It is the time of El Niño, a season ruled by superstition and fear. The rain is long in coming, the ground has cracked up dry. The ricestalks are thin and sickly. Villagers go hungry. And a boy dies from a snakebite. The adults splinter. Some pray. Others join a cult to appease earth spirits and wait for the ada, the ricefield spirit goddess of bountiful harvest who dances naked on moonlit nights and signals the need for a virgin’s sacrifice. There are fence sitters, equally pro-church and pro-cult. A landlord’s steward enforces his master’s usury on hapless farmers. A self-righteous priest says rain must first be deserved. Two young women fight for the right to do with their bodies as they please. A bastard boy and a blind girl come of age. Yesterday, they were children.
Ara Mina
as Salve
Tonton Gutierrez
as Fr. Joey
Pen Medina
as Terio
Ray Ventura
as Encio
Jennifer Sevilla
as Daling
Eva Darren
as Puring
Carlo Aquino
as Marlito
Patricia Ann Roque
as Aning
Ronnie Lazaro
as Nonong
Crispin Pineda
as Kadyo
Gigi Locsin
as Tasing
Zad Centina
as Ado
