Pabasa

One night just before Easter I arrived home to my new house to find that it had been invaded by relatives of the Filipino family I live with. Every year my Ate Beth has a “pabasa” which is a “reading” of “the passion” at her house. The Pasyon is biblical and traditional stories about the last week of Jesus before his crucifixion in Tagalog. It sounds pretty tame doesn’t it. Well, I can assure you it is not. They sing, chant and read The Pasyon for almost 24 hours straight using a microphone set at the highest volume possible. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep that night!