Antipolo beckons

IT’S some 14 days before Palm Sunday and already, the summer breeze is blowing in Antipolo City. That gentle, not-too-warm kiss of the April wind reminds us that, soon, visitors in large groups will be taking the trip up to the Pilgrimage Capital of the Philippines.

There are three things people do in Antipolo. They pray. They play. They stay. It is said that before people were lured by the cool weather and fine delicacies of Antipolo, they came to our place to pray. Some historians say that pilgrims have been coming to Antipolo since the late 1600s. Most of them came from the “lowlands” of the cities which today constitute Metro Manila.

The object of the devotion, as everyone perhaps already knows, is the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage. She arrived in the Philippines from Acapulco, Mexico in 1626. Based on historical accounts, it is believed that the number of her devotees stared to swell in the mid-1800s as the annual pilgrimage to Antipolo became a tradition among many Filipinos.

Among those who came to pray before the image of the Virgin was a young boy whose journey in life would end before a firing squad in the fields of Bagumbayan. That young boy grew up to become Dr. Jose Rizal, our national hero.

According to several accounts, he went on that pilgrimage just days before he turned seven. He made the journey from Laguna to Antipolo with his father. Based in the same accounts, the two made the pilgrimage to thank the Lady of Peace and Good Voyage.

The reason for the pilgrimage of gratitude – the Divine Assistance to his mother attributed to our Lady for the safe delivery of the future national hero. The story is that Dr. Rizal’s mother went through a serious ordeal when she was giving birth to him. She reportedly made a vow to our Lady to have Dr. Rizal go on a pilgrimage to her for the help she received in that trying moment.

It appears the Lady of Antipolo was part of Dr. Rizal’s journey through life. That journey had been neither peacefilled nor safe. It was, however, full of meaning. His death gave the succeeding generations of Filipinos a chance to make their own journey through life safer and more peaceful.

Thousands continue to come to Antipolo to pray for peace and a safe voyage.

Many young people begin an important part of their journey through life in Antipolo’s seminaries. They are run by the Diocese of Antipolo, some religious orders and by several Christian churches.

The city is also home to other places of prayer – convents, retreat houses and shrines that encourage the weary life-traveler to pause, pray and be refreshed.

People also come to Antipolo to play – literally and figuratively.

Every season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), some important games are played at the Sports Center housed in the Provincial Capitol compound. The games attract fans from Metro Manila and the neighboring towns of Rizal province.

Tonight, for example, Antipolo will host the Philippine Cup matches between the Blackwater and Rain or Shine squads in game 1, and TNT KaTropa and Phoenix Fuelmasters in the second game.

Families come to play here, too. Antipolo is known to be the home of several resorts where Metro Manilans can dip in swimming pools filled with cool mountain waters of the city. The hilly portions of Antipolo also host some of the favorite motocross and dirt biking sites of riders who want both the thrill and the beauty of nature which the city offers.

Antipolo City is believed to be the seventh most populous city in the country in the country and the city with the biggest population in the whole of the CALABARZON region.

I attribute the rapid growth of our population to the vast improvement in transportation systems, the presence of establishments that cater to the basic needs of families (such as education and healthcare), and to confidence of the country’s biggest investment groups which continue to develop residential subdivisions, entertainment and retail facilities here.

As of 2015, the official count of people living in our city breached the 0.7 million mark.

About 90 percent of those who live here are whom we call “Antipoleños-bychoice”. They are families who chose to build their homes and raise up their families here. Many of them fell in love with the clean air of the city and were surprised by that the city has everything they need for a convenient and wholesome family life.

Many of them had simply planned to come to Antipolo just to pray and play. They, then, decided to stay. On April 4, Antipolo will mark the 19th anniversary of its proclamation as a component city of the Province of Rizal.

This will be a big celebration to be highlighted by a colorful parade.

We invite our readers to join us on this day.

Maybe, that would be a good time to come to Antipolo to pray and play.

And, perhaps, to even find out if you might want to stay.