Paete, Laguna, a province in the Philippines famous for its culture and the arts, stages the Senakulo to relive biblical events leading to the passion and death of Jesus Christ. Derived from the Spanish word cenaculo meaning cenacle, thought to be the place where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples.
Every Holy Week, locals and foreigners flock to Paete to visit historical churches we call visita Iglesia, experience the biblical events leading to the passion and death of Jesus in a play, or see for themselves the Tatlong Krus or Three Crosses at the top of the mountain.
Big attractions are the life-sized carved saints meticulously done by the people of Paete and the staged reenactment of Christ’s suffering and death performed by the people of the community who wear costumes to make the play as real as possible. This passion play is done during Good Friday, beginning only from the agony of Christ. The end of the Senakulo signals the people to attend other activities leading to the Siete Palabra or Seven Last Words and the procession of most of the carved Santos or saints and the image of the dead Jesus Christ.
