The parol is a Filipino ornamental lantern displayed during the Christmas season. The name comes from the Spanish word “farol” which translates to “lantern.” It is traditionally used during the lubenas, a religious procession, to light the way for devotees during the nine-day dawn Mass called _Simbang Gabi, _also known as Misa de Aguinaldo or Misa de Gallo.
During Christmas time in the town of Bool, like other neighboring towns of Bohol province in Central Visayas region in the Philippines, the people expect the arrival of the pastores, a group of singer-dancers composed of men and women who move from house to house singing praises in the Visayan-Cebuano language to the child Jesus. A part of the song enjoins everyone to visit the belen, or holy manger. For its irresistible fascination and for the awesome feeling it leaves, the pastores is now part of Bool’s Christmas celebrations. Children who ardently follow the group dream to be a pastora one day, while the old folks wish that the tradition would hold a little longer before it finally gives way to the tinsels and lights of today’s Christmas.
In this installation is a replica of attire popular in the 1920’s. The 1920’s is one of the most significant decades in Philippine women's fashion. The distinct structure of the sleeves takes shape in this period and becomes a template for the modern terno -a set of matching items that employs the use of precisely duplicated embroidery, applique, and careful color coordination between the upper and lower garments. The trends of this time are influenced by the exuberant sense of freedom as a response to the end of WWI as well as the popularization of American jazz music which influenced a more liberating style of fashion. Simplicity and comfort became the modern woman’s style of choice.
The male figure wears the barong tagalog, a garment woven from abaca, pineapple, or silk fibers. The term was popularized during this time period, to expunge residual reminders of Spain to fully define Philippine identity. It also was a symbol of defiance of the Americans who swiped the nation’s hard-earned political independence. The barong’s power to inspire love of country also made the garment the standard wear of postwar Tagalog idols to magnify their heroism.
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