The Magnificent Carabao of VMC
“We designed the carabao’s head.”
My father would always tell me whenever we pass by the sculpture on the way to school. He has told me hundreds, if not thousands, of times, so much so that I just tune him out whenever he starts blabbering about it. The statue, made of varnished copper, was something so common to me.
Recently, however, this sculpture has caught the attention of netizens and it has now become a famous tourist spot in that area. And for the first time in my life, I read it as a “carabao sundial”. Oh! After all those years of passing it every morning… now I ask myself, “That is a sundial?”. Hmmm… Maybe I missed it when my father talked about it. If not for that article at www.choosephilippines.com, I would never have known. Hehehe…
But you know, after living here in the Metropolis for more than five years, I have come to miss the place. I guess being away for a long time made me appreciate what I once ignored. So on my recent vacation, I saw to it that I drop by the place and see the sundial up close.
My family and I went there at about…
I checked my watch and viola! It really is a sundial! Turns out that the cane that the human carries is the one that would cast a shadow to the huge horns of the carabao. Ah… I never asked my father why there are numbers on its horns.
What amazed me more is that it is not placed on an vast and wide area. It is as if strategically placed so that the shadow won’t be ‘overshadowed’ by the trees and houses nearby. Genius! Pure genius!
On location is a church. It is called “St. Joseph the Worker Parish” and on its walls are murals of images and scenes in the Bible. To tell you the truth, it was actually my first time to really take it slow and look at these murals… after 12 years of attending Mass inside these walls. They’re full of breathtaking details. I should’ve asked who the painter was.
It is also known as “The Church of the Angry Christ” because the mural on the altar depicts Jesus looking at the people, as if it’s the final judgement.
There is also a beautiful and lush garden on the other side with a grotto reminiscent of Mary’s apparition in Lourdes, France.
Just a few steps to where the carabao sundial is a Koi pond. My sisters and I enjoyed watching the lovely and colorful fishes swim about. Like there was this a Koi with a really big fat stomach! So cute!
That’s about the place where the carabao sundial is. Lots of lush greens, murals, a church, and a pond… A place I have only come to appreciate after 25 years. It makes me realize that the best places to be need not be out of the country, it can just be on your way to school.
My father would always tell me whenever we pass by the sculpture on the way to school. He has told me hundreds, if not thousands, of times, so much so that I just tune him out whenever he starts blabbering about it. The statue, made of varnished copper, was something so common to me.
Recently, however, this sculpture has caught the attention of netizens and it has now become a famous tourist spot in that area. And for the first time in my life, I read it as a “carabao sundial”. Oh! After all those years of passing it every morning… now I ask myself, “That is a sundial?”. Hmmm… Maybe I missed it when my father talked about it. If not for that article at www.choosephilippines.com, I would never have known. Hehehe…
But you know, after living here in the Metropolis for more than five years, I have come to miss the place. I guess being away for a long time made me appreciate what I once ignored. So on my recent vacation, I saw to it that I drop by the place and see the sundial up close.
My family and I went there at about…
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| The Sundial Carabao of VMC |
I checked my watch and viola! It really is a sundial! Turns out that the cane that the human carries is the one that would cast a shadow to the huge horns of the carabao. Ah… I never asked my father why there are numbers on its horns.
What amazed me more is that it is not placed on an vast and wide area. It is as if strategically placed so that the shadow won’t be ‘overshadowed’ by the trees and houses nearby. Genius! Pure genius!
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| The sundial is surrounded by trees |
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| A closer look... |
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| Another angle... |
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| That is me! And that is how I compare to the size of it. |
On location is a church. It is called “St. Joseph the Worker Parish” and on its walls are murals of images and scenes in the Bible. To tell you the truth, it was actually my first time to really take it slow and look at these murals… after 12 years of attending Mass inside these walls. They’re full of breathtaking details. I should’ve asked who the painter was.
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| The Carabao with the Church at the background |
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| St. Joseph the Worker Parish Church |
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| The mural at the back wall of the church |
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| Beautiful! |
It is also known as “The Church of the Angry Christ” because the mural on the altar depicts Jesus looking at the people, as if it’s the final judgement.
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| The 'angry Christ' mural at the altar of the church |
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| The garden at the right side of the church |
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| The grotto in the garden |
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| The Koi swimming merrily in the pond |
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| More Koi... |
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| There are water lilies, too. |
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happy sunday
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