MR. FIX-IT. Reynante Remodina uses a glue gun to paste the sleeves of a new dress for an image og the Señor Sto. Niño. (CDN PHOTO/Michelle Joy L. Padayhag)
Learning how to repair and dress up Sto. Niño images was a skill that 36-year-old Reynante Remonida learned from his grandparents.
“This kind of living helped me feed my three children and wife (for 11 years),” said Remonida, a resident of barangay Sambag 1 in Cebu City.
Remonida said it usually “takes 30 minutes to one hour” for him to work on an icon. He was working on an image when CDN interviewed him in his shop near the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino. Using a small blade, Remonida cut the left and right portions of the sleeves and took off the icon’s crown. He then used a medium-sized paint brush to dust off the statue and its crown.
“Puwede paint brush ang gamiton sa pag limpyo pwede sad panapton nga cotton. Hinay-hinayon lang og pahid aron sad dili siya magaras (You can use either a brush or cotton cloth, and make sure not to scratch it),” Remonida said. He applied varnish on the icon except for the face while the globe and crown were repainted with gold.
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Customers may choose various types of dresses for their Sto. Nino images. A repair job costs around P500 or more, depending on the size and design of an image. The dresses were made by his wife. The couple used to earn more during the Sinulog season. But this year Remonida said business was affected by the Oct. 15 earthquake and supertyphoon Yolanda. From more than 10 images a day, he now only gets five a day. “Some of our customers before are from Bohol, Leyte, northern Cebu and Davao. Although our business has been affected, it’s fine by me because I know that they are going through a lot right now,” he added.
Remonida said he’s passing on his skills to his 11-year-old son.
Aside from repairs, he also sells images and novena leaflets. He said he was so busy with his repair jobs that he couldn’t attend the daily Masses at the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño.
“Maminaw na lang ko sa wali ni padre. Madungog ra man sad diri unya mag ampo ko. (I just listen to the homily from afar, we could hear it from here. I still pray, and I know God understands),” he said.