Roman Catholic devotees from Barangay Bibiclat in Aliaga town, Nueva Ecija province fulfill their annual devotion to the miracle of Saint John the Baptist by smearing mud all over their bodies and wearing dried twigs and banana leaves.
As the legend goes, the tradition was started during World War II when occupying Japanese soldiers decided against executing a group of villagers in the town because of a massive rainstorm. The villagers then rolled in mud to celebrate being spared. Local residents attributed the miracle to St. John and vowed to celebrate him in this way on every feast day in the future.
Coconuts Manila photographer Veejay Villafranca traveled to Aliaga to document this year’s mud festival on June 24, 2013.
Reader Interactions