MINIATURES

Stefan Zweig they say, is one of the most-translated writers of the 20th century, probably also the most exploited. I recall years ago, a colleague slew the essay I was writing abo ut the Austrian author by saying, Zweig speculated too much. Who was the first man around the globe? According to Zweig, it was Magellan's Malay slave Enrique.  Zweig builds upon this theme of Enrique finally coming back to his home, back to his place of origin. The mere fact that Enrique was able to communicate with the Cebuanos made Zweig conclude using, his term: "das Ziel ist erreicht, seine Tat ist getan" (the goal is reached, his deed is done) Meaning the world had been circumnavigated. Now, why did Zweig come up with this conclusion? What was the center of this claim? The answer is Language. Again if I may use Zweig's original German term, "Rand des malaiischen Sprachekreises wieder betreten" (the border of the circle of Malay languages), meaning Enrique came back to th...

   Cigarette box -- "La Mutua" of Lima, Peru features President Aguinaldo (circa 1900). Lithographic work by Italian engraver and printer Carlos Fabbri. Aguinaldo here with curly hair. Whatever depictions about him were, be it a tribal leader or a semi Castilian hero on horseback, Aguinaldo and his war made it to the front page of some of the leading broadsheets of Europe and America. Illustrations of him, no matter how absurd, graced the cover of some magazines. Anti colonialist in the US exalted him, while the imperialist maligned and depicted him as a mere "Asiatic despot in the making". But it is his naivety that often confronts us in the recollections about him as told or written by his peers and those who served under him. The mishandling of the case of the Bonifacio brothers, Antonio Luna, Biak na Bato (which was to some not a pact but a sellout), etc. One could also imagine that scene where allegedly a weeping General Mariano Noriel questioned Aguinaldo -- w...

For his inauguration in 1981, President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. donned a Barong Tagalog that not only reimagined the "national dress" but also set the barong fashion trend for the 1980s. Commonly referred to as the "Chinese collar" barong, this portrayal was swiftly refuted and corrected by the designer. He clarified that the inspiration was drawn directly from the uniforms worn by Filipino revolutionaries. To substantiate this claim, an image was presented, depicting Aguinaldo and his compatriots alongside Pedro Paterno. This photograph likely captured the concluding stages of the Biak-na-Bato negotiation, highlighting the distinctive rayadillo fabric and the presence of short standing collars. Despite the distinctiveness of this new look and the notable influence of Aguinaldo's (and his officers) uniform with its defined collar on contemporary fashion, discussions on this evolution and its connection to Aguinaldo's contribution remain limited, with insuffi...

   Aguinaldo and his men in Dagupan train station. On their way to exile in Hong Kong. Te Deum at the Manila Cathedral January 23, 1898 - A "Te Deum Laudamus" was supposed to be sung at the Manila Cathedral, signaling the end of what the Spanish colonial regime at that time labeled as the "Insurreccion." The singing of the Te Deum was part of an agreement between Aguinaldo and the Spanish government known as "The Pact of Biak-na-Bato." Among the points agreed upon for a truce were the following: 1.) That Aguinaldo and his companions would go into voluntary exile abroad; 2.) That Governor General Fernando Primo de Rivera would pay the sum of 800,000 pesos to the rebels in three installments: (a) 400,000 pesos to Aguinaldo upon his departure from Biak-na-Bato, (b) 200,000 pesos when the arms surrendered by the revolutionaries exceeded 700, and (c) the remaining 200,000 pesos when the "Te Deum" was sung and general amnesty proclaimed by the governo...