Gemma Cruz Araneta
Farewell, Santa Ana
September 20, 2023 10:31 pm
As painful as the truth. Manila is right now losing yet another cultural heritage treasure. There are people, among them local government officials, determined to make our capital a maze of high rises with no distinguishing aesthetic features; they want Manila to look like New York, I was informed. Very soon, it might not be worth a selfie because if you’re in Manila, you could be anywhere.
Viva Mexico!
September 13, 2023 6:06 pm
Tomorrow is the National Day of the Estados Unidos Mexicanos. In English, the United Mexican States. That is the country’s official name for it is a federation of 32 states. In the Philippine context, their states are like our provinces.
Nostalgic September
September 06, 2023 9:23 pm
When I turned five, my mother threw a party. It was a barrio fiesta in the heart of Pasay where we settled after World War II. She was a young widow (juggling two babies, she used to say) living in her father’s house and writing for a newspaper on Soler Street in downtown Manila. I am sure I had other birthday parties as I was the pampered first grandchild of both sides of the family; but, the earliest one I remember is that barrio fiesta on Donada Street.
Rizal’s ‘German Spring’
August 30, 2023 9:33 pm
“Enigmatic objects: Notes towards a history of the museum in the Philippines,” Dr. Resil Mojares’ monumental opus should not (and cannot) be read in one sitting. I am still very attentively mining its 500 pages, rereading chapters for nuggets of wisdom I may have missed at first glance. Even those who were never dragged to a museum or library as a child will definitely change their view of these venerable institutions.
Enigmatic objects of Dr. Mojares
August 23, 2023 4:06 pm
Dr. Resil Mojares’ latest book – Enigmatic Objects: Notes towards a History of the Museum in the Philippines – is a fountainhead of knowledge. I dare say, this historian par excellence truly deserves the National Artist Award for Literature.