Monday, March 17, 2008

Carrascoso's Ensemble - Numero II

From : The La Naval de Manila Flickr Group
By : Francis Jason Diaz Perez III

When the Old Santo Domingo in Intramuros was bombed several vestments were burned saved for the Numero I, the plancha de plata y oro and a number of vestments for daily use. During her stay at the University of Santo Tomás' Santísimo Rosario Parish and later on at the National Shine of Our Lady of the Rosary, the New Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City, the Virgin's only gala dress left was the Numero I which she used annually.

A concerned devotee Don Antonio Carrascoso, in gratitude and thanksgiving, thought that the Santo Rosario deserves a new gala dress. And since it was destined to be worn by the Queen of the Philippines, and as a perpetual testament of his family's love and devotion to the Santo Rosario and enough money to spare, the vestment had to be made entirely of hilos de oro, ordered and embroidered in Spain.

This ensemble is the most priceless ensemble of the Santo Rosario after the Numero I and the plancha. The Spanish Dominicans, in gratitude to Don Antonio, named this ensemble as the Carrascoso or the Numero Dos (II). Thereafter it was alternately worn with the Numero I by the Santo Rosario and the tradition of naming sumptuous donations to the Virgen de la Naval after their respective donors began.

According to the late Fr. Augusto Antonio, OP, the Numero I was shipped to Spain for the purpose of copying it for the Numero II [Carrascoso]...


One of the rare occasions when the Santo Rosario is brought out of Santo Domingo outside the La Naval de Manila Procession — the Papal Visit of Pope John Paul II in the Philippines [1981].The Santo Rosario is magnificently arrayed with the Numero II.

While the distinguishing features of the Numero I are its high relief embroidery the majority of which were embroidered with the very expensive flat hilo de oro, that of the Numero II was done in the difficult and time consuming laidwork or "binanig" in the Spanish tradition and which can be seen in the embroidery of the sayas and mantos of the Vírgenes in the Peninsula such as that of La Macarena in Sevilla...
Tunic & Bib of the Niño Jesus of the Santo Rosario
Part of the Carrascoso Ensemble

The La Naval Vicaria wearing the Carrascoso Ensemble
1993 Intramuros Marian Procession

The Carrascoso's only problem is it shrank, due to the number of rains that drenched it but i believe it can still be worn if desired.

The last time the Santo Rosario publicly wore this was during the La Naval de Manila festivities in the late 80's where a typhoon marred the traditional procession and the Virgin's carroza had to be turned at Banawe St. and back to Santo Domingo because the Virgin was already soaking wet, water streaming down her face.

Meanwhile the picture from the book Prusisyon was taken in the late 90's, this time the Vicaria was made to wear it and it seems it still "fits" her, which is incidentally, of the same size as the original Santo Rosario.


In the late 1990's it was planned to restore the Carrascoso into a new fabric so that it can be used once more by the Santo Rosario for the La Naval de Manila festivities.

Off we went to Seville, Spain with a cut sample of the tisú de oro from the Numero II. Luckily an exact match of the fabric was found, however our joy was short lived because we were shocked when the cost involved was computed.

The precious fabric had a narrow width and was said to have been woven manually. When the yardage of the fabric needed was computed that would be enough to cover the Virgin's entire ensemble, the calculator showed around Seven Hundred Thousand Pesos [P700,000.00]!!! The conversion then was around P27 to a US$1.

We had to reconsider. Another fabric had to be substituted, and another cloth-of-gold was bought, apparently woven by machine which was much cheaper and had a wider width. It was the one that was bought for the restoration of the Numero II.

However, to this day, the Carrascoso remains unrestored and the fabric still remains in storage in Santo Domingo.


Photo Credits :

Dino Carlo
Prusisyon: Religious Pageantry in the Philippines by Jaime C. Laya and Lulu Tesoro Castañeda
La Gran Señora de Filipinas
FJDP III

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