The Challenge of Philippine Historical Studies

Someone asked me if I believe that the Spaniards really helped ["may nagawa ba sila"] us throughout their almost 400 year rule. The query was sarcastically solicited since I've been known to blog about the gifts of our Spanish past, it was a simple query that I regularly get even from family, teasingly posed, but certainly merits to be answered.

Never once did I assumed that the Spaniards were absolutely guiltless from acts of cruelty and pilferage against the natives. It is a historical fact that even the boldest Hispanist could not refute. But the focus of our studies must not end in exploring colonial errors but also the consequences of that contact, between an imperialist Christian power and a group of indigenous tribes, this I believe is a balanced approach that ultimately would make us better students of our history.

In our orthodox history education, its regrettable that the core appears to be lessons in history with a 'nationalist' attitude. That in order to glorify the homeland we must acknowledge that colonialism was entirely immoral and therefore never produced any meaningful transformation, that we have an obligation to focus on ways to remove its influence, and that we must to go back to our pristine origins - that the more aboriginal mind-set be, the more Filipino we become. Along the lines there are those who argue that to be a Filipino, the correct attitude must be above all that of an Asiano [Asianization], this essentially puristic approach is an attempt to undo the path of our evolution as a society. The trouble with this is that the Filipinos base can only be traced in its Mestizo genesis, even the formation of its name, Filipino & Filipinas, is the outcome of that merger.

Colonialism has its faults and we all could say now that it was unjust, this knowledge is the gift of history, we've already learned our lessons and has move on. In contemporary time, it should no longer be accepted there is no room for it, but even at present everyone appears to be tolerating some nation invading other independent nation. As Filipinos we must never permit being under any country again, but it appears that we are still silently under the American colonial influence, what we thought ended 50 years ago is enduring, proof is our government's consenting position with all of its policies, locally and globally.

Spaniards had long disappeared, leaving a country that proudly calls herself after one of its great monarch, with an impression that can not be simply removed from a people that embraced not only its religion but some of its character. For almost 400 years, its culture has pervaded with that of the native, forming a culture we now call Filipino, its way of life, ideals and concepts had influence our otherwise Asian mentality. Since they were the dominant culture they discriminatorily imposed on the natives what they perceived was good for themselves, for the people and the new colony.

The accounts of Spanish coercions of the natives are numerous, its well documented, even the first Spanish Bishop of the new colony had wrote about it in disgust and frustration. But if we would've ended our lessons with those dishonorable acts by the conquistadores and disregard the kind efforts made by that Spanish Bishop and the Friars established, when he initiated the first synod for the new colony [one of them, a wise Augustinian even raisgin the question, "what right do we have to conquer them?"], we would've subjected ourselves in a narrow and meaningless course in Filipino history.

People could go endlessly on the cruelties that took place and there are not far from the truth, a look at our written records would actually expose it more, but here is where I always challenge everyone to keep on researching, don't just simply focus on those already identified error, so far we have already established those. but also search for the true meaning of the Filipino - his being and his society, how he developed and reacted to the challenge posed by the Spanish colonialization, is his identity hispanic or oriental?, was he less a Filipino because of the Spanish influence or was he truly hispanized? or will he ever be Filipino without Hispanization?

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Glimpse at the Origins of Filipino Surnames

Almost all Filipinos have Spanish names, these names came from a decree (1849) that required everyone to have surnames similar to that of a Spaniard or at least derived from a list they government provided. Before the implementation of the decree, most Filipinos were patronymic, there were no clear standard in naming children upon baptismal, the practice of adopting names from the Catholic Saints were influence taken from the Friars. Narciso Claveria, the liberal and vigorous governor, foresaw that such practices of incoherent names of the natives (some even without it) would present troubles later on both in tax collections and records. Also, written records were very deficient it made document verification difficult, tracing ancestry before 1800's was almost impossible.

Some Prehispanic tribes does not even possess surnames. There were instances that a child's name was taken from his appearance or some natural event (some tribes even had a tribal culture of having no names). When the Friars started baptizing the Indios they initially started using names of saints, mostly naming people based on what the Saints feast day, which, after decades of practice became the norm. Claveria's decree would ammend this practice in 1847, giving Filipinos its first standard when it comes to naming  infants.

Aside from significantly improving the governments collection of tributes, the decree's greatest gift was that it paved the way for the native to wholly integrate in the society (as would be in  the case of the Chinos). When the so called evolution of the Filipino identity finally became clear, the Catholic names, made it uncomplicated for the native without the education like that of an elites to function as fully accepted citizens within a society. A Christianized native, that had acquired a Christian name enjoy the benefits of having an name familiar with the the general public. This method of making Hispanized names obligatory to all is often slandered as the doing of the Spaniards for they intend to completely control every area of Filipino life, but a clear reading of its anon effects would illustrate how it improved the Filipino way of life, as it was visualized by Claveria.

Loose Guidelines

In most towns, individuals would have names opening with the same letter of the alphabet. The surnames were based on the town of origin. Those starting with "A" (like mine) are set aside for those people who dwells in capital. The outlying town receives names starting with the subsequent letters, "B" for the second town, "C" for third town. This practice was never across the board, there were exemptions. The last names was also based on the first letter of the town, such is the case of Capas, it was assigned to "C", this explains the predominance of the surnames that starts with this letter, such is the case on other towns all over the islands colony.

The authors of the book State and Society in the Philippines has this to say, "A town would choose the names of one letter of the alphabet, a second choose the names of another letter, and so on. Until recently, one could tell the hometown of the an individual by his or her surname. This was true, for example, in Albay province. Those of Oas town, those with "O" from Guinobatan, and those with "B" from Tiwi. This also explains why many Filipinos today bear Spanish names although they may not have Spanish blood"

What was Claveria Thinking

Nowadays, whenever someone would raise the question on how a Filipino got his Iberian sounding name, others would be quick to point to the "decree" ordering everyone to take on a Spanish name without apparent explanation of what's the reason behind it.

Claveria offers us his explanation:"During my visits to the majority of the islands, I observe that natives in general lack individual surnames which distinguished them by families. They arbitrarily adopt the names of the saints as their last names, this results to the results in the existence of thousands of individuals having the same surnames. Likewise, i saw the resultant confusion with the regard to the administration of justice, government, finance and public order and the far-reaching moral, civil and religious consequences to which thismight lead, because the familynames are not transmitted from the parents to their children, so that it is sometimes impossible to prove the degress of consanguinity for purposes of marriage, rendering useless the parochial books which in Catholic countries are used for all kinds of transactions." he continues,"for the purpose of catalgue of family names has been compiled, including indigenous names collected by the reverend fathers provincial of the religious orders, and the Spanish surnames they have been able to acquire, along those furnished by the vegetable and mineral kingdoms, geography, arts, etc. In view of the extreme usefulness and practicality of this measures, the time has come to issue a directive for the formation of a civil register, which may not only fulfill and ensure the said objectives, but also serve as the basis for the statistics of the country, guarantee the collection of taxes, the regular performance of personal services, and the receipt of payment for exemptions. It likewise provides exact information of the movement of the population, thus avoiding unauthorized migrations, hiding taxpayers, and other issues."

The decree after all was not conceived out of greediness and malevolence intent but by having a successful administration of records. The Governor plainly stated the benefits of having surnames for the natives on the long run would prevail over its initial awkwardness. This order that gave us the names that we still bear with us until now is perhaps the greatest impression of the Spanish era aside from our religion.

Some Exceptions

There were exceptions, indication of the orders flexibility, i.e., the direct descendants of ancient rulers (i.e., Mojica, Tupas etc.) were excluded and were permitted to maintain their surnames. The Tagalog nobility was also spared (i.e., Gatmaitan, Hilario etc.) this is the reason why we still hear these surnames up to now. For the rest were given regulated name (based on the Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos). There were those who were ordered to take on unique surnames (usually names of flora & fauna) to make them more visible, like in the case of the Rizals, which already had Mercado, a name taken by the first Francisco Mercado (Domingo Lam Co's son). Its interesting to note however that Asuncion Bantug pointed out in her book "Si Lolo Jose", that the reason behind the change was that original Francisco hated the name Mercado for it means "market", choosing another name, Ricial. The Mercados later on started using their second last name, Rizal, as an act of uniting behind Jose's flight.

With the decree also came the opportunity for those without surnames to obtain one. A catalog of names where one could pick was handed to the natives (a directory of Spanish names). The Friars being elected as the agents of organization during the initial years of the decree proved to be successful. The policy was generally realized and Claveria's requirements of a unified registry was created and this would give the Filipino today a way to trace their lineage. The practice also made sure that the surname of the the mother would be attached, this explains "y" (police, NBI and other national records) after the fathers surname. According to the study prepared by Pepe Alas, we're the only nation now that still follow this format.

The Chino Christiano

These Mestizos were allowed to hold on to their name Chinese surnames. This was accredited by the administrators so as for these Mestizo's not to lose their lineage and culture. It was a regular practice also then to generate a last name by merging Chinese names, like that of their parents (i.e., Yu -chen -co, Lim -cau -co etc.). Many of this surnames having "co" at the end because of the Hokkienese polite suffix of "ko" (meaning "big brother"). There were also occasions that the Catholic Filipino Chinese would blend their native names to that of a Christian name, this adaptation is unique and is said to be the only one of its kind in the world. Contrary to what most accept as true, that these names were imposed without due considerations, the Christianized Chinese mestizo's supplies us with a clear example of the laws flexibility (like the considerations for the Tagalog noble clans). The decree was in no way meant to disassociate the Filipino to his native origins and his family.

The Filipino Chinese then was different from the Baba of Malaya and the Javanese Peranakan, both Chinese immigrants, as Wickerberg says, " the Chinese mestizo in the Philippines was not a special kind of Chinese, he was a special kind of Filipino".

This points to the fact of the Filipino Chinese integration to the Filipino society - they became a Filipinos, their prosperity and influence during the Spanish era is a proof of their contributions to the society as key actors.The other Sino immigrants in the neighbouring colonized regions, the Filipino Chinese was not restrained in their comunity but was encouraged to integrate and participate. It was observed that some eventually lost attachment to the Chinese culture and as the author of the book "Brains of the Revolution" says, "instead, a very strong affinity for a Philippine version of Hispanic culture", referring to the Mestizo's preference to the hispanic culture."

Looking back

Contrary to the claims of reknowned historians that this decree stripped us of our native identity, the scheme actually restored the self-esteem for the Filipino then. Today, as we go on with our contemporary lives, we have government agencies going up the mountains and registering natives (for administration, medical and educational purposes), in some cases, missionaries meet up with this tribes to baptize them and give them Christian names, how is this different from what the Claveria decree formed?

Pan De Manila "Disclaimer"

I have been receiving email's and comment's asking information for the Pan De Manila. I sure would love to provide you with contact information and how to get your franchise but I can not, I am in no way connected to this bread company, I wish I was so I could drop by at any of their outlet and get my bags of goodies. I'm just a fan of their concept and line of products.

I owe people an apology especially those who thought that I work for PDM, I was looking for some information on them too but I don't think they have a corporate website. The post was just my way of thanking them (PDM), they clearly advocate the appreciation of our heritage and what more could be a better representation of that beautiful past than the mighty Pan De Sal!

The Singlish, English in Singapore

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="240" caption="Singapura Experience"][/caption]

There's much that we could learn from a country like Singapore, particularly with our 'language situation'. There are two major (or maybe more) factions that presented itself at the turn of the century after the Spaniards packed up and left our shores hurriedly. The first one, the traditionalist those who would like to bring back the old Tagalog (with its abecedario of 32 letters) together with the Spanish language as, again, the lengua franca. The second one, are the puristas, this are the so called nationalist, a group that would love nothing but to see the eradication of anything that is of foreign, they would want to revert to the days when the Islas de Felipenas was untouched by western influence, something that I believe never existed, the Philippines was, let's face it, a Spanish creation.

Going back to the issue of language, here in Singapore, they have lots of it, four, all in all, not counting the other Chinese languages (i.e., Cantonese, Fukien), the Government advocates the use of Mandarin instead but still maintains the freedom of those who wish to speak using this traditional languages, the state preference to Mandarin was to push for a single and unified Chinese language amongst the Sino population, to date Mandarin has the largest percentage. The languages in use here are: Mandarin, the one with the largest speakers, Malay, the national language, Tamil, and English, their other official language.

With all this language in such a confined area, the question is, was there ever a problem in their sociological structure (with regards to the people's ability to communicate with each other)?

The answer is a simple no. Because they embraced, as their own, the English language, the mother tongues of their colonial rulers. This, in my view, saved them from the paralyzing effects of having too many languages. English gave them, what they call here, the 'Administrative' language, it became a powerful tool. The bonus for them was, this colonial language - is the global language now.

Language represents ethnological groups, these among other factors causes friction in some other countries, not here, it's their well of strength. Singaporean history has shown that there were social unrest (Pro Malay groups wanting to get the island nation back in the Malayan confederacy and the Communist) in the past, arising from the conditions it found itself in, when they became independent (all too sudden according to their historian) but the great leadership by men like Lee (Lee Kwan Yew defeated this groups early on) suppressed such movements that could've easily dismantled their ongoing progress then.

If there is one thing that can be said of their progress, is that, it is the result of a strong government (in deed not like GMA's so called 'strong republic), who made the laws of the land, the backbone of their nations development. Discipline and the fear of state laws puts everything in order, one could sleep in the plaza's or walk late at night without worrying that some punk would try to steal from you, you could hardly find a police in the vicinity, theirs is a land in order.

The Island state did not pushed for any one single language for they recognized their racial diversity, believing that such moves would only cause unrest, they did however named their official language (Malay) which of course was a mere formality, but in reality everyone here speaks in their own mother language, the Chinese, the Tamil and Malay - they're free to communicate using their mother tongues. Observing them made me think that, like in our country, diversity should be celebrated for it can be a source of strength, unfortunately, most of us have regionalist tendencies, like for example, a Tagalog sneering at a Visayan's accent - here people freely speaks their own language without a worry in mind, without any fear of being discriminated, here exist a strange kind of mix, I have never seen a country so diverse, in culture and race, yet so unified.

Those who opposed having Spanish back, as a language should visit and stay here, it's the perfect example that we can emulate back home. There really is no need to eliminate (like what Aquino did in '87) but rather add, because it is by accumulation of knowledge that we become better human being (imagine how Spanish could've made our workforce more formidable, add to this the markets that we could've opened).Learning languages is always a good thing. Learning our old language back, together with our native language will only enlighten us about our heritage, when we begin to appreciate all our languages, only then we would know who we truly are. This would illuminate our true identity.

So how can they understand each other (Singaporeans) when they speak separate languages?

This is where English (or Singlish as they call it here) comes into play; it is the administrative language of the nation. Like us, their former colonial masters where westerners, the British, this is where their common sense and economic genius becomes evident - instead of debating if they should keep it or get rid of it, they used it! While back home, we untiringly put our heads on the 'language situation' of whether or not to use Tagalog (or Filipino or any other language) or English, they on the other hand enforced their teachers to use English as a mode of instruction, by this celebrating what they see as a gift from Raffles' imperial ambition. They have yet to achieved our proficiency in speaking English  but they are on their way to towards that goal (they already have extensive English subjects in their curriculum).

Their brand of English is difficult to understand, not really smooth, especially if your used to the 'Americanized' way of hearing it, here they call it Singlish, but make no mistake about it, it's very effective. Almost all people here speak English, in varying degrees. Shops and its owners could transact in English with ease.  So, I ask myself, was there ever a time that this confused them or did anyone here felt alienated, that they needed to adapt to something that's not Asian, something representing the English rule, not Singaporean?

Here lies our fundamental difference with this South East Asian brothers of ours, the Singaporeans, although they treasure and are proud of their Asiatic origins, they continue to  recognize early in their history that theirs is a 'global race', that in order to move forward, one must adapt, one must learn, become global. While we were busying ourselves trying to figure out how the Spaniards retarded our national and economic progress (as most of this Filipino nationalist loves to claim), they, on their side paid their respects, honored the former motherland and the language it brought to its shores. They knew that they were once British subjects but they are not captives of that past, no, they are not prisoners of that colonial mentality in fact they are grateful, they see it as part of the evolution that created them.  A huge monument somewhere near the city hall was dedicated to Thomas Raffles, the British founder of Singapore,  grateful people these Singaporeans, to the imperial power that made their shores, the greatest port city of the world.

Could we be like them? Grateful  of the former colonizer, who they as an independent nation now recognize as having unified the small island nation and made it what it is today, one of the richest nation on earth? Could we, in our lands, be brave enough to accept that we too, are like them, that we were founded by western hands? And that much of what we see now, was in fact, contributions from this foreigners for the expansion of their kingdom but later led to unification of lands and of people?

Here in Singapore, they have not forgotten about how important their cultural heritage, theirs is prominently Asiatic, their cultural programs are geared towards maintaining the Asian identity, but at the same time, they never looked back at their colonial past as something that must be omitted in their history text books. Thinking of our country and how it contends with its colonial past - we are wasting our time with this 'nationalistic' ideas, are we not being foolish? wanting to sever its ties rather than learning to appreciate, we all can learn from this great nation.

La Gira, part I

In what could be a first in a series of historical pilgrimages, we were toured around Binondo and Sn. Nicolas Manila by the great Filipino artist-historian, future artista nacional, Señor Gomez Rivera. With his astonishing grasp and familiarity of the locale, he took this two (Pepito y yo) tyro chroniclers into the begrimed esquinitas of Binondo and the crumbly old Spanish era houses of Sn. Nicolas, telling tales and legends of what was once the beautiful arrabales of old Spanish Manila.

One street, concealed, dark and filthy, was where the house of Pepe Rizal's relatives once stood, no marker just some new shops selling stuff (the products you see labeled in Mandarin) and a horde of beggars asking for some change. Here was Don Francisco Mercado final stop before joining his popular hero son in the afterlife. He died in this place, he lived a silentious life, he was the typical Chinese Filipino, he was frugal, cautious always and was a devoted family man. It was (the Mercado residence), according to Señor Gomez, a small house compared to the other rich casa's "pero elegante", and so is the streets where this casas stood. Now, this gutterless, cramped street - this part of Calle Estraude is but a shadow of what was once an alluring little mestizaje neighbourhood with a living small estero for a view (now, I think if ever you fall in that estero you'll die, not from drowning but because of its  mephitic water!).

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="240" caption="Calle Estraude (Don Francisco's house once stood here)"][/caption]

This awful looking buildings are testament of what can be referred to as the districts progressive transformation, from the old Binondo town to the new town (literally ‘new' because the old houses are being phased out!). Economics often times dictate what would become of a locality, its future is always tied to its commerce. A rustic Macati then is a financial city now, with all its skyscrappers hoovering up above, a farm, a hill could become a residential villa. At this rate (accelerating phase as can be observe this past decades), we are losing more and more of this heritage sites. Once we lost them, we lost them forever - this we have to remember. Is this really progress?

Another building left to decay is the celebrated Hogar Filipino. This hotel was the loftiest structure in the 30's, arguably the finest concrete building created by its generation, in that legendary street called Anloague. The wedding gift (yes, it was for a Zobel daughter) hosted foreign dignitaries and notable personage. It was spacious, elegant and  yes, a very expensive place to spend the night in!  but like many structures after the war, it was neglected. Prestige drifted away from this part of the town (partly due to poor city management & planning) so in this once graceful belt, whose edge tips the river Pasig, whose fresh water joins the sea, died, not too long ago. It can be revived - how? this is the challenge for this new Manileño generation.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="240" caption="Hogar Filipino"][/caption]

And the list goes on.

As we were driving around Binondo, we came into a screeching halt, I thougth that we ended up in a jeep terminal, then my passengers reminded me that Luna St. usually are like this. So you'll just have to drive around the jam. Good thing was its Sunday, so taking direction from Señor Gomez, circling some esquinitas, with some twist and turn he brought us to Urbiztondo, the Antonio Luna birthplace.

Unlike the sad fate of that Estraude home of the Rizal's, The tagailog's place of birth was intact. Thank God. Its fronting the institution named after that prehispanic hero Rajah Solaiman. The abode's fascade at least is preserved with some marks of decay, it was decorated by some banners and small flags commemorating its famous son Antonio's birthday. Since no one can go in, one could only wonder what's inside. It was an elegant, noble house, one thing that you can say about this old casas of Binondo and San Nicolas is that, although their confined in space due to the population of the district (compared to the bahay na bato in the countryside), they never forgot about style, they were western in their sophistication and taste! architecture was detailed from the wide windows, classy iron grills, chic doors, genteel roof -  Ah, I think they heard William Morris, that British Socialist and Poet (1834-1896), when he said "have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be useful".

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="240" caption="Luna Residence"][/caption]

Exiting Urbiztondo heading straight towards San Nicolas all of the old casa are lined up. like pretty maids all in a row -- the Sunico house, built on Calle Barcelona corner Jabonero, is now deserted but a closer look would show how this propertied families built their houses. From its wide windows, one could see all the way to Intramuros. Down to the very last piece in this disintegrating houses is art. Right across the Sunico's, another old house went down. (Nalungkot talaga ako), it broke my heart seeing something so beautiful destroyed. Some excavation was taking place already, looks like a high rise project - century old adobe bricks and lumber being scrapped. We all look and felt funereal, standing there and seeing those people hammer away, are they even aware what their doing? In this town, its just another old house, but for Manila another piece of history ditched.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="240" caption="Sunico house"][/caption]

The Casa Vizantina (I already featured this here), arguably the grandest of all the San Nicolas houses, three storey high extended for almost a block. It currently it holds a sizeable squatting community inside. Now, considered a dangerous structure, it was once a hotel and an institute (Instituto Manila, now UM). This marvel of Filipino architecture is headed to the slaughterhouse, there are already plans to tear it down. Same story here.

The Pio Valenzuela house was next, thank God it has a marker, I hope no ones pissing on it becaue its placed in a corner and its just a feet from the ground. The NHI marker was Installed commemorating what was the house of a hero and the site where the revolutionary paper, "Kalayaan" was printed.  Pio figured popularly in the life of Rizal and the revolution for it was him who announced that the national hero denouced the revolution, much to the dismay of Boni, he did however, had another version after the war ended, this time he claims that the Calambeño was supporting the movement.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="240" caption="Pio Valenzuela's residence where the Kalayaan was printed"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="240" caption="Rogelio de la Rosa once was here!"][/caption]

Just before we head out we dropped by what was once Rogelio de la Rosa's house, the matinee idol live in San Nicolas with his wife Lolita Bayot. He raised his son, Rogelio II in that old house in Calle Lara. The Señor claims that Rogelio was not proficient in Castillian and that his lines are often dubbed. This Kababayan of the Macapagals would become a senador under the Partido Liberal. He could be considered the Father of Showbiz turned politicos, his bid for the presidency was not successful. He was assaigned ambassador to various countries.

Every inch of Binondo and San Nicolas has a story to tell, Some streets are no more (a Calle Nueva is now renamed Yuchengco), old houses are slowly diminishing (this year we witnessed several houses taken down) - their like those endangered animals, if not conserved, without planning and vision, they would become extinct. "There was once a house there..." - the Señor would tell us, this line would soon become ours, as we tell the sad fate of this houses.

The Cross of Tunasan San Pedro

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="302" caption="San Pedro's Cross of salvation"][/caption]

The ‘Cross of Tunasan San Pedro' has been with the old town of San Pedro for centuries. Its miraculous healing powers became popular during the epidemic years, were countless of towns folk sought divine healing from the deadly diseases that ravaged the once rustic town.

It's a silent witness to the transformation of the small town from a Sampaguita plantation and a narrow passage to the richer Laguna towns to what it is now, a residential and industrial urban municipality. It survived both natural and man made disasters - during this difficult years the older generation of San Pedro knelt in front of the miraculous cross and prayed for a better tomorrow.

Legends varies, from its sudden apparition from some unknown San Pedro barrio to its creation by some miracle Abbott, some even claims that it came straight from heaven. Its one of those icons that represented time and people, one could not tell a story about the small town without suggesting to see it for a visit to San Pedro Tunasan during the old days is incomplete without touching its base.

Today, its odd that its not as revered as it was once, one could watch people go in and out of the church without even noticing the mighty Cross, the Krus ng San Pedro Tunasan. Once it attracted hundreds of churchgoers from different places in La Laguna during Sunday's and dates of Catholic religious importance. Now, it sits quite in its dark place, with out lights, without candles and if you were to sit inside and attend mass, your back would face it. How could such an important relic be relegated to an obnoxious space inside the church that it practically created?

Rizal appreciated its role both as spiritual and cultural representation of the people of Tunasan San Pedro, he mentioned the cross in his first novel together with the other celebrated Catholic images of the old Spanish era .The least that we can do is its restoration as the center piece of the church, it deserves no less.

A closer look would reveal that its base is of poor construction; a piece of rock holds it in place. Some genius mind painted over the original varnish. Obviously the preservation and its location in the church was not one of those well thought out plan. It could be attributed to a miracle that this Cross made of wood and is said to be the oldest Catholic cross in the whole of Laguna is still in a very good condition.

Perhaps, the reason why its not being noticed is that, today - church and government officials failed to highlight not only its place inside the iglesia but its role as San Pedro's greatest religious icon.

There is no IKON in this small struggling town that could better represent its past than this cross! La cruz de Tunasan San Pedro!

Response to the post "Filipinos Are Not Hispanic"

I stumbled upon this post by FIl-American Jon Torres over the popular site Associated Content. I would like to share my response to all my reader to some of his well intentioned subjects regarding his reaction as a Filipino to 'being referred to as Hispanic', something that is a common experience for those Filipinos who lives close to big Latino communities in the US. (All the italics are mine)

Filipinos Are Not Hispanic

A Few FAQ's I Keep Having to Answer

By Jon Torres, published Mar 21, 2007

Yesterday I was making a remark to my friend about my Asian heritage and he replied, "Asian? But I thought you were Filipino!" I could only laugh (politely, of course) at his statement, not only because it sounded wrong, but also because I had heard it once too often. This cannot be dismissed away with some flippant remark I'm tempted to make, like "Don't you ever wonder why there's no Filipino food at Taco Bell? "

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*This is quite common in the States, Filipinos - are being recognized as Hispanics, mainly because of the last name, facial feature & religion but Filipinos historically are Hispanics. Our Hispano culture makes us Hispanics. Mistake is made when hispanization is equated with blood relation and geography.

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There seems to be an all-too prevalent belief among the many westerners I meet, which is the notion that Filipinos are Hispanic. While I can see (more or less) how this could be reasoned in a roundabout way, and make its own odd sense, it is nonetheless wrong. To someone who has grown up in the Philippines, it does sound plausible from a certain point of view, yet still very strange for a number of reasons. I will address some questions I frequently get asked on this apparently novel piece of information.

Where is the Philippines? According to Wikipedia ( as well as every single one of my social studies teachers) the Philippines is in Southeast Asia. At this point, I rather think this should end any further explanation. We are much, much closer to Taiwan, China, Japan, Indonesia and Singapore than any country in Europe or Latin America. The geographical neighborhood alone should clue you in to the probable ethnicity of the Filipinos. Perhaps it is simply this lack of awareness as to where the Philippines actually is, that causes many people to guess and consequently, make mistaken assumptions based on that.

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Our location makes us Asian, but this does not undue our Hispanic roots for the simple reason that hispanization refers to history, language and culture. So if I were to answer the question "if Equatorial Guinea (an African nation) is a Hispanic nation?" my answer would be yes, not only because they speak Castilian but also because hispanization has taken root in their culture and society. Their geography, being a small state in the middle of the African wouldn't nullify their identity. Same with ours and some of the pacific islands that were under Spain then.

If one is to travel to China, Japan or Thailand - a Filipino would almost immediately feel like in a different world, an alien, "Asia was never at home with us", Nick Joaquin said and this is true, Manila is a city with little similarity with cities like Bangkok, Beijing and Tokyo etc etc - theirs is an oriental culture, ours is of Hispano origin. On the other hand, if you were to visit Mexico and all the other Latino countries - you would be awed how strikingly similar our culture is with them. So don't be surprised if American's see them in you.

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How do you explain the 80% Catholicism, which is obviously from Spanish colonization of the Philippines? This is true. We were converted from mostly earth-based, ancestral worshipping spiritual beliefs, and baptized as Catholics in the 16th century. This was instrumental in Spain's control over the Philippines for over three centuries as colonial property, by using organized religion along with political manipulation (without separation of Church and State). This had the effect of having Filipinos subservient to Spanish rule, without enjoying the benefits of being citizens. In short, we were the property of Spain, but we were not Spanish citizens.

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Part of the reason why Americans looks at Filipinos as Hispanic is because of our religion. Most Asians are seen as Orientals in the US, Orientals for them practices Buddhism, Hindu or religions they see as unfamiliar and mystical. Since Filipinos are Asians in their mind, they would be surprised to see Filipinos practicing the religion of the immigrant Latinos.

Since hispanization is the process by which a place or a person absorbs characteristics of Hispanic society and culture. We are Hispanos more than asianos. Unfortunately, most are not aware of this fact.

"Property of Spain?" - I think this author never heard about the Cadiz constitution - anyway we were all subjects, under a monarchy that translates to citizenship. This is the reason why Filipinos with means then were able to study, live and travel abroad, they were Spanish by right. Could you imagine the Ilustrados, founding a liberal paper called La Solidaridad in the heart of Spain? If they were not protected by their right as Spanish citizens they could've been easily executed. In the days of the Yankees, anyone who stood up here and oppose them was blasted into oblivion, they only ceded leadership after they've been able to guarantee that they would still be in control, in terms of economic policies and the nations resources.

In the American years, it would be good to review that we never became citizens under their commonwealth, they never wanted us even with the noisy clamor of the federalistas. I'm sure all Filipino immigrants know that it is not an easy process to go there and work - this is how we were repaid. Our glorious stand with the Americans during WWII and all the service we render under their flag is all but forgotten now. While The Japanese and Germans, on the other hand, who fought against them, today, can freely travel in the US without being bothered by the process we usually face. Talk about history and how it is easily forgotten by this western power.

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But don't Filipinos speak Spanish? I get this question several times a year, almost on a monthly basis, and every time I want to say a resounding "No!", they point out my own particular situation, because I happen to speak it passably well. In my case, as I believe is the same with many Filipinos living in the United States, I learned it here: both from Mexican friends and the local community college. The truth is, most Filipinos do not speak Spanish at all. Almost none of us do. From the 19th century American occupation, English has long replaced Spanish as the western lingua franca of the country, and has been for a hundred years.

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We used to speak Castillan as a nation, but when the American's came it slowly eroded but it is, as it was pointed out the 'lingua franca' back in the days. The American system then recognized literacy based on the use of the English language. Regardless whether you speak or write in Tagala or Castilian you would still be tagged as illiterate if you would neglect the use and study of this foreign language and since there is no way for someone to progress in the new American standard of education if one would not take up English, everyone had no choice but to learn it.

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It certainly doesn't help that Filipinos are generally adaptable, and being from a country with over a thousand local dialects, will be averse (or too polite!) to saying they do not understand, or are unable to learn a certain language. We eventually pick up enough of the local language to get by. True, our main dialect, like many others, is in fact peppered with Spanish words, making it fairly easy for us to learn Spanish if we tried. But what few Spanish words that we use in our daily colloquial speech are mostly pidginized and remarkably different from their original meanings (Get this: "leche" is a mild curse word in Tagalog!). Also, we have much more of the neighboring language groups in our vernacular: mostly Malaysian, Chinese, Arabic, and more recently, plenty of English.

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It seems that the author of this failed to research on how many Spanish words there are in what most scholar's claims as 'pure' tagala. Aside from thousands of Castilian words in the recognized national language, a study of the Spanish language would also highlight that some of the common words we use that we thought were ours were from the Castilian language. Adapted to suit local pronunciation.

I don't even want to describe what "leche" means as a curse. :)

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Why do you have a Spanish last name? Doesn't that mean you have at least one Spanish bloodline? A Spanish surname is very common among Filipinos, and this understandably can lead to confusion. It's like meeting a Japanese person named Park, or more commonly, a Caucasian person named Lee. It however, does not reveal a person's ancestry automatically. In the case of most Filipinos, the mass-conversion also led to our being relabeled with 'Christian' surnames. Genuine intermarrying was probably quite rare back then. I can confidently say that I am no more Hispanic than your roll of "Scotch" tape has been anywhere near Glasgow.

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Your last name has nothing to do with your identity. You could be Chinese and possess a name like Juan de la Cruz but you would still be Chinese when you wake up in the morning not unless you got that name from the history and culture of your people - only then that it would mean something. Ancestry and places of origin does not define an identity. Again, there is confusion in the definition of nationality, location, ancestry and identity.

It was not just "relabeling" - it was in effect, creating identity for the natives the aside from of course the benefits it would provide the Government then.

They say, your name says a lot of things about you, this is true, a Hispanized name tells the history of adapting to the Spanish ideals of society then, as it was enforced by Claveria, the fact that it was accepted (voluntarily or involuntarily) means our ancestors assimilated into a Hispanic society.

These are 'Christian' names as he pointed out goes back to the process of hispanization. The one thing that the author failed to study is the process of becoming a "Filipino" . The review of this would bring one closer to our real identity. The author already mentioned the Catholic religion earlier, that's Filipino identity along with the culture and heritage.

Some backward thinking folks would elect to go back to the old tribes for which I'd rather not, what we have, we should keep and respect.

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So I hope it no longer seems to you a bold statement to say that Filipinos are not Hispanic, not from Latin America, do not speak Spanish nor are even of mostly Spanish ancestry. I encourage you to look up even more information on sites such as Wikipedia, and if possible, find some Filipino friends and raise a discussion, which I have no doubt will be a lively one. And have share some Filipino food while you're talking. We like to think it's better than Taco Bell, anyway.

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I think everyone would be in agreement that our dish is the best in the world!

By the way, thanks to Jon for improving my calligraphy. I happen to take interest in this old art, his on line videos were awesome.

See it here

THE BLACK LEGEND ON THE STATE OF EDUCATION

THE BLACK LEGEND ON THE STATE OF EDUCATION

By Pio Andrade

Filipinos in the 20^th Century were repeatedly taught or told in schools and in the press, that Spain always kept their ancestors uneducated to have them ignorant and the always docile subjects of Spain. The blame was, in particular, thrown upon the friars, "who, from motives of their own, discouraged the learning of Spanish by the natives, in order that they may always act as intermediaries between the people and the civil authorities, and thus, retain their influences over their charges". The most common proof cited for the alleged uneducatedness and ignorance supposedly reigning in Hispanic Philippines is the incontrovertible fact that only the Philippines, among all the other former Spanish colonies, is not Spanish-speaking today. But was this really so?

The 1896 revolution, the first revolution in Asia by a colonized people for independence from the colonizer, refutes the charge that Spain did not educate the Filipinos, for revolutions are not made by the ignoramuses but by the educated folks. Indeed, most of the leading lights and leaders of the 1896 Revolution were Ilustrados, or educated folks. The propaganda literature and the communications coming from the Revolutionaries were mostly in Spanish; and, the Malolos Constitution was debated and drafted in Spanish. The revolution was made possible by the widespread knowledge of Spanish. Thus, Spanish was the language of the 1896 Revolution and Philippine nationhood.

King Philip II's Law of the Indies (Leyes de Indias) mandated Spanish authorities in the Philippines to educate the natives, to teach them how to read and write and to learn Spanish. However, the latter objective was well-nigh impossible given the realities of the time. First, there were very few Spaniards in the Archipelago to teach Spanish at that time. Second, the Philippines, at the coming of Spain was inhabited by diverse tribes with different languages, customs, and religion. Third, the geographical barriers - - - the seas, the mountain ranges, lush virgin forest and the absence of enough roads made travel and communication difficult during those years. Thus, the friars, the vanguard of evangelization and education, opted instead to learn the native languages first and in order to use them as tools to evangelize and teach the natives in the missionary schools.

But Spanish was also taught to those who wished to learn the language. Among these were the native principalía and the Chinese traders who only began to come in greater numbers after the coming of Spain to the Philippines.

Another proof that Spain's language education was taking place in the first years of Hispanization in this Country was the Galleon Trade. The Galleon Trade would not have been possible if the Filipinos, Spaniards and Chinese could not communicate with each other in Spanish.

In 1863, with the passage of the Education Reform Act in the Spanish Cortes, the Philippine public school system was born. Separate schools for boys and girls were established in every pueblo for the compulsory education of Filipino children. The law also established the Escuela Normal to train male and female teachers. This was ten years before Japan had a compulsory form of education and forty years before the American government started a so-called public school system in the country.

One of the most vociferous voices claiming that Spain did not educate the Filipinos was UP historian emeritus Teodoro Agoncillo who wrote in THE REVOLT OF THE MASSES that "When the Americans took over the Philippines, only 2.5% of the Filipinos spoke and wrote in Spanish". This figure was taken from the 1880 book of Cavada Mendez de Vigo. Later, in his history textbook , THE HISTORY OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE, Agoncillo also claimed that "it is safe to say that the literacy rate of the native population was somewhere between 5% and 8%". These Agoncillo claims are wrong for these two statements on the Philippine literacy can not be sustained by factual evidence.

Agoncillo failed to see that since 1811 with the publication of DEL SUPERIOR GOBIERNO, the Philippines had a popular press which further disseminated the Spanish language in the country. The Philippines was the first country in Asia to have a popular press in Spanish and, by the coming of Dewey, there were many more popular newspapers and books published in Spanish. The several newspapers in the native languages most always carried Spanish language sections. Manila, itself, (then with about half a million people) had three Spanish language dailies in the morning and three other dailies, also in Spanish, in the afternoon. These dailies in Spanish had no equal counterparts in other Oriental countries.

Another factor for increased Spanish literacy was the Chinese population. The Chinese community obligates Chinese cabecillas or Chinese barangay captains to teach rudimentary Spanish to new Chinese immigrants. After a month in these Chinese-owned schools, the Chinese immigrants spoke kastilang tindahan, or Caló Chino Español, a kind of Spanish Chabacano, that later become fluent albeit accented Spanish . When these Chinese immigrants intermarried, they brought forth Spanish-speaking mestizos. The 100,000 Chinese population at the turn of the century were all conversant in Spanish though in varying proficiency, from the kastilang tindahan of the new Chinese immigrants to the fluent Spanish of Chinese old timers.

Actually, Spanish grew even more during the 1900-1920 period. Professor Henry Jones Ford of Princeton University in his 1913 secret report on his six months travel and research about the Philippine situation to President Woodrow Wilson, had this to say on the use of Spanish in the country at that time: "There is however, another aspect of the case that should be considered. I had this forcibly presented to me as I traveled through the Islands, using the ordinary conveyances and mixing with all sorts and conditions of people. Although on the basis of School statistics the statement is made that more Filipinos now speak English than any other language, no one would think of the testimony of one's own ears. Everywhere Spanish is the speech of business and social intercourse. For one to receive prompt attention, Spanish is always more useful than English and outside of Manila, is almost indispensable. Americans travelling about the Islands, use it habitually. What is more, they discourage the use of English. This was a development that took me by surprise. I asked an American I met on an inter-island steamboat why he always spoke Spanish to the stewards and waiters, and whether they could not understand him in English. He said that probably many of them could but one would not be treated with as much respect using English and not Spanish; that Filipinos seem to loose their manners using English, becoming rude, familiar and insolent."

Professor Ford further underscored the widespread use of Spanish in the country by writing about the existing press thus: "There is unmistakable significance in the fact that there is not in all the Islands one Filipino newspaper published in English. All of the many native newspaper are published in Spanish and in the dialect.

It is relevant to mention here that as late as 1930, the Spanish dailies had a much bigger circulation than either Tagalog or English dailies. Noteworthy also is the fact that in the 1930's there were a few Chinese periodicals in both Chinese and Spanish.

Modesto Reyes Lim in a 1924 issue of the Rizalian Magazine ISAGANI vehemently criticized the imposition of English upon the Filipinos. He wrote: "¿No es acaso de sentido común, que hubiera sido muy fácil propagar más el castellano, que ya se usaba como lengua oficial y se hablada ya por muchísimas familias filipinas dentro y fuera de sus hogares, y del cual contaba entonces el país con muchos literatos, poetas y escritores distinguidos?" (Is it not of plain common sense to know that it would have been far easier to further propagate Spanish, which was already the official language and the mother tongue of so many pure Filipino families, in and out of their homes, and from whom where born so many writers, poets and distinguished men of letters?)

"Indudablemente, como dice un ilustre filipno miembro actual prominente de la administración de justicia, que con el mismo tiempo y dinero gastado, sistema y otros medios modernos de instrucción empleados en la enseña del inglés, si en lugar de éste se hubiera propagado en mucha mayor proporción que se haya hoy propagado el inglés."

(There is absolutely no doubt, says a Filipino jurist of today, that if the same time and money, and the same teaching system and methods, now employed in the teaching of English were instead dedicated to the teaching of Spanish, the latter would have been propagated in a much larger proportion in which English has been propagated.)

MESTIZAJE

MESTIZAJE
By Señor Guillermo Gómez Rivera
Filipino dance and music researcher, historian and Bayanihan Consultant

When Suzie Moya Benitez, Bayanihan’s executive director, wanted a name for the projected super-show involving Bayanihan and the visiting Folklorical Group from the Island of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, the word "re-encuentro" (re-encounter) was given. She paused to think and found the word "warlike" for that is the word for "shoot-out" in present day Tagalog and Visayan. So "re-encuentro" would not do. The lady opted for another given word "Mestizaje" which means "fusion", "unity", "a dynamic step forward". She then directed the use of "reencuentro" for the suite where both Bayanihan and Palma de Mallorca dancers do dances to the same music of the jota, the fandango and the bolero.


And indeed, "Mestizaje" is the right word for this over-all new meeting with folklorical Spain of the Mallorcan variety. This new meeting is the of-shoot of Bayanihan’s victory last year as the world’s best folklorical group in a worldwide "concurso" held in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

It is obvious that the word "Mestizaje" is kindred to that other word we all know in these Islands. Mestizo. And Mestiza if feminine. For us who were born in old native Cabeceras like Vigan, Malolos, Lingayen, Iloilo, Zamboanga and Cebú the "Sector de Mestizos" or "Pari-án" is a place familiar to us. But the mestizos there, or the "kamistisuha ng Par-ián", are not blood mestizos of Spaniards. They are cultural mestizos because Native and Chinese by blood but Christian Catholics by religion and Spanish by their language, their food, their songs and their dress. Thus the first mestizos were the children of a Chino Christiano father and an Indio mother.

And since the Chinos Cristianos were traders, usually involved in the Galleon trade, the "Sector de Mestizos" was an enclave of the rich and the educated who spoke and sang in Spanish and wore the "traje de mestiza" and lived in those big Vigan houses and those Malolos mansions, to cite but two examples. Those who ignore history rashly label these "Sectores de Mestizos" as "a gheto" when these are not enclaves of poverty and misery but precisely of opulence and good taste.

The hispanization by blood of these old "Sectores de Mestizos" became later intensified when many Spanish government officials, employees, businessmen and military settled in the Islands and married into the families of these "Sectores" or "Pari-ánes". The offspring of these latter marriages were called "Mestizos terciados" because aside from Native and Chinese, they also had Spanish blood.

These dynamic fusion of Catholic Spain and the Philippines is Christian "Mestizaje" and the virtues of this fusion can be seen in all Christian Filipino dances which are classified into three kinds: (1) bailes criollos (the creole dances). These are dances that directly came from the Spanish Peninsula and New Spain (Mexico) but which were later indigenized, (2) bailes urbanos (dances from the big cabeceras and ciudades), and (3) bailes municipales y rurales (rural dances). The pre-Hispanic dances were called danzas tribales ( tribal dances).

Bayanihan’s multi-awarded Choreographer and Director, Ferdinand "Bong" José, has observed that many of our Filipino regional dances are very similar to the regional dances of Spain. This merely confirms our thesis about Mestizaje and the fact that under Spain, all Filipinos were Spanish citizens or subjects upon the acceptance of King Felipe Segundo as their "natural sovereign"..


But the Mestizaje of Filipino native dances is not only limited to what is Spanish and native but also to what is Filipino and Chinese (El collar de Sampaguita) and to what is Filipino and Japanese (Habanera Japonesa de Paco). These dances we have offered when the suite called Extramuros de Manila (Beyond the Walls) was staged, ----with the 1873 Manila visit of Hong Kong Governor-General, Sir John Bowring, as the theme. While Intramuros had purely Spanish or creole dances, (kri-olyo in old Tagalog), the arrabales beyond the walls, like Binondo, Santa Cruz, Quiapo, San Miguel, Paco, Ermita and Malate had their respective Mestizaje dances.

Some sectors of course did ask: What about "American Mestizaje"? And the simple answer is that there is no such thing as a fusion between native and American dances and songs. This never happened since Filipinos were never made, wholesale, American citizens like they were previously made Spanish Citizens. With English as our compulsory medium of education, no such fusion took place. We simply were made to adopt, wholesale, American pop culture with its Hollywood movies, popular jazz, blues and the cowboy square dance. Thus, although still under American suzerainty up to now, its either Filipinos sing and dance jazz, the charleston, the boogie-woogie, the swing as they are wont to do, or we change what folkdance means within the accepted concept of authentic Filipino dance culture.


This re-encounter with the folkdances from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, should prove to be an experience for Bayanihan and Manilas culturatti. It is a pity that with the destruction of Intramurso de Manila, the grand old Palma de Mallorca Hotel y Panadería, the cultural center then of old Intramuros and of greater Manila, has also disappeared. If Intramuros had survived, Mestizaje would have been also staged in its big function hall complete with a good sized stage. Bienvenidos a Manila, amigos mallorquines.

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MESTIZAJE
EN CCP Sept. 4, 8PM, Sept. 5, 3 y 8 PM, Sept. 6, 3 y 8 PM.

IA's Harper faces raps for cutting down trees in Plaza Roma

Just when you thought that everything is going smooth you get hit by a news like this.

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Philippines official facing charges for cutting trees
AFP
2 September 2008 | 1:13 PM

Manila, September 2, 2008 (AFP) - A Philippines national park official could face jail time for overseeing the removal of decades-old trees from a historic site in Manila, the country's environment department said Tuesday.

The government agency said it was "saddened" and "horrified" by the cutting of 29 trees, including nine mahogany and rosewood trees, at the Roma park in front of Manila's cathedral.

The park is part of the Intramuros, the walled 17th century fortress by the Pasig river that was the first seat of Spanish colonial government in the Southeast Asian archipelago.

Park administrator Maria Ana Harper could be charged with illegal cutting of trees, which is punishable by a two-year jail term and a fine, the environment department said.

"Those trees were certainly part of our heritage," said regional department chief Corazon Davis.

"They were mute witnesses to momentous events which transpired in the Walled City and deserve the same care and affection... accorded to structures and artefacts in the Intramuros area."

The department said Harper's office sought a permit in May to cut trees at the park for landscaping and development and to "replace them with historically appropriate trees which would not block the facade of Manila Cathedral."

Harper denied the accusations, telling AFP she had asked the contractor to move the nine hardwood trees to another part of the park. She said a subordinate had mistakenly given the go-ahead for the trees to be removed.

"I will apologise, I am very sorry," she said.

Hidalgo's 'Assasination of Bustamante'

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="237" caption="The famous Hidalgo masterpiece is undergoing some preservation work"][/caption]

The masterpiece is currently undergoing some delicate repainting. Time has eroded some of the pigments out of the canvas and preservation is needed to prevent deterioration. I remember the exhibitions of Lopez Museum, they did impress me with their preservation technology. They hired top rate chemist and employed good artist to do the maintenance and repair for the damaged old paintings. They have a very technical systemized way that i thought was awesome, there was a visual presentation that showed how they were able to achieve it.

Are they exchanging technologies? is the private supporting the government run museums? I hope coordination is working well with this institutions for the benifit of the public.

In Museo Nacional, I'm quite unsure how the preservation is done. No one has entertained my questions, in fact, they were quite dismissive when they found out that I was just a nobody, the man on the site just stopped talking to me, that was my cue - I was on my own.

Unlike the private ones, the museum of course is a government institution - and we all know how government institution functions in our country. I put my trust on the skill of the artist who I'm certain volunteered to work for the museum to help, if their getting paid I'm certain that their not getting much. Its noble ambition of keeping the art alive, especially the work of our renowned patriots in Hidalgo and Luna. I was once invited to join the MVP (volunteers) but was unable to make it due to my partime work and college.

But let me say this, I am very satisfied with the improvements made on the museum. If only money can be poured for the museum I'm certain that our national museum would even become better. Kudos goes to the administrators.

Interestingly enough, when i was there in the Hidalgo painting - the students where asking 'who was being murdered' after trying to observe the painting behind the scaffolds. It looks like their teachers did not read materials related to the painting in advance, someone failed to do their homework - after all this two artwork ('assasination of Bustamante' & 'spolarium') are the centerpiece of the museum. To my shock, one of the student leader, while the group was viewing Hidalgo's work, said to his group 'this is how Spain tortured those who opposed them when we were under their kingdom'. I was about to call 'security' at that time but restrained myself.

That painting tells a great but tragic story, a man who tried to straightened out the government and rid it with grafters, who in the end was accused of being corrupt himself, accused of being a despot who was overthrown by the righteous majority. On top of his tough policy on collections, he locked horns with the powerful friars. Which was his undoing.

Martin de Zuniga's book 'Historical View of the Philippines' gives us this short account of what took place, and how 'El Marcial' got lynched by the mob friars.

'...He began by issuing some strong decrees, and others still more severe were expected. These were principally directed to teh recovery of the above two hundred thousand dollars. Which he found were due to the royal treasury by different people,both by those in office, and generally by the public. These parties finding he was determined on the measure, began to murmur at his proceedings. Without, however, allowing himself to be influenced by any consideration of this nature, he laid an embargo on all silver that came in the galleon from Acapulco, and required from all the public functionaries correct statements of their accounts with the royal treasury. By an examination of those names which appeared as owners of the silver, he found it an easy matter to cover all those debts, and by this dexterous management recovered about three hundred thousand dollars to the treasury. Many of those, however, then indebted to the government, having died, or being reduced to poverty, their securities of course became responsible and this extend the consequences of his measures to so many in Manila, that he became an object of general hatred..'

As can be read, he was a determined administrator who not only offended the evaders but also some of the more high ranking corrupt official with their ill gotten wealth. Confiscation and imprisonment is his way of bringing justice. He single handled swept out the biggest grafters of his time.

So why is it that Friars are the one depicted murdering 'El Marcial'?

The story continues with the Oidor Torralba trying to arrest a man who sought refuge in the cathedral.

'...the Archbishop, convinced that Senor Torralba was the principal instigator of these unhappy disputes, with less prudence than the circumstances of the times required, issued a process against this violator of ecclesiastical sanctuary, and excommunicated him. This is the grand error he committed, and from which melancholy consequence resulted; for having sent two clergy to intimate to him the sentence of excommunication, Torralba, on observing them approach, went to meet them, and snatched from them the paper containing it. Immediately afterwards appeared in publication from him accusing the clergy of an intention to take his life, and suborned witnesses: having confirmed this charges, the Governor was induced to commit to prison the Archbishop, and several of the clergy and religious orders, with such other persons as had taken refuge in the churches.

Having thus made his dispositions, the Governor ordered the Archbishop, with all the ecclesiastical Cabildo, the Commisarry of the Inquisition, the heads of the religious orders, and various other clergy, to be seized...'

Of course the event that follows is obvious - its the scene that Hidalgo made immortal in his canvas. Bustamante's display of power backfired and the offended party fought back, ironically the people who returned his violence were the men of clothe.

'Leave me Father, unless you wish to murder me!' he cries, when the friars where already on his doorsteps. He broke his arm defending the attacks, his head severely wounded, he fell dead. His son tried to help him, with saber in his hand he gallantly defended his small space, but the mob was too much for his young body. He died with his father that day. The son cried, 'Father, do not abandon me until the last moment of my life...' a Jesuit priest was said to have given him his last confession. He was still alive, this time fighting to survive, being carried out in a hammock when a man came stabbed him twice.

The Archbishop was persuaded to take the governorship, he declined after his released from the Fort Santiago. He later assumed the post as an administrator but not as the governor, similar to that of an OIC, he then threaded cautiously in his administration, for he was well aware of the danger of his post. He then ordered the proper burial for the murdered governor, with all the honors accorded to the highest post in the land. The Archbishop ruled for two years, in those years he was technically the Governor of the islands minus the uniform.

Now, how is that for a Coup de Etat! we are accustomed seeing this venture being undertaken by an adventurist military and collaborating politicians. A great piece of our history - just an example how people at high places can be dislodged by the potent combination of  power grabbing forces, the church, and the masses.

History does repeat itself.

I just hope those students would continue their studies in history even if they pursue courses in college not related to it, books are always available. What is rare this days are open minds.

A Hispanized Philippines: A Good Option?

A Hispanized Philippines: A Good Option?
© Elizabeth Medina, Santiago, Chile, March 30, 2000

Recently a Filipino friend who lives in the U.S., Rafael Onrubia, asked me why I thought it feasible and positive for the Philippines to be hispanized, and my answer was as follows:

The Philippines has 479 years of written history (from 1521 to the present), and 379 of them have been recorded in Spanish. It is a fact that we have a documentary legacy that is untranslated into English and that therefore we are unable to read - a motherlode that has hardly been mined by our historians. Aside from this, the works of modern Spanish historians, who have researched and published innumerable works on our Hispanic culture and past with such dedication and skill, are accumulating in libraries without the Filipinos' being able to make use of such an invaluable store of new contributions.

It is undeniable and curious that the Spanish wrote much on the Philippines, and I suspect that they wrote more about her than about the majority of their American colonies. This surely is due in part to the fact that the Philippines only became independent 88 years after Spanish America. However there can be no doubt that the Philippines in and of herself was a fascinating geographical and cultural space that captured the imagination, scientific interest and human sensibility of the many scholarly Spaniards who spent long years living among the people.

Speaking as a non-expert and basing myself on what I have been able to gather from the few contacts I've had with Filipino academics and their writings, from my own inquiries and those of independent researchers, it seems to me that the Spanish-language documentation overflows with gems that still wait to be rediscovered by the scholars of Philippine history. Our historians have not paid them much attention, preferring to study the writings of Anglo-Saxon historians and the few works written by Spaniards and translated into English, for a very simple reason - because unless one has profoundly assimilated Hispanic language and culture, it is impossible to penetrate the deep, implicit levels of meaning in the documentation.

We therefore have a double magnification of the problem. Filipino historians and scholars cannot read Spanish documents on one hand; on the other, they study their own history by reading Anglo-Saxons' interpretations of the Spanish documents. Thus they study it from third hand, through the cultural filters of researchers who, though they may possess an operative knowledge of the language, nevertheless have cultural filters that invariably select only those contents that reinforce the particular way of knowing that characterizes their non-Hispanic sensibility and understanding.

Therefore, no matter how sincere their interest in penetrating into the profound messages ciphered in the documents, they lack the pitons that they need to scale that cultural glacier. Without pitons and all the specialized equipment that only profound experience and study of the culture that has produced that documentary wealth can give, it is impossible to receive its messages and capture its spirit. This is because, even more important than the external information that they offer, is the inner landscape, adequately grasped and then deployed, that equips a researcher for perceiving all the other information - implicit, invisible, unstated - that underlies the external linguistic content.

The result is that, although data and interpretations of apparently great scientific value are accumulated, the human and spiritual significance of that history remains unapprehended.
And if we assume - as I do - that knowledge must always incorporate a cultural and spiritual component that goes far beyond mere accumulation of neutral data, that concerns itself most of all with giving orientation to human development, then this manner of proceeding ought to be corrected and reoriented, without further loss of time and effort.

Culture, I am convinced, is the gold mine of this new century. It is the last undiscovered continent and the greatest wealth of nations. If a people discovers the way to create in other countries a vivid interest in their culture, and they materialize that fascination in marketable products, they can assure themselves of an inexhaustible source of earnings. Spain has created markets for her music, literature, architecture, fashion; Italy has done the same, particularly through her gastronomy and haute couture; Germany with her engineering know-how, her cars; likewise France, and of course, the U.S., whose products fill our homes to overflowing, even our brains, and everywhere on our planet.

The Philippines necessarily must learn to create external markets for her culture, not just the culture of folklore and tradition, which leads to not much more than a proliferation of objects. Most important, the innate talents of the Filipino people, which are already recognized worldwide, must be developed - in the culinary, plastic and visual arts, music, fashion, inventiveness and - something that today is just beginning to arise - the creation of a new literature that gives witness to the marvelous complexity and richness of our historico-cultural experience. All of these things have their deepest roots, their creatives sources, in the culture of the Hispanic-Filipino past.
This, without mentioning another issue of extreme importance, which is the development of our trade relations with the Spanish-speaking countries of the Pacific Rim.

An Invisible World that Refuses to Die
The 377 years of Filipino hispanization gave birth to a culture and a past that some have tried to annihilate and that is still under siege -- but that refuses to disappear and die. It is a culture and a past that only become visible when -- like the Little Prince of St. Exupéry -- one learns to see with the heart.

If one doesn't know how to speak Spanish fluidly, one cannot realize what a wealth of Castilian words there are in Tagalog and in so many other Filipino dialects. If one doesn't carry Hispanic culture within oneself, one cannot recognize the Hispanic culture that informs and suffuses Filipino social customs and practices.

If one has no familiarity with the landscapes of Spain and Hispanic America, with their imposing buildings from the Middle Ages and the Colonial Era, one will be unable to recognize the Hispanic past whose faithful witnesses are the old churches, homes and towns of the Archipelago.

The Responsibility of the Cultural Guardians of Filipino Society
The fact that the majority of our years of written history took place during the Spanish colonial period and that they are recorded in the idiom of our Hispanic-Filipino culture necessarily places the guardians of culture and education in a position of heavy responsibility. To erase the past is to erase the future. The greatest cultural problem that we Filipìnos face, in my opinion, is that fact that we do not have the habit of reflecting deeply on cultural and educational issues in the Philippines, because as we have said, we were not clarified about the importance of profound culture. Part of the blame rests without doubt on our old Spanish administrators; another on the North American educational system that was implanted afterwards, which necessarily tried to erase the cultural past in order to impose an Anglo-Saxonized present and future.

But another portion of blame rests squarely on those who have governed the country and have allowed the love of the old generations for Hispanic-Filipino language and culture to be abandoned under the new conditions of independence, when they surrendered themselves completely to the new foreign power, to the detriment of their own identity and historical legacy.

Therefore, though our new proposal cannot be an attempt to flip the cultural tortilla from one day to the next, and - just as English was imposed on us - to impose Spanish this time, what is indeed indispensable is the modification of the educational canon so that our historians, sociologists, anthropologists, writers, architects - all of our agents and formers of culture - may recover a full awareness of the past and be given the option of undertaking profound studies, whether in the Philippines, in Spain or in Latin America, in Hispanic-Amerasian history and culture, in the Spanish language.

I am likewise convinced that cultural exhange between Hispanic America and the Philippines cannot but lead to a new synthesis that in turn will produce a blossoming of the best in each one of our countries, thanks to the new climate of brotherhood and unity that it will tend to promote. A synthesis that will help lead our relations with Spain to a new level of maturity and mutual cooperation.

The foregoing does not mean that I advocate the separation of the Philippines from her Asian family, which would be absurd, a new backlash under the sign of the very same purism of those who today advocate our fanatic separation from our Western past. The fact is that we Filipinos are a living link between East and West. We come from both worlds, and both worlds are ours. The naturalistic and deterministic look, first of the Spanish and the North Americans, and now of ourselves in front of ourselves, said that we were Indians or Asians and therefore we had to be what we were and nothing more.

And this is the origin and the root of the continuing absurd debate about whether the Philippines should be hispanized once again, or not. When the Philippines has always been hispanized, except that the "Filipinos" born from 1901 onwards rapidly suffered, first of all, a cultural switch and the suppression of the past, and later, the outright deformation and annihilation of their historical consciousness.

In synthesis, I would say, in answer to the question of "Would it be positive for the Philippines to be hispanized once again?" that the Philippines already is hispanized. All that is lacking is for the Filipinos to realize this truth and make it work for their own benefit, to enrich themselves and progress, instead of impoverishing themselves and regressing. Because regression - unlike progress - has its limits, and it seems to me that we have already reached those limits.

Comment on the article by Alfredo Chicote, a Spaniard born in the Philippines, residing in Madrid, who considers himself Hispanic-Filipino:

"As you know, I am in complete agreement with your thesis. It is a fact, without the Filipinos' knowing it, that the Philippines is a hispanized country. I believe the article is well written and argued. It is necessary to know Spanish in order to dig into one's own past. We must see things as they are: the Philippines - for good or ill - was born as a country under Spanish dominion and her history -- as W.E. Retana well saw it -- must be read in that language, as well as in English, Tagalog, Bisaya, etc.

To give you an example to illustrate your thesis of the deformation of Philippine history, I cite a passage from a tourist brochure that I've just gotten:

"In the 19th century, Spain's colonies were racked by corrupt administration and internal disorder. Liberal ideologies fired the spirits of enlightened manileños (residents of Manila) like Philippine national hero José Rizal, who studied abroad, and Filipino rebel leader Andrés Bonifacio, who read books on revolutionaries and philosophers........"

"But freedom would not come so easily, for the Filipinos found themselves under their erstwhile ally, the Americans. Under the new conqueror, Manila spread outwards, roads and bridges were built and schools taught Filipinos Western culture in a new language -- English. Democratic processes were introduced; and Neo-Classical government edifices rose around the old city..."

Not one word about the Revolution and the war between the United States and the Philippines, which cost more lives, perhaps, than all the years under Spanish rule! And of course, they also taught the Filipinos Western culture -- as if Spain had not done. But Spain, aside from being Western, is also mestiza [of mixed blood] -- is Jewish, Arab, Roman and Phoenician; in other words, she is as mestiza as her former colonies. Therefore perhaps she has a greater capacity to understand the Philippines than the North Americans.

From another brochure, written at least by a Spaniard, I send you this very brief passage:

"When Magellan landed on the island of Homonhon in 1521, he claimed these islands for King Philip II and called them 'Felipinas'." Well, my dear, I don't know who taught this writer his history -- two huge mistakes in just one short sentence! The king at that time was Carlos I, and the name 'Felipinas' was coined by Ruy López de Villalobos in 1542 for part of Mindanao or Leyte -- we do not know with precision. Only with the passing of time was the name used for the entire archipelago. At that time, in 1521, it was known as the Western Isles or the Spice Islands, the latter because it was believed that spices grew there, as in the Moluccas Islands.

In other words, two vivid examples that illustrate your thesis:

An absolute lack of knowledge about one's own past -- no doubt inherited from an equally ignorant "Thomasite" -- that no one throughout the years has bothered to correct.

An utter disregard for the achievements of the Hispanic period. In the Philippines, before the Americans arrived, there was nothing -- only corruption and disorder. Western civilization and democracy reached the islands with Merritt's soldiers (the Cádiz Constitution never existed). And Manila, far from being the vibrant and beautiful city that the chroniclers describe for us (See Morga), did not have a single building worth mentioning, until the "Neoclassical" government buildings were built (might they be copies of those in Washington, D.C.?).

Worst of all, Elizabeth, is that the people who publish these brochures really believe these things. There are a lot of false beliefs that must be changed! Long live Sr. Gómez and his grain of sand![*]
Regards,

Alfredo

[*] Refers to Prof. Guillermo Gémez, Head of the Spanish Department, Adamson University, Manila, who to this day publishes two Spanish-language newspapers in that city.
Everybody is invited to discuss this article on our Discussion Board.
See also by the same author:Who was Wenceslao Emilio Retana?
The book "Rizal According to Retana: Portrait of a Hero and a Revolution" is available from the author.

My thoughts on the paralytic hero

I took this Picture at A Mabini Corner Quirino, it was an odd place for the monument. Homeless people occasionally do their thing near it or on it. Good thing it was made of bronze not iron for if it was, it won't last!



August is famous for the simultaneous commemoration of Ninoy's heroism in EDSA chapel and in the other parts of our country bearing relation to the slain solon; his dedication towards bringing the nation back to democracy is truly inspiring. Even knowing well in advance that his life was in peril, he knew that his death would only fortify his fight and this in the end, would strengthen the nations resolve to move against the dictatorship.



Amidst the solemn dedications, televised mass offerings and media publicity, I was unsure why I kept on thinking about this other hero, this Mabini person - it could be because I have been reading books about him lately, his biography by Majul and his letters that were compiled by TM Kalaw, now published by NHI. This books were great resource if one is to understand what Mabini was like. I'm sure he was the serious kinda guy type unlike Rizal and his buddies. In Mabini's letter you would feel his tone, his formality and his admirable courtesy.



I read that there were two events held in Manila in his honor, celebrating his birthday this year, one was in A. Mabini (Manila), where the former Mayor of Manila erected a handsome looking ‘Paralitico' in bronze, I barely recognized the image, I thought at first it was the great Mayor Lacson! Mayor Lim led the commemoration with some students, government employees and bystanders. The other celebration was in PUP grounds, where his small house was moved from its former location in Nagtahan. I could not understand why it was transferred but there it is, in a school campus waiting to be harmed by vandalizing souls.



In all honesty, I never really admired Mabini with the same esteem I've had with the other giants of our history, I've read about him, for one it would be difficult to avoid his name, much his role. His presence is consistent in all of our history texts. I failed to recognize how this man, with his paralysis and loneliness conducted himself during the endless battles of the first government. How he, at some critical moments orchestrated the governments operation, leading the battered republic with Aguinaldo.



In a undated letter circa 1899, Mabini, with no military experience other than witnessing real battle and assisting in planning battle positions with the other commanders, provided a seasoned warrior in Aguinaldo how ‘to seize Manila', his ‘pointers' were that of a fighting general, minus the distinguished uniform. This only goes to show how this man, deserves his title as the ‘brains of the revolution'.



In all his letters to Aguinaldo, although always respectful, one could sense that he had always doubted the Generals capacity to lead the nation. His criticism were sharp, his objections, direct to the point. In one of his letter he acknowledged his being ‘troublesome' to the presidents busy schedule but still insisted that he be heard. His observation that living the treasury in the hands of the ‘rich people of Manila' would mean trouble for the people. How it was ‘set up' would place the government ‘under its power' according to him - how brilliant is this man that he understood even the minds of soon to be grafters.



Nick Joaquin, in his popular book, ‘Questions of Heroes' noted that Mabinis character always wanted to be ‘blameless' of all the missteps that the government commits. The great national artist has pointed out that Mabini was too critical of the government that he himself help designed. In Malolos, he objected to the point of alienating the rich and ilustrados, when substantial number of this faction retracted their support and went back to Manila accepting America's rule, it made matters even more difficult for the revolutionary government. The ‘blameless' Mabini has antagonized all, the story of his relation with with his old master ends up in a sour note, his allegation against Aguinaldo's misled government and abuses was a show of a complete breakdown. Much to his credit, he swore allegiance to the American only after securing certain rights for the Filipino under the bill of rights of the Yankees, while everyone, all his contemporaries swore to the American flag without any guarantees.



It would be difficult to understand what Mabini desired the most, he was said to be against allowing the rich in power, he saw it as a class issue, that this few should not be allowed to reign - their rise in his mind must be averted, he insisted that the peasantry and the lowly soldiers must have a say and be represented, something that does not really sit well with the men of properties. In all of this, one could not help but think that Mabini led a campaign that disunited the most important elements (the mass, the soldiers and the rich, the ilustrados) that could've increased the chance of the government's survival. The Mabini with the great revolutionary mind was a flawed statesman, unwell in compromising with his fellow Filipino, a luckless diplomat who end up fighting a crucial class, the group that Rizal wanted to be involved in order to win the battle.



I saw in Mabini the intellect that none of his contemporaries could match, he is a perfectionist - he always demands what is ‘right' in his eyes. He always questions, clamoring for answers. He could be the most beautiful mind our revolution ever had, for his time was different one, he was fighting - not physically but mentally. War was in front of him most of the time; his battles were different in so many ways to that of the ‘propagandistas' and the other political thinkers who wanted to liberate the country.



My view of this man is, yes, different from the usual Mabini we think of when we were younger - but reading how he lived made me ask more questions about who he really was. For me, he is a great Filipino - still but I long to know more, that in time, I'm certain would be answered by my lifelong study of our nation's history. No one could deduct what he has already done for his country. In a biography I saw how this Tanauan native rose to prominence because of his intellectual mind, how he valued education and how passionate he was for his fellow Filipinos welfare, which should served as an example for all of us. In his letters and writings, I saw his mind and how accurate were some of his observations, some are still very relevant to our modern times. He was not perfect, but in the end, his story, his role in our history, his achievements, his heroism and yes, his failures deserve to be read and studied by all young Filipino historians.