Following the directive from the National Historical Commission, Lapulapu is now spelled without the hyphen that formerly cut the hero’s name in two. If you go over manuscript copies of Antonio Pigafetta’s account of the Magellan expedition,…
We reached Homonhon last week, three hours by motorized boat from Guiuan, Eastern Samar. From the port to the Magellan Landing Site in Cantilan meant a five-kilometer travel on a rough, rust-colored road — a sign of…
March 16, 1521, is a date seared into my memory by textbook history and Yoyoy Villame’s 1972 hit song “Magellan.” Classroom history has come a long way since my childhood, and the “discovery of the Philippines” is…
My search for hopia and history in Chinatown last weekend required prior research, curiosity, and imagination. I learned, for example, that what we outsiders know as Chinatown is composed of Binondo and San Nicolas—two districts separated by…
Seasoned journalists from the print era told me that despite best efforts, mistakes still creep into a newspaper. Typographical errors are forgotten, but errors of fact or opinion are corrected in a rejoinder that appears the next…
Suspension of disbelief allows us to enjoy works of fiction, novels, telenovelas, or movies. Without it, we cannot enjoy the heartwarming Disney Christmas campaign to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation. While most Filipinos the world over are teary-eyed…
Pandemic restrictions strike at the core of our culture and traditions. No Undas this All Saints’ Day. No “trick or treat” this Halloween. No Thanksgiving 2020. Perhaps no Noche Buena, too, unless I quarantine from Dec. 9…
History can be depressing when one reads the present like the past. The current squabble over who should be House Speaker is not new. It comes in cycles, often at the start of a new president’s term.…
I come from a lost generation known as the “martial law babies.” I was 4 years old when Ferdinand Marcos became president in 1965, 11 when martial law was declared in 1972, and 24 when the 1986…
How will the current Senate vote when the House of Representatives transmits House Bill No. 7137—“AN ACT DECLARING SEPTEMBER 11 OF EVERY YEAR A SPECIAL NONWORKING HOLIDAY IN THE PROVINCE OF ILOCOS NORTE IN COMMEMORATION OF THE…
Why is it that when we speak of Filipino heroes and heroines, we do so in the past tense? Why is it that the heroes we remember are predominantly male, mostly old, and all dead? Why…
Mabuti was an imported brand of tinned sardines that lives in the memory of senior citizens. We never had Mabuti in the home pantry; I first heard of it from my father (born 1925) and E. Aguilar…
