Luna was an Hispanophile

 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 will 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 Hispanophile, and so he never wanted to paint something against Spain). Then Rizal mentioned Luna's painting with the theme of Filipinas y Espana and called it "Philippinen und Spanien auf dem Wege zum Ruhmestempel" or the Philippines and Spain on the road to the Temple of Glory. Wow! The word "Ruhmestempel" reminds me more of the Teutonic saga, the Edda, or the Wagnerian "Walhalla" -- the hall of the fallen heroes where Valkyries acts as both muses and guardians. haha!

Then Rizal ended the letter with an attack on the Spanish ego and somehow giving the reason as that of artistic rivalry and jealousy: "Alle hier glauben, es sei aus Neid und Eifersucht".

Ibig sabihin...inggit lang sila!!
The said letter of Rizal to Blumentritt 

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