Ferdinand Blumentritt On Graciano López Jaena
One of the early contacts Ferdinand Blumentritt had with Filipinos in Spain was with the propagandist Graciano Lopez Jaena. In a letter dated 26 June 1888 to German Philology professor Hugo Schuchardt, Blumentritt mentioned his correspondence with Jaena and described the Ilonggo patriot: "Jaena often leaves a long wait for an answer. He is also very vain and easy to hurt. Like most Indios, they always believe that one wants to mock or humiliate them..... They are extraordinarily good, amiable, and noble. I now understand why the Europeans talk so badly about them. The Indios are shutting up before them because they always believe the whites want to make fun of them. I am writing this to you so that you can provide your respectable letter for a brief introduction about the purpose of your creole studies. The effort will be worth it. Believe me, I am supposed to be an Indio, and I am their brother and friend." This part of the letter gives us the mind of Blumentritt when dealin...