MINIATURES

This photo reminds me of the stories of Carlos Bulosan -- his fabled prose of Philippine countryside, later to be defined as his love letters to his homeland. I was once holding a book of Bulosan with his photograph on it and one of my sisters then said he looked like the comedian "Bayani Casimiro". I did not respond but then I asked myself: Can a picture t ell the tragic life one had lived or the funny side of our being? The story I'm referring to was Bulosan's "My Father's Tragedy". All about that extension of Filipino male machismo which happens, oftentimes, to be the prize bird. Somehow Filipino men were depicted in illustrations, old photos, from Spanish time down to the early years of the 20th century, holding their fighting cocks. (sorry for the term if the language seems to be indiscreet) If the medieval rulers of Europe and Arabia had falconry, nomadic tribesmen of the Asian Steppe hunt with their trained eagles, Filipino males have their ...

 Juan Luna's "The Philippines and Spain on the road to the Temple of Glory" In a letter to Ferdinand Blumentritt Jose Rizal mentioned Juan Luna's travail with a committee for a group of Spanish artists who disallowed Luna to highlight his work in an exhibition. The Spanish Senate allowed him and yet this group would not for the simple reason, stated rather sarcastically by Rizal in German as "Kurz und Klar, es w ill nicht, weil es will nicht".."(Short and clear, it won't, because it doesn't want to"). Kumbaga ehh wala ng ibang dahilan kundi "ayaw". In the next sentence, Rizal went on with this so-called "I told you so mood", saying he and Blumentritt were right all along. Implying those racial overtones of that time...or how Spaniards take Filipinos as inferior. Rizal then gave a sweeping declaration about his friend; "Luna war ein Hispanophile, so dass er wollte nie etwas gegen Spanien malen" (Luna was a...

I still recall a discussion I had with my Singaporean friend about Chinese migration to Peninsular Malaya in the late 19th century via the seaport of the Lion City. He also shared his family's history—how his ancestors began by selling noodles (Hokkien Mee) in Ipoh, Malaysia. "Of course, your kinsfolk in Manila were into those things as well," I remarked. Then I added, "They did the dirty jobs the Spaniards and native Filipinos wouldn't do. Name it—they did it… even cleaning ears! I realized that some of the wealthiest families in the Philippines today trace their ancestry to Hokkien Chinese." "Oh, they were a bunch of lonely migrants!" my friend interjected. He then continued, "If you talk about the barbers and ear cleaners of Kuala Lumpur, I know the street where they had their so-called shops. And they had apprentices—can you believe that? They took in new arrivals from the mainland, vagabonds with no means of living, and turned t...