Author: Xeres Villanueva

Advent 2019 – Day 2 – Promises and Requests

Dear God, I hope you are alright. It has been a while since we last connected for a heart to heart. Apologize for that. It is just that I have been through a lot of changes from last year until now. I lost my job in the beginning of 2019 and I had part-time work since. My paternal grandfather and my dog died right before 2019 so this transition period was challenging to say the least. All of this happening after climbing out of the emotional void. I want to at least reach out.

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Day 31 – The Eucharist is My Coconut Dance

I would imagine at the Last Supper, it was more like a teddy bear.

Here, take this comfort item. There’s a scary scene coming up in the movie.

But I wasn’t at the Last Supper or the crucifixion, so the Eucharist is more like Maglalatik for me. For those who’ve never seen the Filipino coconut dance, it’s a fun one. Dancers strap coconut shells to their bodies and hold more coconut shells in their hands. They tap them together, click, click. They tap their own bodies, each other’s bodies. They bounce in different group formations and leap frog over each other. The music is light. Maglalatik is performed at big group gatherings, so picture yourself watching it while surrounded by your extended family and community.

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