The story masterfully dramatizes the clash between Spanish Catholic morality (reason, order, patriarchy) and pre-colonial Filipino animism (ecstasy, nature, matriarchal power). The summer solstice (around June 21) is not Christian—it is a pagan fertility festival, which the Church tried to absorb into St. John’s Day. Joaquin shows that the pagan heart survives beneath the colonial dress.
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Lupeng witnesses her cook, Amada, in a state of ritualistic trance. Amada’s husband, usually a dominant figure, is terrified of her during this time. The story masterfully dramatizes the clash between Spanish