‘Alay at Laya’ Conference Recollection

This is a rather late post. A conference held last year proved to be an enlightening event where I learned that history (Philippine history in this case) can have many dimensions, no matter how wide the gap between the historical events and our time is.

The event was officially entitled ‘Alay at Laya’: Conference on Bonifacio and Mabini In Memory of their 150th Birth Anniversaries. It was held on April 24-25, 2014 at the Study Hall, Rizal Library, Ateneo de Manila University, Katipunan Road, Quezon City. This two-day meeting tackled on the lives of and associated issues and controversies on Apolinario Mabini and Andres Bonifacio, two of the revered and widely recognized national heroes of the Philippines. It also touched on the events such as the Philippine Revolution, the budding Revolutionary Government and even on present-times issues related to them. The activity was in the form of presentation-forum-discussion which, although quite longish, proved to be a good source of insights about certain aspects of our Philippine history.

The topics were as follows:

Day 1 – April 24

Panel 1: Historiography of the Revolution
- Documents of the 1896 Revolution at the University of Santo Tomas (Maria Eloisa De Castro)
- Origins of the Bonifacio Cry (Emmanuel Encarnacion)
- The Revolution Betrayed (Floro Quibuyen)
- Historiography of the Philippine Revolution in Mindanao (Heidi Gloria)

Panel 2: Revolts and Revolution in the Provinces
- Sumoroy and Andres Bonifacio: Two Revolutionists of the 17th- and 19th-Century Filipinas (Regino Paular)
- Revisiting the Basi Revolt of 1807: Its Historical and Axiological Relevance (Jayson Lorenzo Antonio)
- Alimokon: Mateo Noriel Luga, the Life History of an Ibanag Revolutionary (1868?-1899) (Jose Matthew Luga)
- The 1884 Uprising in Pangasinan: Unravelling its Unknown Ties with the Katipunan and the Revolution (Sophia Marco and Erwin Fernandez)

Panel 3: Context of the Revolution
- Money and Everyday Life in 19th-century Philippines (Celestona Boncan)
- Antonio Molina’s Big Question: Differentiating Katipunan’s Musika de Legitimo Kundiman Procedente del Campo Insurrecto from Don Isabelo de los Reyes’ “Jocelynang Baliwag” (Ian Christopher Alfonso)
- From Malolos to the 1987 Philippine Constitution: A Historico-Legal Analysis (Robert Jurado)

Panel 4: Keeping an Eye on Revolutionaries
- Ambivalent Loyalties: Indio Guardia Civil and the Nationalist Imperative of the Philippine Revolution (Danilo Madrid Gerona)
- Public Opinion and Rumors in a Time of Revolution (Mark Dizon)
- Bonifacio and the Katipunan in the Cuerpo de Vigilancia Papers (Rene Escalante)

Panel 5: Bonifacio and the Katipunan
- Tracing the Genealogy of Andres Bonifacio (Joel Regala)
- Liwanag at Dilim: Constructing the ‘Bayan’ of Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto Based on Their Writings (Leodivico Lacsamana)
- Women in the Writings of Bonifacio and Jacinto: Trapped in the Cobwebs of History? (Fe Buenaventura-Mangahas)

Day 2 – April 25

Panel 6: Revolutionary Thought I
- The Katipunan’s Notion of “Tinubuang Lupa” as Fulcrum Point for an Indigenous Critical Social Theory (Rainier Ibana)
- The Intellectual and Enlightened Revolutionary (Angelito Nunag)
- The La Liga and the Katipunan: Translating Brotherhood and the Idea of Nation (Maria Bernadette Abrera)

Panel 7: Revolutionary Thought II
- Two Versions of “Ang Dapat Mabatid ng mga Tagalog” (Paul Dumol)
- Contending Concepts of Nation and Government: Divergent Paths between Rizal and Bonifacio (Erwin Fernandez)
- Paghahambing ng Dekalogo nina Andres Bonifacio at Apolinario Mabini (Maria Luisa Camagay)
- Apolinario Mabini’s La Revolucion Filipina and Radical Thinking (Jovino Miroy)

Panel 8: Apolinario Mabini
- Mabini, Masonry, and the Revolution (Francis Gealogo)
- Algo para Congreso: Mabini Beyond the Malolos Congress of 1898 (Lino Dizon)
- Kontrobersya sa Unang Republika: Pagbabalik-Tanaw sa Alitang Mabini at Aginaldo (Emmanuel Calairo)
- Mabini and the Filipino Deportees in Guam (Augusto de Viana)

Panel  9: The Present Views the Past
- The Revolt According to the Masses: Views on History, the Philippine Revolution of 1896 and Andres Bonifacio by Urban Poor Leaders of Metropolitan Manila (Michael Xiao Chua)
- Viewing the Past: Movie Watchers’ Take on Filipino Historical Films (Maria Joanna Luciño)
- Bonifacio @ 100: Revisiting the Supremo’s Image in his First Century (Kristoffer Esquejo)
- Imprinting Andres Bonifacio: The Iconization from Portrait to Peso (Manuel Quezon III)

Unfortunately, I had summer undergraduate classes and my own masteral classes and so I was only able to attend on the second day and only for the morning session which were Panels 6 and 7 (as I had to rush to my afternoon classes). Nevertheless a review of those topics I was able to attend proved definitely insightful.

To review some of them:

Paul Dumol’s “Two Versions of Ang Dapat Mabatid ng mga Tagalog” brought us back to the printing preparations of the Bonifacio-attributed poem. Revisions turned out to be not from the author himself but were done for purposes of clarity and considerations relative to the ideas put forward by José Rizal.

Jovino Miroy’s “Apolinario Mabini’s La Revolucion Filipina and Radical Thinking” was an intellectual and scholarly challenge during the presentation proper. It was also something you can carry and digest at your own pace. The definitions and descriptions of a radical and of radical thinking and persuasion will always be a dynamic platform for debate.

In the end, I was struck by this realization that indeed history is not just dates, names, and events recorded chronologically on pages to be read and noted. History jumps out of those very pages, assumes many dimensions to which people can look into. A myriad of lenses where one can see history on that particular vantage point, at a different level of interpretation.
  

70s Bistro

* the 70s Bistro banner

* a view of the place; sorry for the dark shot, poor camera resolution

* Abet Umil speaking during the ‘Ipuipo sa Piging’ anthology launch

* the host of the launch, Randy Valiente

* contributors to the anthology being introduced in front

* the man: Sir Rogelio ‘Ka Roger’ Ordoñez, closing the activity with a moving poem about farewells

Although fairly familiar with the activities inside a typical bar, the visit to 70s Bistro was still a different kind of induction for me to a metropolitan public place. Perhaps it was the history (and the notoriety) of 70s Bistro that generated that ‘shock’. The inside is adorned with photos exhibiting the personalities and events that took place there. It would be a good thing to have one like in our city – a bar where people can recite poems without the usual rising of eyebrows. This goes to show again that there is still much to be done in provincial places (and at the same time, learn from some open-minded activities from the country’s capital).

We had no more than the free palabok, a few bread, an expensive juice-in-can, and a bottle of beer. But on the menu, as one can see on the internet, are queerly-names dishes. I wish I could try them the next time we come back.

Regarding details, it is found on 46 Anonas Street, Project 2, Quezon City. One can check on them through telephone number (02) 434-3597 or at their website at 70sbistro.com. And oh, they only accept cash payments.

[How to go to 70s Bistro (this was taken from the internet): 1) Take LRT-2 (Purple line) and go down Anonas Station. Look for a tricycle or a jeep near McDonald’s and tell the driver to drop you in Bistro. It will be on your right. 2) From España, Take Project 2-3 jeep. Isang sakay lang! Bistro will be on your left.]

Saint Joseph Shrine, Quezon City

* a place for the devout

* chapel of the saints

* the stairs going up the church

It is pretty rare that I go to a place of worship (regardless of religion) to reflect. Most often, I do a visit to marvel at the architecture and the religious artifacts inside the churches. But somehow our accidental visit to Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Joseph (St. Joseph Shrine) Quezon City broke that habit.

We were actually on our way to 70’s Bistro to attend the book launch of a poetry anthology when we stumbled upon this church. A loudspeaker was blaring prayers on the street and it was only but natural to look for a church. I knew it was a church. We entered an entrance and came upon what I believed was the chapel of the saints. Adjacent to it was another chapel but I was sure that the prayers were not coming from of the place.
Temporarily defeated, I decided to proceed to 70’s Bistro but looked up to find stairs leading to another part of the place. It was there that we found the church.

* view of the aisle from the stairs

* the windows

* general view of the church

* a painting on the entrance of the church depicting a religious tradition of the Filipinos

There was already that attraction to the place for despite its location (along a very very busy thoroughfare), you can still reflect, as the noises from the outside are literally cut off by the serene atmosphere and the stained glass windows. It was established on November 23, 1951. The Feast Day of St. Joseph is on March 19.

The schedule of masses are: Monday-Saturday: 5:30 am, 6:15 am, 7:00 am, 7:45 am, 12:00 nn, 6:00 pm, 7:00 pm | Sundays: 5:00 am, 6:00 am, 7:30 am, 9:00 am, 10:30 am, 12:30 nn, 2:00 pm, 3:30 pm, 5:00 pm 6:30 pm, 8:00 pm.

[How to go to Saint Joseph Shrine: If you come from EDSA-Cubao, on the area of the Araneta Coliseum, you can take the LRT and drop off at Anonas Station. The church is just a few steps away from it.]

Of LRTs and MRTs

* LRT

* the place where LRT and MRT ‘meets’: the EDSA Station

* MRT tracks and platform

* Trailer Pransis imagining himself standing on platform 9 3/4 and waiting for the Hogwarts Express

For reasons that I cannot fully explain, there is this exhilaration I feel whenever I find myself pulled by speed. LRTs and MRTs have it, especially if you are just trying to balance yourself while standing and not holding on to any support bars. Perhaps losing yourself in speed somehow dissolves low feelings within. But on the up side, I don’t know, there seems to glow inside me when waiting for the transits, much like anticipating mails.

Forgive me for some random thoughts. I find it therapeutic.

The EDSA Shrine

* the huge and golden(?) statue of our Lady of EDSA

* a marker that commemorates the rise into power by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

* the interior of the shrine

* a crucified Christ inside is also a place of prayer and devotion

I did not discover EDSA Shrine until I graduated from high school. Having been educated in the province (well, I am still a province man anyway) I was only confined to seeing it on TV, particularly during the coverage of what turned out to be EDSA Dos.

Its mere place is a testament to its strength, as it is found on the corner of Epifanio delos Santos Avenue, or EDSA, and Ortigas Avenue, one of the many places in Metro Manila where traffic and pollution are almost at a riot everyday. The name of the place (The Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace, Our Lady of EDSA) is quite apart from its well-known moniker, which is of course EDSA Shrine. The place not only stands as a place for worship but primarily as a commemoration of the two people power that was witnessed on that very ground. Despite the noises outside, the interior has a curious serene atmosphere. Believer or non-believer, one cannot ignore that it has a place in our history.

Oblation Musing

We are now to pass on as the new oblations for the country.