Gemma Cruz Araneta | LANDSCAPE Limpieza de sangre, purity of blood in English, was primordial in Spain especially after the Fall of Granada in 1492, and the expulsion of the Jews shortly after. “Old Christian” ancestry was at a premium while “New Christians” (conversos), descendants of Jews, Moors, heretics, and idolatrers, those illegitimate at birth were considered “tainted.” In the … Read more
Last week, I received an email from historian Dr. Reynaldo C. Ileto because had I lamented that the anniversary of the First Republic of the Philippines (23 January 1899) is never celebrated with the pride, pomp, and circumstance it deserves. I also said Emilio Aguinaldo who is often shown in a bad light, as in … Read more
Write about driving in Metro Manila and you will receive a lot of messages from people agreeing with you. The following is a rather personal assessment of driving in Davao City; a reader, Mr. Tony Kobine, sent me his interesting observations: As a foreigner driving in Davao City, it is good to hear a Pinoy … Read more
Last Tuesday, 23 January, Dr. Jose Vicente Torres of the Department of History of De La Salle University posted on FB that it was the 118th anniversary of the First Republic of the Philippines. “Ating ipagbunyi ang mga sakripisyo ng mga Pilipino para sa Kalayaan ng Ating Bayan.” As usual, there was no national commemoration … Read more
“How is my driving?” You see that question stenciled on public service vehicles and delivery vans, followed by a phone number where you can call in your complaints. I believe the question is rhetorical and the number. who knows? My cynical mind says it is connected to a recorder. I have never tried calling, so … Read more
If I am not mistaken, I think it was Erich Hobsbawm who said that memory is not a simple record of events but a dynamic process that always transforms what it dredges up from its depths. He also said that recollection is a zone of contact between past, present, and future and that history is … Read more
For decades, I have been completely flummoxed by the millions of male Filipinos who make the feast of the Black Nazarene (9 January) an unsettlingly idolatrous spectacle. From the fringes, feminine presence is starting to invade masculine territory. In the past couple of years, women cradling sick infants have risked life and limb just to … Read more
My column against the Manila Bay reclamation program which purports to build a new city for tourism and commerce (“Farewell Manila”) elicited the following comments from Mr. Larry Ong: “I love your article and I totally agree with everything that you wrote. One thing I like to add is PUBLIC BATHROOMS (emphasis Mr. Ong’s) or … Read more
There are several primary sources, most of them foreign, describing how awesome and tantalizing Manila Bay is at first sight, from dawn to dusk, with emphasis on its incomparably dazzling sunset. Because it is so spectacular and strategic, Manila Bay has always been irresistible to people driven by all kinds of motives. At the beginning … Read more
This is the second time we meet with President Rodrigo Duterte; by we, I mean the descendants of the sisters of Jose Rizal, my cousins. Every year, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) sends us invitations, by snail mail, to attend the commemoration of the execution of Dr. Jose Rizal. We call up … Read more