Pabasa at the San Pablo Cathedral, San Pablo City, Laguna

* guide for the Pabasa chants

Pabasa can be briefly described as a way to narrate the Passion of Christ through chanting. I first heard a Pabasa being held was in a village in Nasugbu, Batangas. It was only this time that I got the chance to observe this Holy Week tradition closer. It was said that the Pabasa can last even beyond midnight, depending perhaps on the number of willing participants.

* elders and the young alike join together

in the Pabasa at the Resurrections Chapel,
San Pablo Cathedral
* the book of chants

Thanks to a friend, Paul Jensen Lara, I was able to come inside the venue of the Pabasa in the San Pablo Cathedral and take photos and a video. To witness this is a pleasure knowing that its origins can be traced back during the Spanish times in the country. It was a long time yet it is still here with us.