MINIATURES

One Paris newspaper accounts of the Luna case -- L'Affare Luna In the last week of September 1892, the Paris press was all abuzz, reporting on the sensational case of Juan Luna, a well-known figure in the Hispanic artistic community of Paris, who in a fit of jealous rage and marital dispute, shot and killed his wife and mother-in-law. The case was given different labels as newspapers came up with their own rhetoric of sensationalism, such as "la tragédie de la rue Pergolèse" and "L'affaire Luna," among others. Regional and provincial papers picked up the story, and in the succeeding weeks, it spread throughout France. Spanish papers, owing to Juan Luna's stature, also began their series of reports about the case. Later, one more enterprising Spanish journal would publish Antonio Luna's letter to a friend, sharing his brother's side of the story. The Luna case was arguably one of the most sensational events reported about a Filipino in the 19th ce...

Photo of a Manila bullfight in Paco --This is a preliminary part of the corrida, notice the toreros holding something like a barbeque stick? Those are "banderilleros". They test the ferocious nature of the animal, sticking the sharpened banderillas at the back of the bull. Wenceslao Retana, a former adversary who later became the biographer of José Rizal, offers a comprehensive account of bullfighting in the Philippines during the late 18th to 19th centuries in his book "Fiesta de Toros en Filipinas." One of the intriguing questions that arises from this historical narrative is: where did the bulls come from? In Spain, the tradition of "Ganadería de Brava" involves breeding bulls with outstanding bloodlines to ensure the animals' ferocity. A fighting bull, or "toro de Lidia," typically comes from a selected breed. To maintain its ferocious nature, breeders follow strict traditions, such as allowing the bull to roam freely in a free-rang...

"Nagsabado sa Pasig " is the term being used to describe and glorify the Katipunan action in Pasig on August 29, 1896-Saturday. In the early weeks leading to that fateful day in August, the commander of the Spanish detachment in Pasig, the then Lt. Manuel B. Sityar had been noticing uncommon gatherings of men in the wee hours of the night in the areas of Pasig and Mandaluyong. But the rainy season had prevented him from investigating and learning  more of these gatherings. In fact, one of the most important Katipunan meetings the "Asamblea Magna",  happened in May of the same year in Pasig. Pasig town center in the late 1890s.  Seen here is the church and also the waterway, the famous "Bitukang Manok" When news that the Katipunan was finally revealed,  local Katipunan leader in Pasig, Gen. Valentin Cruz started sending secret feelers to the Katipuneros from different "visitas" or "barrios" around Pasig that uprising could happen ...

The "Asamblea Magna" at  Pasig. May 1896. (Gen. Santiago Alvarez-Memoir) On May 3, 1896, a general meeting among Katipunan leaders called by Supremo Andres Bonifacio was held in Pasig. The venue was the house of local Katipunan leader, Valentin Cruz located near the Pasig church of the Immaculate Conception. The meeting would be known as the "Asamblea Magna". Perhaps one of the most revealing events in the history of the Katipunan. The meeting was held to appraise what the Supremo called "difficulties with which our Society is beset. "The movement had been exposed. Bonifacio wanted to act and start the uprising so as no to be forced against the wall. He asked the assembly, "What is your decision? Shall we rise in revolt now?" Aguinaldo then took the floor and cautioned the Supremo against acting hastily. Suggesting a thorough assessment of the situation and then saying: "I am against rising in arms now while we are not yet prep...

                       A watchman of Madrid. 1832. Drawing by Juan Carrafa (BNE). I haven't seen yet                                 illustrations or photos of  "Sereno" of Manila. It heightens more curiosities.                    In the acclaimed short story "May Day Eve" by Nick Joaquin, the narrative opens and closes with a watchman's proclamation: "Guardia sereno-o-o! A las doce han dado-o-o!" (This translates to "Night watch! Its twelve midnight!") Joaquin vividly recreates a centuries-old tradition from Spanish Manila, one with roots in medieval Spain: the sereno, a night watchman. This watchman system was a common feature in European medieval towns. Communities within walled cities employed them to patrol the streets and announce the passing hours. Interestingly, the hourly call...

Portuguese Malacca drawing by Pedro Barreto Resende. In the book Livro das Plantas de Todas as Fortalezas, Cidades"  by Antonio Bacaro, Goa 1635                   "Whoever is lord of Malacca has his hand on the throat of Venice" .-The famous line of the 16th-century Portuguese chronicler Tome Pires highlighting the importance of Malacca (part of Malaysia) to the Spice trade. But long before the arrival of European maritime powers Portugal and Spain in Southeast Asia, spices were already making its wa y to Europe. From the fabled Spice Islands in the Moluccas (part of Indonesia), Malay and Chinese traders would navigate the dangerous seas to bring the commodities to different ports of the region.  From Malacca, Arab and Indian traders set the prices and take the goods,  crossing the waters of the Indian subcontinent and then heading towards important ports of Arabia where caravans would then take the land routes towards the...

"When the people launched the war, I believed it was my duty to be by their side and help them in their struggle to the end; now that they feel they have lost the strength to continue fighting for their rights, I believe I ought to be by their side, to tell them that they should not despair but that they should have confidence in themselves, injustice, and in the future." ~ Apolinario Mabini One sure thing can be said about Mabini: he indeed had a hard life. Born poor, his family struggled to secure him a good education. His biographer vividly describes this as a "chronic lack of financial means." Paralyzed by adult polio at the age of 32, he had to live with the constant stigma that disability brings. But his brilliant mind was his true gift, and he gave the new republic not only its legal foundations but also its moral and intellectual direction. Mabini also entertained the idea of a greater Malayan confederacy and the emancipation of colonized people. He was a ma...