos,” said Fr. Eliza Cielo, one of the priests who celebrated the mass. ABS-CBNnews.com