In the afternoon of 8 January, groups of devotees start arriving at one of the Philippines’ largest public park, Rizal Park, in heart of the capital, Manila, many came walking barefoot from different parts of Metro Manila and vicinities. By evening, devotees came in droves for the vigil and other activities on the eve of the Feast of Jesús Nazareno, popularly called the Feast of the Black Nazarene, which is marked by the Traslacion, the Philippines’ biggest devotional ritual.

By 12:30 a.m., the crowd was estimated to have reached about 70,000, scattered on streets at the southern part of Rizal Park — Roxas Boulevard, Kalaw Avenue and Padre Burgos Avenue — near the Quirino Grandstand, where the Traslacion procession would start. A large number of devotees were young men but there were also women, toddlers and old persons. Several groups came carrying their standards and in group uniforms. Some also brought their own images of Jesus the Nazarene, big and small. The large ones were mounted on karosas (carriages), furnished with lights and bedecked with flowers, which they stationed on the sides of the streets. A few even mounted a station or altar, complete with sound systems, blaring with “Himno del Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno,” composed by the late National Artist for music Lucio San Pedro. People would stop to have their towels wiped on the images and to pray.

The vigil participants had filled the Quirino Grandstand grounds, which was surrounded by bands of people, queuing for the Pahalik, the touching of the feet of the church’s Jesus Nazareno image. Many have camped out on the streets, where vendors wove their way among the crowd and couple of brass bands went around, performing the hymn. Many people tried to sleep among the growing piles of garbage.

At the grandstand, the Misa Mayor (High Mass) was celebrated at midnight, led by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal José F. Advincula. The program continued, which included testimonies from celebrity devotees such as Dimples Romana, Angeline Quinto, McCoy de Leon and Coco Martin.

At 4:41 a.m., the Traslacion procession began as the andas, the carriage bearing the centuries-old image of Jesus the Nazarene or a replica, was pulled with ropes by devotees, amidst waving of towels and handkerchiefs and lights from mobile phones.