I found this article in the internet that includes my 2-centavos worth:
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/323194/what-would-you-ask-rizal
What would you ask Rizal?
By RONALD S. LIM
June 18, 2011, 3:00pm
MANILA, Philippines — Jose Rizal excelled at many things, but nowhere is he more well known here and around the world than for being the writer of the “Noli Me Tangere” and the “El Filibusterismo”.
The “Noli” and the “Fili” not only stoked the fires of Filipino patriotism during the 19th century, but they have also stood the test of time and have proven themselves to be exceptional novels worthy to be ranked alongside the other great works of the world. Rizal’s works have no doubt inspired many a young Filipino to pick up their pens and write.
In celebration of the upcoming 150th celebration of Jose Rizal's birth, the Students and Campuses Bulletin has asked some of the country's top writers what they would ask the national hero if he were still around today.
Politics, maybe? “Ang itatanong ko kay Rizal ay kung kakandidato ka ba sa pagka-presidente, senador, o congressman? At kung kakandidato ka, gusto mo bang kasama sa ticket si Manny Pacquiao? Para sa akin, unang-una, tanong iyon para ma-determine natin kung tama 'yung ating mataas na pagpapahalaga sa politics at politicians. Tama ba ang paraan ng pagtingin natin sa mga pulitiko. Si Pacquiao nga eh kakandidato daw for President. 'Yun ang gusto kong malaman. Kung tunay siyang hinahangaan ng taongbayan, maaring makapagsalita siya tungkol sa uri ng ating mataas na pagpapahalaga sa politics at sa uri ng politics na meron tayo dito.
Ang ikalawa kong tanong, pahihintulutan ba niyang komiks ang ipangturo sa Noli at Fili sa high school at sa kolehiyo?” — National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario
Where do you get the energy? “If I were to ask a question addressed to Rizal, it would be this: How were you able to do all those things--study, organize Filipinos abroad, research prehispanic Philippines relentlessly, write the novels, befriend Spaniards, put up a school--in so short a time?” — Romulo P. Baquiran, Jr., editor of “Laglag-Panty, Laglag-Brief” and “Tahong/Talong”
What are you hiding? “The question I will ask is also one of the things I tell people. He left us 25 volumes of material. But those are the things he wanted us to see. There are things he didn't write. There are letters and diaries he destroyed. Why did you destroy that and why?” — Ambeth Ocampo, historian and former chair of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines
Peace or revolution? “Knowing what happened to the Philippines after your death, which would have been more effective in achieving independence from Spain - non-violence as Gandhi used, or a bloody revolution?
Jose Rizal did not join the revolution; he sought reforms from the Spanish government. Would the Spanish government have given reforms if the Filipinos had not fought? Would non-violent means as Gandhi used, have worked? Or would the Spanish government have simply crushed and oppressed the Filipinos further if they tried to get reforms peacefully?” — Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, co-author of “Angelica's Daughters”
Are we free from the church? “Pepe, what can you actually do so that the Church is truly separate from the state in all matters of state governance? Why this question? Remember he didn't like the Spanish friars then for being the real governors of the country during colonial times, and so that may be his continued sentiment today.” — Herbert Sancianco, author of “Sales Promotions: Best Practices”
A modern Noli? “I have a few questions for Jose Rizal:
1. Do the many books and other materials on you do you justice? Are they faithful to your life and all that you hold dear? Which titles do you recommend we all read?
2. Considering how you have always regarded the youth as the hope of the fatherland, what is the most important advice you'd give today's youth?
3. Seeing the state of affairs in the country today, what 2011 version of the Noli would you write?
4. What are you most pleased about the Philippines today?
5. How do you feel that the Philippine Board on Books for Young People has pegged the annual celebration of the National Children's Book Day on the 3rd Tuesday in July, when Trubner's Oriental Record in London first published your 'Monkey and the Turtle'?” — Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz, author and National Book Award winner
What's cooking? “What foods did you eat on a daily basis with your meager allowance during your stay in Europe? If you had more money at your disposal then, how would you have spent it, upgraded your lodging or spent more on food?” — Claude Tayag, author of “Food Tour” and “Linamnam”
What's the best translation? “Which English and Filipino translations of your novels best capture the aesthetic effect you wanted to achieve?” — Jonathan Malicsi, University of the Philippines professor and author of the “English Linguistics Project”
What about your big brother? “Why did you agree to everything your brother Paciano planned for your education and mission? Did you agree because you also believed in it totally or because it was expected of you? It is clear that if your brother Paciano wasn¹t there to support you on both an emotional, financial and moral basis, you may not have been able to study abroad and do the mission you had to fulfill for our country. I wonder if there was every a moment or time that you doubted what your brother Paciano had requested of you and the pact you both agreed on.” — Jeannie E. Javelosa, writer and curator of the Rizalizing the Future Exhibit at the Yuchengco Museum
Are you gay? “Your flitting from girlfriend to girlfriend, was that to camouflage a homo streak? Why I'd ask him that is explained by my observation that most men I know who leave a trail of broken hearts of women are actually, well, insecure about their manhood and they have to prove this to themselves over and over through conquest, and then dumping, so they could be assured na lalaki nga sila.” — Babeth Lolarga, editor of “Baguio We Know” and “Baguio Calligraphy”
Any advice for expats? “What advice would you give Filipino expatriates today about loving one's country from across the seas? Who better can speak about the concept of patriotism away from home better than Rizal?” — Gemma Nemenzo, managing editor of the online FilAm magazine Filipina
Showing posts with label Jose Rizal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jose Rizal. Show all posts
Friday, September 23, 2011
What Would You Ask Rizal? - Reprint Manila Bulletin
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
WHAT WOULD YOU ASK RIZAL (Manila Bulletin)
Hi, Ronald Lim's article includes my question to Jose Rizal:
What would you ask Rizal?
By RONALD S. LIM
June 18, 2011
MANILA, Philippines — Jose Rizal excelled at many things, but nowhere is he more well known here and around the world than for being the writer of the “Noli Me Tangere” and the “El Filibusterismo”.
The “Noli” and the “Fili” not only stoked the fires of Filipino patriotism during the 19th century, but they have also stood the test of time and have proven themselves to be exceptional novels worthy to be ranked alongside the other great works of the world. Rizal’s works have no doubt inspired many a young Filipino to pick up their pens and write.
In celebration of the upcoming 150th celebration of Jose Rizal's birth, the Students and Campuses Bulletin has asked some of the country's top writers what they would ask the national hero if he were still around today.
Politics, maybe? “Ang itatanong ko kay Rizal ay kung kakandidato ka ba sa pagka-presidente, senador, o congressman? At kung kakandidato ka, gusto mo bang kasama sa ticket si Manny Pacquiao? Para sa akin, unang-una, tanong iyon para ma-determine natin kung tama 'yung ating mataas na pagpapahalaga sa politics at politicians. Tama ba ang paraan ng pagtingin natin sa mga pulitiko. Si Pacquiao nga eh kakandidato daw for President. 'Yun ang gusto kong malaman. Kung tunay siyang hinahangaan ng taongbayan, maaring makapagsalita siya tungkol sa uri ng ating mataas na pagpapahalaga sa politics at sa uri ng politics na meron tayo dito.
Ang ikalawa kong tanong, pahihintulutan ba niyang komiks ang ipangturo sa Noli at Fili sa high school at sa kolehiyo?” — National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario
Where do you get the energy? “If I were to ask a question addressed to Rizal, it would be this: How were you able to do all those things--study, organize Filipinos abroad, research prehispanic Philippines relentlessly, write the novels, befriend Spaniards, put up a school--in so short a time?” — Romulo P. Baquiran, Jr., editor of “Laglag-Panty, Laglag-Brief” and “Tahong/Talong”
What are you hiding? “The question I will ask is also one of the things I tell people. He left us 25 volumes of material. But those are the things he wanted us to see. There are things he didn't write. There are letters and diaries he destroyed. Why did you destroy that and why?” — Ambeth Ocampo, historian and former chair of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines
Peace or revolution? “Knowing what happened to the Philippines after your death, which would have been more effective in achieving independence from Spain - non-violence as Gandhi used, or a bloody revolution?
Jose Rizal did not join the revolution; he sought reforms from the Spanish government. Would the Spanish government have given reforms if the Filipinos had not fought? Would non-violent means as Gandhi used, have worked? Or would the Spanish government have simply crushed and oppressed the Filipinos further if they tried to get reforms peacefully?” — Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, co-author of “Angelica's Daughters”
Are we free from the church? “Pepe, what can you actually do so that the Church is truly separate from the state in all matters of state governance? Why this question? Remember he didn't like the Spanish friars then for being the real governors of the country during colonial times, and so that may be his continued sentiment today.” — Herbert Sancianco, author of “Sales Promotions: Best Practices”
A modern Noli? “I have a few questions for Jose Rizal:
1. Do the many books and other materials on you do you justice? Are they faithful to your life and all that you hold dear? Which titles do you recommend we all read?
2. Considering how you have always regarded the youth as the hope of the fatherland, what is the most important advice you'd give today's youth?
3. Seeing the state of affairs in the country today, what 2011 version of the Noli would you write?
4. What are you most pleased about the Philippines today?
5. How do you feel that the Philippine Board on Books for Young People has pegged the annual celebration of the National Children's Book Day on the 3rd Tuesday in July, when Trubner's Oriental Record in London first published your 'Monkey and the Turtle'?” — Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz, author and National Book Award winner
What's cooking? “What foods did you eat on a daily basis with your meager allowance during your stay in Europe? If you had more money at your disposal then, how would you have spent it, upgraded your lodging or spent more on food?” — Claude Tayag, author of “Food Tour” and “Linamnam”
What's the best translation? “Which English and Filipino translations of your novels best capture the aesthetic effect you wanted to achieve?” — Jonathan Malicsi, University of the Philippines professor and author of the “English Linguistics Project”
What about your big brother? “Why did you agree to everything your brother Paciano planned for your education and mission? Did you agree because you also believed in it totally or because it was expected of you? It is clear that if your brother Paciano wasn¹t there to support you on both an emotional, financial and moral basis, you may not have been able to study abroad and do the mission you had to fulfill for our country. I wonder if there was every a moment or time that you doubted what your brother Paciano had requested of you and the pact you both agreed on.” — Jeannie E. Javelosa, writer and curator of the Rizalizing the Future Exhibit at the Yuchengco Museum
Are you gay? “Your flitting from girlfriend to girlfriend, was that to camouflage a homo streak? Why I'd ask him that is explained by my observation that most men I know who leave a trail of broken hearts of women are actually, well, insecure about their manhood and they have to prove this to themselves over and over through conquest, and then dumping, so they could be assured na lalaki nga sila.” — Babeth Lolarga, editor of “Baguio We Know” and “Baguio Calligraphy”
Any advice for expats? “What advice would you give Filipino expatriates today about loving one's country from across the seas? Who better can speak about the concept of patriotism away from home better than Rizal?” — Gemma Nemenzo, managing editor of the online FilAm magazine Filipina
What would you ask Rizal?
By RONALD S. LIM
June 18, 2011
MANILA, Philippines — Jose Rizal excelled at many things, but nowhere is he more well known here and around the world than for being the writer of the “Noli Me Tangere” and the “El Filibusterismo”.
The “Noli” and the “Fili” not only stoked the fires of Filipino patriotism during the 19th century, but they have also stood the test of time and have proven themselves to be exceptional novels worthy to be ranked alongside the other great works of the world. Rizal’s works have no doubt inspired many a young Filipino to pick up their pens and write.
In celebration of the upcoming 150th celebration of Jose Rizal's birth, the Students and Campuses Bulletin has asked some of the country's top writers what they would ask the national hero if he were still around today.
Politics, maybe? “Ang itatanong ko kay Rizal ay kung kakandidato ka ba sa pagka-presidente, senador, o congressman? At kung kakandidato ka, gusto mo bang kasama sa ticket si Manny Pacquiao? Para sa akin, unang-una, tanong iyon para ma-determine natin kung tama 'yung ating mataas na pagpapahalaga sa politics at politicians. Tama ba ang paraan ng pagtingin natin sa mga pulitiko. Si Pacquiao nga eh kakandidato daw for President. 'Yun ang gusto kong malaman. Kung tunay siyang hinahangaan ng taongbayan, maaring makapagsalita siya tungkol sa uri ng ating mataas na pagpapahalaga sa politics at sa uri ng politics na meron tayo dito.
Ang ikalawa kong tanong, pahihintulutan ba niyang komiks ang ipangturo sa Noli at Fili sa high school at sa kolehiyo?” — National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario
Where do you get the energy? “If I were to ask a question addressed to Rizal, it would be this: How were you able to do all those things--study, organize Filipinos abroad, research prehispanic Philippines relentlessly, write the novels, befriend Spaniards, put up a school--in so short a time?” — Romulo P. Baquiran, Jr., editor of “Laglag-Panty, Laglag-Brief” and “Tahong/Talong”
What are you hiding? “The question I will ask is also one of the things I tell people. He left us 25 volumes of material. But those are the things he wanted us to see. There are things he didn't write. There are letters and diaries he destroyed. Why did you destroy that and why?” — Ambeth Ocampo, historian and former chair of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines
Peace or revolution? “Knowing what happened to the Philippines after your death, which would have been more effective in achieving independence from Spain - non-violence as Gandhi used, or a bloody revolution?
Jose Rizal did not join the revolution; he sought reforms from the Spanish government. Would the Spanish government have given reforms if the Filipinos had not fought? Would non-violent means as Gandhi used, have worked? Or would the Spanish government have simply crushed and oppressed the Filipinos further if they tried to get reforms peacefully?” — Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, co-author of “Angelica's Daughters”
Are we free from the church? “Pepe, what can you actually do so that the Church is truly separate from the state in all matters of state governance? Why this question? Remember he didn't like the Spanish friars then for being the real governors of the country during colonial times, and so that may be his continued sentiment today.” — Herbert Sancianco, author of “Sales Promotions: Best Practices”
A modern Noli? “I have a few questions for Jose Rizal:
1. Do the many books and other materials on you do you justice? Are they faithful to your life and all that you hold dear? Which titles do you recommend we all read?
2. Considering how you have always regarded the youth as the hope of the fatherland, what is the most important advice you'd give today's youth?
3. Seeing the state of affairs in the country today, what 2011 version of the Noli would you write?
4. What are you most pleased about the Philippines today?
5. How do you feel that the Philippine Board on Books for Young People has pegged the annual celebration of the National Children's Book Day on the 3rd Tuesday in July, when Trubner's Oriental Record in London first published your 'Monkey and the Turtle'?” — Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz, author and National Book Award winner
What's cooking? “What foods did you eat on a daily basis with your meager allowance during your stay in Europe? If you had more money at your disposal then, how would you have spent it, upgraded your lodging or spent more on food?” — Claude Tayag, author of “Food Tour” and “Linamnam”
What's the best translation? “Which English and Filipino translations of your novels best capture the aesthetic effect you wanted to achieve?” — Jonathan Malicsi, University of the Philippines professor and author of the “English Linguistics Project”
What about your big brother? “Why did you agree to everything your brother Paciano planned for your education and mission? Did you agree because you also believed in it totally or because it was expected of you? It is clear that if your brother Paciano wasn¹t there to support you on both an emotional, financial and moral basis, you may not have been able to study abroad and do the mission you had to fulfill for our country. I wonder if there was every a moment or time that you doubted what your brother Paciano had requested of you and the pact you both agreed on.” — Jeannie E. Javelosa, writer and curator of the Rizalizing the Future Exhibit at the Yuchengco Museum
Are you gay? “Your flitting from girlfriend to girlfriend, was that to camouflage a homo streak? Why I'd ask him that is explained by my observation that most men I know who leave a trail of broken hearts of women are actually, well, insecure about their manhood and they have to prove this to themselves over and over through conquest, and then dumping, so they could be assured na lalaki nga sila.” — Babeth Lolarga, editor of “Baguio We Know” and “Baguio Calligraphy”
Any advice for expats? “What advice would you give Filipino expatriates today about loving one's country from across the seas? Who better can speak about the concept of patriotism away from home better than Rizal?” — Gemma Nemenzo, managing editor of the online FilAm magazine Filipina
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Finding Jose Rizal in Cebu, published Zee Lifestyle, June 2009
FINDING JOSE RIZAL IN CEBU
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
First published in Zee Lifestyle, June 2009
It was my friend, Marily Orosa, publisher of the award-winning coffee table book, Rizal, who mentioned that she visited Cebu to do research for her book. She raved over the rare Rizal artifacts she had found in Cebu. I had no idea that Cebu had Jose Rizal artifacts; I had always thought that belongings and documents of Rizal were in Luzon where this Philippine National hero came from. It wasn’t until a year ago when I visited Rizal Museum at the University of Southern Philippines and realized, after talking to Dr. Odette Jereza, Vice President of the University of Southern Philippines, that Rizal Museum was where Marily had found the Rizal artifiacts.
I thought the Rizal artifacts may have ended up in USP’s Rizal Museum because of Josephine Bracken, the 18-year old Irish lass whom Rizal fell in love with in Hong Kong. She was the step-daughter/companion of George Taufer who had cataracts and had sought Rizal’s medical assistance. It turned out that Rizal and Josephine Bracken fell in love with each other. Bracken left Taufer and lived with Rizal in Dapitan. They had wanted to get married by there were complications because Rizal was a Mason. They got married only shortly before Rizal was shot. As his widow, she joined the revolutionary movement, but after the revolution, the American colonial government hired her as a public school teacher in Cebu. Cebu historians will talk about where Bracken had lived while she was in Cebu – somewhere in One of her students was reportedly Sergio Osmeña who later became President of the Philippines. Bracken also taught in Manila, but when it became politically dangerous for her, she fled to Hong Kong. It was there where she met her Cebuano husband, Vicente Abad who worked for Tabacalera, and with whom she had a daughter named Dolores. It was this Abad connection that made me certain the Rizal collection came via the Abad family.
I proved wrong. The collection in Rizal Musuem had belonged to one of Rizal’s younger sisters, Trinidad, who gave the collection to her niece, the daughter of another sister of Rizal, Lucia. The niece, Concepcion Herbosa married Escolastico Duterte who was the former Vice President of the University of Southern Philippines.
The lights in Rizal Museum have to be dim, and the temperature has to be just right, in order to protect the artifacts from disintegrating further. One huge room displays these artifacts. Some treasures in Rizal Hall are: Jose Rizal’s personal clothing, from overcoats, pants, summer clothes, undershirts, to socks that have been meticulously darned. The 1899 and 1900 copies of the novels, Noli Me Tangere ad El Filibusterismo are there with the original receipt from Chofre Printing company. There are genealogy charts and numerous pictures of Rizal’s family members, his home in Dapitan, his prison cell, the place where he was baptized, and more. There is a report card of Trinidad Rizal; a complete set of 1908 Jose Rizal Memorabilia postcards; a 1906 handkerchief with prints of the song, “Canto Patriotico de Maria Clara.”
Photographs of the women Rizal reportedly loved (Segunda Katigback, Leonar Rivera, Gertrude Becket, O Sei San, Suzanne Jacoby, Nelly Bousted, and of course Josephine Bracken His medical books are displayed there. Some of Rizal’s art works, including a carving of Josephine Bracken, crayon sketch of another Rizal-love, Leonor River, and other art pieces are there. A very important treasure in the Hall is the original KKK Kataastaasan Kagalanggalangan Katipunan) flag, which Marily Orosa featured in another coffee table book, The Tragedy of the Revolution.
There are original love letters of Josephine Bracken and Jose Rizal. And there is a letter from Josephine Bracken to Rizal’s sister Josephine Rizal, where one can see Bracken’s evenly spaced handwriting. It is dated May 1894 and references her Hong Kong address. This was clearly written after Rizal and Bracken had met in Hong Kong, but before Bracken accompanied her stepfather George Taufer from Hong Kong to Dapitan to seek Rizal’s medical attention for his eyes.
I fell in love with the drawings by Rizal of Josephine Bracken. One shows Bracken in the nude, reclining on a divan, with two angels near her, one hovering from the top, and one standing and seemingly staring at her stomach. I wondered if this drawing was made after Bracken’s miscarriage in Dapitan, and if the angels had something to do with the child they had lost.
The drawings made me think of Josephine Bracken, the shortness of her life, its turbulence: Her mother died soon after giving birth to her; her military father abandoned her in the care of George Taufer; she lived with Rizal, a man, who was on the hit-list of the Spaniards; when Rizal died, she bounced around, from Cebu, to Manila, to Hong Kong. Perhaps she had a few good years with Vicente Abad, but by the time she was 26, she was dead from tuberculosis.
Those interested in the life of Jose Rizal will discover much in Rizal Musuem, which is in the University of Southern Philippines in Lahug. It seems to be a secret museum that Cebuanos hardly know, except perhaps for students. But I know for a fact that serious Rizaliana researchers always make a stop there to view and study the numerous Rizal artifacts kept there.
And what a treasure Cebu has with these artifacts!
###
Read also
Life in Parian Now
Cebu's 1730 Jesuit House
The Secret Hall of Angels
A Story of Hope
Finding Jose Rizal in Cebu
Lola Remedios and her Sayas
Lunch with F. Sionil Jose
Pre-Colonial Gold in Cebu
~~~
tags: Cebu, Manila, Philippines, history, literature, Jose Rizal, F. Sionil Jose, Cecilia Brainard, lifestyle,
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
Monday, January 28, 2008
JOSE RIZAL MUSEUMS IN CEBU, PHILIPPINES
Even though I grew up in Cebu, I never knew that Cebu has quite a lot of Jose Rizal artifacts. It was Marily Orosa, who years ago when she was working on her coffee table book, Rizal, mentioned that she flew to Cebu to view Rizal artifacts.
Remembering what she had told me, today, the first day, I was relatively free, I went to the Rizal Library, which has a museum section, but unfortunately the museum is under renovation. The librarian mentioned that USP (University of Southern Philippines) has a lot of Rizal things. So I went to USP, and was astounded at the materials in their small Rizal Museum. I'll be posting pictures next month, so do visit this blog again. This museum has a couple of original drawings by Rizal of Josephine Bracken. One is quite fascinating - it shows Bracken in the nude, reclining on a divan. There are two angels near her, one hovering from the top, and one standing and (seemingly) staring at her stomach.
There were clothes of Jose Rizal, the complete set of Jose Rizal postcards made in 1909; bronzes (?) of Rizal; a receipt indicating the cost to print Noli Me Tangere, paid for by his sister, Trinidad; Trinidad's school report card; a very important revolutionary flag, and many more.
When I get around to posting my pictures, I'll give more info, but in the meantime, I just have to say it was a real treat to visit this museum. I was flabbergasted that Cebu has all of these national treasures.
These were acquired because a Rizal descendant married a Cebuano.
Now many people don't realize that Josephine Bracken lived in Cebu. After Rizal was shot in Bagumbayan, she married a Cebuano - an Abad, I hear, although I have to confirm this - and she lived somewhere in Old Cebu. Apparently, she taught school, some say, the Immaculada Concepcion. This topic is up for further research; very little is known.
All for now, from Cebu,
Cecilia
Remembering what she had told me, today, the first day, I was relatively free, I went to the Rizal Library, which has a museum section, but unfortunately the museum is under renovation. The librarian mentioned that USP (University of Southern Philippines) has a lot of Rizal things. So I went to USP, and was astounded at the materials in their small Rizal Museum. I'll be posting pictures next month, so do visit this blog again. This museum has a couple of original drawings by Rizal of Josephine Bracken. One is quite fascinating - it shows Bracken in the nude, reclining on a divan. There are two angels near her, one hovering from the top, and one standing and (seemingly) staring at her stomach.
There were clothes of Jose Rizal, the complete set of Jose Rizal postcards made in 1909; bronzes (?) of Rizal; a receipt indicating the cost to print Noli Me Tangere, paid for by his sister, Trinidad; Trinidad's school report card; a very important revolutionary flag, and many more.
When I get around to posting my pictures, I'll give more info, but in the meantime, I just have to say it was a real treat to visit this museum. I was flabbergasted that Cebu has all of these national treasures.
These were acquired because a Rizal descendant married a Cebuano.
Now many people don't realize that Josephine Bracken lived in Cebu. After Rizal was shot in Bagumbayan, she married a Cebuano - an Abad, I hear, although I have to confirm this - and she lived somewhere in Old Cebu. Apparently, she taught school, some say, the Immaculada Concepcion. This topic is up for further research; very little is known.
All for now, from Cebu,
Cecilia
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books..
Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized.
Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines.
She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.
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