it was 20years back when i last visited Victorias City. a city known to have the largest integrated sugar milling company in the world. it is not only popular because of the vast sugar cane processing but because it is also home to the famous "Angry Christ" mural inside the Victorias Milling Company (VMC) chapel.
my father and his brother finished their high school education at Don Bosco Technical Institute in Victorias city. during those times, they were staying with their uncle and auntie who were then the ones overseeing VMC. during those times, they were serving as altar boys at the VMC chapel.
so when i was eight years old, he brought me here to show me this mural. i was curious because this was quite unique from the other depictions of Jesus. but that curiosity was almost forgotten until recently, i had the chance to see it again.
my cousin Jed, our family friend Noli and i decided to drive our way there to see the mural again. Victorias is an hour drive from Bacolod City and this church can be found inside the VMC compound, which is quite away from the town proper of Victorias. i was curious again to see it as close as possible this time. 
this was built in the late 1940s constructed and designed by a Belgian artist Ade de Bethuene and Arcadio Anore. but it was Alfonso Ossorio who did the church's mural assisted by Benjamin Valenciano.
the ceiling bars in the altar were also painted making it more artistic. aside from Jesus and the hands of God in the mural, there were also four people in the mural's center piece. two from each side. on one side, there's Joseph and Mary and on the other side shows St. John the baptist and an unknown person.
but what made me realize from this mural was the depiction of Christ not as a weak and wimpy person. for me, this mural portrays more of Christ showing that he will always be ready to fight for us against the enemy. 
it was quite good to see it again after twenty years and learn to appreciate what it depicts.
48 comments:
wow! great pics!
nakibasa po...
joshy
that is really a unique mural and depiction of Christ I have never seen before. thanks for sharing.
your "lakads" are fantastic. inggit ako. do you work?
very nice photos. Very nostalgic me. Thanks so much for featuring this wonderful work of art :)
what a mural, even michelangelo will be wowed on this...like saint peter basilica's extension...
Amazing art.
>hi josh, thanks for dropping by.
>photo cache, thanks. im setting up a business right now that includes traveling.
>bw, my pleasure to share my travel experience.
>mangyan, nakakamangha nga ang mural na yan.
>luke, it is quite amazing.
galing!! i love it! i wonder how it feels attending the mass there..
great pics of such great work of art. good thing nakabalik ka dun kuya dong after several years. and thanks for sharing this. i never heard of this mural before.
isa ito sa mga pinakagusto kong post mo dom. very informative at halatang may connection ka sa place kasi pati details nakuha mo.
thanks for sharing this dom, kakaiba talaga.
the first and last time i saw this mural was in college, a long time ago.:D i can now appreciate this work of art, and see how unique the concept is. great post.
My friend, this makes me think of exquisite graffiti. I quite like an image of Jesus the strong man, the friend, the embracer of life. This is purely delightful. Thanks.
>hi aracir, i only attended mass once. when we visited this time, it was a sunday but there was no schedule during that time.
>beero, salamat. sana makita mo rin ito. madali lang ang byaheng cebu papuntang bacolod. ganda ng mga madadaanan nyong lugar.
>oman, this is a must-see church. sana mabisita mo rin ito. daming pwedeng makita sa negros kaya sulit na sulit ang pagpunta ko doon.
>hi luna, it's great that you were able to see it before. the place hasn't changed much but the mural is completely intact.
>hi sandy, it's quite unique. it's nice to know that you liked the mural.
grabeh nga cimbahan bah....wala paq di ka ad2!!! hahaha!
chaka talaga mga simbahan dito sa region 6 nuh...hahaha
It looks real different. Err.. a little scary in fact :X
It must be dark inside but I guess you were able to capture the mural with such crisp and quality. You are successful because you made me afraid again. I don wanna see murals like that....scary, scary....
hanggang ngayon maganda pa rin ang painting. bakit kaya angry christ yan? pero nasagot mo naman. "this mural portrays more of Christ showing that he will always be ready to fight for us against the enemy." galing.
one hour lang pala ang victorias city from bacolod.
isa sa mga hinahangaan ko si benjamin valenciano sa paggawa ng mga painting and murals effect,nakasama pala niya si alfonso ossorio sa paglikha ng mural church,isa itong paglalakbay sa blog mo na hindi ko malilimutan.
malalim ang basehan ng gawa nila dito,depende sa tao ang interpretasyon...
a sure interesting mural to see!
thanks for sharing dong :) Ingat lagi!
ther's so much color, they're a feast to the eyes.
oh that's something interesting...never heard that existed in the Philippines though... for whoever founded and built the church, I don't quiet understand the "Jesus" they're trying to impose to their followers. I always believed that He is a merciful and slow-to anger God.
ganda super... dong san next travel mo?
This is one of your more interesting posts. Great mural, very well depicted. You are right when you see in Christ not weakness but strength that fights with us against the enemy: and He is always the Winner.
>antoine, mas maganada siguro pag nakita mo talaga ito sa victorias. sana makapunta ka doon lapit lang naman ng bacolod sa iloilo.
>hi napaboaniya, maybe scary because of the lighting effect inside the chapel.
>salingpusa, salamat. malamang dahil lang sa lighting kaya medyo nakakatakot.
>redlan, hindi ko rin alam kung bakit angry christ. i really need to research for that. one hour lang. lapit lang kaya lang yung VMC medyo papasok pa sya.
>ever, kilala pala talaga si benjamin valenciano. buti na lang magaling ka dito. buhay pa ba sya?
medyo malalim nga ang basehan. iba talaga ang artists point of view. salamat.
>hi rebecca, thanks. my pleasure to share this.
>eye, you're right. the colors puts an impact to the mural.
>hi shawie, that's something that we need to find out. in my case, i believe that it portrays a savior ready to fight for us.
>hi equi, thanks! next travel feature is iloilo.
>pietro, thanks! it's good that you quite see the same thing here.
art na sinauna pa. super na siguro ang presyo nyan kung sakali .
nice pics!!!
very interesting murals. san makita ko siya upclose!
Sa TV ko lang ito nakita. A church in a middle of a hacienda. Nadaanan ko lang itong Victoria pero never explored the place, maybe someday.
have you visited The Abbey at San Beda College? maganda don. sobra.
Magnificent photo of the murals! I'm impressed very much by the intricacy of it.
It's really a unique church!
dom,
we missed this one ha. ganda dyan. pagbalik ko negros puntahan ko yan.
Great photos! That is a very striking and impressive work of art.
hi Dong! A is from Victorias. hmmm....
a unique mural, indeed! i like its details, and the fact that it portrays a different side of God that not a lot of us is used to.
saya ng trip mo dom. can't wait for the maskarra festival pics! :D
>hi nanay belen, medyo sikat na nga ito kasi na feature na rin sa life magazine.
>wandering commuter, sana nga makapunta ka sa victorias. para makita mo ito ng malapitan.
>kegler, hindi mo nga ito makikita kasi nasa looban. sana makita mo ito next time.
>raft3r, naku hindi ko napuntahan yon. maganda pala yon? salamat sa recommendation. hahanap ako ng paraan para makita yon.
>share, yes. you'll really be curious of it once you really get to see it in detail.
>phivos, yes it is.
>erick, oo. dapat makita mo ito kasi medyo unique talaga.
>hi rachel, thanks. it is indeed one big masterpiece.
>jasper, hehehe... taga doon pala si mysterious a. iba na naman pangalan mo ngayon.
>barry, maganda nga talaga ang mural na ito. salamat sa pag abang kaya lang hindi ko na naabutan ang maskara. nasa manila na ulit ako. kahapon ako dumating. pero kahit papaano may mga maskara shots ako ng mga naabutan kong activities.
I love the vivid colours - very striking.
"for me, this mural portrays more of Christ showing that he will always be ready to fight for us against the enemy".
>>i agree. galing dong ng interpretation mo about sa mural..
naging altar boy pala papa mo. e ikaw dong?
wow! the best ah.. bilib na bilib ako sa gumawa..
yung pictures para syang yung mga nababasa ko sa Mythology books about gods and goddesses.
nice...
Really nice photos which I have never seen before. Been to many churches but not one like this with the unique mural depicting Jesus. What an eye opener!
>hi shionge, the colors really puts the impact on the mural.
>hi doc rio, oo naging altar boy sya. ako hindi eh.
>richard, magaling talaga ang gumawa.
>hi nyl,oo parang style ng mga drawing kay zeus.
>hi eunice, thanks for dropping by. i really hope that you'll be able to visit the philippines soon.
so far,wala akong balita kung buhay pa..nakilala ko sya nung time na nasa art lecture ako,..pero si ossorio ay base sa abstract expressionist.nakilala sya sa ibang bansa sa america at ibang lugar dun..lahat ng gawa nya nasa american musseum na..mahilig din sya sa junk materials at surrial ang type of painting nya,mas kilala siya sa ganitong talento.
Awesome use of color
it may be unique, but Christ depicted as "angry" is quite negative for me...
ganda talaga ng mg akuha mo... mukhang enjo ka na naman sa bacolod trip mo... kainggit ka talaga... hehehe
yngat! =)
okay ang mga murals na ito. grand and beautiful!
hi dong! i loved this chapel too ;-)
it was actually designed by the czech-american antonin raymond, a disciple of frank lloyd wright. it even made the centerfold in life magazine. it was so popular that frederic ossorio commissioned leandro locsin to build another one. however, ossorio had to go back to america and the 2nd chapel was never built. however it is believed that the UP chapel of the holy scarifice in diliman was patterned after locsin's proposal for the 2nd church ;-)
i was here dong, you have a good site and nice picture....oh y you comment got replied...thanks
my husband and i visited the church last friday. Boy, was the mural arresting! i have never seen anything like it before. it is so modern a style when to think it was painted 60 years ago.
i wonder why they called it the angry Christ. The eyes looked so compassionate. maybe because of the dominant red color splashed all over...
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