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Father Galende and his wonderful books

I caught up with Fr. Galende here, I told him that I wanted his autograph but I can’t afford his books! promising once I saved enough money I’ll get a copy and look for him. He said with a big smile, “you can always pay me in installments!” He then told me that he’ll sign […]

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Godfather for the second time around

I would like to thank my friend, JJ and his charming wife, Maybelle for allowing me to be one of the godfather of their little princess, Zoë Isabel. Obviously, a Catholic, I have a soft spot when it comes to this kind of events. Its a special one since it’s a sacrament, a very traditional […]

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Why not a salacot for a hat?

During the Urdaneta lectures at the Cervantes, there was this man who kept on interrupting one of the guest speaker, Professor Andrade. That man was introduced as a national artist. So he must be a well-respected man, an expert in the past, since the speaker (not Andrade) was delighted to acknowledge his presence, even after […]

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Tinola in my mind

When I was a kid growing up, tinola was always served in the weekends. If its not it, some dish with a good, hearty ‘sabaw’ – Our nanay believes this makes children grow stronger and wise (I’m not sure where she got this) whenever such treats is served, sabaw abounds. This is the highlight of our […]

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Historia

Understanding Urdaneta

I was in Instituto Cervantes for the 5th centennial of Fray Andres Urdaneta’s birth. There was a series of lectures by prominent academes that focused on the significance of Urdaneta’s discovery of a secured route between Asia and  the New Spain. The lecture room was packed with scholars and researchers, being late I stayed outside. Thanks to some […]

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Laguna

What does a street name look like?

I was then in grade school when my parents decided to move to Makati from Manila. I was old enough to remember, the hardships made it even more unforgettable. We live in a baranggay called San Antonio, a street named Bagtican. The town was made popular because Mayor Binay was one of its citizens. Almost […]

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As we close the month of June

I would be switching to a new blog design, hopefully my visitors (I believe most are friends and relatives!) will like the new look. The reason for the change is that the old platform does not provide that many widgets. This are the stuff that makes the site more accessible and easier to navigate. Plus […]

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Historia

Ambeth’s lecture on Rizal photos

Ambeth Ocampo held a short but very informative talk about Rizal at PowerBooks Makati last Wednesday. The subject was Rizal in pictures. The most photographed Philippine hero of all time, what was on display was various stages of his life in photos, from his youthful Ateneo days to his death in the fields of Bagumbayan. […]

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The beauty and reality of San Nicolas

This day being the anniversary of Manila, the ever-loyal city, I would like to celebrate it with a simple feature on one of its smallest district, a place known as San Nicolas. I was going through a series of emotions when I first landed my sights on its streets, literally – a block lined up […]

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Manila

One sunny saturday @ Pezseum

  I dropped by the Lopez Museum recently where I saw a wide collection of paintings from the likes of Filipino greats, Hidalgo and Luna, and the other well known Filipino artist like Joya, Ayala and Amorsolo. Lopez Sr. according to what I read was an ardent collector, who would travel to Europe in search […]

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The Spanish that I know

Seen here is my friend Pepe’sspanish blog, shown with its new banner. A proud creation of mine! Thanks for the brief but sweet post for this little contribution of mine. My friend here as Fennimore-Cooper’s famous literary work states, is a “Last of the Mohican’s” type, a rarity of Spanish speakers who still fights to […]

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Its Rizal’s birthday!

I was really impressed when my wife texted me on the 19th to remind me of Jose Rizal’s birthday. She was listening to my Rizal stories after all! I almost wept! How I wish I could also interest all those people who stopped caring about Rizal. For many, Rizal is a street or a monument, […]

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