Winter Holiday Section
Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
December 21, 2015
Filipino’s poor childhood inspires 500,000-light display
SHINING SUBDIVISION. Visitors walk around
the compound of a house lit by thousands of lights in
Cainta, Rizal province, the Philippines. The house dis-
play draws huge crowds, especially during weekends,
with visitors using the bright lights and festive Christ-
mas decor as a backdrop for selfies with family and
friends. (AP Photos/Aaron Favila)
By Aaron Favila
The Associated Press
AINTA, The Philippines — As a
child from a poor family, Alexander
Cruz marvelled at the big houses
adorned with Christmas lights near his
Philippine neighborhood, but the gates
were always closed.
Now a successful businessman with a
huge house in a hilly town south of Manila,
Cruz celebrates Christmas in even more
spectacular style. About half a million
colorful lights cover every inch of his home:
the roof, ceiling, walls, fence, doors, cano-
pies, windows, and even the trees. And he
and his wife open the gates to everyone.
“We’re doing this to share our blessings,
to give or share the spirit of Christmas to
the people who [visit] our place,” the
55-year-old Cruz said in an interview.
His home in Cainta has dazzled people
far beyond the quiet town of about 290,000
people.
Television
networks
have
documented his holiday wonderland,
which has become the backdrop for count-
less selfies.
“It brings back childhood feelings of
Christmas, like in the movies, that you see
C
big houses with big lights,” said Ella
Cosme, a 34-year-old software program-
mer. “You feel like a child.”
The lighting is designed by Cruz’s wife,
Aida, and preparations for the display
start as early as August. Alexander Cruz
estimates they used 5,000 boxes of LED
lights, with each box containing a hundred
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The Christmas lighting extravaganza is
crowned by four brightly lit Christmas
trees atop the roof. Inside the house and
within its gardens are nativity scenes, a
centerpiece in many homes in the
Philippines. The country is a bastion of
Christianity in Asia, and many Filipinos
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before dawn every day for nine days before
December 25.
The Cruzes have gone all-out for Christ-
mas for the past five years. Alexander
Cruz said this year might be the last, since
his neighbors are inconvenienced by the
crowds. But with many residents and
visitors urging him to carry on the
tradition, he said he may reconsider.
“We’re
embarrassed
that
the
subdivision is losing its privacy because of
the number of people coming to see the
house,” Cruz said, but he added some of his
neighbors may have gotten used to the
upbeat holiday crowds that reach 500 to
1,000 people daily on weekends.
“They were the ones who said not to stop
it, especially our mayor, who said there
has been a good effect,” Cruz said. “At least
there is good news in Cainta.”
AP writer Teresa Cerojano contributed to this report.