The 32nd-anniversary edition of my book “Rizal without the Overcoat” has two covers: both in striking red, identical except for the first run that has Rizal wearing a face mask, succeeding editions have him without a mask.…
That the Philippines has the longest Christmas season in the world may explain why the most popular celebrations on the first month of the year happen to be for the Nazareno de Quiapo (Jan. 9) and the…
Shortly before midnight on Dec. 31, 2022, as I reached for a dozen grapes on the dining table to start the countdown to the new year, someone commented “pa-uso ka na naman.” I didn’t comment on the…
Every year on Dec. 30, newspaper editorials try to make the martyrdom of Jose Rizal relevant to readers who know of him but have not really read Rizal’s works. Early in the morning, the President of the…
Unlike Sen. Cynthia Villar, I cannot live without onions, a staple in our daily cooking. My cook complained the other day about the price of onions at P380 a kilo. It is an increase from P200 a…
Yesterday, the Paterno family formally turned over, to the Ateneo de Manila University president Roberto Yap, a trove of papers and ephemera pertaining to their illustrious, and historically controversial, ancestor Pedro Alejandro Paterno (1857-1911). College history made…
Spanish galleons have been the stuff of romantic legend from the time of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade (1565-1815) all the way to our times. In the past, the Manila Galleons were the target of pirates out to…
We see street signs every day but rarely notice them. We recognize Rizal, Bonifacio, Mabini, Quezon, Osmeña, Roxas, Quirino, and Macapagal, but who are Blumentritt, Monumento, Kalentong, or Ped Xing? Makati weekend markets held in Salcedo Village…
Museo Naval isn’t on the list of attractions for Filipinos visiting Madrid, Spain. If they must make one or two obligatory museum stops, the top choices will be the crowded Museo del Prado first and the nearby…
In the three decades I have been researching the heroes and heroines that figure in the birth of the Filipino nation, it has been both a pleasure and a challenge to meet their descendants. From them, I…
Every year on June 24, Araw ng Maynila, I reflect on two things: first, the foundation of Spanish Manila; second, why is it that when we talk of Maynila or Manila today, it is always in the…
The way Araling Panlipunan is taught, with an emphasis on civics rather than history, students are led to believe that every waking moment in the lives of our heroes and patriots was devoted to the love of…
