Alimatuan: The Emerging Artist as American Filipino

To mark the 2006 Filipino Centennial Celebration in Hawaii, The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, presents Alimatuan: The Emerging Artist as American Filipino. The exhibition, curated by New York-based guest curator Kóan Jeff Baysa, brings together twenty-six emerging American-Filipino artists from across the United States.⁠

History of the Philippines: From Indios Bravos to Filipinos

History of The Philippines: From Indios Bravos to Filipinos by Luis H. Franca is never on my bookshelf or one place. It is under my bed, in my purse, open near my laptop, near some cold tea by my patio. I keep coming back to this book for inspiration. I recommend this book to anyone who wants an introduction to the history. A History of the Philippines begins with the pre-Westernized Philippines in the 16th century and continues through the 1899 Philippine-American War, the nation's relationship with the United States’ controlling presence, culminating with its independence in 1946 and two ongoing insurgencies, one Islamic and one Communist.

I don’t know how the heck to write a history book review, so here’s some interesting facts I learnt from this book:

• Pre-Spanish, my ancestors loved DOING IT. So much that the men had these piercings on their organs that were like thumbscrews/bolts. This allowed them to stay in the woman and do it for hours. It was embarrassing to be a virgin for both sexes. The Spanish definitely put a stop to that.

• The Battle of Mactan. This story is fantastic and should be turned into a film. (I also wrote the synopsis below, so there’s no plagiarism here, Mr. Franca.)

  Navigator Magellan befriended Rajah Humabon, the Rajah of Cebu. Magellan converted them over to Catholic faith and Humabon bent the knee to him. In light of this, an order had been issued to the nearby chiefs that each of them were to provide food supplies for the ships, and convert to Christianity.

  Datu Lapu-Lapu refused this order. Humabon had beef with Lapu-Lapu already and despite the warning of his advisors, Humabon and his allies asked Magellan to force Lapu-Lapu into submission. Magellan wanted to strengthen his name and title and saw an opportunity in spreading his influence at Humabon’s request.

  So. Magellan underestimated the indio warriors across the sea. He only sent forty-nine armored men with swords, axes, shields, crossbows, and guns, and sailed for Mactan in the morning of 28 April. He sailed with so little men because he believed their strong armor and cannons would be enough. Lapu-Lapu tricked them into sailing at low tide, so forced to anchor their ships far from shore due to the shallow water filled with rocks and coral reefs, Magellan could not bring his ships' cannons to bear on Lapu-Lapu's warriors, whom Pigafetta claims numbered more than 1,500. The indio warriors had hand cannons (lantakas) also in their arsenal.

  Magellan tried to burn their village but that only incited the fury of the warriors. Lapu-Lapu killed Magellan and his forces were wiped out.

  In Shakespeare fashion, Magellan’s slave Enrique Malacca was humiliated after the battle. Duarte Barbosa, one of the leaders of an expedition, refused to give him freedom which was promised in Magellan’s will. Enrique convinced Humabon to invite the officers and crew to a banquet. Humabon’s guards slaughtered twenty six of them, including Barbosa. The rest fled with Elcano.

  Though the events ended as a disaster in a handbag, it also prepared the way for four other Spanish expeditions.

• One of the tactics of the Americans to instill fear into locals was killing a rebel and draining him of his blood, putting two puncture wounds in his neck to make it look like a vampire-aswang attack. Another method was to fly a plane and broadcast spirit-sounding voices to scare villagers. American soldiers painted black eyes onto buildings facing traitors’ homes, inspired by Egyptian iconography.

• Learning that America’s “benevolent assimilation” wasn’t so benevolent when reading General Jacob H Smith’s order to kill anyone over the age of ten in Samar: “I want no prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn, the more you kill and burn the better it will please me. I want all persons killed who are capable of bearing arms in actual hostilities against the United States," General Jacob H. Smith said.”

• Corazon Aquino. Say what you will about her, but how she became President in the face of martial law is fascinating.

If you’re a hardcore history buff you might want to consider another book as this is book is a master overview. I am reading the Vestiges of War that Luis H. Franca edited with Angel Velasco Shaw. Vestiges of War provides a critical and literary lens on the Philippine-American War. That may be a more in-depth book for a hardcore historian.

Cora Cooks Pancit

Cora Cooks Pancit by Dorina Lazo Gilmore really made me feel seen! I don’t read children’s books often, so this was a pleasant surprise. The book’s plot is this: Cora loves being in the kitchen, but she always gets stuck doing the kid jobs like licking the spoon. One day, however, when her older sisters and brother head out, Cora finally gets the chance to be Mama's assistant chef.

I was surprised by how deep the Lolo’s (grandfather) story was in the book. The recipe Cora and her mother cook (which is in the back for you to cook as well) is pancit that her Lolo made for migrant farm workers in California. If anyone is familiar with the miserable history of Filipino workers in the US, this is immediately striking. While they toiled during the day, many at night assembled to protest and form a union, which often resulted in violence against the workers. It was likely that the Lolo in this book was feeding a spectrum of workers - people who simply wanted to survive to those who wanted to fight. Though never explicitly referenced, if a child remembers this story growing up, as an adult they might dig into their roots and the backdrop of this story. (If you have no clue what I’m talking about, look up the Watsonville riots.)

“This apron belonged to Lolo, your grandpa,” said Mama. “He wore it when he first came to California. He was a cook for the Filipino farmworkers who picked strawberries and grapes in the fields.”

I know growing up, I would never have had this book, never seen pages filled with people who looked like my family. Honestly, finding similar books to this one in children’s books is difficult. I may read Pan de Sal Saves the Day by Norma Olizon-Chikiamco next.

Filipino authors - please write more kids books I can read my baby nephew!