"The Influence of Filipina Women": Pilar Hidalgo's high school valedictory address a century ago

In June 1905, one year before Pilar Hidalgo enrolled as a freshman at the Manila High School, Concepcion Felix de Calderon formed the Asociacion Feminista Filipina, the first women's association in the Philippines.  Both of them would later be the leading figures in the women's suffragist movement in the country when Miss Hidalgo was already Mrs Hidalgo-Lim and was the president of the National Federation of Women’s Clubs.

In June 1906, the Manila High School--originally the Escuela Municipal de Manila during the Spanish regime--opened as the first secondary school under the American system of public instruction.  In its first year, there were 60 students, not all of them freshmen since 25 of them would be graduating three years later in 1909, its first batch of alumni. 

Pilar Hidalgo could have been one of the freshmen because four years later in 1910, she would be graduating as valedictorian of her class, the second batch of Manila High School graduates.  Her teachers were Americans, 13 of them in 1907, and 9 in 1910, according to the the reports of the Municipal Board of Manila for those fiscal years.

She was seventeen when she went up the stage to deliver her valedictory address "The Influence of Filipina Women" on a Monday, April 1,1910. 

The graduation exercises could have been held at the Manila Opera House where the first batch of 25 graduates had theirs in the morning of April 3, 1909.  

A high government official could have been the "speaker of the day" of Class 1910 just like that of Class 1909 which had Hon. Leon Ma. Guerero, a member of the Philippine Assembly from Bulakan and the Chairman of the Committee of Public Instruction.  

We did not find any details about Class 1910's graduation exercises, except Miss Hidalgo's valedictory address, but some of her classmates could also have delivered speeches.  Class 1909 had five members speaking during their program like Manuel Arguelles who delivered the salutatory address, Aurelio Torres who spoke on "Opportunities of Youth", and Marceliano Montemayor who talked about "Survival of the Fittest".   

It's well known that Manuel A. Roxas completed his studies at the Manila High School in 1910 after going to the public school in Capiz and studying in Hongkong for a year.  Thus, he and Pilar Hidalgo were batchmates.

In the junior class was Elpidio Quirino who started his secondary education at the Vigan High School. He enrolled at the Manila High School in 1908 and graduated in 1911.  Thus, he belonged to the third batch of that school's graduates.  

Roxas and Quirino knew each other then from high school; they captained the rival debating teams in Manila High

Pilar Hidalgo could not have been into debates but she could have been a very eloquent speaker even when she was still in her sophomore year.  She was a member of the literary society.  Sometime in the last quarter of 1907, that society "gave a symposium on the subject of the Manila High School in four languages—Latin, English, German, and Spanish.  Pilar Hidalgo gave the Latin composition, Celedonio Estioko the English, Marcellano Montemayor the German and Aurelio Torres the Spanish”.  

On the evening of February 22, 1908, the Manila High School hosted its first annual reception with a literary program followed by a dance.  It was reported that the program featured, among others, "a recitation, which was splendidly executed by Miss Pilar Hidalgo".

The young woman of 1910 perhaps did not know, when she was expounding on the aspirations of the Filipina women, that the international women's movement was being conceived in America  This would be formally launched as International Women's Day in Denmark on March 8, 1911, it's centenary being celebrated this year. 

Pilar Hidalgo's "The Influence of Filipina Women" will be 101 years old this coming April.  A Class 2011 high school valedictorian can probably render an accounting of what the Filipina women had accomplished for the last 100 years, and raise the issues that they continue to fight for, after giving some time to listen to and ponder on Miss Hildalgo's thoughts --

The Influence of the Filipina Women

By Miss Pilar Hidalgo, Manila High School

"At this time when the influence of the Filipino woman is being felt in public life, when she is beginning to take her place in the world of activity, and to realize the important part she holds, I thought it a most fitting opportunity to speak about the extent of her influence.

"It is true history records no Filipina name such as that of Julia Ward Howe whose influence has been felt along so many lines of humanity that it is difficult to dwell on any one specially, but who stands out among modern women as a beacon-light guiding her sex to higher and nobler lives; nor have we a Florence Nightingale whose devotion to suffering mankind is recognized throughout the whole Christian world, and who because of her noble work during the Crimean War stands as the very personification of self-sacrifice;  nor do the pages of our literature record a George Eliot whose stories have left their beautiful influence on countless lives of English-speaking people;  neither do we find gracing our walls productions from the artistic brush of a Rosa Bonheur whose paintings have a place among the masterpieces of the world.  But each Filipina is a queen in her own home whose gentle sway the tendency for good will ever thrive.

"There is no nobler work than that of a gentle wife and a good mother.  For hundreds of years the Filipina’s energy and soul have been devoted to the home.  There her influence has been strongly felt and immensely appreciated.  Rizal’s poems, tender and sad dedicated to her mother, give full utterance to that appreciation which other less gifted than he have kept within their heart.  What an affection must he have felt for his mother when in the solitude of a country far from home he wrote,

'Sweet in one’s country it is to die,

Where e’en the sun greets from on high;

Dead are these tokens from above

To him without Mother, Country and Love'

"Times have changed; new fields of activity have been opened to women;  the home life no longer suffices;  ambition for a broader life has awakened in the bosoms of the Filipinas.

"I say it has awakened, because it has always been there though in a dormant state, pressed down by social conventions and hemmed in by mental bar[riers];  there are proofs of its existence in women who in spite of restrictions have given it an outlet.

"With pleasure I refer to the name of Margarita Roxas who donated the land and building so that the Concordia College might be established for the education of girls.  For two generations hundreds and hundreds of girls have entered that college and have gone out fitted to perform their duties.  Librada Avelino and Rosa Sevilla in their wish to uplift the minds of girls, founded the flourishing schools of Centro Escolar de Niñas and Instituto de Mujeres.  Petronila Sequia, seeing the pressing need of a hospital for cholera-striken people, willingly gave away her home just for the establishment of the Santiago Hospital from where men almost dead, have gone out, with hope and life renewed.

"And when some years ago the mortality of children in this city rose to alarming numbers, some thinking women saw that something had to be done to stop the merciless hand of Death.  They organized entertainments and raised subscriptions to found an institution having for its noble purpose the care of infants.  The people of Manila responded liberally to their call and the Proteccion de la Infancia came into existence.  At present, how many mothers owe the lives of their children to the able women in charge of this beneficent institution?  Its founders may well be satisfied with their work.  Nor have women been entirely wanting in the business world.

"The jewelry trade of the district of Sta. Cruz and the sinamay cloth industry whose market is principally in Binondo, have been entirely managed by women.

"Are these not convincing proofs of the ambition and ability of Filipina women? Are they not true testimonies that there is something great in them, considering the limited sphere in which they were permitted to work?  May we not hope from them greater accomplishments now that the most favourable circumstances surround them?  Yes, we may hope, and I am confident that there will be no disappointment.

"The barriers that were formerly raised against the education of women have been entirely removed; and instructions in all branches of learning has [sic] been extended to all ranks of female society.  The Filipinas are taking advantage of every opportunity offered to them to acquire knowledge.  Now that their minds are permitted to develop in the precincts and purposes are budding in their hearts.  [sic]

"At present, many girls are attending school, working and reciting with boys.  Their ability in the classroom compares well with the boys.  By perseverance, they make up for the possible lack of mental quickness characteristic of the boy’s mind, the only one permitted to develop for centuries.  They are preparing themselves carefully to be teachers, nurses, pharmacists, doctors, lawyers and good mothers.

"When the present generation of girls goes out into the world their influence will be felt far and wide not suddenly, perhaps, but by degrees.

"The teacher within the walls of her classroom will not only inculcate in her pupils the knowledge contained in the books but will also instill in their minds that love for work and punctuality in duty so necessary for wordly [sic] success.

"To-day we see hundreds and hundreds of poor families living in filthy low houses where the sunshine, that purifier of nature, hardly penetrates, where the damp, stifling air remains from day to day finding no escape through the closed windows, where one child after another dies for lack of good care. This is the great field of work for women nurses, pharmacists and doctors.

"Filipina girls, a voice is calling us to the assistance of the poor, to the mission of spreading among the destitutes of fortune the doctrine of good honorable living.  Let us respond to it and we shall find a noble life-work to do.

"The coming generation greatly depends upon the youth of the present one.  A great part of this responsibility weigh upon the girls.  Do you realize the weight of this responsibility?  Do you realize that weak mothers can not have strong intelligent children?  The importance of physical culture has never been rightly estimated by the women of this country.  If we want a strong race of Filipinos, if we want wise and intelligent citizens to make and obey better law, if we want vigorous and energetic men to cultivate and improve our material resources we must recognize the importance of physical exercise and l]]ay stress upon its fulfilment, because without health there can be neither happiness nor success.  Let us develop our bodies as well as our minds to as great a degree as possible so that if ever the cares of a home devolve upon us we shall be a source of help, comfort and happiness.

"Since our happy youth opens in an age which offers us all the opportunities of learning and renders ]accessible every field of activity hitherto closed to us, let us enter into the world with noble aims, let us strive and work with zeal and interest so that our influence will be felt not in the home alone but in the outside world as well;  that history may not say that we remain sleeping in the midst of the general awakening;  that its pages may record the names of some of us for having contributed to the welfare of our country in particular and of humanity in general.

"Teachers:  To you we owe the joy that we now feel;  to you we are indebted for the ability we now possess to pursue any course in life whether of study or of work;  under your able guidance we have acquired learning which will be of great and permanent value to us.  We are about to separate; we will travel on different highways, each of us where ambition points the way.  But before leaving you we wish to express to you our sincere appreciation and deep gratitude for your untiring interest and hard labours  Farewell teachers, farewell to you.

"To you under graduates [sic] who are to remain we bid adieu with the wish that you will work to keep up that school spirit which has won for the Manila High School cups, laurels and fame, and with the hope that some day each of you will receive with joy a diploma of your own.

"Classmates:  to-day for the last time we meet as a group of students.  Our duties to families and our country demand this separation and oblige us to face the responsibilities of life.  This is a crucial time in our lives.  When after our minds and bodies have rested from toil, we select the courses we shall pursue, let the selection be ruled by a purpose noble and pure; and the selection is made let us begin the journey with our class motto “Excelsior” engraved on our hearts.

"And now after wishing one another success and happiness after giving our alma mater our oath of loyalty, we say good  bye to our dear school and farewell to each other."

In the next school year, she enrolled at the University of the Philippines.  She was one of the 127 freshmen at the Junior College of the College of Liberal Arts, which included Maximo Kalaw (Law), Vicente Lava (Preparatory Engineering), Bienvenido Tan (Law), and Vidal Tan (Preparatory Engineering).

There were twelve--including Vicente Lava and Vidal Tan--who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from that College in 1913; she was the only one who graduated with honors. 

She joined the mathematics faculty (there were just three of them, and two were Americans) of both the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Engineering as an instructor. Miss Hidalgo taught Mathematics 1 (Advanced Algebra), Math 2 (Advanced Algebra – Convergency and divergency of series), Math 3 (Solid Geometry), Math 4 (Plane Trigonometry), and Math 5 (Spherical Trigonometry).

Much has been written about Pilar Hidalgo--her achievements, and the honors she reaped not only for herself and her family, her country, and the Filipina women in particular--after she moved out of the University of the Philippines in 1917 and got married to West Pointer Vicente Lim also that year  until she passed away in 1973 at the age of 80.

We close this article with two incidents in the life of Pilar Hidalgo-Lim as woman activist culled from the News Summary sections of the Philippine Magazine of 1936 and 1937 as these are still issues confronting the Filipina women today.

1.  On women's right to vote:  “Sept. 30 [1936].-President Quezon signs the woman's suffrage plebiscite bill in the presence of a number of woman leaders, stating over the radio that in any democracy the women should be permitted to participate in the management of the government as a matter of political and social justice, it mattering little how the women will vote and whether they will exercise the right or not. "What matters is that they can use the ballot if they so choose in their desire to help run the government and take a part in choosing the men who guide public affairs." He warns provincial executives not to interfere if they do not sympathize with the women's political ambitions, stating it would be dangerous for men seeking public office to oppose woman suffrage. Mrs. Pilar Hidalgo Lim in a brief address states that the women do not desire to infringe on male rights and privileges, but only wish to collaborate better in the management of public affairs which go a long way to shape not only national but family and individual life. She declares that making a plebiscite conditional to the grant of woman suffrage is unfair, but that it is a challenge that women must resolve to meet, otherwise their cause is lost. ...”

2.   On reproductive health (it might not have been called that before World War 2):  "July 22 [1937].- ... Mayor Juan Posadas of Manila announces he will not permit Mrs. Margaret Sanger, expected to arrive in Manila in October, to lecture on birth-control except to audiences limited to scientific men. "I am strongly opposed to birth-control as both immoral and impractical, especially in the Philippines", he says. Mrs. Pilar Hidalgo Lim, President of the National Federation of Women's Clubs, recently wrote Mrs. Sanger that her organization would be "unable to cooperate with you for the spread of your movement in our country.... Our objective now is better babies and more intelligent parenthood."

Sources: 

1. Hidalgo, Pilar. (1910, April). The Influence of the Filipina Women. The Filipino teacher. 4(SPI):12-13.[Valedictory address delivered by its author at her graduation from the Manila High School, April 1, 1910.] Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/AQX2411.0004.SPI.
2.  Lim, Laling H. (2008, Jan 06).  House on Vito Cruz:  Family's heritage to nation began here. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from  http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080106-1106/House_on_Vito_Cruz%3A_Family%92s_heritage_to_nation_began_here
3.  National Historical Institute. (n.d). Pilar Hidalgo-Lim (1893-1973)/Outstanding Woman Leader.  Retrieved from http://www.nhi.gov.ph/downloads/fihgov0079.pdf
4. Annual Report of the Municipal Board of the City of Manila for Fiscal Year 1907. (1907).  Manila: Bureau of Printing.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/aaf8875.1907.001
   
5. Annual Report of the Municipal Board of the City of Manila for Fiscal Year 1909. (1910).  Manila: Bureau of Printing.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/aaf8875.1909.001 
6. Bulletin No. 2.  (1912). The University of the Philippines Catalogue 1911-12/Announcements 1912-1913.  Manila: Bureau of Printing. Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/acc6284.0001.002  
7. Bulletin No. 4.  (1914). The University of the Philippines Catalogue 1913-14/Announcements 1914-1915.  Manila: Bureau of Printing. Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/acc6284.0001.004  
8. Biographical Sketches of President Roxas, Vice-President Quirino, and Members of the Cabinet.  (1946, July).  The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Journal. 22(4):6. Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/aqx2411.0002.009  
9. Ladea. (1909, March).  A Prominent Educator.  The Filipino Teacher. 2(9):6.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/aqx2411.0002.009 
10. Manila High School Notes. (1907, October).  Philippine Education. 4(5). Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/aaf8875.1907.001  
11. Manila High School. (1909, April).  The Month in Review.  The Filipino Teacher.  2:10(10). Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/aqx2411.0002.010  
12. Department of News. (1908, February).  The Filipino Teacher. 1(11):12. Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/xxxxx   
13. Month in Review, The. (1909, April).  Manila High School.  The Filipino Teacher.  2:10(10). Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/aqx2411.0002.01   
14. News Summary—The Philippines. (1936, November).  Philippine Magazine.  Manila: Philippine Education Company. 33(11):525. Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/acd5869.0033.001 
15. News Summary—The Philippines. (1937, September).  Philippine Magazine.  Manila: Philippine Education Company. 34(9):384. Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/acd5869.0034.001 
16. Philippinensian,The. (1917).  University of the Philippines.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/akd9353.0001.001 
17. Postcard Picture of the old Manila High School retrieved from http://carlospromulo.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/ManilaHighSchool--510x320.jpg

Twenty five years ago at EDSA

At EDSA in front of Camp Crame.

Twenty five years ago, in the midst of the peaceful revolution on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) in front of the gate of Camp Crame, somebody picked our pocket. Using today's spending econom, the contents were not much.  The wallet came back to us by mail some time during those euphoric days after Ferdinand Marcos, his family, and his trusted cronies were flown out from Malacanang Palace to Honolulu, Hawaii, contents all gone except for our residence certificate and company ID.  The sender, a Protestant minister, said he found it in a gutter on EDSA.

At EDSA fronting Camp Crame.

We were too busy with the camera, and with so many revolutionaries milling around during that bright, sunny 25th day of February and getting into multiple body contact every so often, we would not have noticed somebody's sticky fingers dipping into our back pocket.

Food and water for the soldiers.

One people.

It was not a heavy price though for the victory that came afterward. We soon forgot about it when word got around that Macoy has fled, and we were on board a fraternity brother's Volks Beetle honking down the avenue exchanging victory shouts with other sweat-drenched, exhausted yet ecstatic souls along the way.

One with the people.

The EDSA Revolution, People or People's Power Revolution, or Yellow Revolution remains to us first and foremost a military rebellion. If the mutineers did not get caught, and people did not heed the call of Cardinal Sin via Radio Veritas to go to Camp Aguinaldo then to Crame to shield Defense Secretary Juan Ponce-Enrile, Constabulary Chief Fidel Ramos and secessionist Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) military elements, a truly civilian people's uprising could have taken longer to happen.  True, Corazon Aquino was going around the country for the disobedience campaign, but she could not have ignited a people's rebellion that rapidly even if her voters were seething in anger over the results of the fraudulent February 7 election, the 29 NAMFREL canvassers having walked out of their job, and the Batasang Pambansa declaring Marcos the president-elect.

"Laban!"

We are pleased to note that the role of the military in 1986 was recognized yesterday when the EDSA revolution museum at the defense department was inaugurated by President Benigno Aquino III with Senators Enrile and Honasan and former President Ramos were in attendance. After all, the military rebels were the ones who ignited EDSA.

It's really time to cast off the yellow magic spell. We should not forget why there were coup attempts during the yellow regime, or why brown-outs came about to ruin our economic agenda for many years.

The battle ground was as far as the eye could see.

The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) in Morong, Bataan was on its final pre-operational tests and the nuclear fuel was all set for loading into the core when Malacanang ordered that it be shut down for good. That exacted a heavy toll on the Filipino people; they continued paying the multi-million dollar loan for it through many more years.

Neighboorhood associations on the march.

That yellow dictum was particularly painful for people like us who trained very long--here and in the United States--to operate it safely. We look at the BNPP today as symbol of government folly--folly of those who ruled that it be mothballed--more so now that the nuclear option is again on the legislative agenda that includes, among others, the use of the Napot facility.

Even the handicapped were in the thick of the rebellion.

There was no immediate replacement of the nuclear plant, and the existing power generators became severely inadequate to meet increasing electricity demand.  Thus began those infuriating brown-out years, something that the romantics, we suppose, conveniently forget in their glowing recollection of the aftermath of the EDSA revolution.

Cardboard encampment for the EDSA rebels.

Democracy working equally for all such as in the access to education and health services; economic well-being and poverty alleviation; good governance and elimination of graft and corruption--we dreamed of these 25 years ago, and we still do today. 

Student activists doing their street theater act near ABS-CBN on Bohol Ave.

Did we fail the Revolution under four presidents--Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?  Will we succeed under Benigno Aquino III?  The majority of our people voted for him because they thought he has the strong moral courage to lead it.

Open letter of Irani filmmaker Jafar Panahi, condemned to 20 years of silence

Jahar Panahi (top left) and his internationally award-winning films.

"So from now on, and for the next twenty years, I’m forced to be silent. I’m forced not to be able to see, I’m forced not to be able to think, I’m forced not to be able to make films. I submit to the reality of the captivity and the captors. I will look for the manifestation of my dreams in your films, hoping to find in them what I have been deprived of. "

We were tracking the protest movements in the Middle East when we came across a reference to an open letter from Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi that Isabelle Rossellini read during the opening ceremony of the 61st Berlinale or the Berlin International Film Festival.

We jumped to the Berlinale webpage, and there it was, a video clip of the opening event showing his empty jury chair on the stage with a white board with his name on it, extracts from his movies, and Isabelle Rossellini reading his open letter.  After she was done, the audience gave Panahi a long standing ovation.

On December 20 last year, Jafar Panahi, 49, was convicted of colluding in gathering and making propaganda against the Iranian government, sentenced to six years of imprisonment, and banned for 20 years to make films, write scripts, travel abroad and give interviews to the media. His fellow filmmaker Muhammad Rasoulof was also sentenced to serve six years in jail.

Here is Jafar Panahi's open letter to the world, which can be downloaded from the Berlinale webpage in Farsi or English  --

"The world of a filmmaker is marked by the interplay between reality and dreams. The filmmaker uses reality as his inspiration, paints it with the color of his imagination, and creates a film that is a projection of his hopes and dreams.

"The reality is I have been kept from making films for the past five years and am now officially sentenced to be deprived of this right for another twenty years. But I know I will keep on turning my dreams into films in my imagination. I admit as a socially conscious filmmaker that I won’t be able to portray the daily problems and concerns of my people, but I won’t deny myself dreaming that after twenty years all the problems will be gone and I’ll be making films about the peace and prosperity in my country when I get a chance to do so again.

"The reality is they have deprived me of thinking and writing for twenty years, but they can not keep me from dreaming that in twenty years inquisition and intimidation will be replaced by freedom and free thinking.

"They have deprived me of seeing the world for twenty years. I hope that when I am free, I will be able to travel in a world without any geographic, ethnic, and ideological barriers, where people live together freely and peacefully regardless of their beliefs and convictions.

"They have condemned me to twenty years of silence. Yet in my dreams, I scream for a time when we can tolerate each other, respect each other’s opinions, and live for each other.

"Ultimately, the reality of my verdict is that I must spend six years in jail. I’ll live for the next six years hoping that my dreams will become reality. I wish my fellow filmmakers in every corner of the world would create such great films that by the time I leave the prison I will be inspired to continue to live in the world they have dreamed of in their films.

"So from now on, and for the next twenty years, I’m forced to be silent. I’m forced not to be able to see, I’m forced not to be able to think, I’m forced not to be able to make films.

"I submit to the reality of the captivity and the captors. I will look for the manifestation of my dreams in your films, hoping to find in them what I have been deprived of."

Panahi is a supporter of Iran's opposition green movement.  He was arrested in July 2009 for participating in the mourning of protesters killed in the aftermath of the disputed presidential election that year. He was released but was banned to leave the country. In February 2010, he was again arrested with his family and colleagues and taken to Tehran's Evin prison.

He is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker but his movies are banned in Iran.

His debut film, The White Balloon (1995), won the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival that year.  The New York Film Critics Circle declared it the Best Foreign Language Film in 1996.

His The Mirror (1997) garnered the Golden Leopard of the 1997 Locarno International Film Festival and the Golden Tulip of the 1998 Istanbul International Film Festival.

The National Board of Review of the USA gave his The Circle (2000), a movie about women struggle in the sexist society of Iran, its Freedom of Expression award that year.  It went to the 2000 Venice Film Festival and brought home five awards including the Golden Lion and the UNICEF awards.  In 2001, it was the FIPRESCI Film of the Year at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, and was, among others, the Best Film at the Uruguay International Film Festival.

His 2003 film, Crimson Gold, was not shown in Iranian cinemas because it was considered a "dark" movie by the government. Thus it could not be considered Iran's entry to the Best Foreign Film derby of the 2003 Oscars.   It's interesting to note that "the lead actor, playing a pizza delivery man, is, in real life, a pizza delivery man [who] is also a paranoid schizophrenic." (The hyperlink goes to a trailer of the film.) 

His movie Offside (2006) about a group of women trying to sneak into a stadium to watch a qualifying soccer game between Iran and Bahrain for the 2005 World Cup.  Women are forbidden to watch male sports events.  The film won the Silver Bear of the 2006 Berlinale. (The hyperlink goes to a trailer of the film.)

As Jafar Panahi said, he will make movies in his mind for the next 20 years. Hopefully,  international film festivals will give him every now and then some space and time for his freedom of expression through these films he has completed for the world to see.   

References:

Berlinale HomePage. http://www.berlinale.de/en/das_festival/festivalprofil/berlinale_themen/openletterpanahi.html

Stone, Susan. (2011, Feb 19). Berlinale focuses on Iran. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from  http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-0219-berlin-film-20110219,0,7637764.story

Dehghan, Saeed Kamali Dehghan, (2010, Dec 20).  Iran jails director Jafar Panahi and stops him making films for 20 years.  The Guardian Co. UK. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/20/iran-jails-jafar-panahi-films

Hubschman, Daniel. (2010, Dec 20). Iranian Filmmaker Jafar Panahi sentenced to six years in jail.  Hollywood.com. Retrieved from http://www.hollywood.com/news/Iranian_Filmmaker_Jafar_Panahi_Sentenced_To_Six_Years_In_Jail/7743689

IMDb,com for materials regarding Jafar Panahi and his movies (hyperlinks in the above story).

Postscript to the January Sto. Nino Festivals: Christianized Philippines is 446 years old!

The image of child Jesus was given by Magellan to the queen of Cebu in April 1521; it was recovered by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in April 1565.

The colorful costumes and the tom-tom drums for the Ati-Atihan (Kalibo, Aklan), Sinulog (Cebu City) and Dinagyang (Iloilo City) festivals have now all been stored and yet ready for retrieval just in case invitations or opportunities to compete in forthcoming carnivals, religious or not, in neighboring places come the dancing troupes' way.  The Sto. Niño images used as props in the street dancing and other festival side-events like the beauty queen contests probably are back in the household altars unless these were given away to visiting relatives and friends or sold to local and foreign tourists.

Source:  The Manila Bulletin. 17 January 2011

It’s interesting to note that the Kalibo, Cebu and Iloilo carnivals revolve around the child Jesus with the original Sto. Niño image in residence at the Cebu cathedral while replicate copies are housed in the Kalibo and Iloilo churches, but the Ati-Atihan was the original street celebration centuries before Dinagyang and Sinulog festivals were organized as tourist attractions in 1967 and1981, respectively. Since Iloilo and Kalibo are in Panay Island, their carnivals have a historical add-on:  commemoration of the arrival of the Bornean datus there around three millenia earlier than the Spaniards and how they eventually converted their pagan dancing ritual into the Ati-Atihan.

Without the Sto. Niño, these  three Visayas festivals and the non-religious Binirayan of Antique, MassKara of Bacolod and the Panagbenga of Baguio would all be the same hot pandesal but of different brands.  Other derivative pandesals have since spawned like the Talong, Longganisa, and other product promotion carnivals throughout the archipelago.   We think that are too many of them in the Philippine tourist market. We may yet see a war among these pandesals with the hottest eventually emerging as the Philippine Mardi Gras like the international crowd-drawing hedonistic carnivals of Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans.

Setting that view aside, we were grateful that the multi-media coverage of the Sinulog highlighted as well the religious commemoration of the child Jesus and the folk catholic adoration of the historic Sto. Niño image on the eve of the street carnival.

Religious commemoration, Cebu City. (The Philippine Daily Inquirer, 17 Jan 2011).

The image reminds that Christianized Philippines will be 446 years old in April this year.  Sometime that month in 1565, the soldiers of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi recovered the image of the Sto. Niño left there by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521.   Legaspi had a church immediately constructed to house the image, and had it named [Santissimo] Nombre de Jesus. 

Pigafetta (c1525) wrote that after the queen of Cebu and her party of forty women were baptized, she was “shown an image of our Lady, a very beautiful wooden child Jesus, and a cross.”  The queen, named Johanna in her baptism, expressed interest to keep the child Jesus to replace her idols, and Magellan gave it to her on 14 April, 1521  (Blair & Robertson Resume of Documents, 1(2), 1906).

It is believed that this is the same image that soldier Juan Camuz found and showed to Esteban Rodriguez in one of the houses abandoned by the natives upon the arrival of Legazpi (B&R Resume) in Cebu “ on the twenty-seventh day of the month of April, day of the glorious martyr St. Vidal, in the year 1565 [which] happened to be also the feast of the resurrection (Medina, 1630).”

“Your excellency,” Legazpi (1565) wrote the king, “should should know that on the day when we entered this village one of the soldiers went into a large and well-built house of an Indian, where he found an image of the child Jesus (whose most holy name I pray may be universally worshiped). This was kept in its cradle, all gilded, just as it was brought from España; and only the little cross which is generally placed upon the globe in his hand was lacking. This image was well kept in that house, and many flowers were found before it, no one knows for what object or purpose. The soldier bowed before it with all reverence and wonder, and brought the image to the place where the other soldiers were. I pray the holy name of this image which we have found here, to help us and to grant us victory, in order that these lost people who are ignorant of the precious and rich treasure which was in their possession, may come to a knowledge of him. “

In a letter from Sevilla to Miguel Salvador of Valencia (1566), the writer spoke of the Mexican soldiers in the expedition who found  “in a poorly-built house … an image of the child Jesus, such as comes from Flanders, with his veil and the globe in his hand, and in as good condition as if just made.”

Sinulog 2011.  (Manila Bulletin & Phil. Daily Inquirer, 16 Jan 2011) 

The earliest account we’ve read on the veneration of the Sto. Niño comes from Chirino  (1604). He wrote that “the Indians …held the object [carved image of the holy child Jesus] in great veneration … and had recourse to it in all their necessities—making sacrifices to it after their custom, and anointing it with their oils, as they were accustomed to anoint their idols. … Each year it is borne in solemn procession from the church of St. Augustine to the spot in which it was found, where a chapel has since been erected. The procession takes place upon the same day when the discovery was made -- namely, on the twenty-ninth of April, the feast of the glorious martyr St. Vital, who is patron of the city, and as such that day is kept as a solemn feast in his honor. One of the regidors, appointed each year for this purpose, brings out the banner of the city; he is on that day clad in livery, and invites the public to the festivals. There are bull-fights and other public festivities and rejoicings, with many novel fireworks, such as wheels and sky-rockets, which the Sangleys make the night before; on this occasion they construct things well worth seeing, and which appear well-nigh supernatural.”

Miracles have been attributed to the Sto. Niño at childbirths and hence called El Partero, “man-midwife” (Chirino), during the ‘terrible drought of 1618’, ‘a number of great fires including the one in 1632 when the city would have been entirely destroyed if the flames had reached the Spanish powder house’, and the ‘cholera epidemic of 1752’ (Del Mar, 1935), among other testimonies of people through the years.

Hence, “most people come to fulfill vows made to the Santo Niño in seeking recovery from some serious illness, either for themselves or their loved ones. They place lighted candles before the image and kneel and pray, and sometimes perform a sort of dance known as the sinulog, literally "current", as of a stream” (Abellana, 1935), sinug to Bautista (1935) where performers “shout and dance and perform a sort of moro-moro or sham battle with wooden bolos and shield before the Senior Santo Niño …”

It would be very interesting to find when the dancing of the sinulog or sinug started.  But years before this morphed into the street dancing carnival in 1981, this was how it was – 

“The dance is performed either inside or in front of the old San Agustin Church and often lasts for hours, the dancers hoarsely shouting "Pit Senor!" an expression of no known meaning, and frenziedly fighting an imaginary enemy with their wooden weapons to the beat of one or more drums. Next to the great procession in honor of the image, this dancing is perhaps the most interesting feature of the Santo Nino festival.

“Old folk and children as well as young men and women whirl about and dance and shout, some of them weeping and beating their breasts with their fists. Most of them come from the distant barrios of the province in compliance with some vow or seeking a cure to ailments ranging from skin troubles and rheumatism to more serious illnesses. Often children only a few months old are carried into the dance on the shoulders of a parent or other relative.

“The dancing last several days but only until the gold-embroidered habiliments of the image, put on for the feast, are removed and replaced by the ordinary robes. Sometimes it is a week before the clothes are changed, apparently in order to give all of the thousands of people who flock to Cebu an opportunity to kiss the Holy Child in its regal dress.

“The sinug is begun on the afternoon of the procession by a group of small boys dressed up in belts and shoulder straps just before the main door of the Church is thrown open and Senor, borne on the silver-plated and lavishly adorned carro, emerges. As the procession progresses slowly down the principal streets of the city, the dancing boys, who are paid for this service, precede it. Sometimes one of them comically goes beyond what is required of him to the suppressed laughter of the onlookers, but he comes to grief if the maestro who is in charge of the boys detects him, for he does not choose a place to reprimand him, but does it on the spot--with a horsewhip.

“There are expert professional sinug dancers who are paid five or ten centavos by those who can not dance before the Senor personally. The hired dancers will shout "Pit Senor, kang Juan kini!" meaning, "Pit Senor, this is for Juan!". Such a dance lasts only a few minutes, particularly when business is brisk, and the drummer gets a share.  

“After the feast the friars in charge of the Church allow the dancing only in the patio, and it is said that the prior has counselled the people to refrain from the sinug and revere the Senor in a simpler way, but the practice appears to be ancient and is deeply rooted and the people have so far been unwilling to give it up. …” 

Give up the folk religious tradition?  Would the Church even dare now since this Sinulog and other religious festivals have become economic activities in the country?

Do these Christianized expressions of faith speak of the Christianity of the nation? Have we become truly Christian 446 years after we’ve replaced the ancient pagan idols with the Sto. Niño image and other icons of the Roman Catholic faith? 

Sources:

1.      Editorial. (1965 Apr). The Fourth Centennial of Christianity in the Philippines. The Journal of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.  41(4):157. Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/aaj0523.1965.001 

2.       Pigafetta, Antonio. ( c1525).  First Voyage Around the World  [I Primo viaggio intorno al mondo]. Italian text with English translation found in The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803; 1(33):159,161,163. Blair, Emma Helen & Robertson, James Alexander,  Eds. Cleveland, Ohio: The A. H. Clark Company, 1903-09.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/afk2830.0001.033 

3.       Resume of documents found in The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803; 1(2):119-121.  Blair, Emma Helen & Robertson, James Alexander,  Eds. Cleveland, Ohio: The A. H. Clark Company, 1903-09.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/afk2830.0001.002 

4.      Legazpi, Miguel Lopez de. (1565). Relation of the voyage to the Philippines [Cebu] found in The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803; 1(2):215,216. Blair, Emma Helen & Robertson, James Alexander,  Eds. Cleveland, Ohio: The A. H. Clark Company, 1903-09.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/afk2830.0001.002 

5.      Copy of a letter sent from Seuilla to Miguel Saluador of Valencia which narrates the fortunate discovery made by the Mexicans who sailed in the fleet which His Majesty ordered to be built in Mexico with other wonderful things of great advantage for all Christendom worthy of being seen and heard. Printed in Barcelona, By Pau Cortey, 1566 found in The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803; 1(2):225,227. Blair, Emma Helen & Robertson, James Alexander,  Eds. Cleveland, Ohio: The A. H. Clark Company, 1903-09.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/afk2830.0001.002 

6.      Medina, Juan de, O.S.A. (1630; Manila, 1893). History of the Augustinian order in the Filipinas Islands (to be concluded) found in The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803; 1(23):158-159,167. Blair, Emma Helen & Robertson, James Alexander,  Eds. Cleveland, Ohio: The A. H. Clark Company, 1903-09.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/afk2830.0001.002 

7.      Chirino, Pedro, S.J. (1604). Relacion de las Islas Filipinas (to be concluded) found in The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803; 1(12):179-182. Blair, Emma Helen & Robertson, James Alexander,  Eds. Cleveland, Ohio: The A. H. Clark Company, 1903-09.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/afk2830.0001.012 

8.      Abellana, Martin. (1935 March). The “Santo Nino” Festival. Philippine Magazine. 32(3):127-128.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/ACD5869.0032.001 

9.      Bautista, Rafael A. (1935 March). “Pit Senor”. Philippine Magazine. 32(3):127-128.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/ACD5869.0032.001 

10.  Mar, Perla del. (1935 March). The Holy Child of Cebu. Philippine Magazine. 32(3):127.  Retrieved from http://name.umdl.umich.edu/ACD5869.0032.001

An enlightening encounter with a T'boli family in Lake Sebu

Our very kind and friendly T'boli hosts treated us like family.

The T'bolis are said to be the most hospitable people. We agree! This after a T'boli family in Lake Sebu town invited us into their household, brewed coffee for us, prepared nganga chewables for those who'd like to give it a try, played T'boli music from their bamboo 'guitar', and, over cup of coffee, regaled us with family and tribal stories--all in response to a simple request for permission to take pictures of their house.
  

Front view of the house:  stairs, door and living room window.

It's the T'boli house architecture that got us to stop over for photographs after ziplining and hiking to the seven waterfalls in Lake Sebu, surveying the rim of the remaining virgin forest in the area, and dipping in the clear waters of a river down there.


Support for the retractable windows (bedroom window, left).

We thought the architecture best fits a beach house. We own one in Zambales, and just in case someone is interested to put up another one beside ours, we'd strongly suggest to follow the T'boli house design.
 

A view of the virgin forest through the wide living room window.



Bed room window. No beds but mats. Storage racks above.

It's the windows that we found interesting. They are pulled down to rest on support posts during the day to let in the fresh air esp. in the summer, and pulled up at night or during rainy days. The wide windows provide an exhilarating view of the greenery all around.


T'boli family and guests sit comfortably on the floor.

The house has only two areas:  the bedroom and the living-dining-kitchen room.  There are no furniture, not even a dining table. Family and guests sit on mats or on the floor of bamboo slats. 



Common rocks stove, overhead storage rack and golden roof.

The kitchen is right there consisting of the usual trio of rocks to support the cooking pot, a storage rack above it where the dry corn are hang and woven bamboo bins are kept.  The roof above the living room has acquired a golden/copper patina after the smoking it got for a long time. 



Music making and pounding rice, T'boli way.

In this setting did our hosts entertain us. We sat around the living room sipping newly brewed coffee from tin cups while the T'boli Old Woman strummed her bamboo guitar, the T'boli Old Man prepared the betel nut chewable, answering our sundry questions on things T'boli .  

Later, the nursing woman narrated her love story when we asked who among the menfolk in the house is her child's father. She simply said, "I gave her away to the another woman from another tribe."  What did she mean? "I love him so much that I let him go and marry her ...  or he will be killed for raping that woman. That's our custom."

She sacrificed her love, she emphasized, so that his son would still have a father as he grows up. But for the man to be free and be spared the harsh punishment, tradition dictates that, first, he had to return his wife to her family with a fine of three horses; and second, he had to go through the same ritual as in his previous marriage--offer a dowry of five horses and seek approval of the other woman's family. 

Of course, the T'boli we met no longer wear their traditional dresses. Their elaborate beaded and colorful costumes  they now wear only during special occasions. The household we visited may not be rich since we did not see any of those brass decorative sculptures, which possibly are now being produced for the tourist market.

In the afternoon, we visited the T'boli museum and the souvenir shop for our fill of T'boli art, which can be seen in their tinalak of various dream weave patterns, brass sculptures, heavy and elaborate royalty belts, women blouses in black and embroidered with intricate patterns using colored beads, and of course, the necklaces and bracelets of stringed colored beads.

The museum and the shop were designed like the typical T'boli house--low and with retractable wide windows.

A New Year's eve story when it was dangerous to be a Pinoy in California

It happened on the eve of the new year 1926 in Stockton ...

Source:  The Philippine Republic (1926, January). 3(1):19. Washington DC. Retrieved from  http://name.umdl.umich.edu/ACC6198.1926.001