The ebb and flow of history is such that the scum that was washed away eventually returns to shore. The problem is, unless we are able to clean the Sea of Human Nature, it comes back thicker and in greater volume. A cursory survey of current events makes one realize that everything has happened before....
Tag: history
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Martial law 52nd: Little fires in the rain
The latest tropical depression had already exited the Philippine area of responsibility, but the rain persisted. In the morning, the weather bureau put out a thunderstorm advisory for Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon, and sure enough, it poured hard all afternoon before the skies gradually lightened on that evening of Sept. 21, the...
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Grayscale pessimism
If drawings lend themselves to the world as an artistic medium for one to experience discovery, an insight drawn from the radically hopeful imagination of John Berger, the drawings of the artist Lyra Garcellano in her just-concluded show at Finale Art File, titled Land, Labor, Life: Tracing ‘Progress’ in Selected Notes, expresses political despair, which,...
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Remember Ninoy Aquino’s murder on Aug. 21
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to move the national commemoration of the murder of the late former senator Benigno “Ninoy’’ Aquino Jr. from Aug. 21 to Aug. 23 continues to be met with protest. Aquino, a key opposition leader who fought the dictatorial rule of the President’s late father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., was assassinated while...
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A fresh look at Graciano Lopez Jaena’s heroic legacy
ILOILO CITY—On Independence Day on Wednesday (June 12), our thoughts dwell on the valor and dedication of heroes who fought for our freedom. For Ilonggos, among those who stand out is Graciano Lopez Jaena, not just as a revolutionary figure but a beacon of eloquence and intellect as well. As a tribute to the propagandist’s...
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Ilonggos recall Freedom Day moments in ‘Cry of Santa Barbara’
ILOILO CITY—While the Cry of Pugad Lawin in Luzon often takes center stage in history books as the trigger event of the Filipinos’ open revolutionary struggle to gain independence from the Spanish colonial regime, another pivotal moment took place in the Visayas, specifically Panay Island. The first sparks of rebellion flew in Barangay Jelicuon in...
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The heritage house, the choreographer, and the ballet
Archivist Purissima “Petty” Benitez-Johannot and her team have been looking after Helena’s house, cataloguing its contents since 2018. The house on Mariposa, Qùezon City, is MiraNila, ancestral home of the Benitez family; Helena is Helena Z. Benitez—educator, former senator, and founder of the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company of the Philippine Women’s University (PWU). Helena was...
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Footprints on Scarborough Shoal
On May 17, 1997, the first group of journalists embarked on an extraordinary expedition to this triangle-shaped coral reef now part of long-running geopolitical tension between the Philippines and China. It was a place few had heard of, let alone visited, at a time when the world was still grappling with dial-up internet and flip...
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Digital martial law library launched, ‘to ensure that all Filipinos will remember’
With the click of a button, you’ll find a copy of Proclamation 1081; read excerpts of hard-to-find memoirs, including Benigno Aquino Jr.’s “Testament from A Prison Cell”; or view videos of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in the heyday of martial law. The possibilities are endless when you visit the Ateneo Martial Law Library and Museum...
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‘Pangalay’ takes young audiences by storm
A traditional dance is a dynamic expression of a people’s history and worldview. Thus, it should be preserved and developed to uphold a people’s rich cultural heritage. “Pangalay,” aka “igal” and “pamansak,” is one such rich dance form of the Sama, the Badjaw, the Tausug, the Jama Mapun and the Yakan of the Sulu Archipelago. But a...