Traslacion 2025 expected to be faster, smoother than last year

The Traslacion this year is expected to have a faster pace than last year, especially if the devotees will not climb the carriage that will bear the image of Jesus Nazareno on January 9, Thursday.

According to Alex Irasga, the technical advisor for the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno, the procession will be fast and smooth if the devotees are disciplined.

"Last year, umabot lang po 'yan ng more or less 15 hours. So tingin po namin magiging mas mabilis ngayon compared in the past dahil mas kakaunti 'yung makakasampa ng andas, hindi kagaya noong araw prior to pandemic mahigit isang daan ang nakakasampa diyan," Irasga told GMA News Online. 

(Last year, that only took more or less 15 hours. So we think it will be faster now compared in the past because fewer people can climb the carriage, unlike in the previous years prior to the pandemic when more than a hundred climb it.)

"Last year, wala na silang trenta, ngayon sana wala ng bente ang makakasampa. Saka pareho sa last year ang ruta, so ngayon mas kabisado natin yung ruta," he noted.  

(Last year, less than thirty climbed the carriage, now hopefully less than twenty will be able to climb. Besides, the route is the same as last year, so now we memorize the route better.) 

Andas 

In order to prevent the devotees from climbing the carriage, the organizers implemented some changes.

"Yung unahan po diyan dati po square 'yan e, may parang flower box sa ibabaw 'yan pero tinanggal na natin, flat na ngayon 'yan, 45 degrees, madudulas na po sila diyan kung sila ay aakyat," Irasga said. 

(The front used to be square, there was something like a flower box on top of that but we removed it, now it's flat, 45 degrees, devotees will slide if they try to go up.) 

The organizers also tried to address the problem on moisture by putting up a sunroof.

"Naglagay kami ng salamin para kapag umaga na po, papatayin namin ang ilaw sa loob para may mas natural na liwanag. Hopefully it will help reduce the heat inside. Naglagay din kami ng dalawang exhaust fan para hinihigop nito 'yung init sa loob," he noted. 

(We put a glass so that when the sun is up, we'll turn off the light inside for more natural light. Hopefully it will help reduce the heat inside. We also put two exhaust fans to lessen the heat inside.)

Last year, the image left Quirino Grandstand at 4:45 a.m. and arrived at the Quiapo Church at 7:44 p.m. for a total of 14 hours, 59 minutes, and 10 seconds

It was attended by some 6.5 million devotees, one of the biggest crowds in the history of the annual religious festival.

This was the first time the traditional Traslacion was held after three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, the last Traslacion before the pandemic gathered more than 3 million devotees and lasted 16 hours.—AOL, GMA Integrated News