Devoted Hijos protected Nazareno during Traslacion

The members of the Hijos del Nazareno showed their devotion to the Black Nazarene by volunteering for the Traslacion, according to a 24 Oras report by Raffy Tima on Tuesday.

Throughout the procession, the Hijos kept watch and assisted the more than 3 million devotees who gathered from Hidalgo Street to San Sebastian Street.

The Hijos also experienced some difficulty with guiding the Andas in the right direction due to the thickness of the crowd, and even with securing the image from the crowd.

Even the Hijos could not stop some devotees who hung onto the ropes and the Andas, and even wrapped themselves around the exposed cross of the image.

According to the Hijos del Nazareno, these problems were just part of their struggles.

“Mahirap kasi kung isasapuso mo yung pagiging hijos ay kailangan mo talaga magsakripisyo,” explained Hijos del Nazareno Juanito Ta.

Meanwhile, devotee Jeff Romero believed that it was hard to change the usual traditions. Nevertheless, during this year's Traslacion, he would just opt for touching the rope instead of climbing the Andas.

Jeff and his group had had been at the Quirino Grandstand since 9 p.m. on Monday, and they welcomed the opportunity to get some sleep before the Nazareno arrived.

“Pag dumaan, salang, bitaw. Ganon ulit. Pahinga konti. Pasasalamat [kasi] sa lahat ng biyaya,” said Romero.

During the procession, devotees would take part in the push and pull of the crowd for a few minutes at most. But they believed that this was part of their devotion. — Jiselle Casucian/DVM, GMA Integrated News