Foot and Fire

Ilustrado By Miguel Syjuco 321 pages, Novel I started out this book with high hopes of finishing it because it was written by a Filipino immigrant in Canada and while I was starting it, the story comes to my province in the Philippines and even mentions about the Cinco de Noviembre, a local historical event. Also, I want to know till the end because it was meant to be a storytelling on "a rich and dramatic saga of four generations, tracing one hundred and fifty years of Philippine history forged under the Spanish, the Americans and the Filipinos themselves." On top of that, it is a winner of the 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize and the local Palanca Awards among others. Here are the why's I liked it that I came to 153rd page and then fell out of love.... At first, I was entertained because of the fictionalized names which stood for some Philippine's politicians, businessmen and others as well as some it has some realistic storytelling of the dark side of Manila...

Theaterrampe.de  sent its "solid regards" to the cause after knowing about the serendipitous intervention, that is, someone who believes in the theater's program superimposed a sticker on the "obscene detail nobody wants." This was how the art company concluded when it was informed through this blog (see link below) about the superimposed sticker on the infamous poster. The theater company did not actually commissioned the sticking of the sticker. In fact, the sticker carries the theater's own political and critical claim. However, despite this non-commission from them, Theaterrampe sent its approval, which, this blogger believes sprang from their spirit of art appreciation tempered with artistic ethical responsibility. Its brief, but very relevant letter, goes, "Thanks for the hint! In fact Theater Rampe did not put the sticker on the "detail nobody wants". But we do like this intervention. The sticker spreads our programmatic ...

The detail superimposed with the words "Walk, the past is behind you."  Germany-based Nurse and Filipina Naomi Billard, the proponent of the idea to scrap the poster bearing the misrepresentation of Manila from the public exhibition in Stuttgart-Ulm Rail Station as well as its immodest and unethical inclusion of the photo in public considering the defecating person in the detail (See related post links below), sent me this latest photo above. A sticker was super-imposed on the spot where we wanted it to be. The sticker reads: "Walk, the past is behind you." (translation by Naomi). Below it is the word  Theaterrampe.de which is a theater company or group.  Definitely, this act of superimposing the sensitive portion of the photo is NOT the decision of the exhibit curators or organizers led by the Turmforum and the Stuttgart-Ulm Rail Project Society. But this bold act of superimposing the sensitive portion of the photo from an art company or gro...

There is no arguing that the structures in Intramuros are still well-maintained despite its oldness. However, if Intramuros should be a tourist attraction, it should somehow be zoned, where offices and establishments will be properly located and where portions, if not all, historical sites will be preserved. The electric cable wires abound and subtract the allure of this historical place. Also the cars and jeepneys destroy the oldness of the streets... More on Intramuros here. For travel tips on Intramuros, click here.    *** *** *** *** *** *** *** Warming up our smiles! Photo taken by Noynoy *** *** *** *** *** *** The Old church of Manila...  Many students had a tour too when we had ours.. It was closed for renovation when we went there end of September 2013. *** The Church and the Plaza de Roma *** At last, we reached Fort Santiago. ...